Adam Kincaid

9.4

Just an incredible 19 year old bottle with plenty of life left but drinking perfect tonight. Inky and dark purple. Raspberries and cherries, but with lots of dark fruit, spices, caramel, and gamey scents that develop more deeply when stirred and sipped. Elegant balance of tannins and fruit. Medium+ body. 5 min or longer finish. Robust but not overwhelming. — 10 days ago

with Jillian

John Willison

9.2

Cherry, sarsparilla, mushroom, sweet tea. — a year ago

Vanessa

9.1

Yes to rosé made in every way!

Today, it’s rosé bubbles made into this vibrant pink hue thanks, in part, to the “saignée method.” A method that’s actually rooted in red winemaking; used to concentrate grape must before fermentation.

Saignée is the French word for “bleeding.” The method gets this name because, as the crushed black grapes are macerating – extracting color, tannins, aromas / flavors from the grape skins – a portion of the juice is “bled off” into a separate vessel for production of rosé wine. The original vessel, now with a greater skins-to-juice ratio, increases concentration during the remaining red-wine maceration.

As a result, Saignée method rosés tend to be a little deeper in color concentration and may adopt more of the aromas and flavors that come from the black grapes used to make them. Certain regions, like Champagne, are well known for producing rosés in this way.

Here we have a Drappier Rosé de Saignée Champagne (NV) made in a Brut style using Pinot Noir grapes. It is deliciously concentrated for a rosé, not just in color, but aromas and flavors of just ripe red cherry, raspberry, redcurrant, apple, pear, bread dough, and toasty notes. — 2 years ago

with Deked1

Shay A

9.3

I’m fortunate to have had a lot of Kobayashi wines, both with and without Travis, but his “regular” Syrah is a wine I’ve probably had the least amount of times. I brought this as a part of a massive Syrah lineup (‘83 Voge Cornas, ‘91 Chapoutier Hermitage, ‘18 SamiOdi HD, ‘13 and ‘20 Lillian, etc) and it showed very well.

Compared to Travis’s other wines, this showed very primary/fruit forward. Deep purple in the glass and the aromatics were, astoundingly, similar to the ‘18 SamiOdi HD next to it (sweet perfume/potpurri)…so deeply floral and intoxicatingly intriguing. The palate is commanding with an interplay of ripe and juicy black berry fruit and savory/smoky notes toward the finish with just a kiss of sweet blue fruit. The finish is massively structured (even after following this for a few days). Wish I had an older vintage to see how these evolve, but it’s undeniably balanced and a tasty expression of WA state Syrah. — 7 months ago

Ericsson

9.5

This was truly an experience, the oldest CdP I’ve had. Deeply concentrated flavors with layers of complexity and a long finish. — a year ago

Richard Rosensweig

9.2

Other raters may have opened this baby too early. Now Clos St. J is deeply intense with blackberry, Garrigue and fennel. Very pure flavors. No alcohol burn at all. A real decadent pleasure. — 3 years ago

Doug Powers

9.7

Tight, backwards, and structured, dark berry, garrigue, deeply-flavored and very complex, long, lingering finish, drinking well now, but has the stuffing to easily go another 10-15 years, a great Vieux Donjon!! — 9 months ago

with Jim

Matthew Lin

9.1

rounded fresh fruits, deeply tannic still. aniseed, pepper, like a cured sausage taste. light oak on the nose and on palate. clove. slightly mineralic, granite and graphite, fresh olive, orange rind. — a year ago

Shay A

9.4

Whites and reds from our recent Confrerie Saint Etienne dinner. I was fortunate to take home the last bottle, and I’m glad we have a few extras to keep hidden in the CSE cellar for a few years to see how they age.

This was paired alongside a Gustave Lorentz Gewurtztraminer Reserve, with the food being Lemon Sole. Wonderful pairing. Hardly any whiff of petrol here…more tropical than anything (guava, green pineapple), lemon and limestone. On the palate, this is one of the more commanding and deeply rich Alsatian Riesling’s I’ve had in a while. It’s nervy down the mid-palate, but really fleshed out on the sides…big time balance. Mineral streak, and total Alsatian vibe to it, but all dialed up to 11 (in a good way). Even over the course of dinner, this improved. Still on the upswing. — 2 years ago

Vanessa

9.2

Honoring my marvelous father with a meal and wine he would have appreciated with gusto.  We wish he was here to share it with us, but are deeply grateful that his spiritual presence remains so strong in our hearts today and every day.  💕

This blend is predominantly (78%) Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot.  🍷 It hails from the Haut-Médoc region on the “left bank” of Bordeaux, 🇫🇷 more specifically, the Pauillac AOC.  Pauillac is a highly-regarded commune, with favorable growing conditions, known for producing some outstanding quality wines.  👌👌 This wine is no exception. 😆

🏰 Château Grad-Puy-Lacoste is a cru classé, ranked among, and a neighbor to, the region’s top estates.  It’s incredible to think the first vines planted on this property date back to the 1500s, making it one of the oldest properties in the region.

We decanted this wine for several hours, which helped it soften and release its layered aromatics.  

👁 The color is deep garnet with notable tearing.

👃 On the nose it has medium(+) intensity and concentration of developing aromas.  The aromas include ripe black fruit such as cassis, black cherry, blackberry, and plum, as well as other non-fruit notes like black licorice, pencil shavings, and violet. It has secondary notes of clove, nutmeg, allspice, cedar, also tertiary notes of wet earth, tobacco, leather, meat, fig, and mushroom.

👄 This wine is dry and its flavors on the palate are consistent with the nose.
This wine has balance, complexity, a strong structure, with firm, grippy tannins, and a long elegant finish.  👏👏

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, vintage 2011, ABV 13.5%.  — 4 years ago

with Deked1