Erik Michielsen

9.0

Tar and roses. It’s just that simple. What a lovely wine in a cool fall night. — 8 years ago

with Debbie

John

8.9

Consistently a Fall favorite — 9 years ago

Rebekah Ward

9.1

Very surprised with this one. It really does taste like fall!! The spice is a refreshing change from the typical red table wine — 9 years ago

Christine Weiland

10

Fall Creek wine tasting with coworkers - finally opened it! — 9 years ago

Amanda Wilson

9.0

One of my favorite fall beers. If only they sold it in Iowa! — 10 years ago

Skip Smyser

9.5

3L for Logan's Birthday. Incredible wine that drinks better than it's ratings which are incredible. What a pleasure on a beautiful fall day🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 10 years ago

Chris Kingsley

9.2

So yummy!!! — 10 years ago

Sandra Larson

9.2

Very pleasant red blend. Short finish but still a nice sipping wine. — 11 years ago

Jonas Johansson

9.0

First drinkable pumpkin ale of the season. It's more than drinkable if you chug it. — 11 years ago

Reagan Nunnally

9.2

Big jammy zin on a cool fall night. — 12 years ago

Mike Swinford

9.2

Good Rose! Ordered in hot summer. Received in cold fall :( — 13 years ago

Katie Wilson

9.3

Orange and amazing — 8 years ago

Andrew Schirmer

8.9

Cold night in Seattle calls for a smoky WA red blend. This is rather nice, not our usual style, but very well-made. Not too sweet or hot like many of its brethren. Pomegranate and wood on the delicate nose, blackberry and pepper on the palate. Oak is present but not overwhelming. Nice work. — 9 years ago

with Alsu

Vincent Seufert

9.0

My Labor Day wine. Sad to see summer come to an end but alway looking forward to fall, which this wine is perfect for. — 9 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.5

Exceptional balance. Rich, but so fresh. Pears, orange, flowers, lemon curd, cream, brioche, nut. Long, powerful palate, underlined by a driving acidity.

Some thoughts: In my eyes, RMs tend to fall into "extreme" categories e.g. Laherte - austere, Egly - rich (lees), Agrapart - rich (oak), Selosse - oxidative; but this wine doesn't fit here. NM-like, but not (I think of Chartogne-Taillet when I say this). Compare to Krug's Grand Cuvee, the Grands Vintages is definitely richer and broader (fair comparison, given how both wines are constructed).

From Chain Bridge Cellars:
As the name suggests, Eric Rodez’s Grand Vintages is a rich, powerful and very much “grand” wine in the tradition of Krug (where Eric learned his craft). This year's release is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay from seven great vintages going back to vintage 2000. Eric ages all of these base wines in used oak and blocks malolactic fermentation to maximize freshness and vibrancy. Then the carefully crafted blend spends 8 full years on the lees before being disgorged this October. The dosage is ultra-low - 2 or 3 g/l - so this could be labeled "Extra Brut," but there's so much richness and depth here that "Brut" seems more appropriate to Eric.

Past releases have earned plenty of critical praise, including 17.5/20 points from Jancis Robinson, 93 from Vinous, and 92 from Wine Advocate. This year’s release is explosive on the nose and palate, pumping out big notes of lemon curd, caramel, toasted nuts, baking bread, crushed chalk, and more. The flavors just balloon out to fill your entire palate and finish with layer upon layer of mouthwatering pie crust, lemon curd, hazelnut, crushed stone and salty caramel flavor. Try holding some for even more richness! — 9 years ago

Phil Harris

9.9

I love this bold semi sweet dark red blend — 10 years ago

Mark Coleman

9.0

Huge but really well balanced and compelling. — 10 years ago

Brad Hemmer

8.9

Baking spices, light earthiness, baked cherries, cranberries, some chewy tannins especially upon opening, very nice wine for a cool fall night. — 11 years ago

with Jenny

Steve Tishco

8.9

Nice Merlot based blend. Pretty light bodied but nice fruit as well. — 11 years ago

Scott Cunningham

Owner/Importer Bottleneck Wines

9.8

Reminds me of a Mountain Bike ride during the fall in Park City. Decaying Forrest floor, dried leaves, lavender, violets. Red and blue fruits, allspice, beautiful (yet) heavy integration of oak, persistent finish. Best wine I've tasted this year (Feb 21, '14) — 12 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Tried this again, good value. St. Innocent Winery was founded in May 1988 by Mark Vlossak, with eight investors. Ten tons of grapes were crushed the first fall, producing about 575 cases of wine. Deep red with berry fruit aromas, spice and floral notes. On the palate cherry and raspberry flavors, juicy with herb pepper notes. Fine tannins, nicely balanced with acidity on a lingering finish ending with fruit and earthy mineral. Nice Value. — 8 years ago

Holly Giese

9.2

Delicious. Trav and I both enjoyed this. Perfect with our steak on this beautiful fall Saturday evening. — 9 years ago

leon egozi

9.6

In anticipation of the upcoming fall allocation — 9 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.0

Faded cherry fruit, earthy funk, decaying vegetation, sweet smokey mesquite. Reminded me of wool blankets and fall leaves by a campfire. In a beautiful twilight phase--thanks @Scott DeBenedett ! — 9 years ago

Kecia Bird

9.0

Kecia had this 10 years ago

Elyse Lichtenthal

9.5

2014. Exceptional Chenin Blanc. Characteristic of this region. Golden color, yellow apples and honey on nose w/ notes of toffee or nutty caramel (a little on palate as well). Layered, textured wine; slight sweetness with first sip, some funky/petrol minerality mid-palate. Velvety smooth texture, like oil. Linear & balanced finish. Early, crisp fall in a glass. Would be interesting to try it after a few more years of bottle-aging. — 10 years ago

William Fry

9.4

$29. What can you say about the shimmering brilliance, the steady glowing ember of inspiration that delicately toes the shoreline of your mind? Not a damn thing. That's what. Drink, get naked, and feel the world fall around you. It speaks for itself. — 11 years ago

Graeme Eastgate

9.2

Prob last nice evening of the fall, enjoying and grilling — 11 years ago

Andy Cochran

9.0

A favorite for fall. Only slightly edged out by pumkinhead in my opinion. — 11 years ago

Matt Ryan

Hospitality Director Big Basin Vineyards

9.6

Zinfandel/field blend mastery. Layers upon layers of resinous boysenberry, plums, fall leaves and tobacco. Refined, chewy tannins and long focused finish. Balance above all. This stuff absolutely rocks!!!!!! — 12 years ago