William Paley

9.7

Grapes from hell. Off-dry, acid dab, rock-lick, gorgeous texture. This sh1t is on point! The struggle for life as depicted by a painter - makes you weep with incredulousness. Sugar-frosted bandaids and plantain-skin visions on the second day, if you can get there. Royal leanings. Sun-stroked skin. Impeccable scale. Dig it. — 5 years ago

with Jess

Chris Shultz

8.9

I’ve had a few bottles of this. It’s $12-14, first of all. The first night it comes off as a pretty basic bistro wine. Good acid, small tannins with some tack, straight up blackberry, very juicy. The next day the fruit turns more to ripe sour cherry and violets explode in the nose, it gets really perfumed. There is a perfect roasted green pepper note (which I happen to love) and Lots of spice on the finish the second day. — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy Spring! It’s one of our favorite points in the year. More; daylight, a little warmer in CA and everything starts to bloom which, means a long summer of gardening and being outdoors every day/night is not far off.

Since it was such a great day and basically most Californians are shut-Ins, the voluntary self quarantining was getting to me. I did the landscaping and got an afternoon of fresh air today. A breath of fresh air...ahhh! Wow, was it needed after Gavin’s Newsom’s estimate of 25.5 million Californians would be infected with Coronavirus over 8 weeks yesterday.

So, a good night to celebrate another day of being virus free with my 2nd favorite N/V Rosé Champagne.

All my numerous previous notes apply.

Stay safe everyone and remember the new terminology of the new decade...social distancing! Cheers! 🍾🥂

Photos of; Spring in our backyard & a Billecart Grand Cru Vineyard.

— 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

Happy Valentines Day!

If you have not looked for this wine on WineSearcher.com or other, you should. Dan Standish has no American Importer. However, you can mail order off his list. Good luck with the Australian/United States import costs. Very prohibited.

Most quality Barossa wines take 15 years in bottle to show their ultimate beauty. Dan’s wines are no different. His Estate vines are 100 years old and produce 500 pounds of fruit per acre...very concentrated. Contrast that to extremely expensive & high quality Napa fruit, those Napa producers are at 2,000-2,500 pounds per acre.

We visited Standish in April 2017. We found Dan to be extremely talented & definitely marches to his own drum. He is salt of the earth and has traveled & worked in many of the world wine regions honing his craft and landing as Torbreck’s Winemaker in Barossa before starting, “The Standish Wine Company.”

As good as the 04 is tonight, it has 15 years of good life ahead...properly stored of course.

The nose is very intoxicating. It is a nice blend of purple, black & blue fruits. Mulberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, black plums, plums, blackberries, dark cherries, deeply extracted raspberries, some baked strawberries, black licorice to anise, dark fruit cola, black olive skin, medium dark spice, black pepper, charcoal, graphite, dry tobacco & underbrush, some bay leaf, alluvial soils, grey volcanic minerals/limestone with fresh & only slightly withering, purple, dark, blue florals framed in violets & lavender.

The body is full, rich, ripe, lush and creamy on the palate after a two-hour plus decant. The structure, tension, length and balance are a little short of its peak and will hold there for 5-8 years. It’s a glorious glide on the palate. The fruits are ripe & lightly baked. Mulberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, black plums, plums, blackberries, dark cherries, deeply extracted raspberries, some baked strawberries, cherry kirsch, red & black licorice to anise, dark fruit cola, black olive skin, the dark spices are heavier on the palate & bring just the right amount of heat, sweet, dark tarriness, black pepper, used, dark expresso roast grounds, charcoal, graphite, dry tobacco & underbrush, some bay leaf, alluvial soils, grey volcanic minerals/limestone, moist clay, with fresh & only slightly withering, purple, dark, blue florals framed in violets & lavender. The acidity is round, flush & perfect. The long finish is a unique even balance of; lush fruits, spice, herbs and earth that persists on the palate for minutes.

Photo on the left of Sofia’s 2 dozen long stems. Love you so much!

@Oswald — 5 years ago

Alex Lallos

Owner No Limit Fine Wines, Private Wine Consultant

9.3

Another day, another bottle of Raveneau. This 2011 vaillons was singing. It built as it opened up. Started off as beautifully as it finished. The only thing that strikes me as 'chablis' is the oyster shell on the nose and the underlying minerality. Otherwise this is a big and thick Chardonnay with an almost oily texture. It is my kind of wine but not an everyday kind of wine either — 7 years ago

with Nathaniel

Erik Hanson

9.0

This took some time to open up. I’d recommend decanting if trying to drink it in a single day. First open, it was all soil and barnyard flavors witout much in the way of anything else to round it out. The light body was not in agreement with this feature without some fruit flavor there to balance the earthfunk. Day four now, and it’s juicy tart cranberries, black tea, and dried rose petals. All that pastural funk has blown off. Overall, a nice ride over a handful of days. — 7 years ago

Zack Hall

9.1

Super oxy, big and oaky. Did not pair with baby spring veggies and aglio olio. Update day 2 & 3: big, bold, masculine, in your face wine that evolves extremely well over days. Starts off less enjoyable than it ends off. Interesting for sure. — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.1

I find myself between scores on this wine, but the reason I’m pushing it to 91 is because it showed better (for my preferred taste) on day two, suggesting more time in the cellar could slightly improve this. To me, this is almost totally Chablis like, though it’s just missing a hint of steeliness. Lemon oil, honeysuckle, and crushed rocks on the nose. Day 1 showed razor sharp acidity...electric like. Day 2 it became a touch more rounded. My first remark about this wine to someone was “it’s like licking fresh squeezed lemon juice off of limestone”. Tart, vibrant and definitely best with food. Day 2 added some stone fruits and a touch more sweetness to the finish. My thanks to @David T for introducing me to this producer, who I’m starting to hear about more and more often. — 5 years ago

Martin Sher

9.1

Any day of the week! Great off dry Riesling from one of my favorite wineries. Sweet orchard fruit that goes down with frightening ease. — 5 years ago

barak heller hayun

9.1

this bottle takes me back to Alsace.
i spent a weekend in Strasbourg in 2006 protesting/partying in front of the European parliament that's located there.
no wine was tasted as i sticked to self imported bottle of zubrowka vodka, drops of potent LSD (that were dropped to the tail end of the vodka by a really short vicious smiling man - true story) and local pilsner beer that i remember fondly that's called 'meteor' and came in large 750ml bottles(pretty good ice cold and just ok after the sun warmed up the last 3rd of the bottle).

and now... 13 years later. different tastebuds. but I'm still the same person essentially.

100% pinot gris

off dry officially but feels dry.

14% ABV

pale green 👀

🧀 rind, green apple, pear, very fresh lemon and finely chopped greens👃

full body. I'm guessing the rs helps to build it.
medium plus acidity.

creamy, tart and a bit fruity with added white pepper and maybe even ginger 👄

long lingering pleasent creamy 🎯 like tasty and slightly bitter 🍬

great wine, no doubt about it.
tasty and complex, plays with you and changes every sip, but always superb.

excelent vfm (110 nis). expensive but works hard for your money.

need to try the winery Riesling now.

had it all day on it's own while vacationing.
soft and spicy cheese platter could have helped but I'm too full. — 6 years ago

jesus g

Hospitality Schramsberg Vineyards

9.7

Got this invite the other day. I was impressed with their renovations. It was a lovely space, been visiting meadowood since i was a kid and this tasting was incredible. Kicked off my birthday week. — 7 years ago

Matt

9.0

Day 1: Reduced. Pushing the limits, there’s a lovely passetoutgrains there somewhere but it needs some serious aeration. Day 2 reduction has blown off, lots of deep red fruits, almost cool and ripe in their character, tart and crunchy palate, mineral. Very pure and slightly more depth than most passetoutgrain offerings, yet still a wine for the table in every way. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.7

Mid yellow in colour. Aromas of musk and mandarin with dried herbs and a hint of paraffin. Fresh and sprightly at 18 years of age. I was contemplating leaving this to 2022 when it would have been 20 years old and on this showing it would have made it easily. With time some peachy flavours and some sweetness. Next day - lovely honeysuckle and honeyed notes on the palate. Fulsome with stone fruits and quince - you would think off dry but in fact 12.8% ABV and fully dry. Made by the legendary Brian Croser back then. An absolute treat to have a wine like this for Sunday lunch. One of the Wines of the Year for me. — 5 years ago

Jim McCusker

9.8

A great way to start off the weekend on a cold, snowy day in Michigan...in fucking April. 🥶 — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

We opened this bottle late on Friday night and poured off a small glass to see what we were working with. As I suspected, far too young with loads of energy, rolls of baby fat and frankly, not very well behaved. So we pressed the cork back in the bottle and figured we would try our luck the next day when my parents stopped by for a socially distant glass of wine to “celebrate” Easter together. I’m so glad we waited. Twelve or so hours of slow-ox made a huge difference. While it was still very primary, it was much more enjoyable showing a strong core of dark berries, tobacco, leather, coffee and baking spices. But again, where Seavey really excels is texture and sense of place. To be expected for mountain fruit at this age, the tannins are firm but reasonable and there is such lovely acid that screams Howell Mountain. I have no doubt this will have a very bright future! In my mind, Caravina is probably the greatest “second” wine in Napa. This is Seavey’s 19th and latest vintage of Caravina. After an extended drought, 2017 began with torrential rain that flooded the valley. The fruit comes entirely from steep hillside blocks on the estate and is otherwise made in the same fashion as the Grand Vin. If you’re going to drink one now, I highly recommend a lengthy decant as these are easily 10 years away from their best. — 5 years ago

David Shaw

9.2

Revisiting the 2018 because it’s bubbly and my college football team pulled off an upset today - cheers! — 5 years ago

Amy Axler

9.4

A good bottle of wine with a cherished friend to take the curse off a very sad day. — 6 years ago

Bill Bender

9.3

An awesome Christmas gift a couple years ago from @Joe Lucca and this had me jolly. As with many old wines from Piemonte the nose was wonky on pop. Wet cardboard, dirty socks, potential TCA, but it all blew off pretty quickly. Instead of fading it ascended as the night went on. It settled in to a classic mature well stored Barbaresco. It still possesses ample sweet red fruit, tobacco leaf, balsamic and mushroom. Reports from @romo are that it was even better on day 2. — 6 years ago

Ian Bassin

9.0

Super dry and earthy. Sucks moisture off your tongue like dirt. Heavy for a winter’s day. Not for food other than a heavy meat. But interesting and quite different in a good way. — 7 years ago

Raj Harb

9.0

Started off quite lean and green-apple-tart. Got better with time (maybe even best on day 2) with more notes of pear and stones. Drank similarly to a young, warm, neutral chablis at that point. — 8 years ago