ESF

9.2

@Lyle Fass thank you for this wine! Big, authentic intoxicating Medoc nose immediately upon opening w/Bing cherry, cassis, boysenberry and raspberry beautifully integrated with savory, bay leaf, mossy tree bark, mushroom, sweet damp Earth and vein of minerality. Seductive inky & opaque, mid to heavyweight, fluid luxurious mid palate with solid tannic structure clenching tightly on finish. Strutted w/roasted leg of lamb. Long life ahead - bump for QPR — 4 years ago

Tom Garland

9.5

1.5 hour decant (lots of fine cloudy sediment)...really needs a 2 hour decant for the nose and taste to open up. A phenomenal deep dark garnet color..little signs of aging. Buckle your seat belts..the wine was fresh, full body with great structure. On the nose: floral, pine tree, cedar, dark fruit, currents. Taste: Big chocolate, dark cherry, tobacco with a touch of tannic bite on a smoky pencil lead long finish. — 5 years ago

with Brenda

Hayden B. Oothout

9.2

Wow. This might be the best 100% PV that I have had. Big bold and fruit forward. Inky dark as you would expect petit Verdot to be. On the nose there is oak and licorice, with a faint hint of black currant. It is complex on the palette, vanilla infused cocoa with licorice and black currant, nice tannic backbone to structure the wine. This is a great wine. Only 5 barrels produced. — 6 years ago

Michael Seely

9.2

2012 Stone Tree. Very emblematic of a good Malbec. Big full mouth, time to still evolve without wanting. — 6 years ago

with Jeff and Joe

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

On the nose, deep, dark cherries, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, dry cranberries, some blue fruits with baked strawberries on the edges. Black licorice, cinnamon, vanilla, clove, dark spices, smoke, softer leather, dry stems, dry rich soil and fresh & withering flowers.

The body is much fuller than the 14. The fruits are also darker. The tannins are big, firm but nice rounded. dark cherries, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, dry cranberries, creamy raspberries come on as it opens open and coats the palate, some blue fruits with baked strawberries on the palate edges. Black licorice, cinnamon, vanilla, clove, caramel, dark & milk chocolate dark spices, mint, expresso roast, tobacco, cedar, smoke, softer leather, dry stems, dry rich soil, tarry notes, crushed rocks and fresh & withering flowers. The structure, tension are more like 13 vintage. The length & balance is beautiful but, will take time to flush out. The finish is big, rich, elegant, glorious and lasts minutes.

Their Winemaker is Aaron Potts. Small production wine, under 500 cases.

Photos of; the several ton Artwork stones that they use as their logo & brand. The seven stone pieces are held together by gravity. Human relaxing art piece on the grounds, painting in the winery and the view from the Estate. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.8

Wow. This comes from Chris's estate outside his house. It's all dry farmed. Extremely low yields. It's entire yield is only 8 barrels. The fruit is so concentrated. Featured in the photos is; Chris and my wife Sofia, grapes from the property and his olive trees on his estate. His olive trees only yield one 375ml bottle per tree. This 09 is easy to drink but it's a still a baby...easily a 30 year plus wine. Words cannot describe the nuances in this wine. The elegant beauty & beast. It's mouthfeel so big and still so inviting. Luring you in layer by layer. It's starts with baked blue fruits, dark cassis, blackberries, blueberries, black cherries, black plums, layers of asian spice, spice-box, tarry notes. The tannins big yet silky. Slightly bitty but beautiful minerals from the clay, schist, quartz, and loamy top soils. The finish so good but my thoughts drifted to think about how good it's going to be in 10 more years. Chris tells me he has to spray the vines 4-6 times a year with an organic seaweed spray to hold down the acidity. I can't wait to try this wine at 20 years of age. I'm sure it will be close to a religious experience. As many great tastings that I've done, it's hard not to say this one is in the top three. Thank you Chris for sharing your time, knowledge and these amazing wines. It was an honor! — 8 years ago

TheSkip

9.1

A pleasant surprise!

So, I went in on the LastBottle mystery 6 pack of reds. The first was the Pinot I posted the other week. I elected to open this which seemed vaguely familiar. Once I looked it up, it became evident why.

Moderate deep purple in the glass with longish legs. Baking spice and sweet oak on the nose. Almost like drinking blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream. Clearly this was slightly over oaked. It wasn't terribly complex but for the price at around $20, I was still fairly impressed.

I went to look this up and turns out that this is the big brother to the Edge brand of wine. Hence the familiarity with the label. Lots of folks commented that it wasn't bad for $15-20.

I check wine searcher. No 2012! Just 2011 and earlier at $15 price point. Then 2013 at $50?! 😱 I saw Parker gave the 2013 a 90-92, but unless I missed something, that seems egregious.

As least the LastBottle mystery case is 2/2! — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

So, many of you have not had the pleasure of having Dan’s wines. It is largely due to the fact he doesn’t have a US importer. He sells all his mid production level wines through his mailing list. That makes importing from his mailing list as restrictive as the import fees. They are equal to the price of the wines you order. Not something you’ll do. I didn’t. You need to find his wines on the secondary market to be cost effective.

We had the privilege of visiting his Cellar Door in the Spring of 2017. What a fantastic visit and walk of his Estate with him. The age of his Estate vines are 100 plus years old and their yield is less than a ton per acre which, does not make for a lot of wine but, instead a very concentrated wine.

Dan traveled to and worked in many of the key wine regions before settling in as Torbreck’s Winemaker and then marching to his own drum doing his own thing as “The Standish”, his way. No compromises.

The first thing you need to know about Dan’s wines is you can drink them early but, that would be a huge mistake. This 03 is sensational now but, is worthy of more cellaring. It has 10-20 years of life ahead of it...proper storage of course.

This is a second night wine for us and it is still big.

The nose reveals smokey; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum skin, black cherries, blueberries, mulberries/boysenberries, baked/poached strawberries & some raspberries, sweet tarriness, dark berry cola, black pepper, steeped tea, eucalyptus, mint, tree bark with sap, herbaceous, dry crushed rocks, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, moist, forest floor with dry leaves with withering; dark, red, purple flowers framed in violets & strong lavender.

The body is full, round, lush & ruby. The tannins are still big, round, tarry & meaty. The structure, tension, length & balance are just there & yet still not there. It is still a monster on day two. Smokey; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum skin, black cherries, blueberries, mulberries/boysenberries, baked/poached strawberries & some raspberries, sweet tarriness, grilled meats, dark berry cola, black pepper, steeped tea, eucalyptus, mint, tree bark with sap, herbaceous-sage & rosemary, used charcoal, graphite, dark spice with palate heat, burned ambers, incense, rubber toy, dry crushed rocks, moist clay & top soil, dry stone, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, moist, forest floor with dry leaves with withering; dark, red, purple flowers framed in violets & strong lavender. The acidity is round and a rushing river. The extremely long finish is, big, round, elegant, floral, well balanced, runs juicy to dry with persistence for days falling onto earthiness & dark spice on the long set.

Photos of, a plaque that hangs above my kitchen sink that speaks to me always, Dan Standish, his Cellar Door and surrounding buildings. — 4 years ago

Anthony Lombardi

9.0

Straightforward, tasty sparkling Chenin. Creamy texture for a sub $20 bottle with good acidity & complex yeasty flavors. Nose is a tad muted, but no big deal. Drank while listening to the brand new Cate Le Bon album which could end up as one of the best releases of 2019. — 6 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Insanity on the nose. Just bonkers. Sickness. Huge spice. Huge I mean huge spice. Also super mineral and very pure. Confectionary cotton candy like aromas and tree bark. Also tea. Maybe hoisin as well. Mindblowing. Big palate and immense power but incredibly elegant. It has Grand Cru grip and intensity and it is considered the best wine at the estate. Better than Clos des Chenes. It is insanely powerful and stacked to the brim with bright fruit and mineral that has sap, and really stains the palate. I think in 2 hours this will be insane. It’s changing every minute. What a wine. — 6 years ago

Jeff D.

9.7

Just beautiful...big fan of Jennifer and this brand, full of life and a silky smooth finish! — 7 years ago

Craig Stanfield

9.4

Got this and a few other Harris Vineyard bottles through an auction at an event. Had never heard of this producer but it's pretty darn good. Cork was perfect for a 2010 and even looked brand new. Big rich Cabernet. Layered with a long finish. Even better with this air. Three hours in and it's singing — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I've been curious about this wine for some time. The original 05 Ausone review from Parker was revised and one would think it was at the request of the Chateau. Parker's 💯 point review started something like this...if you are over the age of 55, you'll want to decide if you want to buy this this wine. Largely, due to his call on it's years of drinkability; which was from 2055-80. Parker's review was mysteriously revised within two months of it's original review. Tonight, I Coravin-ed this tasting of the Chapelle D'Ausone. The 05 Chapelle D'Ausone is still very big & tight but starting it's journey into a decent drinking phase. The tannins are still chewy and dark. The fruits are; ruby blackberries, dark cherries, a mix of blue fruits, strawberries paint the back palate, dark & milk chocolate, caramel, Christmas cake, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, spice-box, black tea, a whiff of green bell peppers, irony minerals, loamy soils, tree bark, a touch of leather, lead pencil shavings, dry stems, dry stones & dark moist soil. The acidity is perfect. The structure, length, balance and tension flirt with glory. The finish runs ripe to dry fruit and the minerals are rich with a dark elegance that lasts and lasts. As good as this wine is tonight, I'll put this bottle back; which is 1 of a 6 pack and wait another 7-10 years to reopen it. Both of Ausone's 05 wines are meant for most collectors end of life or meant to be left for their children. — 8 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

After having a 97 I wanted to check out a promising young vintage. Stunning nose or cigar, ash, beautiful herbals, tree bark, grassy field, black currant, smells like 1940’s St. Estephe. Very foresty. Love it. Palate is fresh and energetic and so young. Really young. Needs 10+ years. At least. Big tannins. Good red and black cassis fruit but so young and unformed. It’s all there. — 4 years ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

8.9

@Tree Kilpatrick got it right. A bit on the big side but good. — 5 years ago

David G Brown

9.1

Fruit forward, nice structure, balanced acid on the back-end. — 6 years ago

Mark

9.2

Great value. Not too big. At Lake Winnepocket — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

If you want to impress a Somm with a bottle of wine, bring a Grand Cru Gamay. I hate using the term Beaujolais. It gives a lot of people the lesser impression of Beaujolais Nouveau which, equates to the impression left by Blue Nun in the 70’s/early 80’s and Yellow Tail in and around 2000.

This is one of my favorite producers of Gamay, a member of the “Gang of Four”; Lapierre, Thevenet, Foillard & Breton. There is a fifth honoree member to the “Gang of Four”, Yvon Metras, who I enjoy equally. If you want to finally appreciate this varietal, look for one of these producers from Morgan or Fleurie.

The nose reveals; dark cherries, blackberries, dark plum, stewed plum, baked strawberries, blueberry hues, spearmint, granitic minerals/soil, dark berry cola, thyme, rich forest floor, touch of cinnamon, very light caramel, dark chocolate, Indian spices, berry bubblegum, touch of band-aid, steeped fruit teas, limestone minerals, a whiff of black pepper, dark red, purple fresh flowers with shades of violets.

The body is full, rich and guides over the palate. It shows some tannins. The structure & tension are still big. The length and balance are at the beginnings of truly rounding into butterfly form. Still will benefit from 5 plus years in bottle. Bright red florals are far more pronounced on the palate. Ripe/bright; dark tart cherries, blackberries, dark plum, stewed plum, baked strawberries, half baked rhubarb with lovely blueberry hues, blood orange & dry raisins. Spearmint, tree sap, granitic minerals/soil pressed in to the palate, dark berry cola, orange peel, thyme, rich forest floor, touch of cinnamon, very light caramel, dark chocolate, Indian spices, berry bubblegum, touch of band-aid, steeped fruit teas, limestone minerals, hints of black pepper, dark red, purple fresh flowers with shades of violets. The acidity is like a warm summer rain shower. The long, rich, ripe, well balanced, elegant finish is nicely persistent for minutes.

12% ABV 👍

Photos of; Domaine Marcel Lapierre, Marcel Lapierre (may he RIP-2010), Marcel’s son and current Winemaker-Matheiu Lapierre and their Morgan Vineyard.
— 6 years ago

Shay A

9.6

Attending the Côtes du Coeur in Dallas. Was asked to be a brand ambassador for Montagu Wines, so I get to pour this weekend! Last night was the grand tasting...out of 18 or so wineries, two really stood out.

This was so freaking good. I know @Shawn R is a big fan of their stuff and this was my first time trying anything from Barnett (need to try their cab franc). This and the Macauley To Kalon were neck and neck for WOTN. Velvety in texture. Pure toasted oak, vanilla, black and blueberry pie. Superb balance. — 8 years ago

Justin Hart

9.6

Damn, this 2014 vintage is now my favorite WA state Zin, period! Yes, it's hot (16.9%), but Zin is usually hot. This is packed with big, jammy black fruit that eases into sweet leather and peppery notes. This is freaking great!! — 8 years ago

with Cherish