Vinous
December 2016
94 pts Chapter 24 Last Chapter Pinot Noir 2014
Limpid ruby. Potent, spice-accented red and blue fruit scents pick up notes of candied flowers and minerals with aeration. Juicy, supple and expansive on the palate, offering pliant black raspberry and boysenberry flavors, along with hints of star anise and cola. Shows a suave blend of richness and vibrancy and finishes impressively long and sappy; rounded tannins lend gentle grip. This plush, very sexy wine strongly reminded me of a top-drawer wine from Vosne-Romanée.
93 pts Chapter 24 The Fire + Flood The Flood Pinot Noir 2014
Bright magenta. An intensely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red berries, potpourri, vanilla and Asian spices, along with a smoky mineral overtone. Juicy and seamless on the palate, offering alluringly sweet raspberry liqueur, lavender pastille and spicecake flavors that deepen and spread out smoothly with aeration. Displays a suave blend of power and finesse and finishes with subtle tannic grip and superb, floral-tinged persistence.
93 pts Chapter 24 The Fire + Flood The Fire Pinot Noir 2014
Vivid red. High-pitched red fruit, floral pastille and Asian spice aromas show excellent clarity and pick up a deeper cola nuance with aeration. Stains the palate with sappy black raspberry and cherry flavors that are sharpened by a blood orange flourish and lifted by a spine of minerality. Plays power off finesse with a deft hand and closes with impressive energy, focus and mineral-driven persistence.
93 pts Maison L’Envoyé The Attaché 2014
Limpid ruby-red. Powerful red berry and Asian spice aromas, along with suggestions of smoky minerals and incense. Sweet, seamless and penetrating on the palate, offering vibrant raspberry, cherry and spicecake flavors and a subtle touch of blood orange. Silky tannins emerge slowly and fold smoothly into the vibrant fruit on the long, nervy finish, which leaves notes of five-spice powder and red berries behind.
92 pts Maison L’Envoyé Two Messengers 2014
Brilliant ruby-red. Vibrant, mineral-accented red and dark berry aromas, along with hints of woodsmoke and cocoa powder. Juicy and energetic in style, offering black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors that deepen slowly and become spicier on the back half. Closes very long, smooth and gently sweet, delivering resonating dark fruit character and silky, slow-building tannins.