Timothy Eustis

Wine Director, Red Lion Inn

9.1

With 2+ hours of decanting it is starting to show its elegance. Happy to embrace that but it’s sure a long wait. — 5 years ago

Chris England

9.3

😇 I looked up to the sky & the Purple Angel came down upon me filling my glass with light blocking purple ruby rain that oozed aromas of black & blue berries w/ thick chocolate, vanilla, dates, heavenly minerals & smokey oak - “drink this godly juice” she said in a booming voice🍷

I dared embrace the heavenly nectar & succumbed to a full on palate explosion of ripe dark concentrated blackcurrant/berry bathed in raspberry cocoa and minerals💥

My mouth was left open in awe as my purple stained teeth yielded to the long silky fruit loaded intense finish & I myself turned into a naughty purple devil - spank me angel, spank me 😈

🎵 “And through it all she offers me protection l, A lot of love and affection” you’re gonna be singing this all day now 🤣 “And down the waterfall wherever it may take me .. “

📍 Montes Purple Angel 2013

🏵 93 points

🍇 92% Carmenere & 8% Petit Verdot

💥 14.5% ABV

✅ For £32 this is a cracking wine 😍 some may say even Angelic 😁
— 7 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.1

It has the level of tannins I compare with a cat's tongue. Rough and charming in one fell swoop. With enough ripe dark fruit and medium acid to make you fall in the kitty's embrace. IF you like it is kitty licks you. I really like this one. Good pick if at Osteria Mozza! — 9 years ago

Emily Schindler

9.4

Oh yes I did. If the somms of Texas are going to grab pretty much every bottle not earmarked for NYC and CA, then I'm drinking this one! Grown on limestone, yes, this is a very different idea of what Gruner can do. Embrace it. There are grapes, and there is the soil/dirt/rocks/minerals they are planted in. — 9 years ago

Eric

9.4

Embrace the funk. — 9 years ago

Lance Williams

9.5

Fernet Branca is San Francisco's magical elixir of lore. Equal parts hangover prevention and morning after cure; it is an acquired taste but one that every San Franciscan must embrace. The traditional way to consume fernet is neat with a back of ginger beer. Sip fernet, sip ginger, repeat... Ask for a fernet and ginger as you wrap up dinner at any restaurant in SF and you will receive a knowing nod from your server followed quickly by your glass of fernet branca. — 9 years ago

Christine Havens

8.9

Durant Vineyard's Dundee Hills La Paloma Pinot Noir 2013 doesn't disappoint. This is their 40th Anniversary edition, and I can smell its heady aromatics with the glass sitting more than two feet away (that always charms me). Cherry turnover, vanilla, and rose petal and anise are anchored in a subtly earthy embrace. It's silky on entry, with ripe tannins. This is a more fruit-driven Pinot than most examples from the 2013 vintage, offering tons of drinking pleasure. The finish is baking spice and rosy purfume. 13.6% ABV | Sample — 10 years ago

Juliane Lacroix

9.5

Exclusive South African wine! 👌🏻 — 10 years ago

Matthew Bull

9.0

I leap through the crowd and embrace it passionately, it greets me, warm, inviting, but not cloying. — 5 years ago

Severn G

9.1

Nose has ripe plum, ripe blackberry, black currant, mashed black cherry, crunchy dry leaves, moist soil and mild cedar notes.

Palate has tart plum, blackberries from a heavily rainy grow season (not concentrated), dried cranberry, dried cherry, leather, touch of cocoa powder and (light) anise/licorice. Tannins are still making themselves known, but not obtrusive.

Young bottle, future bottles may be 2021-23 in hopes of more palate concentration. A lovely producer whose entire lineup is worthy of your attention. A solid wine for the vintage, embrace and be happy.

(Likely better scoring at an 8th or 10th year birthday.) — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I have a six-pack of this 05. I thought after 10 years in bottle, it would be interesting to check in on its evolution. While tasty, I’ll wait another 8-10 to open another. Even after 2-3 hours in the decanter, it’s still a very young adolescent. On the nose, slightly sour blackberries & dark cherries, dark currants, baked black plum, haunting blue fruits, anise, whiff of spice, steeped tea, dry stones, dry crushed rocks with dry top soil, caramel, vanilla with fresh & dry red florals. The body is thick & full. Tannins are starting to round out. It’s velvety on the palate. The fruits are; bright, fresh & ripe and really show the greatness of the 05 vintage. Dark currants, blackberries, dark cherries, baked black plum, haunting blue fruits, baked strawberries, cherries, raspberries on the long set, dark spice, clay & loamy dry top soil with crushed rocks, dry stones, cigar with ash, graphite, dry stems, slight herbaceous character, mint, used leather, clove, caramel, vanilla, fresh & dry red florals with violets. The round acidity is about perfect. The structure and length are still strong. The balance is in harmony. As for the long finish, it’s lush, ruby, rich and well polished. Photos of; Chateau Brane Cantenac, large wood vats, Henri Lurton and Estate vines. Producer notes and history...Chateau Brane Cantenac began in the early 17th century. At the time, the estate was known as Domaine Guilhem Hosten. Even that far back, wine was produced from the property. In fact, the wine was so highly regarded it was one of the more expensive wines in Bordeaux. It sold for almost as much money as Brane Mouton. This is interesting because of who went on to buy the vineyard in the 1800’s. The Baron of Brane, also known as “Napoleon of the Vineyards”, purchased the Chateau in 1833. At the time of the sale, the estate was called Chateau Gorce-Guy. To get the funds needed to purchase the Margaux vineyard, the Baron sold what is now called Mouton Rothschild, which was at the time of the sale, known as Chateau Brane-Mouton. Not such a good move with hundreds of years in hindsight! In 1838, the Baron renamed property taking his name and the name of the sector where the vineyards were located and called it Chateau Brane Cantenac. The Chateau later passed to the Roy family, who were well-known in the Margaux appellation in those days, as they owned Chateau d’issan. Moving ahead to 1920, the Societe des Grands Crus de France, a group of merchants and growers that owned several chateaux located in the Medoc including; Chateau Margaux, Chateau Giscours, and Chateau Lagrange in St. Julien, purchased Chateau Brane Cantenac. Five years later, M. Recapet and his son-in-law, François Lurton, took over Brane Cantenac along with Chateau Margaux. Lucien Lurton (the son of François Lurton) inherited Brane Cantenac in 1956. Today, the estate is still in the hands of the Lurton family. Brane Cantenac is owned and run by Henri Lurton. After being given the responsibility of managing Brane Cantenac, it was under the direction of Henri Lurton that large portions of the vineyard were replanted. Vine densities were increased, the drainage systems were improved and the plantings were also, slowly changed. The vineyard of Brane Cantenac is planted to 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc and .5% Carmenere. Carmenere was used for the first time in the 2011 vintage. The only other Chateau I know that still uses Carmenere is Clerc Milon. The 75 hectare Left Bank vineyard of Brane Cantenac is essentially unchanged since it earned Second Growth status in the 1855 Classification. At least that is the case with the 45 hectares used to produce the Grand Vin of Brane Cantenac. Those 45 hectares are planted surrounding the Chateau. Those vines are located just in front of the Cantenac plateau and are the best terroir that Brane Cantenac owns. They have other parcels, which are further inland and much of those grapes are placed into their second wine, Le Baron de Brane. Those additional hectares can be divided into 3 main sections. Behind the Chateau, they have 15 hectares of vines on gravel and sand, 10 hectares across the road with sand, gravel and iron and a 13 hectare parcel with gravel called Notton, which is used for their second wine. The vineyard is planted to a vine density that ranges from 6,666 vines per hectare on the plateau and up to 8,000 vines per hectare for the vines located behind chateau, in their sandier soils. The higher levels of vine density are always found in the newer plantings. The terroir of Brane Cantenac consists of deep gravel, sand and clay soil. Experiments in the vineyards are currently looking at becoming more organic in their vineyard management. Today, more than 25% of Brane Cantenac is farmed using organic farming techniques. It is expected that over time, the amount of hectares farmed with organic methods will be increased. Brane Cantenac has gone through 2 relatively recent modernization’s in 1999, when they added began adding the first of their smaller vats to allow for parcel by parcel vinification and then again in 2015 when they completed a much more complete renovation of their cellars and vat rooms. While Brane Cantenac is a traditional producer, they are no stranger to technology as they were one of the first estates to embrace optical grape sorting machines. In very wet vintages, they can also use reverse osmosis. To produce the wine of Chateau Brane Cantenac, the wine is vinified in a combination of temperature controlled, traditional, 22 oak vats, 18 concrete tanks and 20 stainless steel vats that vary in size from 40 hectoliters all the way up to 200 hectoliters, which allows for parcel by parcel vinification. 40% of the fermentation takes place in the oak vats. The oldest vines are vinified in vats that are selected to allow for separate parcel by parcel vinification. The younger vines are vinified more often together in the same vats. However, the Carmenere is entirely micro-vinified, meaning that those grapes were completely vinified in barrel, using micro-vinification techniques. This can also happen because the amount of grapes produced is so small. Some vats can be co-inoculated, meaning they go through alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation simultaneously. At Chateau Brane Cantenac, malolactic fermentation takes place in a combination of French oak tanks and barrels. The wine of Brane Cantenac is aged in an average of 60% new, French oak barrels for 18 months before bottling. The initial 2 months of aging is done with the wine on its lees, which adds more depth to the wine. There second wine is Le Baron de Brane. Le Baron de Brane is not new. In fact, previously, the second wine went under the name of Chateau Notton, which took its name from one of the main parcels where the grapes were planted. During the late 1950’s and into the 1960’s, having a second wine was important as the estate declassified 3 vintages, due to extremely poor, weather conditions in 1956, 1960 and 1963. Production of Chateau Brane Cantenac is about 11,000 cases per year. — 8 years ago

Craig Roemer

Producer/consultant of sparkling wines for Sea Smoke Cellars, Merry Edwards Wines, Goldeneye Winery, Rhys Vineyards, and Infinite Monkey Theroem Wines, Operational Director Prim Family Vineyard, Proprietor C R Wines.

9.8

This was the perfect way to say goodbye to a wonderful 2015, and embrace the unknown in 2016. Cheers! — 10 years ago

Kyle Masson

9.0

Sartori di Verona is a 4th generation family winery driven by a profound love for their city of Verona. For over a century, Sartori has made wines that respect local tradition yet embrace innovation. Ownership in premium vineyards allows for control from vineyard to bottle with a steadfast focus on quality. PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE The grapes are carefully selected, placed in small crates, and air dried for 3 to 4 months. At optimal dryness, only the best grapes are hand selected and fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel for about 30 days. The wine is transferred to traditional tanks for malolactic fermentation and is then aged in various sized oak casks for about 4 years. At least 6 months of bottle ag,ng follows. BOUQUET Dried fruits, ripe berry, and plum. TASTE Rich, velvety, and full-bodied. — 6 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.5

Cornas wines are a gem that I need to seek out more. They are bold, unsubtle expressions of what could be the world’s greatest red grape - Syrah. The best examples are extraordinary. As a friend recently observed, my generation could embrace Cornas the way my parent’s generation has embraced Bordeaux.

Domaine Lionnet is a tiny two person operation with just 2.2 tiny hectares. Terre Brûlée is something dense and rich, spectacular, and completely unostentatious and pure. The nose has generous blackberry and violet. The palette is supported with strong tannin and upfront flavors of blackberry and raspberry and with an underlay of meat, olive, and iodine.

The balance is what makes the beauty. — 7 years ago

Bassel Sommelier

9.4

Let your tastebuds embrace your soul and zone out — 9 years ago

Antonio Capurso

8.9

Colour: only slightly transparent, opaque overall. Light ruby as hue.
Nose: Black fruit and black olives evident since the attack. Very ripe and concentrated – quite spicy in flavours. Voluptuous black fruit embrace (black berries, black currant, blueberries, raspberries),
concentrated and intense. Blackcurrant leaves and touch of herbaceousness. Quite complex overall.
Palate: Quite firm tannic structure, yet still elegant, slightly warm, good acidity – medium to full in body. Boldly tannic, astringent but not too much. Slightly too bold and heavy after a few sips, but overall
good balance. Nice with meaty food.

(4th October 2016 – The Sampler, Islington - Enomatic) — 9 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.0

Bottle 2 out of case, why do i love thee? Because you are closed & churlish upon meeting, but open your embrace as we sit w each other. A chewier cola & cherry than most, made by a woman. Cant wait for aging. — 9 years ago

with Owen and Paul

Dan Hess

9.0

100% Grenache by way of Beaujolais in its embrace of fruit and freshness. In that sense verging on Chateauneuf-du-Pape style but it's Amurican and made by some farming-first badasses in Paso so count me in. — 10 years ago

with Sarah

Christine Havens

8.9

Delicate. Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny proved to be more reticent than other Tawny's I'd sampled while in Porto. On the palate, it's medium bodied and inlaid with dried fruit notes, a touch of caramel seamlessly interlaces dates, figs, and dried cherries in a silky embrace. There is, at times discernible heat, especially on the finish, which is spicy, a burst of white pepper and unexpected warmth. Sample — 10 years ago

Meg

9.8

Mother's Day was perfect. And realistic. It meant doing dishes, laundry, and making four beds before 8am. But it also meant having an impromptu dance party with my Mom and my twins in her bathroom before 9am. It was a day devoid of cancer talk, acknowledging the obvious with extra long hugs, but choosing to embrace the moment and be hopeful there will be many more Mothers' Days with my Mom. This Vin Perdu was an excellent ending. Earthy and maybe even smoky vs what I have been drinking (because it's on fiiiyyaaa🔥) Heidi Barrett - need I say more - you know how I feel about her. And PS, if you've ever had it, you would know it's quite possibly the best label ever (a hologram) — 10 years ago