Severn G

9.2

Nose has juiced ripe cherries, wet cedar, roses, dry garden soil and faint strawberry jam.

Palate has bright cherry fruit, elderberry jelly, ripe cranberry, wet leather and faint tobacco notes. Great acidity and long finish.

Decanted 5H, this is in the zone now for sure.

Paired with a local whole chicken, 24H brine, Asian style spice rub, cooked on my grill rotisserie with apple wood chips smoking away for about 75m. Potatoes, onions and root vegetables in the roasting pan beneath to catch all the drippings. Crispy skin on the bird and good smoke flavor/penetration in the meat. A great reward for laboring away in the yard and garden all weekend. — 5 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Liked this so much, had to get another bottle. Almost all Merlot with about 5% Cab Franc, aromas of berry fruits with floral herb notes and earthy tones. On the palate blackberry and blueberry flavors with licorice and cedar notes. Fine ripe tannins, medium finish ending with toasty earthy notes and mineral character. Nice now but give it a few years. Good value for a wine that will reward with aging. — 8 years ago

Eric Waxman

9.3

Rich dark fruits on the noise. Long finish. I have found that the Peter Michael Pinots really reward aging. — 8 years ago

with Thelma

Vijay Parikh

9.5

With seven hours of air in the decanter the wine still felt quite primary! It is gorgeous though and will richly reward those willing to wait another ten years or more! — 9 years ago

Ash Sinclair

8.9

Takes a long time for the saline nose to blow off. A bit of VA in there also. That said, on the palate there's plenty of sour cherry, black plum and wet stone minerality. Tannins are surprisingly up front, yet not out of balance with the fruit. My advice is give it a soft decant, and it will reward you. At its price point it's worth the purchase — 9 years ago

with Megan

Jörgen Lindström Carlvik

Owner, Brix Wine Consultants

9.3

2013 vintage is clearly a winner here, offering gorgeous, floral aromas on the nose which flows into a palate filled with pure red cherries, chalky tannins and salivating acidity. Long, graceful and will reward patience. — 10 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Ruby with aromas of red fruits, floral and sweet spicy vanilla oak. On the palate flavors of raspberry, strawberry and currants with lavender and vanilla notes. Medium tannins with racy acidity, great mouthfeel on a medium finish. Drink now but a bit of bottle age will reward. — 5 years ago

Ron Siegel

10

Domaine Bizot lunch today hosted by their winemaker Thomas Berry. This is a producer who’s wines are virtually impossible to find. They have 9 plots with an average yearly production at 9000 btls. Whole cluster with some new oak, very small yields & small amounts of sulphur added. Their wines are lush & pure with no intervention showing purity of fruit, sweet spices along with floral notes. They are so delicious now you can drink them young but will reward long term cellaring. (Aka Liger Belair) — 6 years ago

Ron from VA

8.9

I love a “risk-reward” purchase....I bought this blind and was rewarded with real quality. Quite a nice single block build - a little PV AND MERLOT (about 10% total) from the steepest slope and highest point in the vineyard. With a month of hurricane rains this still has the concentration you would expect from a classic vintage. I can only wonder how this was solved in the cellar ;) Nevertheless, it had dynamite structure and acidity to complement a complete pallet black fruit and spices! — 8 years ago

Severn G

9.1

The nose throws me every time on this bottle, a little Burgundian with stemmy, grape seed notes, little oak influence, mild citrus. Buy this and hold for only a few years for a reward. Not your typical Napa style.

@David T saw your notes on this vintage, maybe consider a little more bottle age? I do consider this a pretty good value for CA, delivering the above notes for $35 and two years in our cellar. — 8 years ago

Yoon Ha

Master Sommelier/Wine Director Benu

9.5

New oak still dominant on the nose, but everything in place for a big reward ahead. — 9 years ago

Anne Christopher

9.0

From Bounty Hunter 0ct 2016 - enjoyed! — 10 years ago

Debbie Scrooby

10

Fruity yet not overly sweet. Underlying peaches, honey and citrus notes. — 10 years ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.2

This elegant, 100% Mencía bottling from the Raul Pérez ancestral home, displays highly perfumed cherry, floral and spice character, with velvety textures and an intriguing hint of gaminess. Delicious now, it will reward at least a few more years patience. $24.00 (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, January 2021) — 5 years ago

Vasanth Balakrishnan

8.9

Value #bordeaux that will reward the patient palate - Leather earthy aroma after it’s opened up, touch of cocoa and delicious acidity backed by soft tannins - decant for at least an hour. — 6 years ago

Jordan Wardlaw

9.1

Pure Sangiovese, again in a medium-weight and elegant style with minimal extraction. The most primary of the three Borghetto wines, showing pure red fruit and hints of toast. Tons of spice character, great intensity and freshness. Slightly malic fruit quality of tart cherry, pomegranate, licorice, anise, tobacco leaf. Slightly green tannins, bitter fruit pit and basalm coming through. Palate dominated by spice and bitter red fruit. Quite austere but still my favorite of this range for its nerve, intensity and future potential. Really needs 3-5 years in bottle, but should reward patience when the fruit comes together. — 8 years ago

Andy Thomson

9.0

With salmon. With Armos in Kiama — 8 years ago

with Cheryl

Carson

9.4

If Italian wines are my love then consider this little gem from the south of France to be a tryst. This wine is dusty, wild and uninhibited, packing an oh-so-sensual touch right out of the bottle. The robe, a delightfully deep crimson, is soon abandoned as it gives way to a softer and more supple hue that suggests more surprises are on the way. Light and musty on the tongue, the more you play with it the wilder it gets. The slower you take it, the flavors of licorice, currant, spice box, and pork fat on the finish reward your patience. Drink now, as this southern Rhone beauty is at peak maturity--just don't let your true love find out... — 9 years ago

Skip Smyser

9.4

After the week I've had I looked for a reward and found it in this marvelous marvelous red wine. Areal treat with lush fruit and lingering mid pallet flavors 🍷 — 9 years ago

Mike Kane

9.0

Post-hike reward. — 10 years ago