Phillip Hart

9.8

First thing that comes to mind is Fino, wonderfully fine. — 10 years ago

Jörgen Lindström Carlvik

Owner, Brix Wine Consultants

9.3

It may well not be their best vintage to date, but it's impossible not to resist its pure candied peach fruit and gentle spice flavors. Long and rewarding it offers lively acidity and lovely drinkability. Seductive comes to mind. The second bottle of this vintage in less than two months. Thanks Brorsan. — 10 years ago

with Lasse

Rob Moose

10

Best quote on this was "even the nose has a finish!" A spectacular wine to behold and taste. So much grip, so many layers, hidden secrets. A complex, rewarding wine, for the heart and mind. — 10 years ago

Keith Levenberg

9.7

My oh my oh my. Let me first try to describe this as objectively as I can before I start babbling in tongues about why it's awesome. So, okay, we'll start with the color, which is somewhere between a rosé and a pale red. That's as good a portent as any for what you get when you taste it, which is this ethereal, gossamer, lacy thing that would probably flutter to the earth even slower than a feather if it were a solid object. It has a sense of freshness and light without being overtly fruity, i.e. it features the freshness and essential perfume of the fruit without the sweetness or fat. It has a minerally element too, subtle (though everything about this is subtle) but clearly reminiscent of gravelly rock pulverized to an ultrafine powder (everything about this is ultrafine). The word "finesse" is a cliché, ditto for "ethereal," but ultimately that's what's so awesome about this. I have had a lot of disappointing German pinot noir, even from highly regarded producers, and they never turn out to be what you think German pinot noir ought to be (i.e., as clear and pure and transparent as riesling, with all that cool-climate lightness). Somehow some of them turn out to be big fat Sonoma pinot lookalikes, which I will never understand. This is not like that. I am really at a loss to think of anything from anywhere to compare this to that so effortlessly pulls off such a vivid personality out of material so fine it only barely seems to have a corporeal existence, and not a flaw or seam to be seen in the way it is all put together. I can think of a Jura pinot that was in the ballpark (the '08 Chais des Vieux Bourg) and the weight and physical presence bring to mind something like Coteaux Champenois or the Dirty & Rowdy reds, but as far as I am concerned this is sui generis. There are aspects that bring to mind all sorts of things but it really needs its own frame of reference. It is profound but not in the same way that grand cru Burgundy is profound; it's a brilliant soloist, not a symphony, almost minimalist in its simplicity and tranquility, best paired with your favorite easy chair and some quiet moments. — 10 years ago

Mike Betts

9.4

It's very good. But to be totally honest there is a factor of: "yay I did it- check it off the list" but I've tasted wines for far less $$ and cool-factor that match up better against it. But nobody leaves a drop in the glass in your right mind! The co$t has to be considered when giving a rating. — 11 years ago

Erica Marie

9.9

I'm at a loss for words-but if I had to say 2 words: MIND BLOWING — 12 years ago

with Mark

Phillip Pinckney

9.3

Wonderful with a Carbonara dish this evening. It also helps take my mind off the 2.5 feet of new snow outside. — 10 years ago

Justin Timsit, MS

Wine Director, The Rittenhouse

9.8

Disgorged 07.31.2013. Mind blowing Unapologetically oxidative with notes of fino sherry, oxidized lemon, nuts, mineral and an unmatched texture. Truly lives up to its name. One of a kind. — 10 years ago

with Samantha

Alexandra Harner

10

Never stops blowing my mind. Sour cherries, white pepper, beef jerky. So herbal. So yes. #canaryislandwine — 10 years ago

Jay Liddell

9.5

Not a fan of huge fruit but this blew my mind. — 10 years ago

with Matthew and Ed

Yohannah Burmeister

10

And then this happened. If I could give it a 15, I would. Such a beauty. Integrated with a freshness and complexity that is mind blowing. — 11 years ago

with Matthew

Elizabeth Mead

9.5

LOVED this wine. — 11 years ago

Anthony Lynch

9.3

Don't mind if i do! — 11 years ago

Steve Matthiasson

Owner/Winemaker Matthiasson Wines

9.5

Nutty, spicy, some oak, ripe complexity more associated in my mind with aged white burgundy than champagne, honey, tannic structure, big and flavorful but balanced with lots of acidity. No question it's showy, but it manages to be really drinkable and delicious despite its over-the-top heft. — 12 years ago

Yotam Sharon

Consulting Winemaker Gvaot, Miles, Alona; Blogger yotamsharon.com

9.1

A first taste of legendary geneticist Carole Meredith's wines from Mount Veeder. We had the 2011, 2012 and 2013, and while vintage variations were obvious, so was the sense of place common to all three. The 2012 is riper and broader than the leaner 2011, but classic Syrah pepper and floral notes are there. The 2013 was a touch sweet but these are wines clearly made with preservation of terroir character in mind. I'd love to retaste them with more age. Rating here is for the 2012. — 10 years ago

Eric Egan

9.7

Dense, a deep crimson with a solid core - it looks less than half its age(!); incredibly distinctive (unmistakeable) nose of driftwood bonfires, sweaty leather bike-saddles and tarmacadam, cedar, Trinidad tobacco - never mind the palette, the NOSE lasts for 30 seconds AFTER you've put down the glass. It's still lightly tannic - not ambivalently, but elusively complex, and forcefully insistent. This has truly cemented me as an Haut-Brion convert. I cannot imagine a greater expression of the Graves. Utterly sensational - though after an hour and a half it started revealing a hint of VA and lost an inch of its engorgement. Oh well, it's only the first of my bottles and had the lowest level by far (4.5 cm)... — 10 years ago

Steve Matthiasson

Owner/Winemaker Matthiasson Wines

9.4

About five bottles worth of flavor in one bottle of wine. This one is a mind-blower--needs a small party to finish, like a bottle of port--contains the entire flavor spectrum of cab franc, from vegetal to pruney, and everything in between. Thick like syrup, high alcohol. Somehow manages to be balanced though, maybe it's a Jedi mind trick. — 10 years ago

Lee White

9.0

Rewarding myself for not losing my mind after a day of xmas shopping.... 🍷🍷🍷😴 — 11 years ago

Ben Brenner

9.5

Mags of SB ! Don't mind if we do — 11 years ago

Melissa Smith

Sommelier/Sake Buyer K&L Wines

9.5

Nice, very rich and nutty. Epiphany pairing last night at Commis with a candy cap mushroom oatmeal dish. Mind blowing. — 12 years ago