Down Under

Under the Wire

Bedrock Vineyard Sparkling Zinfandel Rosé 2014

Stunning color...refreshing without heaviness... — 7 years ago

Chapel Down

English Rosé Blend 2019

Lekkerste rose die ik tot nu toe gehad heb. Licht droog en bloemig van smaak. — 7 years ago

Louise liked this

Château Cheval Blanc

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 1971

Wonderful example of how there can be surprises in these under rated vintages. This was full of life. — 8 years ago

Shay, David and 11 others liked this

SLO Down Wines

Stand Out Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Outstanding cab/merlot blend. Sister of sexual chocolate. Excellent price point. Around $20. — 8 years ago

Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1971

1️⃣9️⃣7️⃣1️⃣

🗞 Intel 1st microprocessor, Disney World, 18 🗳
🎵 Maggie May, Brown Sugar. Ain’t no Sunshine
🎥 Clockwork Orange, Willy Wonka
🗣 I know what you're thinking Did he fire 6 shots or only 5
🌍 3.72B

Fab @ £95 for a 47yr old 😁

🍷 Ruby w/ brick edge

👃 Gravel, gun smoke, soot, pencil lead, minerals & faint dark fruit w/ mocha

👄 Med body of mineral laden faded dark fruit w/ black currant coming to life in the mouth & a mocha & liquorice touché

🎯 Med mineral & dark fruit w/ liquorice mocha

Bonus 🗣 Weebles wobble but they don't fall down 🤣
— 9 years ago

Chris, Severn and 27 others liked this
Chris England

Chris England

@Bill Bender thank you buddy 😊🍷👍
Chris England

Chris England

@Neil Valenzuela I’ve got some 95 left & agree it’s superb - we had a 95 over Xmas that I’ll post at some point 😉 i can see why it got you hooked 👍🍷
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

Still enjoyable on that side too! 😋

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1966

Super-weird bottle. Mid-shoulder, crumbly cork, and the colour of freshly pressed strawberry juice - extremely pale as slightly cloudy! The immediate scent was quite off-putting but after 30 minutes it stormed back! Scents of autumn mulch, burning vine roots, sour cherries, and raspberry compote. A weird sourness and heady acidity on the front of the palette but it still keeps together well. Clearly badly kept but still really interesting to drink! A true testament to The quality of Mouton under the stewardship of the late Baron. I wonder if this is what some of the better kept bottles might be like in 100 years' time!? — 10 years ago

Ira, "Odedi" and 8 others liked this
"Odedi"

"Odedi" Influencer Badge

Wow! Congratulations

Marchesi Antinori

Tignanello Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 2011

A very good Tignanello...finished our TE restaurant meal with this one after a good bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape...and hands down this Super Tuscan excelled. Took the remaining amount in the bottle back to our suite to finish during the PA blizzard...Yummy! — 10 years ago

Bob liked this

Apothic

Winemaker's Blend California Zinfandel Blend 2013

Easy drinking every day wine and at a bargain price at under $8 at Costco. — 11 years ago

Andrea liked this

Mouton Noir Wines

O.P.P. Other People's Pinot Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

I'm down with this! Very approachable pinot that is easy to pair with foods and not too expensive! Show up to a gathering with this and people will not only love the taste but the fact it is called OPP.....yeah, you know me! — 11 years ago

Belle Glos

Meiomi Pinot Noir 2013

Hands down one of my fav wines. So smooth! — 12 years ago

SLO Down Wines

Broken Dreams California Chardonnay 2013

Whole Foods, C Golden, apple, pear, nice acidity — 7 years ago

Dark Horse Wines

Limited Release Double Down Red Blend

Joe F.
8.9

Very enjoyable, found this very bold in the first taste and mellowed out towards the finish which was very smooth. Fruity and balanced. — 7 years ago

Laurene Feriozzi
with Laurene

Silver Oak

Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

I truly am not a silver oak Fan but their old stuff has some Kung pow to it. It actually evolved after being opened in the glass for an hour. I prefer it to a new vintage hands down, no questions asked. This actually surprised me and is definitely the WOTN between these two. Truly, truly surprised me. Can’t go wrong for this price point! I found this one for sale for 80 bucks. Winner, winner chicken dinner in my book! — 8 years ago

Martin, Shay and 19 others liked this
Joe Lucca

Joe Lucca Influencer Badge

Awesome. Totally agree @Martin G Rivard the old stuff was blue chip. Lost their way over time. 1999 is my favorite 90s vintage. Still have a bunch in the cellar.
Matt Duncan

Matt Duncan Influencer Badge

Come see the new Alexander Valley winery @Martin G Rivard @Joe Lucca Our best wines are ahead of us!

Enderle & Moll

Liaison Pinot Noir 2012

Lyle Fass
9.1

Nose is not the best I'll admit. Dominated by a green note that won't go away and only got stronger. Under that is a nice nuttiness and some good spice and cherry fruit, but the green vegetal quality is overwhelming. Palate is great though. Light and ephemeral, sappy and delicate. Very mouthwatering. — 10 years ago

Eric, Doctor and 2 others liked this

Caymus Vineyards

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Meg
9.6

Wax on, wax off: this evening I took a rare field-trip to Waxhaw, which is way beyond my typical radius of existence. I had planned an anniversary dinner at Heritage, and my good friend "Coach Witty" encouraged me to run a mile race with her at track night in those parts beforehand (why not run a 5min race right before a nice dinner?!) I ended up winning and getting a PR, and Heritage was worth the trek. Food Babe walked in and sat down next to us - hopefully she only had good things to say about Paul Verica's passion project, as I loved it!! As for the wine...I have been asked, "what's a good wine to give as a nice gift?"....and I often suggest Caymus cab. It's always solid, a fruit bomb, and elegantly-finished. A known quantity. Perfectly paired with the local summer vegetables and my steak. And last but not least, let's all raise a glass to Pat Summit - the winningest coach in D1 history to date - that certainly gains my respect. May her legacy live on #caymus #theextramile — 10 years ago

Kimberly, Ron and 20 others liked this
Meg

Meg

Hey Mike! Did you end up going to the Reynolds dinner??
Mike R

Mike R Influencer Badge

In Raleigh recently? I went to a different dinner for the local wine experience in 2016I just do not remember that there was one - I plan to go when the annual wine experience comes in Feb 2017 - Like his wines
Gerald

Gerald

Thanks for the insightful review. And A+ for including a nod Pat Summit.

Taittinger

Comtes de Champagne Grand Crus Brut Blanc de Blancs 2004

Still young, a bit restrained, but this has the makings of being a baller tatt down the road.... — 11 years ago

La Rioja Alta

Gran Reserva 904 Rioja Tempranillo Graciano 1976

Jason Heller
9.3

Another pick off this epic Rioja list. Under $100 and fresh, pure, graceful. — 11 years ago

Marc, web and 4 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2001

Clearly one of my favourites from Bordeaux. A very under rated vintage under the shadow of 2000's. Iron fist in a velvet glove is what I think of this lovely wine. Spherical, sexy and very serious.18,5 ++/20 — 13 years ago

Rafael liked this

Chapel Down

Vintage Reserve Brut White Blend

Dry and crisp refreshing wte — 7 years ago

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1991

Always my favorite vintage of Dominus showing no signs of slowing down. Purchased on release this is still youthful showing great balance & depth with red & dark berry fruits, plum, sweet spices, leather, tobacco & lead pencil. — 7 years ago

Ryan, Jeroen and 6 others liked this

Chapel Down

Classic Non-Vintage Tenterden Brut Pinot Blend

Very soft bubbles, lightly fruit forward without being juicy. Very lush berry and softly aromatic pineapple. — 8 years ago

SLO Down Wines

Sexual Chocolate California Red Blend 2015

Not worth its weight in gold nor wine. Over priced but I’d pay for the label all day everyday. Hahaha the French are annoying — 8 years ago

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo

Out of a magnum.....big and tannic, settled down with some air...nice wine — 9 years ago

Eric, Bill and 1 other liked this

Caymus Vineyards

Special Selection Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1983

JKT
9.5

What a nose! Fruit but strongly tinged with spice and hints of cigar? Medium body with fruit and acid but latter lingers into finish which RC says should note be for Napa cab and sign of post prime by 5+ years. But still great to drink. Next day under agon the nose lost that spicy note but the palette holding very nicely. More rounded today. — 10 years ago

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1994

Under the radar but a great paulliac.... Lead pencil and other characteristics dominate this glorious effort that opened up after two hours to reveal silky fruit and amazing depth... Yum. — 10 years ago

Tracy and Eric liked this

Marcel Lapierre

Morgon Gamay 2014

This totally lived up to the hype. An explosion of tart red fruit, smoky earth, and lovely wild flowers. Sour cherry, fresh strawberry, red currant, raspberry, potting soil, smoky sous bois, and lovely wild flowers, violet, rhubarb and black tea. Relatively high, focused acidity; but with a lovely fuller, luscious texture and body. Don't know how they can coax that much texture out of Gamay. Tannins are soft and fine-grained, but gently make their presence known; Just a bit more structure than most Morgon, but it's a good thing. Quite food friendly, went just fine with the roasted chicken and pepper medley sandwich I ate it with (Caffrey's ftw). Probably the most complex cru Beaujolais I've ever had, would love to lay some of this down for a few years and see where it goes. — 10 years ago

Spinning_spins and Erik liked this
Spinning_spins

Spinning_spins

The 2014 Beaujolais (village or otherwise) that I've had so far, have been really, really good.
Erik Nordman

Erik Nordman Influencer Badge

I would definitely agree! @Spinning_spins

Vietti

Castiglione Barolo Nebbiolo 2010

Michael Housewright
9.4

Enormous potential. From Magnum. This wine is a candidate for Barolo of the year under $100 a bottle — 11 years ago

Alison, Perry and 2 others liked this

Bodega Catena Zapata

Alamos Mendoza Malbec 2010

Great cheap wine under $20 — 14 years ago