Delectable Wine

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9.2

(all neutral French oak) Limpid yellow. Mineral- and lees-tinged citrus and orchard fruit aromas show very good clarity and hints of honeysuckle and sweet butter. Displays deeper pit fruit character on the palate, offering juicy, smoke-accented nectarine, pear nectar and Meyer lemon flavors that show depth as well as strong tension. The mineral quality comes back on a very long, juicy finish that echoes the Meyer lemon and mineral notes. In the context of top-drawer, Burgundy-inspired New World Chardonnay, this bottling delivers uncanny value. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, Feb 2018)
— 7 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

In the context of its value, this is a blockbuster Pinot Noir and quintessential of what Brian Loring does. I'm in agreement with Josh Raynolds take of "...red fruit preserves, incense, minerals and wisteria. Stains the palate with intense raspberry liqueur and floral pastille flavors..." That said, Allen Meadows does well in pointing out the "...lower register aromas of plum, dark berries and earth nuances." I will add that this has "pop" or "verve" or "tension" that puts all these flavors on blast. — 8 years ago

Daragh Hoey

9.3

Re-rating because I had this one at a tasting and sometimes you can lose context at tastings. This is superb. Biodynamic sparkling Malvasia. Rocky and cloudy and zinging. It's balanced, though. The acid and the minerality respect each other. The fruit - fuzzy pears and quince - is there but not too forward. — 9 years ago

Amy Yan

9.1

Picked this wine not having much context than the region producing nice reds. Did not regret my house as it went well with Hudson Valley water buffalo — 9 years ago

Tommy Fogarty

Owner Thomas Fogarty Winery

8.9

Tasting this alongside Thomas Fogarty Santa Cruz Mountain Chardonnay 2013 to test the importance of context. It turns out that tasting White Burgundy IN Burgundy is pretty cool. This Burg is a nice wine, but it's probably not gonna bring you to tears. Generously sulfured, but after about 20 minutes it's not noticeable. Pretty serious little wine. — 9 years ago

with Marshal

Yoon Ha

Master Sommelier/Wine Director Benu

9.5

The only flaw here was that this wine was tasted along with a '88 cros parantoux. Context, context, context. — 10 years ago

Jason Heller

Master Sommelier

9.0

This is showing really great. Even in context of actual Rioja. — 10 years ago

Rajiv Ayyangar

9.3

1995. Medium garnet in the glass, this had a beautiful nose of sweet tobacco, brown liquorice in the sun, light tones of stewed savory bell pepper, concentrated notes of black raspberry liqueur, and an underlying tamari savoriness (very light, not at the level that I get on Musar). It’s the next day and I’m still getting flashbacks.
In the mouth it felt a bit short. Medium body, medium alcohol, medium acid, definitely plusher than Leoville Barton (both due to youth and probably because this is Right Bank / merlot based vs. Left Bank / cab based). Think a light fur coat. The finish is mostly acid and tannins though. Mostly I smelled this.

LM and BD shared their experience and put this wine into context: This is a solid example but will get better in 5-10 years. Still a bit young to their taste.

Score: Between 9 and 9.5. Despite the promise of improving with age, I was so stoked on this that I will probably drink my other bottle soon-ish. As in tonight. As in I might be drinking it right now.

Vineyard: 80% merlot, 18% cab franc, 2% cab — 10 years ago

Jean-Marc Troadec

9.2

Black fruit and some gamey leather on the nose. On the palate I'm getting black cherry, some black pepper and a briary aspect. Nice balance of acids and tannins. Medium-light bodied, this is pretty big wine on a such a small frame. It's interesting to experience Mourvèdre in a different context than Provence/southern Rhone... EDIT: This is getting better and better with time in the decanter—at this point I'd have to say it's a killer deal for this much wine! — 10 years ago

Saman Hosseini

Writer Maison Abattoir

8.9

Massive. Basically the Macalllan 12 of chardonay; it might as well have been aged in sherry casks. Liquid apple cobbler/piñappple upside down cake. impressive in its own context. — 11 years ago

JKT

9.2

CVed 1/14/17 burg. Number five. Good complex nose of fruits and minerals and earth forest floor. Medium body with complex and balanced palate of fruits and acids and minerals with bite and texture. Long finish that's actually delicious.
Again CVed 1/16/18. A mini vertical of '02-'03-'05. In context of the others it is much more robust with very firm texture. That bite. Needs more time. Indeed the vintage. — 7 years ago

Mike R

9.3

Thank you @Shay Aldriedge for this trade - really great fruit bomb - finish is growing - color lighter than I expected but real deep down honest to God freaking off the hook taste - first time and will not be my last one - and man I can fly (wrong context) - I can smile — 8 years ago

Dale Sparks

Founder 220 Imports

9.3

So amazing in the context of California. Outstanding — 9 years ago

Christophe Hedges

9.3

Its all about life guys. Context is everything. This is very contextual. — 9 years ago

Christof Ellinghaus

9.0

2010 - great finesse but seemed out of place in the context of the other two much funkier wines we had there — 9 years ago

Martin Frowde

9.2

An amazingly smooth and quaffable red which the gaucho sommelier encouraged our table of c. 8 to drink. I have no doubt that the context of an imperial bottle aided maturity but top notch drinkability regardless — 10 years ago

Nolen L

9.4

2003v. Enjoyable overripe, dried, black currant, prune, and cocoa overtones. Big, as expected, though balanced in the context of Banyuls. Paired VERY well with dark chocolate. — 10 years ago

S Shaw

9.1

Exceptional estate green red blend....not inexpensive enough for everyday but will hold up to most good Zins in context. — 10 years ago

Kevin Russell

9.8

Context is everything. Eating dope pizza with my love and my brother. 2012 from magnum. Bright meets bitter. Slight CO2 fizz. Grazie Jan D'Amore. — 10 years ago

with Jen

Jon Fine

9.1

really dug this at the end of a long boozy day of epic eating. but so austere and zingy I wonder if it'd be a bit much in any other context. — 11 years ago

Lindsey King

9.2

I've had this before, I'll probably have it again. Maybe it's context (it always is) but I liked this way more this round. I'm going out on a limb here and calling "huckleberry" but honestly what is a huckleberry do I even know? I'll eat one today and report back. — 7 years ago

David Kline

9.2

What a lovely extra brut rosé of 100% Nebbiolo! Really nice to experience it in a singular context, away from its sister wines of such pedigree and substance that they cause her to become an afterthought. She is an amazing rosé extra brut with mineralogy for meters and miles and a tinge of signature Nebbiolo citrus upon a strawberry seed bed. With a smoky note to the bluing descent into a rain puddle of gravure. Charcoal lines connoting the breadth of an ageless arboreal apparition. #Nebbiolo #italiansparkling #extrabrut #piedmont #bubbles #spumantizzata #spumante #cascinachicco #rosealldamnday #roseseasonneverends #piemonte — 8 years ago

with Courtney

Neal Dessouky

9.5

Beautiful especially in context of vintage. Very elegant and complex. Showed a touch of heat but otherwise gorgeous. — 9 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Dampt made killer 13's. Just nailed the vintage. Minerals, seashells, apple skins, on the nose. Lively rich texture, but nice acidity, soft but present and works so well within the context of the vintage. Really elegant with lovely minerality. A great drink on a humid day. — 9 years ago

Andrea Phillips

9.5

Prepare yourself, this complex red has a 15% alcohol context! Fruit forward, medium bodied, complex and chocolatey. — 9 years ago

Richard Steinberg

9.1

This unfortunately followed the 2010 VHR in our blind tasting. It was elegant and rich but didn't hold up to the previous wine. The rating is in the context of the tasting and may have scored higher if drank alone. — 9 years ago

with David, Jeffrey and 3 others

JohnQ Boxler

Sales Berkeley Wine Company

9.0

Blessedly under 14 degrees. Lovely blend of Morello cherry, sousbois, iron, dusty tannins, fresh acid, restrained wood. Served with dry-aged ribeye Florentine, canellini, salad of local lettuces. Did what Chianti should: wash down food, give idea of terroir (not ambition). Fresh and lively. Re-buy with conviction. Very good within context, good value, indeed. — 10 years ago

JohnQ Boxler

Sales Berkeley Wine Company

9.5

Yellow-fruited, mineral verging on saline, palate-staining, forward within the context of Jobard (open at this stage). Damn good. Re-buy! — 10 years ago

Melissa Sorongon

Co-Owner of Piedrasassi winery, Provignage winemaking consulting company

8.9

Very good and firing strong on typicity, but for some reason I'm not inhaling this as I have other vintages/cuvées from this producer. Will have to try again. Could be bottle variation, could be mood/context, could be the wine. This is the 2011 st Joseph Syrah. — 10 years ago

Sean Smith

9.6

Context counts — 11 years ago