Daniel M

9.7

Blackberry jam, pepper, a bit of celer, tar, meat juice with a gamey note too. It's intoxicating and it calls for a quick dive. The palate starts with a very nice blackberry jam layer which expands on the width but soon comes a massive acid backbone which pushes the structure toward the end of the palate. It's super powerful yet very complex with different layers: some grip on the side, a buttery, creamy touch and mouthfeel, the acid backbone and some tannins which kick-start and expending finish, very fresh, with blackberry and pepper and a slightly bitter note, just underlined by the gently drying tannins. This is magnificent and comes easily in my top 3 wines all time. I love it and it's an understatement. #birthdaytreat — 7 years ago

Liz Dietz-Griffis

9.0

Very drinkable! Light, easy, soft tannins — 8 years ago

Bryce Wiatrak

9.0

Lovely - a charming value from the Haut Médoc. Rusty strawberry, raspberry, crushed stones, piercing acidity and gentle tannic focus. Easy and delicious. 5th Growth. #sommcon — 8 years ago

with Samantha

Shay A

9.5

One of the highlights of the day was meeting @David T and his wife for a tasting at Joseph Phelps. I’d never had the privilege of trying Insignia, and we were given the ‘12 and ‘14 to taste today.

This vintage of Insignia had a splash of merlot, compared to the ‘14, which had zero. Gorgeous texture. Very smooth and elegant. Black cherry, cigar box, peppercorn, BlackBerry tart. Every note on the wine seemed put together...nothing was out of place. Gorgeous property and gorgeous wines! FYI, their viognier is awesome! — 9 years ago

Nancy Croisier, CSW

9.5

My favorite Pinot in a lineup from Tony Rynders. — 9 years ago

with Doug

Lewis Chester

9.2

2004 vintage. From Jay. 2004 Bartolo Mascarello - Brief Note from Galloni Historical Retrospective Held in London April 26, 2016. Dark ruby colour. Fresh violets on the nose together with cherries. A little tobacco wrapper. Cracked cloves. Nice fruit on the pallet and very silky. This is both elegant and old school in all the right ways. 92+/100. Drink 2017 to 2028+ — 10 years ago

Sasha Agapov

9.7

What a beauty! Creamy, defined and rich. Perfumy with flowers, mint, sweet apples, minerality and very concentrated honest power. Acidity is angular, very bright and holds this huge palate together nicely (and oh boy, I wish I had a time machine to see how it evolves in 10 years). I'm still trying to crack that dominant aftertaste note — it's almost cake-like sweet, with some nutty backbone and caramel on the top. Absolutely in love. — 11 years ago

Max Kogod

Owner Kogod Wine Merchant

9.7

1977. Floored by extreme caramel note on nose and palate completely backed up by gorgeous purity of fruit, acid, levity and all the tertiary elements that make Martha's Vyd what it is. — 11 years ago

Kell Mc

9.1

Slight fruit up front, dry finish — 12 years ago

Andrew Stueve

9.6

It's the ultimate food wine. Goes with everything. But at the same time, it is too much the chameleon. If it was to be drunk by itself, there isn't a dominant note to define the wine. — 13 years ago

Vijay Parikh

9.3

Zesty, lemon peel requires about 30-45 minutes in the glass. Elegant with a slight note of peach. — 7 years ago

E & K G

9.2

So so goo! Just needs a bit of air in the glass to take on volume and toasty note. — 7 years ago

Jan de Weerd

9.4

Celebrating our daughters Christmas homecoming after two years. Pipe tobacco drenched in dark dry fruit with an herbal under note of thyme and basil. Earthy organic hints of barnyard. Well integrated tannins. High acid and it took a while before it fully integrated. We decanted it for one hour. Could use two hours. — 8 years ago

with RoAnne and Tammy

Ray Vanderhoff

9.1

Wonderful Sicilian natural wine! Deep gold (let’s call it light orange) in color. Hints of grilled lemons with a hint of smoke. Beautifully “funky.” A true winner! Great with appetizers! Thank you Franky Bella for this selection. — 8 years ago

with Kasey

Mark Flesher

9.3

This wine had some tobacco and earth FUNK after it was opened up. The herbaceous and tobacco ash note on the nose was almost identical to the 1980 Beringer State Lane cab. This did blow off after an hour, but the wine was less fruit than I thought it would have been. Lots of dark figgy jam. Tobacco and cigar box. I'm sure the fruit came back after I left, but this would have been 2 hours after opening and just didn't have the time to see this one though, hence the "NR" rating. Impressed by this wine, and probably one of the older Monte Bello wines I've been able to drink. — 9 years ago

with Benjamin

Keith Crump

9.0

2009 seems a little lighter then the last I tried good acidity — 9 years ago

Alessandro Ghizzardi

9.5

AJ 95/100 - Sboccatura tre anni, e questo aiuta la straordinaria freschezza insieme al fatto che diversamente da altri questa annata non ha fatto malolattica. Giallo paglierino limpidissimo, naso intrigante con attacco balsamico, note di mandorla, fiori di montagna, lieve pietra focaia, perlage finissimo e persistente, entra in bocca con incredibile freschezza e acidità, incredibilmente il tartarico mostra ancora i muscoli, forse anche un po' troppo per una simile annata: si perde un po la corrispondenza con il naso. Finale di grande persistenza. — 11 years ago

Jimmy Smith

Director, West and North London Wine School

9.4

2001: going into a black olive, black truffle note. Rich meaty notes, vibrantly meated, smoky, leather, tobacco, cigar. Towards full, complex, chewy. Light liquorice, light black truffle. Tip top. — 11 years ago

May-Line Pmt

10

Une petite note d'amertume mais c'est un régal — 12 years ago

Yoon Ha

Master Sommelier/Wine Director Benu

9.2

Sweet maturing fruit, lovely balance. At 15 years old, the 5th growth '99s are in full stride. — 12 years ago

Kate Leahy

9.0

Cherry fruit and bright acidity. Short,
spicy finish. — 7 years ago

Andrew S

9.2

A lot of power, plenty of fruit and acidity for days. This is in a nice spot, but still on the way up. There’s a nice dusty/tar note, fennel, a touch of leather, maybe even a hint of violets. Best with a big rich meal. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.7

An oxidative note initially which blew off to reveal Florals with notes of mint and Liquorice. On the palate normal transmission is resumed with black fruits and tobacco “mouth perfume “ A beautiful wine and probably my WOTN. — 8 years ago

Paul J

9.5

Same as previous note!! Except for the London part and remaining quantity! We leave tomorrow and only have 1 bottle left now! — 8 years ago

with Brooke

Lyn Farmer

9.2

Medium ruby color and a pronounced nose of raspberry, violet and a spice note reminiscent of sandalwood incense. Lovely medium body with silky texture. Good acid balance for food pairing and a long lovely finish. Wonderful evocation of serious Beaujolais — 9 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.8

1986 vintage. At Au Fils du Zinc in Chablis - thank you Fabian for picking the best white wine experience of the year. This was a wine that Mr Raveneau didn't release because he thought there was too much oak and sulphur. Only recently did they realise they had a gem. Medium golden hue. Honeyed, white peach, lemon pieces, iodine and crushed rock minerality. Slight bovril note and sea shell with air. Amazing complexity. On the palate, perfect balance between fresh acidity and body, highly concentrated and layers of complexity. Very very long. Outstanding. Still fresh enough to last another 7-10 years at least. — 9 years ago

Daniel M

9.6

No orange rim in the glas. The wine is dark red with a slight sign of its age. Leather on the nose, red fruits too. Tobacco, spice. The palate is phenomenal. Multidimensional. Long with an acid frame that goes for ever. Wide with fully integrated tannins made of velvet. Strawberry, blackberry, black currant. The finish is long and remains there floating in the air like the final high note of a musical masterpiece — 10 years ago

Lynn Gowdy

9.2

Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenére, Syrah and Petit Verdot. Intense blackberry and cocoa aromas. Almost voluptuous-like on the palate with blue fruit, a hint of oak, balanced acid and well-integrated tannins. — 11 years ago

Greg Kramer

9.4

Fabulous and would have been even more so save for a dominating tobacco note — 12 years ago

Kevin Walsh

Wine blogger doxologywine.com; Freelance Sommelier (Court of Master Sommeliers) Doxology Wine Consulting

8.9

2008. Dried cherry, black tea, dried mushroom and rose, prosciutto. Minerality is reminiscent of standing on a dry, dusty dirt road. Only criticism is that it falls off in the mid palate, but finishes with a nice gamey note. — 12 years ago