Ryan Vento

9.2

In my experience gifting wine in the corporate world is quite common. Fortunately for me one of our managing directors at the office knows I’m “the wine guy” so, whenever I see her name pop up on my caller-ID, I know I’ve got a bottle coming my way. Sure enough a client sent her this beautiful Chardonnay from Domaine Serene and boy, I’m really liking it. Bright minerality, lemon custard, lemon meringue, sugary fondant, saline, tangerine, caramelized sugar and a whiff of smoke. Pretty mouthfeel with a nice viscosity that gives it some heft, yet there’s a good amount of balance here that exudes a youthful, eager poise bent on growth. — 6 years ago

with Krystal

Al Shikoh

9.2

Medium lemon yellow. Subtle nose with notes of lemon, Golden Delicious apple, and pear with hints of honeysuckle. Medium body on the palate with minerality and refreshing acidity. Made from a blend of fruit from multiple SRH vineyards including 40% Rita’s Crown, 30% Bent Rock, 16% Clos Pepe, 10% Zotovich, and 4% Kessler-Haak aged 13 months in 15-20% new French oak. 14.2% ABV. — 7 years ago

M. Christopher Roebuck

9.0

Still opening...

Red to orange to yellow to clear lip. Unfined with sediment mixed in (clearly I disturbed her). Some initial strawberry on the nose, then anise, and mild petroleum. Strong green olives on the palate, any taster would immediately identify this note. Going to hold for a bit before pronouncing judgement...

1 hour in.... Olives have bent towards muddled mushrooms. Better...

So I certainly respect this wine, but there really isn't a lot to hang my hat on. The fruit is pretty much dead. The olives wouldn't relent overall. It remains savory. So this could possibly pair with a soft mild cheese (brie), or on the other side of dinner with something not too sweet (cheesecake), but I'm stretching. I guess , in
my opinion I would surmise that it is past peak.

90+ points — 7 years ago

Peter Wassam

9.2

Fantastic example of winemaking the right way. Of a natural bent but none of the bullshit that goes along with it. Clean and beautiful ripe fruit- pomegranate, red cherry, raspberry, violet. Also some crushed rock and damp dirt. High acid into a soft bed of tannins this got it going on. Also a steal, better than some village Msd at twice the price — 8 years ago

Roman Sukley

9.9

2005 Sine Qua Non “The Petition” white blend. 15.8% alcohol. “If All Else Fails.” The perfect day in Chicago. It's a still life water color, of a now late afternoon, as the sun shines through the curtained lace, and shadows wash the room. And we sit and drink our SQN (as Simon & Garfunkel & Sukley might say). Gorgeous yellow gold hues paint the glass. Brioche and buttered popcorn on the nose. Buttered burnt toast and petroleum along with stone fruits and waxy apricot on the palate. A viscous and unctuous masterpiece. Lingering finish. Good Lord I love these SQN whites! What else compares? I can’t think of another white I decant for several hours. 12 years young and evolving. I need to stockpile these wines. People drink em way too young. I sincerely believe his whites will rival Manfred’s reds in longevity. My favorites: The Bride, Twisted & Bent, The Hussy, Rien Ne Va Plus, HooDoo Man, Pearl Clutcher, and whatever comes next. The best of the best. — 8 years ago

Rajiv Ayyangar

10

This is a knockout wine, a stunner, a pitch-perfect expression of love for wine in general, and Loire Cab Franc in particular. It's wild in all the right places, and impressively refined where it counts.
Medium ruby color. Arresting and straight-up delicious nose that has a certain choreography to it. Specifically it reminds me of Jiří Kylián - finding freedom within a melange of classicism and visceral impetus. Exuberance in wine is rare enough, but exuberance with such focus and intention?
The classicist bent was my first impression - a correct nose of stewed bell peppers and coffee grounds (pyrazines), earthy dog fur with slight clove (brett), and a savory blackberry-cherry fruit compote.
Tasted blind, you would guess Loire, but you might wonder at the shifting nature, at how occasionally the bretty flavors rear up in a flourish, only to be overshadowed a second later by a warm, pure fruit. There is something haunting about the fruit here - it seems to contain memories of many different wines. The wildness is complex - dried leaves, dog fur, toasted mushroom, spiced clove, moist earth. The pyrazinic aromas have uncommon depth and character - stewed bell pepper, coffee, and nascent tobacco.
On the palate, the wine dances with an elegant 12.6% alcohol frame, vibrant acidity, and satiny tannins - the medium on which the finish is printed. There is a moment, mid-palate, where the individual components come together seamlessly - a strong argument for structural-aromatic integration in the Clark Smithian sense. On the finish, the flavors subtly unravel, then persist like a vocal ensemble with synchronized vibrato.
Get this. — 8 years ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.3

Raisin, plum, apricot, mushroom and damp leaves. Stunning — 6 years ago

David Kline

9.0

Another day of powering through the stash to make room for baby stuffs! Luckily just an 8.3 abv. version of this big turkey. Gulp. Apple-cherry in bourbon compote/mincemeat pie plus Old fashioned/new fangled with a delicious root beer streak and rich vanilla aura softening a coriander prickle. Orange peel and fresh pear bent on being brandy. Coffee candies swim in bourbon syrup, over cooked chocolate pie, and pecan pie under cream. Vanilla throughout. Pleasant enough to softly pull your guard down and adumbrate an evening in warm robes of holiday evocations. — 6 years ago

Anjli Paul

10

No 1 Bent st. Perfect for deapak and 1 — 7 years ago

Ryan Merkley

9.3

Gorgeous. Funky. Mind bent. — 8 years ago

Andrew Holod

National Sales Grapes of Spain

9.1

Family is home, but this solo dinner of arugula pets and baby potato pizza and Carignan, is spot on. Deep purple, slightly elevated (VA? Hints) aromas of mulberry, bramble fruits and distinct leathery old world bent. High-ish acid. — 8 years ago

Robert Torretti

8.9

Interesting Oregon Pinot Noir. Light, bright red color and a very clean appearance. Tried it at room temperature and then chilled it. Stood up well to the chill. Nose has a classic bent to it with some earth. Fruits on nose include strawberry, cherry, and maybe some melon or honeydew. Palate of strawberry jam. Clearly made with neutral oak. High acidity in its youth. Note that earlier vintages seem to have lower alcohol (11% or less). The 2015 is 12.68% (gotta love the precision). — 8 years ago

Esther Garcia

10

Amber, orange hue. Complex, creamy texture with quince notes. — 8 years ago

Kete

9.0

Veel lichter dan je gewent bent van rapatel. Maar doet zeker niet onder. Klein aards onder toontje — 9 years ago

David Coun

9.1

Delicious nebbiolo w natural bent. Just a hint of funk to make it stand out. Accompanied dinner at Alto Paradiso perfectly — 6 years ago

Levi Glenn

9.0

A Sancerre-ish style Sauv Blanc. Like the acid driven, mineral bent. Good but not great. Nevertheless refreshing. — 6 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.3

2017 Frank Family Vineyards ‘Carneros’ Pinot Noir ($50.00)- Winemaker Todd Graff has crafted another beautiful wine with this new release Pinot Noir. The wine starts off with good range from orange rind to black tea to black cherry and cola accents on the nose. There is a beautiful texture to this wine that unveils rose water, red cherry candy, pomegranate seed and blood orange flavors. Delicious now, this has a slightly hedonistic bent that makes it nearly impossible to put down right now. This will continue to evolve for the next decade or more. Drink 2019-2029- 93 — 7 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.5

90° at 7pm calls for more Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
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Cloudy Bay was founded in 1985 by David Hohnen of Margaret River’s Cape Mentelle along with its first winemaker, Kevin Judd, who would go on to spend 25 years there before creating his own label, Greywacke. Judd is widely considered as the pioneer responsible for elevating New Zealand wine to its current status. Judd also happens to be one of the best wine photographers in the world (I highly recommend his ‘The Landscape of New Zealand Wine’).
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According to Master of Wine Bob Campbell “the genesis for Greywacke Wild Sauvignon was Cloudy Bay Te Koko; a funky, barrel-fermented sauvignon blanc that bent all the rules when it was made in 1992 and initially sold only through the cellar door. Greywacke Wild Sauvignon is a blend from 10 different Marlborough vineyards which are machine-harvested at night. After pressing the juice is settled before being pumped into mostly old barrels and fermented using indigenous yeasts (about 15-20 different strains). The wine undergoes a partial malolactic fermentation and lees stirring.”
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Incredible aromatics... an almost vibrant herbaceousness... red bell pepper, grapefruit zest, tangerine, apricot, and cucumber, with a silky smooth mouthfeel unlike most Sauvignon Blancs. Extraordinary. — 7 years ago

Aaron Means

9.7

THE. BEST. DOMESTIC. CHARD!!!!!! Yes, yes, yes. I'm blown away. This is the best domestic chard I've ever drank. This particular vintage is killer. I could poor this in a lineup of top notch Meursault and none would be the wiser, that's how good this is. Intense smoke/funk brought on by minerality that most domestic producers could only dream of. A legendary wine in my book. @June's All Day, Austin TX — 8 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.5

The force is strong with this one. Gravity defying ethereality relative to the immense density of flavor and a mouthfeel that pushes 1,000 thread count. Opens with a wild fruit arrangement of cherry, strawberry, and raspberry that comes through in perfect harmony, followed by grilled tangerine peel and baking spices with an earthy bent. The background is filled with a menagerie of orchard fruit, wildflowers, faint smoke, black tea, and rose hip. The balance and weightlessness are a deceptive precursor to the echo of a noticeably lengthy finish. — 8 years ago