Martinez

8.9

A very serious 100% Mencía, Valdeobispo is sourced from a 1.6 hectare plot planted in 1910 in the eponymous lieu-dit in Villafranca del Bierzo. This was the first vintage of this single-vineyard bottled under Cantariña’s label. Prior to this, grapes were sold to their neighbor Raúl Pérez, who actually advised them to vinify this plot on its own. Fermented in oak foudre and aged in used barriques for 12 months. Unusually dark ruby color, quite concentrated, slightly rustic. Aromas of red fruit, hibiscus, floral and earthy notes. Round and powerful, smooth tannins — 3 years ago

Martinez

9.0

La Montesa by trailblazing winemaker Alvaro Palacios at the helm of the family estate Palacios Remondo in Alfaro, Rioja Oriental/Rioja Baja, the sometimes snubbed, southernmost subzone within the Rioja appellation. Fruit is sourced from from Palacios Remondo’s eponymous 90-hectare vineyard on the northeastern slope of Monte Yerga, at an altitude of 1,800 feet. Fresh, elegant, refined, structured. Juicy fruit, spicy finish. — 4 years ago

Willie Carter

9.0

Dark purple with a wide, cherry brim. Mostly Cabernet Franc, you will not confuse this with Chinon but it might still surprise you. Showing a beautiful nose of blueberries, currant, coffee beans, and warm vanilla. Tiny, tiny production out of St. Helena, this is about as supple and refined as you want, especially considering these are the eponymous young vines. Very fruity and dry on the mid palate with more fresh fruit and a touch of oak. On the palate there’s even more wonderful blue fruits to go along with the dried herbs, cinnamon toast, and spice. The surprisingly long finish goes on and on. This is nice stuff. — 5 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.6

Proof that, indeed, there is truth in wine.

While Heidi Barrett makes her only Chardonnay and Spring Mountain Cabernet for Fantesca, my understanding is she will not make Pinot Noir. That responsibility falls on Fantesca’s Associate Winemaker Tony Arcudi, who also makes wine under his eponymous label in addition to consulting for Kapcsandy.

Fantesca’s 2014 King Richard’s Reserve is sourced from a selection of prime vineyards in Russian River Valley including Bacigalupi, Ulises Valdez, and Martinelli. Reminiscent of my experiences with Williams Selyem Pinot Noir. A rich, yet beautiful expression of Pinot Noir that juxtaposes lush raspberry and black cherry against a backdrop of herbs, flowers, and forest floor. The balance between opulence and restraint is where the beauty lies. — 5 years ago

Bryce Wiatrak

9.3

Bringing an old world stylistic ethos, Moray Tawse, who also owns Marchand-Tawse in Burgundy, founded his eponymous winery in 2000. Tawse yields some of Niagara's most finely focused, cool climate wines, in particular their Chardonnays. Cultivated from Tawse's certified biodynamic vineyard on Vinemount Ridge, the Quarry Road Chardonnay bursts with high-velocity swaths of saline energy. Painting swift strokes of taut, smoky stone flavors matched by cold, concentrated apple character, the wine recalls the great Chardonnays of Chablis - Montée de Tonnerre coming to mind for me. — 6 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.7

My father: There is nothing wrong with this wine. (This means somewhere between 96-98 points... shoulder shrug = 93 points). Me: This is borderline epic (also means somewhere between 96-98 points...)
From Beckstoffer To Kalon, on the Oakville Bench, and widely considered the greatest vineyard in Napa Valley. Everything comes with such ease and gracefulness, yet it’s one of the most powerful wines I’ve ever tasted. Extraordinary balance and a wine that could serve as the definition of Cabernet Sauvignon. Currant, cassis, cranberry, pine, loam, chocolate, clove, cardamom, and cedar. Luc Morlet was the winemaker at Peter Michael in the early 2000s before creating his eponymous label in 2006. — 6 years ago

Matt Austin

Owner/Winemaker, Grosgrain Vineyards, Walla Walla, WA

9.4

Charles Woods was the original owner of Napa Cellars. There isn't a lot of information out there about his eponymous label, but this was pretty outstanding. Still a bit of tannin remaining and plenty of fruit to go with the well developed tertiary notes. Very pleasant surprise. — 8 years ago

Jim McCusker

9.4

Reached pretty far back in the cellar for this one. Pax Mahl was making some terrific wines out of his eponymous winery (Obsidian and Griffin’s Lair were my favorites), until some sort of flare-up between him and Joe Donelan eventually resulted in them splitting the vineyard accesses between them and shutting down the winery. After 15 years, this wine is still going strong. Great example of a cooler climate north coast syrah. — 3 years ago

with Vanessa

Paul T HB

9.4

Thought it was a nice bottle especially for $60.00,
K&L notes,


Absolutely incredible opportunity on this creamy, supple Blanc de Blancs that still has great focus and precision and superior, long, mineral finish. Like all of the Thienot vintage wines, this bottling is entirely estate grown from the family's nearly 70 acres of vines. From the winery: "In 1985 Alain Thiénot launched his eponymous Champagne House, driven by his experience as a courtier and close-knit relationships with Champagne growers. This was quite a challenge in a sector where the greatest names began their existence as early as the 18th century. Never willing to compromise on quality or expertise, Alain Thiénot has transformed this vision into one of his key strengths. From this point forwards, using a strategy targeting the gastronomy sector, he has successfully conquered markets in France and abroad. He has passed on this passion and vision to his children, Garance and Stanislas, who decided to join the family business in 2003. With its resolutely modern philosophy, the most recently established, privately owned and family-run Champagne House continues its expansion." — 4 years ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.2

Extremely good Sonoma “Bordeaux Style” (Left Bank) Blend! Grapes are from the MacAllister Vineyard on the Sonoma side of Mt. Veeder. Aromas and flavors of Raspberry, Cassis and Spicy Oak. A bit of chocolate and mint on the long finish. Well structured and balanced. Excellent! Revisited this wine on May 2020. Still noticing all of the above along with strong notes of vanilla on the nose and pallet this time. Revisited this wine again in Nay 2023. Vanilla not as noticeable in this bottle and the tannins have softened considerably. — 5 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

Bart and Daphne Araujo sold their eponymous Estate and its jewel, the Eisele Vineyard, to François Pinault of Château Latour five years ago. The offer from Pinault “came out of the blue,” according to Bart, but it was one the Araujos couldn’t refuse. Not being ready to retire, work started immediately on their next project, Accendo.
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The focus at Accendo (pronounced “akkendo” and meaning: to kindle, illuminate, inflame, arouse) is almost clichéd if not on trend for a new Napa project - restraint and reverence to the wines of the 1960s and 70s. Sourced from vineyards in St. Helena and Oakville, they produce Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. The team includes Françoise Peschon, Michel Rolland, and Steve Matthiasson, as well as the Araujo’s children Jaime and Greg.
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Extraordinarily mineral driven. My first thought was this is what Napa SB would taste like if it was made by Weingut Keller, mouthwatering, layered minerality with lime and citrus blossom accents. Yasss! — 6 years ago

Daniel Argandona

8.9

Eponymous wine from Basque country . Slightly effervescent bracing minerality/peaches/green apple/underripe pear. Delicious and should be great counterpoint to light basque stew with chorizo and clams tonight....so I'm told — 7 years ago

with Alexandre

Isaac Pirolo

9.5

From the young vines of Kent Ritchie's eponymous vineyard. The Ritchie Vineyard produces some of California's best chardonnay, from the likes of Aubert, Ramey, Bevan, and Paul Hobbs. This needed 45 minutes to really get going, but once it did it was stunning. Lemon custard, white peach, and wet stone, with some secondary orange marmalade. The oak is present, but well concealed. Absolutely beautiful chardonnay. — 8 years ago

Jim McCusker

9.2

From Gerhard Reisacher’s now defunct Delectus winery (actually, the winery might still be active, but he’s long gone and has his own excellent eponymous label out of Knight’s Valley), this is drinking quite well! — 3 years ago

with Vanessa

Martinez

9.1

Rich, concentrated Rimage (Vintage) Banyuls, from the eponymous town in southern France - just a few miles north of the Spanish border. From vines grown on steep, schistous terraces. Intense aromas and flavors of dark fruit, chocolate. — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Prisoner Wine Company’s eponymous first wine was inspired by the drinkable “mixed blacks” made by the Italian immigrants who originally settled in Napa Valley. Fruit from vineyards in warm Oak Knoll and cool-climate Carneros with just a touch of Viognier. Pleasant aromas of stone and citrus fruits. Pale lemon with flavors of apple, pear and lemon zest, well balanced, vivid acidity, nice creamy mouthfeel. Long finish ending with mineral notes. Nice! But I will not buy this because the cork is exposed without a foil or wax seal!!! — 4 years ago

Christophe Aebi

9.7

The eponymous “classic” old school claret, leather and tobacco on the nose, wonderful length, palate built on a sound acid base, still youthful fruit but with tertiary leaf aromas, great! — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

This was a rather pleasant affirmation. I used to drink and enjoy the Peter Franus Zinfandels from Brandlin Vineyard with great regularity when I was just getting into wine about 15 years ago. The fruit quality in this eponymous Cabernet Sauvignon is still very obvious. What’s not to like...really tasty stuff. — 6 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.6

Friday night vibes... The Hossfeld’s aptly named Coliseum Vineyard was planted by the late Henry Hossfeld during the 1980s. The rock is so solid at this terraced vineyard that he literally had to frack the vine holes with dynamite. Late last year, the Hossfeld’s suffered significant damage from the Atlas Fire, including their homes and 15 of the 20 acres under vine, not to mention most of their 2017 crop. I knew this bottle would be special, but had no idea of the impact of the fires on this family.
Mark Carter founded his eponymous label in 1998 with the help of Nils Venge. Mike Smith would later become winemaker after Thomas Rivers Brown introduced him to Carter. Carter’s 2015 Hossfeld Coliseum is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and easily rivals Duckhorn’s 2014 Three Palms. Decadent black fruit leads the way, but it’s loaded with dates, fig, clove, spice cake, baking spice, and just the right edge of underbrush. This is best described as a gravy train of hedonism. — 6 years ago

Andrew Schirmer

9.4

Scintillating purity. Tannins and acid in harmony. Gently perfumed of earth and eucalyptus. On the palate--black cherry, wild berry, slate, singing acidity and tannic finish. A multifaceted wine, quenching at one glance, serious and structured at another. Changes character depending on what you're looking st. Like that woman Jerry Seinfeld dates on his eponymous show. Only this is beautiful all the time. — 7 years ago

with Alsu