Chris England

9.8

The fight was a draw on points but on QPR the judges voted on the Palmer 🥇

At £340 it has less life but better & a bigger thrill drinking today 🥊 a bit more masculine than Ch Margaux

🍷 Deep ruby w/ brick edge

👃 Perfumed red flower, burnt oak, musty cellar, dark berry fruits, cocoa Black Forest morello cherry gateaux, liquorice & herbs

👄 Med body of super smooth dark berry w/ rich mocha liquorice

🎯 Long lingering rich deep liquorice dark mocha through dark spiced berries — 6 years ago

Robert A. Manchester IV

9.0

Slighter nose than I recall before. First sip whams home rich wood and fruit. Excellent draw back. No big pop but subtle age and green pepper. — 7 years ago

Robert A. Manchester IV

9.2

Great color. Nose presents wet orchard. Almost buttery first sip. Tart cherry cream draw. Full mouth coating. Incredible flavor that can stand up- but has a delicate sense. Odd combo. — 7 years ago

with Ryan

Paul Masson

8.9

Hipping is exotically fruity, with some leesy reduction at this juncture; Pettenthal is the oddball, aged in barrique to draw out citrus fruit and roundness from a tight, mineral wine; Orbel is the complete package, a tannic and racy white showing equal parts fruit, floral, and Roterhang minerality. An interesting common thread through these wines is a distinctive herbal/spice character, which reminded me of a funky Belgian witbier or tripel, presumably attributable to ambient yeast populations and soil expression. — 7 years ago

Paul T HB

9.6

More fruit forward than the 10, but not sure if thats a good thing or not🤔 can't pick a fav, its a draw — 7 years ago

Jeffrey Long

9.1

Malt, licorice, and coriander on the nose, creamy round mouthfeel. Malt and licorice dominate the flavor profile, with less coriander than I recall from previous bottles. A bit thin in body. Cigar is an Arturo Fuente Reserva Xtra Viejo Anejo. Fantastic draw with rich leather and deep cognac complexity evident from the aged wrapper. Nice spice on the aftertaste. Cigar is a 9.7. — 8 years ago

Jace Hostvedt

8.9

Exellent Bordeaux blend with a nice clean buzz. Spicy pepper charcoal and plumb notes delight the senses and the unique flavors have an enjoyable long draw. — 8 years ago

Mark Cartland

9.3

Cedar, balsa wood, and nutmeg draw you in, but a burst of cranberries, strawberries, and lively acidity keep you sipping. This wine also offers a nice mineral, stony dimension and a cafe au lait finish. — 9 years ago

Is

9.1

A sharp, tight wine. Aroma of young rose buds, cherries, hint of fresh cut herbs and vanilla. Some dark red fruit in the mid palate. Powerful tannins. Mild acidity. Long, somewhat bitter finish. This wine is shy and beautiful. The subtle flavors and aromas draw you in and leave you wanting more. — 9 years ago

Paul Beck

9.1

Crisp taste with apple, pear and fresh cut grass. Short finish is he only draw back. Very tasty. Drank it with seared ahi tuna. Great pairing — 10 years ago

Ian Burrows

Sommelier Atelier Crenn

9.7

Opened up over 2 hours to express amazing mineral texture. Beautiful weight and focused finish. Bright, youthful. Difficult not to draw comparisons to Corton-Charlemagne. — 10 years ago

melissa walker

9.7

Paired this delicious wine, from our last trip to Sonoma County 2016, with spinach and ricotta ravolis. We've been letting it settle from it's move from NJ to IL and decided St Patrick's day Eve seemed like as good of an excuse as any to break it open. Worth the wait. Label say...in the winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heat a song for each cup... Well singing it's praises. Full-bodied and we'll rounded finish. Enjoying with Steve Walker at Casa Walker — 6 years ago

Reagan Hook

9.9

Dry, with pepper and berry overtones. High alchohol content — 7 years ago

Paul Mawdsley

9.5

Surprising Trader Joe's find this evening. Cork smelled heavily of TCA and fell apart magnificently while I was trying to open it but the wine seems untainted. Deep Ruby color. Aromatic- clove, leather, light prune note. Showing some oxidative character, well balanced nose appropriate of the age. Cherry cordial. Body is well balanced, favoring astringency. Mouth is supple, balanced by acid but very soft. Long draw, all luscious blue and purple fruit. Very impressive. — 7 years ago

Caitlin Elizabeth

9.1

Delicious Texas wine! — 7 years ago

Shawn R

9.0

Hailing from the Lonestar State of Texas this winery is about 40 minutes north of me. Fruit comes from the Texas High Plains AVA which covers about 8 million acres located near Lubbock TX. To me, drinks more like a New World Pinot Noir. Smoked meats and bing cherry nose. Mouth fills with crisp acidity, red cherries, bramble and dash of cigar tobacco. Light on the front of the palate with the punch coming on the back. Bittersweet chocolate and ganache play out for a long finish. Great local wine with even better people behind the label. — 7 years ago

Charles Garrison

9.3

Yum...life can be soo good...enticing, dark fruits that draw you in and holds you tight — 8 years ago

Dave Harris

9.3

Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary Maduro. Robusto size. Wrapper is milk chocolate in color, a few veins running through the leaves. Box-pressed for an outstanding tight pack. Smell is leather, black pepper and chocolate. Nice draw, lots of thick smoke produced. Flavor is elephant hide, dry hay, dark chocolate, and espresso beans. Full flavored. Really nice complexity and overall a highly enjoyable smoke. — 8 years ago

Vinay Bhavnani

9.5

Light in the nose. Blackberry jam. Hint of vanilla.. Juicy. Cranberry acidity on the finish. Good balance. The draw to this wine is about the finish. Oaky for sure. — 9 years ago

C Urganci

9.2

Lucky draw from the cellar! — 10 years ago

Matté

Manager The Wine Cellars

9.3

Top draw Blau — 10 years ago

Peg Hanssen

9.8

Preparing for our adventure to Portugal Surdyks’ Recommendation:
(Douro) Portugal is a prolific wine country, best known for its sweet dessert wine - Port. World famous in its many styles, Port is sweet and fortified, prized for its rich flavors and lush texture. Portugal also has fabulous dry red wine. Dow’s “Vale do Bomfim” is made with the same grapes and sourced from the same historic Douro Valley that produces Dow’s great Ports. Portugal’s indigenous grapes – Tinta Barroca, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and Tinto Cão – are names that should pique your interest and draw you to this imported discovery. Picked by hand and manually sorted with great care, the grapes are fermented in small vats. The resulting wine has complexity and style. Portugal’s Douro Valley has consistently good climate and growing conditions almost every year. The flavors are dynamic and the tannic structure is soft and silky. This is a really good wine for all occasions, with an affordable price and value.
$8.49 Spring 2017 ($14.49) — 6 years ago

Aaron Means

9.0

280yr old vines from 🇨🇱. Easy drinking but nuanced enough to draw attention. Bright red fruit has me in love with this 1L bottle, and with a banging price to boot! — 7 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

9.2

This fancy bottle of 04 Burg had more of the draw backs of the vintage that I have heard about rather than experienced. That being said, I still enjoyed it immensely. Light body, dark fruit, herbal aromas, great acid, but not all in perfect harmony... maybe in time? — 7 years ago

with Jim

Thomas Adalbert

9.2

Louis recommendation. Top draw — 8 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.3

Dang! Delicious. Needed some time to open up. Have to agree that it drinks a lot like a Chablis. Lovely minerality, great acid drive, lime, grapefruit, lemongrass, honeysuckle, subtle vanilla notes.

First Cotat. Don't think it's unfair to compare it with a Dageneau, albeit prematurely (really need to be drinking more Cotat). Feel like it's like Chablis vs Chassange-Montrachet or smth. Cotat's more precise, elegant and Dageneau's (entry) more expressive, richer almost. AB needed to draw more conclusions. — 8 years ago

Erik Helms

Sommelier/Wine & Beer Buyer Whole Foods Oakland

9.1

This DOCG Gallura Vermentino is a great example of place. Aromatic, citrusy, & slightly nutty. Almonds, jasmine, acidity, & and a sea like salinity draw out the expressive finish. — 8 years ago

with Lauren

Tom Wilkinson

9.0

Great zin with lovely finish. Awesome tasting room and patio with views. — 9 years ago

Daron Watson

9.5

Solid Wine. If "First Growth" I'd draw comparisons to Haut Brion...and then blended with a Cali Cult — 9 years ago

Ed Merrison

9.1

Vibrant purple with a pretty pronounced nose which is, to me, very primary, young and attractive. A couple of registers to it: strawberry and raspberry, but seemingly on a different plane, blackberry bush and black plum. There's a leafy quality but not in an unripe way; it's a warm, ripe and inviting bouquet. Medium bodied and deep on the palate, a vertical spectrum of bright reds and briary black fruits, perhaps a touch of dusted chocolate and fennel but overall it's velvet cloaked, delicious fruit. It feels very youthful, but the time I spend with this the more I love the layers. The tannins are superfine dust, the acid working so well to draw the fruit to a long finish. Really quite quietly delicious, with a very tasty future. — 10 years ago