Aaron Tan

9.5

Exceptional balance. Rich, but so fresh. Pears, orange, flowers, lemon curd, cream, brioche, nut. Long, powerful palate, underlined by a driving acidity.

Some thoughts: In my eyes, RMs tend to fall into "extreme" categories e.g. Laherte - austere, Egly - rich (lees), Agrapart - rich (oak), Selosse - oxidative; but this wine doesn't fit here. NM-like, but not (I think of Chartogne-Taillet when I say this). Compare to Krug's Grand Cuvee, the Grands Vintages is definitely richer and broader (fair comparison, given how both wines are constructed).

From Chain Bridge Cellars:
As the name suggests, Eric Rodez’s Grand Vintages is a rich, powerful and very much “grand” wine in the tradition of Krug (where Eric learned his craft). This year's release is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay from seven great vintages going back to vintage 2000. Eric ages all of these base wines in used oak and blocks malolactic fermentation to maximize freshness and vibrancy. Then the carefully crafted blend spends 8 full years on the lees before being disgorged this October. The dosage is ultra-low - 2 or 3 g/l - so this could be labeled "Extra Brut," but there's so much richness and depth here that "Brut" seems more appropriate to Eric.

Past releases have earned plenty of critical praise, including 17.5/20 points from Jancis Robinson, 93 from Vinous, and 92 from Wine Advocate. This year’s release is explosive on the nose and palate, pumping out big notes of lemon curd, caramel, toasted nuts, baking bread, crushed chalk, and more. The flavors just balloon out to fill your entire palate and finish with layer upon layer of mouthwatering pie crust, lemon curd, hazelnut, crushed stone and salty caramel flavor. Try holding some for even more richness! — 9 years ago

Alex Krause

9.0

Very nice. lovely focus and just the right density and structure to support and offer pleasing juicy qualities without getting lazy. Merits the praise. Well done. — 10 years ago

Owen Rosenberg

9.1

This wine is opulent , rich, dense and silky. It coats the glass with a wash of red. The nose is of black berry and rich red fruit on palate is dense blackberry ripe fruit with a full luxuriant mouth and hints if chocolate richness. I praise the the addition of Riesling which brings about a much needed acidity and balance ...nice long finish — 10 years ago

Martin Redmond

8.9

Pretty salmon color with strawberry, raspberry, stone fruit, and a hint of floral aromas. On the palate, it's medium-bodied, and fresh with juicy strawberry, raspberry, stone fruit, and a hint of savory spice with a mineral element and a lingering finish. 14.1% alcohol. Barrel fermented in 80% stainless and 20% neutral French oak. Retail $28 — 11 years ago

Samantha Wright

9.3

Really smooth, nice mouthfeel, fruity and bold yet drinkable. Actually received praise from my picky dad. Very successful. — 11 years ago

Daniel Saravia

9.8

Praise the Lort. #grapefruit #fizzzzzz — 11 years ago

Jonathan Lipsmeyer

9.2

Praise Pele for Princeville Wine Market in Kauai. This paired a charm as expected with charcoal grilled chicken burritos. Like a volatile blueberry and blackberry jam with allusions to oiled leather--such vivid in your face fruit. I love Graillot so much. His wines always show at least slightly volatile to me, but in just the right edgy manner. — 12 years ago

Peter Plaehn

9.0

Praise Jesus, it tastes like Chardonnay! Almost like Piedmont Chardonnay, actually. Tons of Meyer lemon and custard. — 12 years ago

Red Wine Lovers

9.7

Wow. Clape Cornas deserves your praise and applause. Such purity. Blackberry, blueberry, olives, herbs. Serious — 13 years ago

Eric Guido

9.5

It’s not often that I open a note with a resolute, Wow, but the 2013 Gourt de Mautens deserves such praise. The bouquet opened with an intense display of white pepper, crush mint (or is that basil), rosemary, moist earth and hints of sweet brown spice. On the palate, it was impossibly soft and enveloping to all of the senses, yet vibrant with a display crushed violets, black fruit, and savory olive. Tannins mounted toward the finish as the wine resonated on peppery spices and a resounding note of black olive. I can't wait to see where this wine is going over time. — 9 years ago

Russ W

9.4

Allow me a beer concession to praise 3 floyds from the mountain tops. — 10 years ago

Yancy

8.9

Somewhere between good and great is where you'll find this wine. Open it and the taste is good. Continue drinking and you'll find this wine is great. High Praise for this attractive Rhône wine.

Price paid - $7.99 NH - State Outlets — 10 years ago

Robert S.

9.0

Jodar Apollo's Lyre 2009 — 10 years ago

Oliver Schweitzer

9.5

More approachable than the Kanzel right now, deserves as much praise and time to improve. — 11 years ago

with Cool

Joe Cox

Production Assistant, Wine Writer

10

I will maintain this is the greatest of SoCal Cab Sauv. Velvety and rich. Smooth and deserving of praise. — 11 years ago

with Matthew

Anne Evangelista

9.4

Dry. Praise. — 11 years ago

with Gonzalo

Michael Myers

9.0

Good wine for the price. I got it for $14 and I'd say that's about the best $14 Cali chard I've had. I'll buy more, which is as high praise as I can give.
— 12 years ago

Michael Myers

9.0

2012. I honestly don't understand the horrible CT reviews of this wine - bottle variation I'm guessing? I very much enjoyed it. Certainly more southern Rhone-esque than northern Rhone, and yet -- it's f***ing Shiraz. So even comparing it to Rhone is a win. This is definitely not to be compared to the Syrah of Cote Rotie or St Joseph, *but* it actually had some similarities to the Fonsalette Cote Du Rhone Syrahs I've tried (ok, granted, not as complex, but still, that Southern Rhone Syrah sappiness with a brain, meaning quite enough complexity to keep me intrigued). I'd actually purchase this again for $30. To me, a repurchase is high praise. — 12 years ago

Zachary Leinberger

9.9

Deserving of all the praise its gotten, the fruit is focused and bright, in balance with good acidity and low alcohol — 14 years ago

Alex Leonardini

9.3

Well worth the praise, especially for the price point. — 9 years ago

J Levenson

9.0

I enjoyed the 2014 more that the 2015. But for the price, you can't go wrong. That's why it gets the score. Price to value ratio. 😄 Great praise for the wines of Mt Etna. — 10 years ago

TheSkip

9.0

Lots of critical praise for this wine. I have enjoyed the last several vintages. No surprises here.

Green raspberry and cedar in the nose. Blue fruits on the palate. Medium to firm tannins. Pleasant finish. — 10 years ago

Jon Fine

8.9

'one of the best Canadian wines I've ever had' is totes damning w faint praise, but, well, solid and interesting Riesling and I'd totally drink this again. — 10 years ago

Alan McCullough

9.2

We've had this wine for almost two years and finally decided to open it. What took us so long? My wife couldn't stop singing its praise and the worst part was we only bought one when we had the chance. — 10 years ago

Joshua Pollak

9.0

Rosy would pay $80 in a restaurant which is high praise. — 11 years ago

Gabe Barkley

8.9

Decent, but not worthy of praise. — 11 years ago

James Alford

9.0

If you know me, you know I don't rush to praise many Ordoñez wines. But this stuff is undeniable. The perfect tension between luxuriant and taut. With all there is on offer here, the $25 price tag devastatingly underscores the absurdity of 1er and Grand Cru white burg pricing. — 11 years ago

Will Harahan

10

The maybach wines mirror my high praise for Peter Michael. Both are at the top of my list of California wines. This isn't something you'd drink everyday unless you want to spoil yourself. It's special, & pairs well with a meal equatable to a full bodied Cab. — 12 years ago

Eric Hwang

9.5

Even better than the 2006. Worthy of the praise. — 13 years ago

Beau Carufel

Winemaker/Owner Random Wine Company

9.3

Incredibly gluggable wine, and I mean that as high praise. This is one of the coolest, most interesting Oregon Pinots I've had lately. Bright red fruits, rhubab, white pepper, and zingy acid. Outstanding. Pure. — 13 years ago