William Paley

9.4

New Year’s Eve leftovers forgotten (open) in the fridge after an epic night and a full day of napping. So after 36 hours it’s still pretty righteous amber bliss, a bitter edge with singular notes of butterscotch, anise, petrol, citrus rind, pine, and the faintest bit of untanned leather on the way way back....nice performance. very easy late morning armchair drinking. vendor says 2015 but the bottle is not marked. — 4 years ago

with Ron, Marisa and 1 other

Kristin the Wine Girl

8.9

Nose opening bright critic acid. Crisp, bright. Pure, but simple. — 5 years ago

Patricia Schnitzer

9.0

January 12, 2020. Tucson. This was TTW Wine of the month, Dec 2019. Brought to AZ for the holidays and to share with my favorite wine critic and fellow old world wine lover. We are, BTW left bank Bordeaux fans. In blind tasting my fav critic says “Tastes like a California wine.” We did, nonetheless, enjoy it. Not bad for a right bank imitation Bordeaux. Will still spend my money in the old world. Hope my cellar outlasts the tariffs...😬 — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I’ve had at least two cases of the 97 over the last eight years or more. Our friends Jeff & Hedy brought this bottle of 97 to dinner tonight. It’s the best bottle of this wine I’ve had. We drank our last bottle roughly two years ago. The wine continues to improve. Tonight it’s so lush, ruby, elegant with blue & dark & mid red fruits. Great balance of fruit & earth. So beautiful & easy to drink. The 97 vintage was one no one wanted to buy as it was critically panned. I have said this many times, “in every difficult vintage, there are always producers that make good wine.” In the case of the Potensac, it took 15+ years to fully spread its wings and it continues to improve with another 10 years left ahead. No critic would have told you in 98 & 99 when the initial reviews came out to buy this wine. Potensac is made by the same technical team as Leoville Las Cases. Always follow good producers, even in difficult years. K&L bought 5,000 cases of this wine 10+ years after the fact. They are Masters in Bordeaux wines for this kind of value. Clyde took the shipments in two blocks of 2500 cases and sold through them in about a year or less at $24.99 a bottle. It remains the bargain of a lifetime! @Shay A This is the wine you want to buy to keep you from opening your 09’s & 10’s too early. So delicious tonight!!! Photos of; Potensac, concrete tanks, fruit near harvest and their barrel room. — 7 years ago

Ryan Carey

Founder Wine Confidential

9.3

Pleasantly surprised by the 2013 Sequoia Grove Cabernet. I like this wine quite a bit more than the average critic score of ~91 pts. Not a typical in-you-face Napa cab, but an extremely well balanced wine that showcases what Napa is capable of - even at a reasonable price. Score: 93 points — 8 years ago

Ella Reider

9.1

Rich taste with deep fruity and smoky notes. Makes me want to smoke a cigar while reading a classic in my leather armchair — 9 years ago

E & K G

9.3

“Cherry liqueur” was how one critic put it, think RP. Pretty much verbalized what I was feeling. This has that liqueur like aroma and palate along with some spice and earthy notes as well. Starting to soften up but still feel a touch of “heat” and we really enjoyed it slightly chilled. — 5 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.5

What was your last critic rated “100pt” wine? This one, a huge Napa Cab, an atypical wine for me, but it was beautiful after a 4 hour decant. 15.5% alcohol, but you would never know it. Incredibly deep, layered and intensely flavored with marvelous texture and mouthfeel. Rich black and blue fruits, mocha, subtle hints of charcuterie and seamless oak integration with a 30 second finish. 💥 — 5 years ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.3

Wow. Label is totally gone so not sure what vintage this was... think 2009.

Aged beautifully for what it is. Just a big musty bouquet of gamey blackberry jam and old leather armchair and dusty books and earth and mushroom and roast lamb. A nice earthy ruby in the glass. On the palate, allspice and white pepper and delicate tannins and some subtle acidity. A little more acidity and concentration and it would have been magnificent; but still a very nice surprise.

Ah, the joys of a decent Chianti Classico ($20 originally I think) aged for 10 years. — 5 years ago

Doctor No

9.4

A great wine, still with some grip. Cherry liqueur with a bit of spice and a touch of old leather armchair and tobacco like a Victorian study. — 7 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.2

World's End is the Napa project of Jonathan Maltus. He's better known for his work on the Right Bank of Bordeaux as the owner of Château Teyssier and creating Le Dôme. The 2013 Against The Wind was sufficiently beaten up by more than one critic, but I was still surprised when I fished it out of a discount bin for $9... he's made a wine that Robert Parker scored 100... I think I'll take the risk... Juicy plum with blueberry are the focus, followed by some Hershey's cocoa powder and roasted red pepper, with some tertiary molasses and dried violet. — 8 years ago

Drink Organic

9.3

This wine holds a special place in my heart. Made by the 3 Momtazi sisters. I myself am 1 of 3 sisters! #Biodynamic Oregon Pinot, 100% estate fruit, featured in wine critic Eric Asimov’s NYT column several vintages in a row. Bright tart cherry core, silky smooth tannins, and sweet earth. Solid and soulful. — 8 years ago

Brian Maddux

9.0

classic. I have always like Clos du Val, while never a huge critic fav, to me I love the balance. Glad to have drank this 1997 on 12/25/15. — 9 years ago

Ceccherini Cristiano

9.2

Very good
I hadn't had the trebbiano from Pepe for a looong time and the feeling is still similar
It needs time to open up
When young the palate is better than the nose
It is long and enjoyable
What has changed in time is unfortunately the price and i wondered if that is due to the market or because it has been harder to source or work the grapes
I used to pay it less than 15 euros back in Italy and I understand that time flies, but here in Melbourne this is on the shelf for 140 dollars.
I thank @Giulio Bignozzi for sharing this with me, but I struggle to realise the dynamics about its pricing..or maybe I just don't want to.
For 30 or 40 euros I would be happy to buy and drink this, but for 140 dollars I would pick elsewhere perhaps
It is also a natural wine if I remember well and I reckon there should be a bit of ethic behind that too. Still a very good wine nonetheless, but i couldn't keep the critic for myself. — 5 years ago

Scott Soren

9.6

Critic driven triple 97pt scores. While still a baby, showing great. Two+hour decant left a massive nose of red berries. Full and rich, red and black cherry drive the palate. Some minerality and tight tannins will drive a long cellaring. I’ll wait for 3-5 years before coming back. — 5 years ago

Paul T HB

9.2

Its no Peter Michael, but not bad. Winery notes, Hunter region their home since 1960. Joss and Anna De Iuliis followed their family passion for wine and chose a property in the Lovedale Road region of the Lower Hunter Valley, converting a grazing property into a 20ha vineyard with the first vines planted in 1990. Australian wine critic James Halliday has been rating De Iuliis Wines a 5 star winery since 2010. The 2011 Aged Release sémillion is kept at the winery and aged in bottle for an additional seven years, allowing it to develop beeswax and honey characteristics while maintaining a fresh citrus palate. This is sémillion the way it is meant to be, without having to invest cellaring space. Only 250 cases produced.
You also might be interested in... click to collapse contents — 5 years ago

Chris Pham

10

refreshing, buttery, low acidity, smooth finish, crisp, light notes of critic fruits, favorite Chardonnay to date. — 8 years ago

Henrik Poulsen

9.2

Tasted blind I certainly enjoyed it but being a BIG fan of Blankiet I was still somewhat underwhelmed. Nothing screamed Napa (to me) here.

Tough to be critic of a 2nd label but...
Hopefully just my tastebuds being off here/now. — 8 years ago

with Kurt-Inge and Leo

Ross Vick

9.5

This dusty old dame was opened on a lark and was the Belle of the Ball. Fruit, velvet finish with grip on the end. A really fine and easy wine. Easily in my top 10 for the year so far. It has all of the complexity to satisfy the snobbiest wine critic and the simplicity to make a novice want to become an snob. — 8 years ago

Dave Harris

9.0

Solid IPA following a good symposium, but more importantly, a sighting of the American Mr. Creosote, who apparently is a Pittsburgian food critic. — 9 years ago