Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Sour cherry, sweet cherry, all mid season, what a nose. Spice, licorice, so wafting, almost like a perfume, what a palate, depth of fruit, dry but serious tannins. So juicy, acids off the chain, dense, long finish, toothsome, amazing. Spectacular, long. — 5 years ago

Ron R

9.3

This is the Aubert chard at the lower end of the food chain, but it leaves no clues in that regard. It’s multi-dimensional, and each dimension is well crafted. Notes of apple crumble and lemon curd swirl in the glass. This has a medium to full body mouthfeel, with a plush texture. Sweet mid-palate, but finishes with a hint of salinity. Very cool. — 5 years ago

with Anne-marie

Karen Tripson

8.9

The nicest part of a late afternoon meal in a chain restaurant in Lyons shopping district. — 7 years ago

Rebecca Hopkins

PR Folio Fine Wine Partners

9.7

1999 vintage. deep brick red fading to pale brick rim. Wet charcoal wet graphite with textured layers of savory spice and black fruit. Tannin profile terrific with long chain polymer tannins. Milk chocolate cocoa milky tannins leading to a silky finish. Still youthful and vibrant. — 7 years ago

Ryan Mullins

9.6

Dangling of the chain — 7 years ago

UGAWineDawg

9.5

Man oh man, this was da bomb - part of the wine pairing this evening at Per SE and Sean killed it - smooth as butter and paired well with the venison - I'm looking this bad boy up and looking down a dose of this fine mamma jamma.
Spice, blackberry, dark fruits and smooth cassis - unbelievable nose and the finish was what you would expect in an off the chain fine California Cab — 7 years ago

Francesca Tornambe

10

This is smooth, full of flavor and just wonderful to drink with or without a meat and cheese board. The price is fantastic too! — 8 years ago

David Kline

9.3

Classic cucumbers, lychee, pear, cold smoke, lime pith, light guava core. On the palate, soft on entry, but dragging a desert dry backbone over diatomaceous sands on a steely chain, til orange-lime citrus twists to lemon that jumps from the glass with a nano dusting of white pepper. — 5 years ago

Paul J

9.4

Very nice. Available from the Keg restaurant chain and at the winery — 6 years ago

Lindsey King

9.2

Your friend comes back from Hawaii and they bring you a lava rock which they’re not supposed to because it’s bad, bad, very bad luck but you always had a thing for risking the superstitious odds and not sending along chain emails, so you’re into this bad luck rock. They also bring you a lei with less flowers than you’ve seen on leis at the dollar store but you put it on and crack your best pseudo smile for them because dammit they love you and they did what they could, short of bringing you on their romantic vacation. Honestly if they did bring you, you know you’d get into one of your “moods” and not only would you be a hard third wheel, you’d also be named the pity party hostess of the year. Cherries, ash, dried flowers, tannic structure like a good skipping stone. — 6 years ago

samuel

10

Incredible wine. A beautiful mellow honey taste with a clean crisp finish at the end. Incredible. — 7 years ago

Matt D

9.4

Had the 2014 was great — 7 years ago

Benjamin Hickey

9.4

Tannins selection program wine. Long chain tannins, extremely subtle tannins but lots of power and concentration behind them. — 7 years ago

Ryan Mullins

9.6

Dangling of the fucking chain! Damn! — 8 years ago

Rob Pendell

9.0

Wonderful soft palate with notes of plum and blackberry. Some cherry on the front end with a hint of asphalt. Full mouthful of peach and grapefruit with undertones of almond, tobacco, pine, licorice, cardamom, red velvet, turmeric, oatmeal, cayenne, newspaper, Oreos, bicycle chain, chitlins, camembert, burnt umber, huckleberry, Ripple, plain yogurt, lemongrass, kohlrabe, anise, eggplant, kohlrabi, everything bagel, paczki, aspartame, caramel, coconut, latte, beef carpaccio, pine nuts, Wonder Bread, calamari, watermelon radish Jolly Rancher, aglet, sawdust, gnocchi and red grape. Finish is definitely Bruno Kirby. Pretty complex. — 5 years ago

David Brown

9.0

This is for Chain Reaction 31. This blend is Mourvedre, Grenache, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Cab.
Nice table blend. Easy to drink with fruit forward flavors. Pairs well with a variety of foods. Always a great blend and we stock up when possible. — 6 years ago

LM Segal

9.4

Superb and early-drinking Cab, made in a more Bordeaux style than I recall from previous examples. Pencil lead and sweet fruit on a dry and seamless-smooth core of black and blue fruit, asian spice, loamy earth. Benefitted from 30 min decant. Roka Akor is a chain asian steakhouse, the real deal if you haven’t tried! — 6 years ago

Mark Cheek

9.1

Pretty delicious. Nice bit of sweetness on the front end but not overwhelming. — 7 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.5

Exceptional balance. Rich, but so fresh. Pears, orange, flowers, lemon curd, cream, brioche, nut. Long, powerful palate, underlined by a driving acidity.

Some thoughts: In my eyes, RMs tend to fall into "extreme" categories e.g. Laherte - austere, Egly - rich (lees), Agrapart - rich (oak), Selosse - oxidative; but this wine doesn't fit here. NM-like, but not (I think of Chartogne-Taillet when I say this). Compare to Krug's Grand Cuvee, the Grands Vintages is definitely richer and broader (fair comparison, given how both wines are constructed).

From Chain Bridge Cellars:
As the name suggests, Eric Rodez’s Grand Vintages is a rich, powerful and very much “grand” wine in the tradition of Krug (where Eric learned his craft). This year's release is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay from seven great vintages going back to vintage 2000. Eric ages all of these base wines in used oak and blocks malolactic fermentation to maximize freshness and vibrancy. Then the carefully crafted blend spends 8 full years on the lees before being disgorged this October. The dosage is ultra-low - 2 or 3 g/l - so this could be labeled "Extra Brut," but there's so much richness and depth here that "Brut" seems more appropriate to Eric.

Past releases have earned plenty of critical praise, including 17.5/20 points from Jancis Robinson, 93 from Vinous, and 92 from Wine Advocate. This year’s release is explosive on the nose and palate, pumping out big notes of lemon curd, caramel, toasted nuts, baking bread, crushed chalk, and more. The flavors just balloon out to fill your entire palate and finish with layer upon layer of mouthwatering pie crust, lemon curd, hazelnut, crushed stone and salty caramel flavor. Try holding some for even more richness! — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Pale Ruby. Amazing intensity on nose and palate for such a pale coloured wine. Sweet AND Savoury with mushroom and Beetroot notes. Loved this wine - delicious and different with a nod to Burgundy. Philip Murphy is the son of Dan Murphy whose name is famous for being the largest wine retailer in Australia. The liquor chain is owned by Woolworths, Dan died in 2001 and Philip went off with his inheritance after many court battles never having cordial relationships with Dan who was 83 when he died. — 8 years ago