Shay A

8.9

Wednesday Wine Committee hosted by Dan. 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds and 1 dessert wine. Tasted blind as usual.

Seemed over the hill to me. Little bit of burnt rubber on the nose, which took me to South African Cabernet or Chinon. Not much acidity. Good bit of pepper. Old black cherry. Not sure how common this is for the vintage. — 6 years ago

with Jeff and Dan

David L

9.2

15’ Montagne Russe Silver and Gold Chardonnay. Holy mother. This is a beast of a wine.
Butterscotch, Banana foster👍, apricots.
Creamy finish with flavors such as caramelized peaches and custard. This wine is not everyone. If you enjoy Rombauer Club Selection Chardonnay $65 .
Bingo you’re a winner. — 7 years ago

"Odedi"

8.9

Dark ruby in color with a brick rim and medium intensity.

On the nose, cherries, black currants, vanilla, licorice, cloves, spices, chocolates, peppercorn, coffee, earth, leather and wet leaves.

Medium bodied with medium acidity and nice legs.

Dry on the palate with raspberries, strawberries, cherries, earth, cloves, forest floor, spices and peppercorn.

Medium finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cranberries.

This 11 year old Israeli Syrah is over the hill now, but still enjoyable by itself or with food. Not balanced anymore, but showing nice complexity.

This Single Vineyard Syrah was good right out of the bottle and died down pretty quickly.

100% Syrah grapes Aged for 18 months in French oak barrels and bottled unfiltered.

14.8% alcohol by volume. — 7 years ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.5

Global warming at its finest a German Cab! Light and fresh. A Burgundian style Cab if that exists! 😎. Ridiculously intense black currant aromatics. AMAZING. 🌈. — 8 years ago

Mark Silverman

8.9

Deep, full & bold. Lots of fruit but not sweet. Cherry, raspberry, black pepper, coffee & vanilla notes with subtle barrel tannins. Well worth the price if you like up front wines. Meant for cool weather, accompanying well seasoned meats or any hearty meal. — 9 years ago

Joyce Lin

9.2

Cooked Apple, sea spray, gold color, dry, a bit salty, olive, medium plus body, they age the wine in bottle for 20 yr before releasing, a food wine, — 9 years ago

"Odedi"

9.1

Here is another great wine from Israel.

Inky in color with a deep purple rim.

Great nose of smoke, blackberries, blueberries, plums, cherries, earth, oak, cloves, licorice, mint, cocoa and black pepper.

Dry and fruity on the palate with cherries, blueberries, plums, oak, vanilla, licorice, chocolate and black pepper.

Long finish with soft tannins, peppercorn and bitter almonds.

This is a great blend of 66% Petite Syrah, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Syrah.
Enjoyed it by itself, but would be great with a big hearty steak.

Very young, still, and needs five years to fully mature, maybe even longer, but already enjoyable. To me, this was the best one, so far, out of this winery that I tried.

Aged for 16 months in American and French oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume. — 9 years ago

Randy

9.1

Smooth & delicious chilled sake. Great value — 9 years ago

Andrew

9.1

This is a new wine to hit my local liquor store shelf and not going to lie the label sold me on it. Aromas of blackberry and plum. Medium to full body, soft, smooth and sweet. Black fruit, pepper and cocoa. Good length. — 10 years ago

Fernando Fernandez

9.3

Smoky, Spicy and Earthy. Rich and Creamy with plenty of fruit mostly black cherry and blackberry. Lighter notes of vanilla from the barrel program but in wine in good balance. Nice hold and great paring with the Tuna Tartare dish. — 11 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

From the Willi’s Wine Bar list. Light straw gold. Heavy, more weight and depth when compared with the Meursault Exudes young Chablis with sea breeze and salinity, honeysuckle, wet clay and white flowers in the nose. Rich and heavy in the mouth. Shows power and complexity with air. Needs time. But this is pretty good juice. — 6 years ago

Brett Francis

9.3

This was the stand out of the night’s wines. It was elegant and easy to drink, but very interesting and well balanced. It was great with the Porterhouse Steak we had and had its own flavors of smoked meat, black pepper, and umami a bit on the nose. — 7 years ago

Michelle Connely

9.0

Consumed 12/2017. Full rich flavors of berry, Cassis and black cherry with hints of vanilla in the background. Aging with French oak adds complexity and depth, resulting in a high-quality Cabernet with great value. For me, this wine has to breath for a couple of hours before I like it. — 7 years ago

Eric Grasser

9.0

Young and chewy at the moment. One hour of air shows violets on the nose with black and bing cherry, granite, sea salt and a pop of grenadine in the mouth. — 8 years ago

Shawn R

9.5

Wild game and violets on the nose. Supple mouthfeel as it glides across the palate-minerals, spiced candied fruits, cardamom and black cherry fill the entire palate. Smoke and cassis round out the long and layered finish. Decanted for an hour, drinking well! — 8 years ago

Mark Lindzy

9.5

Single parcel very old vine field blend, rocky volcanic cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. Black cherries tossed in volcanic ash, white pepper and smoked sea salt. 600ish bottles produced. #nospitting — 9 years ago

Austin Blackwell

9.3

This is showing really well now. Nice aromas of aromatic balsam wood, dried flowers, black currant, dark cherry, and a little mocha. Not too fruit forward but just right. Good acidity with very well integrated tannins and a medium plus body for a Pinot. Very long finish I wish I had another bottle😕 — 9 years ago

Robert Szulc

8.9

Full of fruit low acidity on finish. Tannins medium and pleasant — 9 years ago

Paco Suro

9.2

Muy grande! Needs more time. Concentrated. Black fruit. — 9 years ago

with Zac, Amy and 1 other

Jocholla

9.0

Really good Bordeaux style red blend for the price. Oak and cherry aroma. I could do without the gold wiring though. — 11 years ago

Austin Blackwell

9.7

Black Cherry, clove, woodsy earthy notes. Lush and balanced — 12 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

What a really nice Rosé Champange from Drappier and an extraordinary value at Costco at $39.99. I’m not giving up my Billecart Salmon Rosé but, this is pretty close to Ruinart. At this price point, it’s being well added to rotation.

The nose reveals, ripe; black cherries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, watermelon and orange rind citrus. Fruit blossoms, pink rose petals, nice, soft chalkiness, sea spray, sea shells, volcanic minerals and a touch of white spice.

The palate is fresh & lively. Nice micro bubbles. It’s thick and rich. The fruits are ripe and deeply concentrated. Ripe; black cherries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, watermelon, orange rind citrus, nice, soft chalkiness, sea spray, sea shells, strong presence of gritty volcanic minerals that press deeply into the palate, a fair amount of dark spice on the palate with fruit blossoms, pink & red rose petals. The acidity is really good...lively. The long, rich, beautiful, well balanced finish persists several minutes.

Photos of, the Champagne House of Drappier, wide & really chalky caves, different oak vats they use for fermentation and one of Drapper’s Grand Cru vineyards. — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

NYE =‘s Krug Rosé. I can’t say I completely agree with what the Krug fireplace mantel suggests, but it’s certainly very delicately delicious and will put a guaranteed smile on your face! The mouthfeel is entirely feminine. The micro bubbles are unmistakable Krug and made with great precision. Fruits of; black raspberries, black cherry, cherries, watermelon mid way to the rhine, strawberries & understated citrus notes with pink grapefruit dominating the blend. The fruits are so restrained but are perfectly styled on the leaner side yet so ripe, juicy and delicious. There’s brioche but it comes fresh from the best of Parisian bakeries. Sea spray, minerality that is so soft & delicate, it’s hard to call it minerality. Krug Rosé reveals the very best, smooth, silky, velvety chalkiness that can be found on this planet. Pink roses/florals for days. Perfect acidity and a glorious, long, rich, beautiful finish that doesn’t end. If you enjoy wines that show pure elegance, perfect finesse and haven’t had Krug Rosé, treat yourself to a bottle or a split. The split may leave you wanting more. However, I can’t think of a better wine/way to celebrate the current year and bring in the next. Happy New Year all! May 2018 be peaceful, successful and spent with your family, best friends, prodigious wines and excellent food pairings! — 7 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

From the wine list at Mr Wong in Sydney. Popped and poured. Lt straw color with a gold tinge. Sea breeze, wet river stone, shucked oysters. Some slight hints of honey. Light on its feet at first but with air this has a sneaky richness that grows and grows. Would love to see what this is like in 5-10 years. — 8 years ago

Ken Schmidt

9.0

2013. Fruity. Has dry finish. Drier as it opens up. John Frame might like this but not a company wine. Wine 3 of 3 from my first wine club shipment. Marin nicknames this "Naughty". Yikes, this is one of three bottles that are 2013 Cabernet Sauvignons but with different nicknames and labels! (1) "French Kiss", red and black label; (2) "Intimate", gold and black label; (3) "Naughty", red and gray label. Maybe his website explains the difference. — 8 years ago

Richard Lewis

9.5

Black raspberry and a touch of cocoa on the finish, light bodied. Forest floor on the nose - I could smell this wine for hours. Don't mind me. — 9 years ago

with Lynne

Mason McDavid

8.9

God rum. Not a big rum drinker. — 9 years ago

with Jordan, Jack and 3 others

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

One of the best California Cabernets, including all the Cult Cabs. It is pure elegance even at this still young age. It most certainly will only get better over the the next five to eight years. The hardest part is waiting as it's so good now. Blackberries, blueberries, blueberries and blueberries. Black plum, raspberries paint the background, liquid violets, milk chocolate, it's juicy to dry, underbrush, herbs, dry crush rocks, just a touch of baking spices, sweet leather and dry soft minerals. Smooooth! The fruit is perfect. Chuck really knows how to farm fruit and the exact time to reel it in. He is one of the most underrated Winemakers in CA. — 9 years ago

Nikolay Dimitrov

9.7

Bulgarian grape brandy from Muscat grape. Amazing! — 10 years ago

Charlotte Martyn

8.9

Goes well with Stilton, very dry, smooth and fruity with tannins. — 11 years ago