Joseph Corso

9.1

Amazing year for California of course and this wine shows it. - aged beautifully, has all of the depth one would expect. Only 400 cases made and happy I had the opportunity to enjoy this bottle. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

On the nose, sour fruits of; dark currants, blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, green bell peppers, tree bark with sap and fresh very dark florals. The palate is medium bodied & the tannins are medium soft and round. The fruits are; blackberries, dark cherries, an array of blue fruits, poached strawberries, green bell pepper with additional vegetal notes, dusty, dry, loamy dry top soil, crushed dry rocks, olive pit with flesh, herbaceous notes, nail rust, light funky gym locker notes and a round, soft acidity and a finish that a 1/3, 1/3 and 1/3...fruit, vegetal and earth. 9.0 with the potential for a bit more with cellaring. Photos of; Irouléguy, Jean-Claude Berrouet and a classic Basque dish. Producer history & notes...Irouléguy is located in Basque Country...the southwestern most part of France wine regions and is only a half an hour from Spain. Irouléguy received its appellation contrôlée in 1970, with about 250 acres of vineyards cultivated by 60 growers. Jean-Claude Berrouet is an Irouléguy native who left the area for more than three decades to be the winemaker at Château Pétrus. Jean-Claude eventually returned home. He named his estate “Herri Mina.” In Basque, herri means “country,” and mina means “homesick.” I guess you could say he missed the area he grew up. Jean-Claude also makes a white blend of Gros Manseng, Petit Corbu and Petit Manseng. His vines are planted on the steep south facing slopes of the Pyrénées at around 400 feet above sea level. His vineyard has a climatic influence from the Atlantic. They are protected from cold north wind and receive more sunshine than most other French vineyard regions. Jean-Claude also produces a small amount of this Irouléguy Cabernet Franc; which is 100% Cabernet Franc-Tannat. A classic Basque pairing (shown) for this wine is a flour dredged fried chicken with stewed red and green peppers, tomatoes, onions & garlic.
— 8 years ago

John Van Trijp

9.7

I love these "garagist" wines! This Bellevue Mondotte is sooo sexy and multi layered. Give it 3 hrs air and enjoy the massive fruit explosion. Long life ahead. Only 400 cases. Try to find one... — 9 years ago

Mr.Pink

9.3

It is easy to over look the 94s, but when given a chance to taste Le Pin, you must. You first see the dark inky color, and then you can smell tobacco and a hint berries. This wine was as smooth as they come. I let it sit in my glass for one hour and it was even smoother. I was told this was lighter then other vintages. Purchased from the gray market many years before the Rudy K. was in business. Production is tiny at about 400-500 cases. — 9 years ago

Matté

Manager The Wine Cellars

9.6

Sooooo much happening on the nose here walnut, blood orange marmalade, creme caramel, 400 year old oak sideboard that's recently had a beeswax polish 😉 baked banana, old oak barrel cellar, spiced pineapple, cinnamon dusted apricot pastry, peaches in cream. In the mouth the first shot is pretty full on alcoholic hotness but as the mid palate rolls over the crest of the hill a huge intensity of dried fruit sweeps through your palate with a huge freshness of spicy tropical fruits then on the finish the nutty notes come through, caramel drizzled over walnuts, white truffle oil. Gorgeous! — 10 years ago

Marc Roovers

9.0

2008 vintage
Very nice, some evolution, sweet red fruit, velvetty tannines, lingering aftertaste.
On the second day this wine really comes alive. Younger feeling, fresh and lively fruit. Adjust score to 90! — 10 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.1

Only 400 cases produced biodynamic producer — 11 years ago

Margie Kim

9.7

Villa Creek 2010 Avenger 60% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache - 400 cases produced — 12 years ago

Colin Gibbs

9.6

Tahoe neighbor love. $400 a bottle?? — 12 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.7

Made at Hagafen estate bottled single vineyard 400 case production earnie weir started winery in 1979. Best of show white peaches a note of petrol and classic Riesling wow great intensity with lots of peach and melon fruit sweet tart with a dry finish a note of petrol finish 50+ most excellent and this is kosher! — 12 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Made in Maule from a 100% Carignan and vines with an average age of 56 years at 400 feet of elevation. 50 cases imported at a retail price of $50. The Vigno is sourced from two blocks of the Crucecillas vineyard planted in 1958 that are vinified separately and followed by an additional winery selection. The best lots are aged in 3-4 year neutral French oak for 24 months. On the nose; dark currants. Blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, plums and beautiful florals. The body is full with sticky tannins. Blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries & plums. Black licorice, dark chocolate, black rich soils, loamy dry top soils with violets & red florals. — 8 years ago

Aleksandra Kazachkova

9.0

Чудесное, легкое, без пузырьков. Клубника. 400 в Перекрестке. — 8 years ago

Lynn Gowdy

8.9

My first Mansois, aka Fer Servadou from the tiny VDQS north of Toulouse (161 hectares /400 acres). Raspberry, brambly aromas follow through to the palate which is a bright hello that mellows softly. — 9 years ago

Liz Hale

9.3

Get some of this in your life- 400 case production- it is RAD. — 9 years ago

Billy D'Ambrosio

9.3

You're sitting on the sun-drenched patio of a 400 year old farmhouse in the hills of Tuscsany. On a lazy Saturday afternoon. This is the Brunello you want. Lush, but not to fruity. A little tannin, but not much of a bite. — 9 years ago

Jose Moran

9.1

Gamay 4 latas — 9 years ago

Henrik Poulsen

9.3

Together with Lustau's "San Emilio Solera Reserva" this is one of the most concentrated PX I have come across. At around 400 g/l of residual sugar this is liquid dessert. — 10 years ago

with Kenneth

Василий Кова

9.5

Хорошо очень. Понравилось.400 — 11 years ago

Jono Wingfield

9.9

A year my senior, but 10 times purer. 400 ever bottled. Drinking the last of it. Perfection. — 11 years ago

Joe Carroll

Owner/Wine Director Spuyten Duyvil, Fette Sau, St. Anselm & Gotham Artisanal Provisions

9.5

Jean Van Roy's amazing story of Zwanze 2013. When we started renovation works in the cellars of the brewery two years ago, much to our surprise we came upon the remains of some very old walls. In agreement with the medievalists of the city of Brussels, the works were stopped in order to allow archaeological excavations to take place.

Shortly thereafter we were astonished to find out that Cantillon brewery had in fact been built on the ruins of the very ancient Abbey of Cureghem! According to the medievalists, this religious community was well-known during the middle ages for its fowl fed on draff and, more specifically, for its dish of stuffed Cureghem capon, which was served with a beer brewed at the abbey and apparently drew pilgrims from all over Europe.

Yet it was truly a heavenly surprise when the excavations uncovered the cell of the abbot, Father Faro. In the small room the archaeologists found quite a few old reference books, one of which contained the original recipes for the beers brewed at the abbey several hundred years ago. We didn’t hesitate for a second and decided on the spot to recreate one of these mythical beers.

This beer, which will be our Zwanze for 2013, therefore bears the name of its illustrious place of origin, Abbaye de Cureghem (Cureghem Abbey). Cureghem was formerly a village established many centuries ago on the banks of the Senne, the river running through present-day Brussels. The area was very heavily industrialised during the 19th century and, among other things, became home to many breweries. Today, it is part of the municipality of Anderlecht.

Since beers commonly referred to as “abbey beers” are not, or not any longer, products of spontaneous fermentation, we decided to brew a top fermentation beer, from a technical point of view in any case. The yeasts were selected in collaboration with Institut Meurice, a post-secondary college in Brussels specialising in biotechnology. Brewed in March 2012, our “Cureghem” beer fermented four weeks in stainless steel tanks before being blended with 10% lambic and pumped into 400-litre barrels of various origins. After maturing for six months, the beers were blended and put into casks or bottles to undergo re-fermentation and reach 7.2% ABV (Alcohol by Volume).

Inevitably, a top fermentation beer brewed in a spontaneous fermentation environment will be affected by the wild yeasts in the air, and this is certainly what happened in our case. For our Cureghem, the cultured yeasts were clearly the main factor behind primary fermentation and I think that the wild yeasts in the beer will instead play an increasingly important role as the product ages. However, despite the addition of the lambic to give it a little “extra something” in terms of character and ageing characteristics, this Zwanze cannot in any case be considered a spontaneous fermentation beer.

The long fermentation period coupled with the presence of wild yeasts lends this beer a solid character with a dry finish that lingers on the palate, while the combined use of fresh and aged hops yields both freshness and bitterness. Moreover, the different malts used give this year’s Zwanze a coppery colour along with a touch of caramel and candied fruit that provide body. Clearly, this is not your standard “abbey” beer but, perhaps, it is representative of what these beers were one or two hundred years ago — 12 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

A Bordeaux blend. Spends 22 months in 70% new 400 liter oak barrels. Nose of fragrant floral fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum. Licorice, anise, dark chocolate and fresh, dark florals. The fruits are ripe and fresh and match the nose. Black licorice, tarry notes, loamy soils, moist dark soil, lead pencil, cedar, tobacco, underbrush, great acidity and a beautiful long finish. The structure is better as is the tension and length. This bottle needs 8-10 years in bottle for a higher score but for many hard not to dry young. Photos of the view from the Long Shadows patio, another one of the glass blown floor lamps and a concrete fermentation egg...interestingly in an inverted shape I hadn't seen before, no real difference in effect. — 8 years ago

Creede Williams

9.3

$400. 2010 Jeroboam. Rich, velvety and strong vanilla. Big but not cloying. — 8 years ago

Thomas Brenner

9.2

Smells a little like cotton candy and exhibits notes of cedar, clove, prune, cherry, red rose, eucalyptus with perceivable mint-traits. In another dimension this may be a cousin of Heitz's Martha's Vineyard. Awesome to have with bbq'd steak, garlic bread and knowing this is the only winery for this AVA ( just 20 miles south of where I got to imbibe this 400 case production of local goodness. ) — 9 years ago

Gregory Knaps

9.0

One of the first vineyards planted to Arneis. 400 years ago! — 9 years ago

"Odedi"

9.8

Dark ruby red in color with a red rim.

What a gorgeous nose, with vanilla, spices, blackberries, cherries, oak, chocolate and black pepper.

Medium + in body, smooth and elegant.

Dry and smooth on the palate with cherries, black currants, Wood, vanilla, smoke, oak, spices and black pepper.

Long finish with round smooth tannins and peppercorn.

This is an awesome wine. Eight years old and showing a great capacity to age even longer.
If it had a little less vanilla this would be a perfect score, for me. If vanilla is your thing, this is it. Great Napa Valley Cabernet.

Only 400 cases were produced on this Howell mountain Reserve. 94 points wine enthusiast.

14.4% alcohol by volume. — 9 years ago

Hans-Ole Jochumsen

9.8

Restaurant i London - 400 £ — 10 years ago

Zhang Ling

9.9

德国莱茵高约翰山堡雷司令甜白葡萄酒400港元 — 11 years ago

Nats So

9.6

セブンで400円くらい — 11 years ago

Bryan Manning

9.4

Cab Night. Alex's favorite. Paired with Gouda, Bleu Cheese, and rare meats. — 12 years ago

Daniela Caniglia

9.8

Two vineyards. Fresh crisp, pineapple nose, balanced acids with good mineral. all SS fermented. 400 cases produced — 12 years ago