Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

A small, family-owned winery, owned by Antony Beck a native South African wine producer who began Angela Estate in 2006. Antony created the winery as a celebration of his wife, Angela and their five children. Made with estate fruit, aromas of fruit, floral & spice. Juice flavors of raspberry and strawberry with licorice and spicy pepper notes. Fine tannins on lingering finish ending with bits of cacao. Give this a few more in the cellar. — 7 years ago

Reece Schulte

10

This was surprisingly good for a $9.99 bottle of "red." Great way to start thing off or close them down with friends, no head ache and the price, bouquet and after taste check all the boxes. — 8 years ago

Richard Steinberg

9.3

Celebrating my father in law as he finished his battle with pancreatic cancer. Sometimes there is the right wine at the right place with the right people. Even let the almost adult children on the action. Great celebration. This wine was feminine and full of black/ blue fruit. Thank you Merrill for your passion You exceeded expectations and delivered. From magnum. — 9 years ago

Jack Cranley, Backroads Wine Club & Cascadia Premium Wines

9.6

Absolutely terrific wine. Bound to uplift even the most doomy-gloomy mood. As such, it pairs well with political discourse and the prospect of "President Trump." Go ahead, drink those sorrows away. You deserve it.

Beautiful, shimmering golden color. I believe it's actually already deepening with age. (2012 vintage consumed in mid-2016)

On the nose, apricot fruit and unrefined honey dominate but is accompanied with a menagerie of rare and precious aromatics. The result is a feeling of having something truly exotic in your glass. This is a world-class wine for which there could never be any argument over its worthiness. You will be taken by this wine and there's really no way to over-hype it and set the expectation bar too high because this wine will meet it every time.

As we dig in deeper past the obvious top notes, we discover a treasure chest filled with persimmon, sandalwood, white flower, and vanilla bean.

Upon first entry in the mouth you are met with a zippy liveliness but then that melts gently across your palate to really give you a fine, pervasive coating that excites the taste buds in every corner of your mouth. This is a POWERHOUSE of assertive flavor. This wine will stage a veritable coup d'etat upon your complacent palate. There will be an ouster of your resident ennui. No incumbent sense of boredom will be safe from this wave of populist essence. There will be a complete and total transition of power in the halls of your mind's parliament leading to a peaceful but efficacious revolution. With your personal Congress in shambles, this fresh new confederacy shall draft a Constitution that will usher in a new era of utopian cooperation and transcendental civic euphoria!

Sorry, maybe for a little carried away there. For reals though. Drink this wine when you're feeling down and feel the BURN! Well, not really - because the alcohol is really well-integrated. ;) — 9 years ago

Regina Tochterman

9.3

One of my favorite zins. Local winery in Sacramento. You'd enjoy it. Nicely complemented my salad greens topped with goat cheese. — 10 years ago

Jason Wysong

9.6

A delicate, hearty blend of Sangiovese, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. The wine has a nice balance of cherry and spice with a pleasant cedar bouquet. — 13 years ago

Carol Bresnahan

9.5

I loved this! Celebrating homecoming of out of town children. — 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

Mitchell Mulder

9.0

002 in the series, very similar to 001, tropical and citrus notes, hopped with New Zealand hops, very little malt backbone, just enough to support the hops, very easy drinking, enjoyable IPA, little on thin side because of the low ABV, only real grip, is again to similar to the one before this 001 — 9 years ago

Gae Saccoccio - NdC

9.0

Podere San Donatino (Castellina in Chianti) was bought in 1971 by Léo Ferré the great French poet and singer, now there's his wife Maria Cristina Diaz with their children to manage the winery. Spontaneous fermentations, wild yeasts, prolonged maceration - about three weeks - though the wines stay “sur lie” for several months. This Chianti Classico Poggio ai Mori is aged only in stainless steel while the Riserva does age in older wood. It's a 100% of a nitty-gritty sangiovese, edibles almost, nourishing even to the nose; mellow and sincere just a perfect pairing with some peasant but refined bread and salami (pane e salame), quietly singing "Les Anarchistes" facing the Tuscan sunset among you, the always empty glass and the Chaos out of the universe. — 9 years ago

Bill Dennison

9.1

This is a nice brew. Full with a hint of sweetness at the beginning. A good ale for nights at the pub. — 10 years ago

Marcy Roth

9.4

Proceeds of this wine go to children with "Communication Blocks" (disorders)Winemaking donated by the great Aaron Pott.
— 10 years ago

Katey Harrison

9.4

Loved this. One of my favorites from Club W — 13 years ago

Martin Mills

9.2

Well it's a bit cheeky to give your own wines a perfect score (see the other reviews) but this is stupendous stuff. Loosely knit and full of crunchy fruit and savoury herbaceous notes, it's a splendid example of the New Zealand quality revolution. They're not giving it away at the lcbo ($52) but this would easily be $20+ more if it had a California label and exponentially more if it was from burgundy, which tasted blind you might suspect. — 8 years ago

Thomas Brenner

8.9

Like the 1920s Yekaterinburg ballet portraying an airy, gravity-free choreography, while unsupressably bound by the tethers of the Bolshevik revolution. Yearning to soar, yet their ascension be grounded by relentless snowstorms, breezing across the tarmac upon which your vessel must remain.
Tastes like buttered toast with honeyed apricot jam displayed on a woolen table cloth. — 9 years ago

Richard Steinberg

9.8

Celebrating my father in law as he finished his battle with pancreatic cancer. Sometimes there is the right wine at the right place with the right people. Even let the almost adult children on the action. Great celebration. This wine was feminine and full of black/ blue fruit. Thank you Lou for your passion You exceeded expectations and delivered. From magnum. — 9 years ago

James Muntz

9.2

We closed on our 2nd and hopefully "long-term" raise our our children house today - so we celebrate. This wine is a strong effort in spades! Brilliant purple hue. A punch to the noise out of the gates. A taste of mixed berries that won't quit. Not overly oaky which I appreciate. Probably has the stuffing to go a few more years at least. — 9 years ago

garry post

9.0

With Jose and Rob. My dinner of children in pesto sauce.

Musty, mushrooms, spicy, barnyard, grass, smokey, stone fruits.

Blueberries.

Talking about mindfulness, gay ski week... — 9 years ago

Brandon Sharp

9.0

Pleasantly maderized with a bit of caramel apple and toasted marshmallow. The fine perlage just manages to muffle the din of three small children. — 10 years ago

Laura S

9.7

Smooth with lots of flavor. Fantastic porter. — 10 years ago