Daniel P. Drake

9.3

We opened the 2016 La Rioja Alta S.A. Viña Ardanza Reserva. This is a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha from La Bastida, Spain.

On thr nose there was cherry, plum, strawberry,black currant, anise, leather, herbs, baking spice and forest floor.

On the palate was cherry, raspberry, strawberry, herbs, baking spice, balsamic and anise.

This wine is medium to full bodied with a silky mouthfeel medium+ acidity and medium to medium + fine supple tannins that lead to a long red fruit forest floor finish. Welcome to another weekend and I hope everyone has great plans with wine in mind. Please enjoy the weekend and please stay safe and healthy. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 7 months ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Great 05 fruit with classic Bordeaux profile.

Starts with the bright, ripe fruits that 05 gave. Blackberries, black raspberries, very, dark cherries, black plum, raspberries, plum, perfect graphite for days, cedar, fresh & slightly dry tobacco, forest floor with dry leaves, perfect, dark spices, dry crushed limestone, dry river stone, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanillin, salted caramel, dry, dark chocolate bar, steep tea with fruit, anise to black licorice, haunting herbaceous notes, saline notes, dry to moist clay, bright, mid to dark florals framed in violets, excellent acidity with amazing tension, beautifully balanced & structured, polished, wire to wire finish that lasts close to two-minutes. So round on the palate. Great with the El Salciciero ribeyes.

Corn picked today from my organic garden. Ten to fifteen plus year left. — 10 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.1

An off vintage purchased on futures that is enjoyable showing nice fruit, tannin structure, cedar, leather, spice box, forest floor & tobacco. — 3 years ago

rae

9.0

Clean, natural — 4 years ago

Claire Bear

9.9

WhAt ThE FUuuuu?!?! Such a good wine! Feel’s like a refreshing Kombucha!! Guilt free bc it feels so healthy and natural and light as air! One of my new faves ever! — 4 years ago

"Odedi"

9.4

A very enjoyable, and very complex, 21 year old red blend from Pessac Léognan, Bordeaux.

Showing red and black fruits with earth, chocolates, tobacco, dark peppercorn, dark coffee, forest floor, green vegetables, graphites, vinaigrette and spices.

Needs 3 hours to open up properly and show the complexity.

Peaking now, and will be good in the next few years. What a treat. This is so delicious.

Wine Advocate 93 points.

I paired it with a charcuterie board of meats and cheeses.

A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.

13% alcohol by volume.

94 points.

$200. — 5 years ago

Inseon Hwang

10

So much to love. The fruit-forest-minerals balance. Amazing finish. — 8 months ago

Conrad Green

9.4

Oily lime and slate. Sea spray, oyster shells, hints of white pepper. Perfectly balanced. Succulent and vivid. Long. Really good — 9 months ago

with Bex and Major-General

Yaw Awuku

9.3

Easy drinking at its best! Light and juicy, but by no means superficial. Dark berries, Cherry, some earthern notes and pepper. Gentle flow with medium acidity on the palate, tanins finish with a short and finely dosed grip. — a year ago

Kelly Krok

9.5

Very smooth Malbec — 3 years ago

with Joe

Ron Siegel

9.3

Drinking youthful with structure & chewy tannins showing notes of black fruits with cedar, leather, graphite, forest floor, menthol & tobacco — 4 years ago

Calvin Liang

9.4

Forest floor, crushed gravel, crushed black plum, fig compote, lavender, and mocha. Many layers and nuances. Delicious! -2003 Vintage — 5 years ago

Nick W

9.3

Real sleeper of a wine — 5 years ago

Manuel Blanco

9.4

Always great. You can feel the wood and the freshness in this wine. — 5 years ago

Tom Garland

9.2

Decant and pour. A wondrous garnet color with bricking. On the nose: captivating nose of dark plum, wet forest floor, herbaceous, spice, some funky barnyard. Taste: dark plum, cedar, earth, pencil lead, and a spiced green bell pepper/tobacco medium plus finish with a moderately tight tannic kick....drinks like a younger Bordeaux. — 8 months ago

with Brenda

Aravind A

9.0

Especially by comparison to the flawed Berlancourt Champans we had alongside, this bottle seemed well-structured. Loads of lemon, pastry cream, lime and doesn't betray its heat on the nose. On the palate: lovely acidity, good minerality and now showing some salinity. A touch short on the finish, but solid otherwise. — 9 months ago

Vasanth Balakrishnan

9.2

The famed #lopezdeheredia - Their 2008 release year matched the year we got married so we ordered this at a nice restaurant on our 13th anniversary. I asked the sommelier to cool it in an ice bucket a bit and so it took some time to open up in the glass. One of the best old school #rioja - subtle dark fruit, forest floor and distinct mushroom and truffle aromas on the nose. The biggest surprise for me on the palate was the incredible freshness and bracing acidity. Forest floor, leather and dark fruit as the backup chorus. This is still such a young wine. Delicious and versatile pairing wine - worked so well with a brined chicken breast with a puff pastry side stuffed with morel mushroom and lobster. — 3 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.2

This was medium bodied showing good balance that was still youthful & slightly closed that needed some air in the glass to open with notes of black fruits, cedar, leather, earth, forest floor, licorice & tobacco. — 3 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.2

This 41 yr old LLC was still fresh & drinking well showing a little funk in the beginning that quickly blew off with notes of red & black fruits, currant, cedar, leather, forest floor & tobacco leaf. — 4 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.4

Sourced from the steeply sloped Alpine Vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains, this Pinot Noir begins with gorgeous aromas of smoke, forest floor, mulberry and cherry cola. The silky texture and elegance is simply outstanding, as is the wonderful astringency and tension. Red currant jelly, red cherry cordial, cola and peat moss flavors captivate the senses. This is a truly outstanding Pinot Noir that will age gracefully for the next two plus decades. Drink 2019-2033- 94 — 5 years ago