Akiva Leeder

9.5

Light - a bit of funk with savory strawberry. 12.7% very chillable — 9 years ago

Shay A

9.3

This wine is a great example of Napa cab, especially from Rutherford. This is dark fruit, stain the glass purple, slow moving legs and lovely earthy notes on the tongue. Dusted cocoa leaves, too. Decanted about two hours and was prime. At $60'ish/bottle, this wine gives their reserve a battle for best wine. A new favorite under the $75/bottle price point. — 9 years ago

Richard Steinberg

9.8

Celebrating my father in law as he finished his battle with pancreatic cancer. Sometimes there is the right wine at the right place with the right people. Even let the almost adult children on the action. Great celebration. This wine was feminine and full of black/ blue fruit. Thank you Lou for your passion You exceeded expectations and delivered. From magnum. — 9 years ago

Dade Thieriot

9.6

It seems everyone in #Burgundy is fighting the premox problem and #MarcelEnte appears to be winning the battle as this marvelous magnum attests--classic fleshy #Meursault with just enough oak influence to give it a seductive complexity that seems to be enhanced by the #magnum bottle format--drinkable now but has loads of aging potential! #closdesambres #2011 — 10 years ago

Scott Taddeo

9.1

Mixed berry fruits, hint of spice & even a slight pastry note; reminds me somewhat of baked blueberry pie. Florals notes provide some lift and in the palate it feels so pure and vibrant. A real joy to drink — 10 years ago

Kyle Altomare

Assistant Winemaker at Artesa Vineyards & Winery

9.2

There is an epic battle being fought on my tongue and I love every minute of it! — 10 years ago

with Hardy

Illo Streimann

9.6

Soft strawberry and current blend - Cab sav (53%), Shiraz (41%) and petit Verdot (6%). Easily drinkable. Certified organic wine. — 12 years ago

Jonathan Wall

9.0

Bought for a bargain in Hong Kong as the wine shop told me that no one likes it. Well, yes, if you are not a Bordeaux in HK it's already an uphill battle... But on initial pour this is hardly drinkable. Overly vegetal, a little hot, pucker finish. But having had M vintages back to the '80s I knew to wait. By the 2nd night there was only a hint of the disaster left and everything smoothed out to a relatively elegant wine for an M. Behaved into day 3. While it was a bargain and will likely improve with age, 2009 still seems to be a miss, and I would gladly pay more for a better year of Mayacamas ('88, '96, '10 etc). — 9 years ago

Joe Lucca

9.3

Old world style from California central coast. The nose is redolent of Luxardo cherries and Antica Formula vermouth. On the palate, there is a battle between fruit and earth; deep, earthy forest flavors are offset by bright, tart spring cherries. Coastal botanicals play against wild fruit. Better than expected. — 9 years ago

Erich Broksas

Early Mountain Vineyards

9.3

Perfect for Game of Thrones in the battle for Winterfel. Rustic and full of character. — 9 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

9.1

Dense, rich, powerful stuff. Tannins are chewy and long. A battle horse of a wine. — 10 years ago

Andrés Solís Lira

9.5

Controversial French winemaker Louis-Antoine Luyt delivers a #pais wine from 100+ year-old vines from Cauquenes in the Maule Valley. Funky and reduced after uncorked, a much-needed aeration (in a water jug, mind you) brought to life a juicy, tense and extremely refreshing wine. The liquid was totally opaque, bringing a new meaning to the words "unfiltered & unfined". I remember a couple of years ago having a heated debate with another Frenchman who was making a documentary about Luyt who told me how wines like this battle against the homogenisation of flavours. Not for everyone. You can find it with Louis/Dressner if in the USA. — 10 years ago

Christopher Losa

Owner/Wine Director Bar Bambino

9.3

Clearly a battle of Gamay on this Thanksgiving. The Lapierre lovely as always. — 11 years ago

Mindful(l) Of Wine

Owner The Source, Vance Wine Selections

9.7

It was a battle royale in Saumur. All of these Chenins were great but both Guiberteau wines shined brighter than Rougeard.. Totally different styles for sure. The Rougeard was definitely a beautiful and unique wine. — 12 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.3

Tasted side by side with the 2013 Lineage. Tough battle but bottle age has definitely helped this bottling. Mix of deep garnet and ruby red. Straight from opening there were lots of savory elements mixed in with red and black berries. Some floral notes too like roses. As it opened up over the two hour period there was petroleum, dark cocoa and cinnamon. Over the evening, additional notes of dark ripe fruits and even more spices, even slightly savory ones. So balanced for how young this is. Started out with heavy tannins (8/10) but mellowed and rounded out to a solid moderate tannins (6.5/10) over the two and a half hour decant. Rounded medium plus body that will develop further with time. Started off with some darker cherries and light greenery with a bit of leather. Even a bit of spices. Great acidity giving this strong backbone and a semi-dry long finish. This will be singing given another five years and drink will over the next twelve. Tons of potential and very surprised by this caliber of wine coming out of Livermore Valley. Great job Steven! — 9 years ago

with Sean and India

Richard Steinberg

9.3

Celebrating my father in law as he finished his battle with pancreatic cancer. Sometimes there is the right wine at the right place with the right people. Even let the almost adult children on the action. Great celebration. This wine was feminine and full of black/ blue fruit. Thank you Merrill for your passion You exceeded expectations and delivered. From magnum. — 9 years ago

Ira Schwartz

9.3

This was the GG and it was all about intensity. A battle royal between acid and fruit. As it sat in the glass all of the wine's components at one point in time took center stage and strutted its stuff. A true smack down. — 10 years ago

Emily Kresie-Harrington

8.9

Good typicity. Dried cranberry, red currant, red plum, dried rose, violets, organic and inorganic earth, moderate level of VA, normal for the style. Bridge between modern and old style. Paired well with a debate concerning the carrying capacity of European vs African swallows, ascertaining the guilt of a witch, and a near-fatal battle with a bloodthirsty rabbit :) — 10 years ago

Elise Luce

9.3

Savoury, soft and perfumed, good balance, love what they're doing with it. — 11 years ago

Marc Checket

8.9

Hey, you like wine? Cool. Me too. You should try this one. It's delightfully smooth up front and ever so slightly spicy & dry towards the end. It's like if Benedict Cumberbatch and Sofia
Vergara had a rap battle officiated by Marlon Brando (as Don Vito) about the origins of the California wine industry and you had a front row seat. Yeah. — 11 years ago

with Brian