Bob McDonald

9.5

Similar notes from April 2020 when I last had it. A red fruited nose giving a lovely earthy perfume with Sous Bois influences. Loam, compost heap nose. Same red fruits on the medium weight palate with strawberry and a touch of raspberry. As Jasper Morris said in his book, Lavaux St Jacques is one of the cooler sites in Gevrey Chambertin. This is always the last Rousseau wine to be picked and enjoying a longer hang time. After a couple of hours, just a gorgeous nose. — 4 years ago

Aravind A

9.7

Pop and pour. Easy to like. On the nose: peach, lemon oil, lemon custard, citrus blossom, rounded out by lovely wet stone. On the palate, very elegant...amazing dry extract, with loads of lemon oil, great salinity, wet stone, but at the same time, I wouldn't call this weighty at all..it has wonderful elegance, very silky texture, and a very long finish. This is perhaps my favorite among the 2018 GGs from Wittmann, with perhaps only the Brunnenhauschen as competition. In my book, this is spectacular riesling. — 5 years ago

Bernard Mangold

9.1

Milk chocolate strawberries and cherries. Well rounded, smooth tannins, easy drinking with a side of lasagna. — 7 years ago

with Sarah

Shay A

9.2

A wonderful tasting put on by Classic Wine Storage featuring Long Shadows Winery. If you aren’t familiar with these wines, they are phenomenal WA state wines that are made by the likes of Randy Dunn, Phillipe Melka, Michel Rolland, John DuVall, and more.

Dominant Sangiovese with some cab and a splash of Syrah. Rich style sangio wine. Sweet oak, dirty cherries, herbs, and a high percentage/bitter dark chocolate. — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.2

1️⃣9️⃣6️⃣8️⃣

🗞 M.L.King 🔫, 747 ✈️, Apollo 8 orbits 🌓
🎵 What a wonderful 🌎, Hey Jude, Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay
🎥 2001, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Bullitt
🗣 Book 'em Dano
🌍 3.52B

£72 for a newly bottled 50yr old wine! One for oak lovers 😁

🍷 Garnet red w/ brick

👃Rich smokey oak, spiced peppered cherry, red berries, vanilla & earthy leather w/ meat & herbs

👄 Med body of ultra smooth creamy dark ripe cherry & cocoa covered prune w/ vanilla

🎯 Long dark cocoa cherry creamy oaky linger — 8 years ago

Julie Kang

9.3

1961. Wine older than me. Lots of cedar box and cigar. Tannin completely resolved. Lots of tertiary aromas and flavor. Can’t believe after all these years....still going strong. At Bern’s in Tampa. Page 85 of the 180 page wine list. More like a wine book. — 8 years ago

with Jin

M. Christopher Roebuck

9.5

Deep purple. Green bell pepper and eucalyptus nose. Muddled blackberry, anise, and white pepper. All of that carries over beautifully to the palate. Dry, medium minus acid, medium plus alcohol, tannins are medium and supple. After some time, I am also getting rare meat on the nose. This is a top 10 of 2020 for me. MELKA is one of the best in my book.

95 points — 5 years ago

Inseon Hwang

9.5

Hint of blueberry, very ripe red fruit. Old leather book. Satin finish. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

The nose is full of text book Cabernet descriptors like Bay Leaf, Geranium and Blackcurrant which follow through on the medium bodied palate with spicy berry flavours. Very very good QPR at $17.95 AUD per bottle. One of the 1001 wines surprisingly but I guess it’s a good thing that all the wines in that book don’t have to be expensive. — 6 years ago

Nancy Bernstein

9.1

Velvety smooth — 7 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.1

Has become one of my favorite Lambruscos so of course hard to find. Fine, fine persistence w mousse, bitter but toyingly so, like good dark chocolate. Dressner book. — 7 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.7

It’s usually a good sign when the winemaker can articulate what the wine is about like this: “Ceras is Botanica’s counterpoint. Its color is more purple than red. It is more about minerals and herbs than fruit and flowers. It is a focused and elegant distillation of rock rather than an opulent cascade of fruit. It is an expression of the geology that lays beneath our land, the tart blue fruits of the coast range and the tender herbs that one finds amongst the trees and mushrooms of the Northwest forest.”

Her 2013 Ceras is yet another example of Maggie Harrison’s sorcery over the vines at Antica Terra. The focus and intensity of flavor is off the charts, yet it maintains an almost ethereal weightlessness, only emphasizing the layer of silk that separates you from the wine. The pungent rock is so on point and distinctive it instantly reminded me of the scent of lichen growing on rocks, which I experienced in Colorado when I was 7 or 8 years old. This sets the stage for the level of complexity exhibited. The fruit has both an extraordinarily high level of purity and yet the woven tapestry of herbs and spices and even fruit blending are impossible not to notice. The key being that nothing is forced.

The nuance of complexity only being noticed when desired is nearly an impossible feat. I can’t help but recall James Conaway quoting Andy Beckstoffer in his recently released book: Napa at Last Light: America’s Eden in an Age of Calamity. “If a wine was a model with a chipped tooth, you’d have to give her something to compensate with. If she needs better shoulders, better breasts, give her some. But her real charm is in how she carries the defect.”

After reading his book, I can tell you I’m definitely not certain whether you can accept his quotes verbatim. One thing is certain, though, Maggie Harrison’s Antica Terra wines carry the defect like no other. — 8 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.3

Day five on the cruise and this night at Giovanni's Table, the Italian restaurant, aboard the Allure of the Seas. We decided to open up two South African beauties for this.

Deep ruby red with a slight garnet hue on the edges. Layered nose with dark cocoa, floral notes, dark berries and spices. Some classic 'South African' chalk as well. Medium plus tannins (6.5/10) and medium plus to full bodied. Dusty dark black cherries on the attack with some black currants, dark spices, a touch earthy, vanilla and some nutmeg. Seems quite restrained and reserved but well integrated as well. Dry and long finish. Drink till 2037.

Third time trying this limited bottling by De Toren Private Cellars with only 1,132 bottles produced in the 2013 vintage. This wine is made through the use of extreme winemaking techniques such as extreme cropping, extensive hand sorting, 200% new French oak for a total of 18 months and unfiltered. You are probably wondering how it can be 200%? This is done by aging the wine in 100% new French oak barrels for twelve months before transferring them to another set of 100% new French oak barrels for six additional months. — 8 years ago

with India and Sean

Jeroen Koenen

9.5

Wow! 😍
This is really outstanding.
Somehow, this wine shows a lot of Syrah/Mourvedre character. Black cherries, warm blackberry pie, grilled meat, cocoa nibs, Asian spice, damp earth, warm chestnuts... wonderful!
On the palate this has tremendous balance, soft tannines, gentle acidity, no overbearing Grenache-sweetness. Such a terrific mouthfeel. Clean, savoury, not rustic at all.
Superb, and exactly how I like my grenache dominant Red Rhone-blends, which are a bit of a hit and miss in my book...
Completely agree with Jeb’s/TWA score.
Insane QPR, as well.
— 5 years ago

Scott C

Founder / Co-director SR Wine imports

9.1

Stunning , from an Urban winery . Beautifully made . Whole bunch straight to Burgundian barrels for 7 months . Long citrus finish acid !! — 5 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

9.0

A fun way to meet Jean Charles and his new book Alchemy of the Senses. Bright and bubbly. — 7 years ago

Robert McCall

9.2

Well scented bouquet of cedar, dark cherry/berry, anise. Mouth coating powdery tannin grip followed by dark cherry, licorice. I would give another 2-3 years and revisit. Could be a stunner when it levels out. Solid merlot that delivers as usual. — 7 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

9.2

Opened tight, but blossomed into a lovely cab, with Big bing cherry, hints of brown sugar. — 7 years ago

James Forsyth

9.7

Seventy years have passed since this wine was made. It is hard to imagine how the winemakers of the day could have focused on things like pump-overs when their country had just been through hell and back. But I'm glad they could and did because this wine is delicious. Shadows of red fruit upon layers of black tea, vanilla and pine. This was a very rare treat indeed. — 8 years ago

with Eric

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Over 30 years ago, Jack Cakebread came to photograph Napa for a book & bought a vineyard, Cakebread Cellars was born. I always liked Cakebread’s wine offerings, Chardonnay is no exception, consistent quality year/year. This was an early harvest showing aromas of green fruits, citrus & honey scents. On the palate complex flavors of apple, melon & lemon zest, balanced with good acidity & great mouthfeel. Lingering finish ending with sweet mineral spice. Nice now but a few years in cellar will benefit. — 8 years ago