Eric Godin

9.4

About damn time I had a cote rotie, and this was a damn good place to start. An impeccably balanced wine with less meatiness than I expected. A bright ripeness of raspberries keeps it from a burgeoning doom overripe plummy wild berry darkness. A good amount of pepper makes a showing on the nose as well and as it oxidizes our raspberries gain an intriguing caramel quality. Along with the slightest whiff of VA are duck fat, dark cocoa and organic earth. A solid medium body makes this a wine to sit an enjoy with a friend as the bottle opens and evolves. — 8 years ago

P A

9.3

After a day trying to keep up with a 7 year old biking along the Elk River my wife and I decided to stop at the Bridge Bistro and have a sandwich and adult beverage. This IPA"Fat Tug" from Drift Wood Brewery in Victoria, BC. Is in my humble opinion the "Gold Standard" for BC IPAs. 🇨🇦🍻 — 9 years ago

JJ Lumia

9.6

Raspberry, with olive, mushroom and bacon fat. A long, smoky finish. Lush, creamy and supple. A WS Top 100. — 10 years ago

Christo M

9.0

Great back of the tongue taste...smooth af — 10 years ago

Austin Ferrari

Wine Director Hillside Supper Club

9.7

Smoked bacon, bacon fat, dirty socks! Not as elegant as some, but damn delicious! — 10 years ago

LM Segal

9.3

2013. Superb. Was expecting infanticide and discovered a prodigy. Lighter side of Syrah, perfectly delineated after 1 hr decant. Feminine, lithe lens on allspice, lavender, bacon fat. Swathe of fine tannins. This will evolve for decades, so nicely structured, but worth trying now. As good as the pricier VV I tried last year. — 11 years ago

Joe Fox

9.0

This is a red that Sandy actually enjoyed! — 11 years ago

Franc

9.0

Tastes great! 👍 — 11 years ago

Quinn Canter

9.1

Sledged my hammer — 12 years ago

Neal Ferry

9.7

Lots of Floral Notes... — 12 years ago

Joe Spaniol

10

Excellent Malbec — 9 years ago

Mike Zerwinski

9.1

Really creamy and fruity — 9 years ago

Chris England

9.1

This Rôtie is delivering on nasal nookie @ £37 but needs time for palate pleasure 👍 still a great drop 😎

🍇 100% Syrah from 13 parcels

🍷 Vibrant ruby

👃 Smokey cherry & raspberry cola w/ earthy blackberry, dark red potpourri, herby bacon, sweaty leather, frying fat spit & bit of piggy 💩

👄 Med body of earthy herby blackberry w/ green hints yet no drying tannin

🎯 Med earthy blackberry cherry cola, black olive w/ green stalks - needs 3-5yrs 👍 — 9 years ago

Nick Buissinne

9.5

Slightly smokey - a real lovely surprise, goes down so smoothly and leaves a pleasant after taste - not sure why it is mentioned as being from France - wine of origin is Robertson South Africa and proudly so! — 10 years ago

Jennifer Snyder

9.0

Great cheapster from TJ's — 10 years ago

Charles Antin

Senior Wine Specialist/Auctioneer Zachys

9.0

A bit fat, short. — 10 years ago

with Zachys

Johan Schulte

9.0

Was a great wine went well with some finger foods on a nice day at the Vinyard. — 11 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.5

Man this was sexy, displaying so many aromatics, red & black fruits, violets, bacon fat, earthy, leather and spice box. Mouline has always been my favorite of the La La's — 11 years ago

John Kline

9.1

Lot of bacon fat! — 12 years ago

Jose Ramirez

9.0

Espuma del Gaucho. Cabernet Sauvignon 2010. Rich in flavors of cassis and black fruit. Notes of subtle oak carry this wine of pride and passion. — 12 years ago

Nicole Avilla

10

Mitchell Katz Fat Boy — 13 years ago

with Julian, Danny and 1 other

Hayley Sykes

9.1

Light and delicious!
— 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Alban Vineyards as they state in their label "The first American winery & vineyard established exclusively for Rhone varieties." This Syrah has settled in nicely after 10 years in bottle. I would say it's peaking. On the nose; scorched earth, sweet & slowly baked; blackberries, blueberries, black raspberries, plum, huckleberries and dark cherries. Mint, eucalyptus, milk chocolate, black olive, notes of liqueur, crushed rocks, loamy top soil and lilacs, violets and lavender. The palate is rich and nicely resolved. The body medium-medium plus. The fruits are ripe, creamy and juicy; blackberries, blueberries, black raspberries, plum, huckleberries, dark cherries and strawberries haunt the long fruit set. Mint, eucalyptus, sage, smoked meat, milk chocolate, black olive, notes of liqueur, crushed dry rocks, gritty volcanic minerals, scorched earth, a little bacon fat, underbrush, a whiff of black pepper, lilacs, violets and lavender, great rich, round, fresh acidity with a very good, long, balanced, well structured, finish with length and staying power. I prefer this over the Cayuse I had a couple of weeks ago. Much better balance of fruit, earth, etc.. photos of their Edna Valley vineyard, fruit that needs netting to protect it from the birds, John Alban and the Alban barrel room. Producer notes and history...In 1985, John Alban planted grapes for other people until he bought an estate in 1989. He focused on wines made from Rhône Valley varietals. Alban is one of the pioneers of the Rhone Rangers movement. They are considered to one of the more influential American Rhone producers. In beginning to grow Viognier, Alban said, "I almost single-handedly doubled the world's acreage," referring to a time when its cultivation was reduced to 50 acres or 20 ha in two areas of the Rhône Valley, Condrieu and Château-Grillet. Alban's work, along with that of Josh Jensen of Calera Wine Company (just sold to Duckhorn, ugh!) in San Benito County, helped to significantly expand plantings of Viognier in California at a time when the variety was near extinction. Alban has 250-acre or 100 ha under vine. Their vineyard area extends 60 acres or 24 ha, planted with Syrah, Viognier and Roussanne. The Alban wines produced are; Lorraine Vineyard, Reva Vineyard Syrah, Seymour's Vineyard Syrah, Patrina Alban Estate Syrah and Pandora, a blend of Grenache and Syrah. They also used to produce a dessert wine from 5% botrytis grapes and aged in 50% new oak, called Rotten Luck. You can still find past vintages on Wine-Searcher. — 9 years ago

Matt

9.4

Maybe it's in my head but the purity and aromatic intensity of Serine always blows my mind. Classic N. Rhône Syrah with the volume turned up. Bacon fat, violet, black/blueberry confiture, cured meat, licorice whip, roasted plum, cigar ash. I love the mid-palate breadth of this wine and how well it showed after a proper decant. Wildly rustic while being poised and elegant, a great reminder of why I love N. Rhône wines — 10 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.1

Light straw color. Floral nose with sweet apricot and white flower note. Rich and glycerol in the mouth. Some acidity but this is very fruit forward today. Needs to shed its baby fat. — 10 years ago

Jessica Dowd

9.2

Not too bad! Shore wine — 11 years ago

Kate W

9.0

This was very smooth — 11 years ago

Jerome Hill

9.2

Enjoyed this with mama lastnight! #bevmo — 11 years ago

Mitch K

10

Fruity, fun, fertile. Would recommend for this price range 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 12 years ago

Cristina Ferrigno

9.3

Very tasty — 13 years ago