Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.6

The 2016 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is a stunning wine from this famed estate. Needing more than an hour decant to fully develop, this starts off with beeswax, brandy soaked pear, nutmeg, and ripe banana that impress, as the intoxicating bouquet continues to bring you back to the glass. On the palate, the unctuous mouthfeel entices the senses. Silky smooth gliding through the palate, flavors reminiscent of baked pear, marzipan, banana bread and honeydew melon move through, leading to an exceeding long and satisfying finish. The salinity and light stony character of the wine further pushes this into the upper echelon of this prestigious region in the Rhone Valley. Enjoyable now, this wine will cellar well for decades. Drink 2019-2035- 96 — 6 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Hits the sweet spot where scents of Pinot fruit are in equilibrium with bright, chalky minerality. So fresh-smelling. Same on the palate. Nice fruit/acid/mineral balance. Lovely. Top echelon rose. — 7 years ago

with Angelo

Shay A

9.2

Wednesday Wine Committee. As always, wines are tasted blind. 1 sparkler, 2 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert.

Not a lot to say on this that hasn’t been said. One of the top SBs coming out of Cali year end and year out. Melka and Arkenstone are in an echelon alone in my opinion, followed by Addax, Bevan, Montagu, and this. Bold style SB. Not overly tart or acidic. Mineral notes and beautiful texture. I guessed high end Cali SB. ✔️ — 8 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

This is a massive wine. Dense, chewy and on the edge of over extracted but still has round inviting tannins and sweet mountain fruit that seduces. Decanted 4 hours but a prickly, spicy tightness still exists and keeps this from being upper echelon right now. I would most definitely hold 3-5 years minimum. I had an '01 last Summer that was singing. I'm pretty confident this will be a world beater with more maturity. — 8 years ago

Ian Abraham

9.8

Pleasantly Sweet and strawberry/blackberry berry jam, the 2012 vintage is still a little bit young and would open up with a little age very nicely,a bit of alcohol is forward on the palette because of this. Still one of the best and the sweetness is well integrated with a very gentle and subtle tannin. Still one of my all time favorites. Rated 97+ Points, Robert Parker. Kathryn Hall Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Lots of blueberry and black raspberry fruit with a hint of mocha and background oak are all present in this full-bodied, opulent, absolutely spectacular Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a long-distance runner and,it is loaded with potential promise, and as Kathryn Hall says so frequently, “Magic.” .Kathryn Hall’s winery is certainly one of the more dramatic as well as up-and-coming superstars of Napa Valley. It seems every effort is made to propel these wines into the very top echelon of quality. $179.99 a bottle. — 9 years ago

Dade Thieriot

10

Is there a better vintage over the past 30 years or so in Burgundy than these gorgeous '99s???Drouhin, always amongst the finest, most consistent of the top echelon of negociants in Beaune, has produced a classic Chambolle from my favorite site that in a magnum was still very youthful--FORMIDABLE! — 10 years ago

with Petra, Andrew and 1 other

Andrew Benn

9.1

Le Grand Vert 2012 from Monts et Merveilles
White Languedoc
Upper echelon of wine - Petit Bouchon - we had at Baccaretto the night before
Comes from 2 hectares near vineyard entrance; 19€
Dry; powerful but refined; LMB ok — 11 years ago

Brad Ball

Sommelier/Wine Director Social Wine Bar

9.1

New producer for me and I'm digging it. Not in the upper, upper echelon but strong showing. — 11 years ago

with David

Tracie Kuczkowski

9.5

excellent! — 13 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

Deep crimson in colour. A rich Pinot as it always is with savoury plum notes, integrated oak and soft resolved tannins. Block 3 along with Block 5 always regarded as in the Dress Circle of Otago Pinots along with Mt Difficulty and Terra Sancta (ex Ollsens) all located in Felton Road. As mentioned in an earlier post I prefer other areas in NZ for PN but Felton Road has always been in the top echelon of New Zealand Pinot’s. A “cool” wine in every sense of the word. Good drinking now and can’t see any major improvement apart from becoming more savoury with more cellaring. — 6 years ago

Alex Florea

8.9

Had this twice, we both loved it the first time, I got mostly cranberry the second time. First time was also at Eataly so there's points there for environment. It's certainly good, just can't tell where it fits in the upper echelon — 7 years ago

Paul J

9.4

30 minute decant was perfect, thanks Steve G!! Classic Silver Oak nose! Barnyard and flowers, love it! Best part of this wine! Very complex wine but lacked structure and not as powerful as I remember. Definitely a different style Napa Cab than what is being made today. Finish could be longer, but definitely an upper echelon brand, at least back then. Don't wait much longer to consume. — 7 years ago

with Brooke

Tim

9.8

Top echelon of Napa cabs, diamond mountain — 8 years ago

Josh Spurling

9.5

One of the biggest Merlots I've ever encountered. Night 1, it was in an "inward" state.......dark, tannic, not so friendly, but with tons of potential. Came back to it 2 days later and it's a pleasure bomb if a wine. Deep cassis, sweet plum, graphite, and more. Mouthfeel had loosened up, but this still has a long life ahead of it. Arietta's wines are some of the best deals out there imho when it comes to that upper echelon of producers. — 9 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.0

A very good 2nd tier Margaret River Cabernet which is less than half the price of the top echelon and achieving about 80% of that quality. A slightly detuned Moss Wood. Great value. — 9 years ago

Rick Baumgarten

9.1

Just a tad below the top echelon of Loire SB. Great value. — 10 years ago

Dade Thieriot

10

#Roumier red #Burgundies are now considered to be amongst the very top echelon of #Pinots from anywhere on earth. His #Musigny is virtually unaffordable along with the top DRCs, but the queen at his court is this Bonnes-Mares, and a very worthy royalty it is. Drinks now but will continue to improve for another decade...if you can find it. #2002 — 10 years ago

with Petra and Wietske

Randis Gallaway

9.0

Smooth and tastes good. Easy to drink. — 11 years ago

Rob Lateiner

9.8

This is perfectly balanced. Not a very high level of phenolic complexity or whatever but this is perfectly ripe. Maybe the purest red cherry fruit I have had from a wine. Sweet fruited and fresh. This beats a lot of higher echelon burgundy in my book. — 11 years ago

Michelle Butler

9.1

Very light!! Strawberry and very cherry flavored! — 12 years ago

Craig Stanfield

9.2

Consistently great. Not saying it’s in the same echelon, but the flavors remind me of Schrader To Kalon. — 7 years ago

Bill Bender

9.2

If not my favorite Howell mountain Cab producer it’s certainly 1A. The True bottling is without a doubt on an echelon above level but this is always very gratifying. I opened this the day I received news of the sale of the winery. I hope I still have the opportunity to sit on the mountain top there and look over the valley. It’s definitely a serene and gorgeous highlight when I visit Napa. — 7 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

My first bottle of wine in 15 days and it was a nice welcome back. The last time I had the ‘08 Kongsgaard Cab a few years ago it was completely shut down and impenetrable. Now it is very open knit, with fine grained tannins and easy drinking plum and mocha fruit. It doesn’t have that upper echelon gear but it is damn good. — 7 years ago

Bill Bender

9.3

Cedar and tar on the nose. Black rasberry fruit, white pepper, the end cut of of a herb crusted roast. Dense, chewy and substantial. Almost all the elements are there but there was an ever so slight chalky, sour milk after taste that keeps it from reaching the upper echelon for me. — 8 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.1

The Octogan is the flagship wine of the well respected winery Barboursville Vineyards in Virginia, South near Charlottesville.
One of the most coveted red wines from Virginia, this is in the upper echelon of quality.
Finesse and old world charm are what define this wines style, with a restrained set of fruit aromas, some earth tones of soil dust. The palate is medium to medium + bodied and the structure is fine and elegant.with good acids. — 9 years ago

Stuart Robinson

9.6

Exemplary Merlot/Franc blend. Pretty high octane, but the oak/fruit/tannin structure is a tour de force. Upper echelon Aussie wine. — 10 years ago

Gareth Best

9.4

This is absolutely upper echelon WA wine. Fantastic acid, bright fruit, cab franc really brings the goods. Wow. — 10 years ago

Dade Thieriot

10

Pierre Morey wines are undoubtedly amongst the upper echelon of white Burgundy--firmly structured, intensely mineral and so good now at the ripe young age of three--CLASS ACT! — 10 years ago

with Andrew, Lisa and 2 others

CJ A

9.1

Berry forward, balanced, lush. A versatile, welcoming Pinot from Russian River. Paired quite nicely with 'Luke's' organic/ gluten free Black pepper multigrain & seed crackers, topped with a pinch of Kerrygold Irish aged cheddar soaked in Irish whiskey. I imagine this Pinot would complement either a robust cornmeal crust/ italian sausage pizza, or a light Brie/green apple sandwich. Altogether complementary and accommodating feel to this vino... — 11 years ago

Joe D'Angelo

9.3

The 2010 is another fascinating ‘Las Flors’ from La Pèira and there no question on its place is among the top echelon of Languedoc wine. — 11 years ago