Ron Siegel

9.4

Drinking well with its big, rich flavors & beautiful aromatics showing dark cherry, berry, lots of spice, game, iron, underbrush, pepper & floral notes — 10 days ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Breaking News: “There have been reports of the death of 2007 CdP’s. It turns out they have been greatly exaggerated.”

Double decanted and enjoyed over the course of two days. Best on Day 2. The 2007 pours a deep garnet with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with powerful notes of ripe dark bramble fruit, black pepper, leather, red flowers, stony earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium, mostly integrated tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long.

This was such a fun wine to drink for many reasons. First and foremost, the company was awesome. Second, I rarely drink Guigal’s CdP as there are other producers from the region that I tend to gravitate towards. And thirdly, I have largely avoided the 2007 vintage because they seemed to be fading fast after coming out of the gate with so much flash and gusto. And yet here we are, in 2024, drinking a “humble” (yet largely traditionally made) CdP from a large(r) negociant and with a lot of air, it’s showing its true quality! Call this exhibit 2007.c.D.p. of why it’s great to have an open mind and be willing to be a life long learner. A wine of surprise for sure. Drink now with extended air and through 2032. — a month ago

Conrad Green

9.6

Gorgeous and spicy. Pure fruit- deep plum and roses and a hint of leather and marmalade. Very pretty and poised. Gorgeous — a month ago

with Chris and David

Scott Kahn

9.3

Beautifully balanced with pronounced red fruit and distinct tannic structure. Only purple, red color with a nice acidity to complement red meat. A great wine now that can easily cellar for many years. — 4 days ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

Love these wines! So allocated it's been a long time since I've had the Pialade from Emmanuel Reynaud and the Rayas estate! There can be lots of bottle variation but this was a good one. — 25 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Served to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine appears a deep garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears and no signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with ripe bramble fruits: a mix of blackberries and raspberries with Morello cherry, roses, tar, talcum powder, dried herbs, and gravelly soil. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and delicious. Alcohol is medium+. Initial conclusions: this could be Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir or Grenache from Italy or France. Because of the high tannin and talcum powder/tar/roses combo (and the utter lack of staining), my final conclusion is: Nebbiolo; from Italy; from Piemonte; Barolo…from Monforte d’Alba. I chose 2016 because it shows good great balance of structure and fruit. Ooooof…that was too close.

“La Villa” is Fratelli Seghesio’s most precious wine and until now, I can only ever recall drinking their Barolo “classico” and Barbera d’Alba and only on a few occasions. Believe it or not, “La Villa” is the oldest, single MGA bottling from any producer in Castelletto. The name “La Villa” is an old name for an area within Castelletto when it was once a commune all to itself. The distinguishing feature of “La Villa” is the eponymous ridge that runs perpendicular with Collaretto and Vigna Rionda to the east, across the stream of Talloria di Castiglione. The vines facing south are dedicated to their Nebbiolo while the vines facing north are predominately Barbera and Dolcetto. A very tasty Barolo. Drink now through 2035. — a month ago

Austin Hohnke

9.3

Gorgeous blend. First time trying this and I’m in love with how it wears the nutty oxidation.
Pop ‘em if you’ve got’em in ‘06. — a month ago

Ben Krautheim

8.9

very good pizza/pasta wine — 12 days ago

Paul K

9.1

Nice with elk Osso Bucco. Increased from 90 to 91 after opening up. — 22 days ago

Aaron Tan

9.7

This trip to Melbourne has been a 07’ riesling galore! Another incredible Keller, although it did not quite hit the highs of the Kirchspiel. Not an AB comparison, but the nose on this Abtserde was a little less explosive and in some sense tighter. It had more a floral, herbaceous drive instead of the fruit basket the Kirchspiel brought. On the palate it was as deep and rich, while still sporting that mineral, herbaceous, focused backend. A pinnacle level riesling, although in my experience, I felt it had more to offer with a little more time or air. Unfortunately that will need to wait till next time as like the Kirchspiel, it evaporated off the dinner table albeit shared among more (i.e. could have used a little more in my glass haha). — a month ago