Shay A

9.5

I double decanted this for about an hour then consumed from bottle over the next three.

I’ve had most of the Saxum offerings, but I don’t think I’ve had Broken Stones before, yet it’s just absolutely killer like every other Saxum I’ve had. Deeply purple/black in the glass with aromatics of roasted blueberries and blackberries that are then dipped in dark chocolate, alongside smoked meat. I never know how else to describe it, but certain high quality Paso Rhône style blends have this airy/weightless-jammy flair to them, which I love…definitely present here. Coiled up at first but as the evening moved on, the layers kept unfolding with notes of charcoal, spiced dark fruits, cherry jerky. Perfect balance of acidity & tannin.

Best in 2-3yrs, but quite enjoyable with 3-4hrs of air now. — 3 years ago

Tom Garland

9.5

1.5 hour decant(decent chunky cloudy sediment). An imposing inky purplish garnet color. On the nose: A beautifully expressive nose with sweet blackberry, currant, anise, smoke, floral, chocolate creme brulee. Taste: Wow! Had to buckle my seat belt...elegant , rich wine with dark cherry, spice, charcoal, earthy, leading to a cocoa cedar Dry long finish. Firm tannnis.....this powerful (15% alc) still coiled wine wants 3-4 more years to start showing its best and a better score to come!!! Cheers! — 4 years ago

with Brenda

Severn Goodwin

9.2

Kicking into a long weekend to celebrate our Country 🇺🇲 and those who have worked to give me the freedom to enjoy this beautiful wine.

Nose has under-ripe peach, lime peel, limestone paste, lemon pith and faint, green herbs.

Palate has day old cut lemon, warmed peach, wet limestone, dried lemon pith, minor tart acidity with a medium finish.

I still think this bottle is looking for more development. Our last check-in was two years ago, doing well then, about the same tonight.

(Note to future self, decant for 2-3h, the wine is coiled, better with air/patience.)

24 Hour Update: Adding a warmed lemon trait on the nose and palate, but palate picks up a pleasing light sweetness on the finish today. Improvement. — 5 years ago

Johnno Harris

9.5

What a beauty! Really in the zone right now. Rich black fruits and savoury spice. Opulent and generous but still tightly coiled with plenty of length. In a nice window now with another 5-10 years ahead of it. 🍷👌🏽 — 6 years ago

Alan Weinberg

9.2

Super tight Corton Charlemagne with a menthol note, packed and coiled like a spring. Great density. Clean fine fruit. Great stuff. — 7 years ago

Robert Rothfield

9.5

Classic Prichard Hill intensity, densely coiled...will improve with additional cellar time — 7 years ago

Alan Weinberg

9.3

an annual purchase over the past decade, there is occasional premox and common price increases, but it is a premier cru that always performs at grand cru level. This bottle is packed, full of citrus and acid, tightly coiled and so promising, such a graceful elegant wine. It’s a 30 year wine that’s just a baby now. — 4 years ago

Michael Greene

9.3

Really delicious village chambolle. Love this flavor profile. Superb aromatics - super lifted and fresh. Good core of red fruit - a bit tightly coiled. Sour cherry finish. Very very elegant for a hot vintage. — 4 years ago

Aravind A

9.6

Benchmarking. Decanted for 6 hours in a wide-bottom decanter. In reality, opened this for Saturday (it is Thursday). On the nose: off the bat, perhaps doesn't have the intensity of the 15, but a coiled density, very much its own vintage...rose petals, leaves, wild strawberry, soft mulberry and pomegranate. By the way, the color is amazing for a Thomas: a dense magenta. On the palate: fantastic acidity, then soft stem notes, black raspberry, wild strawberry, excellent density, then sour cherry and soft finely grained tannin on the finish. Wow..perhaps not as immediately enticing as the 15, but undoubtedly one of my favorite early showings since at least '12. We'll see how this develops over the next few days. — 4 years ago

with Peter

Jan de Weerd

9.2

Nice ripe dark fruit with a dusty edge. Very enjoyable with bbq beef ribs! — 5 years ago

with RoAnne and Tammy

Big Wave Dave

8.9

Very tightly coiled. Most complex and backward of the lineup but also the one with the most promise. Not drinking yet. Still very closed. Wait 5+ yrs. At cellar door. — 6 years ago

with Rocket and Racquel

Conrad Green

9.2

Lovely deep fruit. Very intense and coiled steel with buckets of minerality and drive. There’s a whiff of stewed apple here. I see premox on the horizon, but this is fun now. Should be better in 5 years but certainly not this bottle. — 7 years ago

with Howard, Walker and 2 others

Matt

9.5

Tremendous depth, laced with golden tree fruits, intense fruit balanced by complex and heady savory notes; verbena, aloe, cool herbs and white flower petals, wax and white tea. Edgy and coiled acidity at play here, WOTN for me — 7 years ago

Jan de Weerd

9.3

Rich red fruit with great depth and well integrated spicy tannins. — 4 years ago

with Tammy

LM Segal

9.7

Despite a 2+ hr decant this was a coiled titanium spring. Shy nose gave only wafts of schist (full of schist?), and led the palate with steely black fruit. I watched Zach Snyder’s Justice League last night. This Musigny is Superman’s new black suit. Power and force. Timeless. Impenetrable. Awesome. Don’t touch this for at least 10 years. 🙏 my friend! — 4 years ago

Benno

9.2

Tightly coiled with plenty of power this will need time. It’s quite brooding and muscular with slightly chewy tannins and an iron and tar palette right now. Will be great in 2030. — 5 years ago

Matt

9.9

Superb! Smashing bottle of Cristal. Rich with incredible tension and purity, embodies class and elegance. Leads with a gorgeous mixture of fruit and autolytic notes; fresh baked brioche, tangerine marmalade, lemon and orange curd, nougat, spun sugar, toasted hazelnuts, red currants, spring honey, fine layer of fragrant exotic fruit pineapple or quince. Beneath the complexity really gains with the chalky tones really driving the nose and plate. Crushed and damp chalk, struck stones, the slightest edge of sweet herbs and smoke. The subtle spice and floral elements add dimension. Structurally I fine it hard to describe because the acidity has so much momentum but there is sufficient impact and depth to suggest that it is a rich wine. Overall it is supremely elegant and still holding onto its coiled and youthful state. Great potential but the pedigree is there to admire now. — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.6

A few wines from last week’s 4th Friday event!

The sheer opulence of this is astounding. Obviously young, this was actually my first Realm BTK courtesy of @Keith Fisher . When thinking back to the last stunning 2016 BTK I had (MacDonald), where the MacDonald is more dusty, slightly more herbal and full of tightly coiled BTK power, this was an embarrassment of rich dark fruits, baking spices and sporting a creme de cassis like profile. Classic To Kalon power, with so much to unpack. Thank you, Keith! — 5 years ago

Conrad Green

9.1

A tight nose of green apple, steel. Still coiled and almost painfully sharp. Limestone, white flowers. Very bright in the midpalate. A bit soon for this and not sure it’ll have the flesh to balance the acidity in the long run. Some serious material here — 7 years ago

Matt

9.0

Seamless and appears to have potential but struck me as coiled up, almost shut down. Complexity is there but just needs resolve, really want to revisit! — 7 years ago