Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

2010 was a very good vintage in Rhône. Rostaing is a well know producer with people that know and drink Northern Rhône wines, not so much with others that do not. The Ampodium is the entry level into Rene & Pierre Rostaing wines. It is a blend of 13 vineyards in Northern Rhône. They are simply one of the very best producers in the region. I spent an afternoon with Rene & his son Pierre tasting in the their cellar and in their La Landonne vineyard as shown in the photos. The 2010 is drinking beautifully with many good years ahead. On the nose; ripe & slightly stewed/baked fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, strawberries, creamy raspberries, stewed plum, black raspberries, cherries, steeped fruit tea, dry crushed rocks, iron pan, some white & black pepper, bacon fat, grilled savory meats, pork, black licorice, black cherry cola, decayed & fresh red florals with violets. The body is round and medium full. The tannins round, still a little chewy & around 55% resolved. The length, texture, tension and balance are in near perfect harmony. The fruits are; round, ruby & ripe; slightly stewed/baked fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, strawberries, creamy raspberries, stewed plum, black raspberries & cherries. Steeped fruit tea, dry crushed rocks, chalky minerals, iron pan, coffee grounds, spice, some baking spices w/hints of vanilla, white & black pepper, drying blood, dry herbs/bay leaf, dry stems, moderate levels of bacon fat & pork, grilled savory meats, black licorice, black cherry cola, decayed & fresh red florals with fresh violets for days. The acidly is round and dripping. The long finish is plush, velvety delicious and lasts & lasts. In good vintages, I would put this in blind with the best of of the best new world wines from any vintage that many love; SQN, Booker, Saxum, Alban, Cayuse, Horsepower etc.. I’d bet most of you would pick it over these producers that cost much more $$$. It’s simply one of the best pound for pound wines/producers for this varietal. Especially, for the $$$. Wow, what a wine for the $. $55 upon release. Photos of; Winemaker Pierre Rostaing and our group in their La Landonne vineyard, the small sign that barely identifies their Estate, an example of the Quartz mineral that runs throughout their La Landonne vineyard and the view back onto the river from the top of the very steep La Landonne Vineyard. Producer notes and history...Rene Rostaing produced their first wine in 1971. However, it took almost three decades before wine became a full time occupation for Rene Rostaing. Domaine Rene Rostaing came about through marriage. The wife of Rene Rostaing was the daughter of the famed Cote Rotie grower, Albert Dervieux, and the niece of Marius Gentaz-Dervieux who gave Christine the vineyard land that became the Northern Rhone estate for Rene Rostaing. Through inheritance from Albert Dervieux Thaize (his father-in-law) who retired in 1990, and from Marius Gentaz Dervieux, his uncle, Rene Rostaing expanded his holdings, giving him some of the best terroir in Cote Rotie. The new vineyard land was basically 3 small parcels in the La Landonne, Cote Brune and Vialliere lieux-dits. This initial expansion from his initial tiny parcel, allowed Rene Rostaing to change careers and become a full time vigneron. Since 2007, the estate has managed by Pierre Rostaing, (son) of Rene Rostaing. Currently Rene Rostaing owns 7.5 hectares of vines that is spread out among 20 different parcels located in 14 locations. Perhaps the most celebrated vines of Rene Rostaing are the 1.6 hectares of vines they own in the La Landonne vineyard (photo). On La Landonne, the vines are more than 60 years old. Some vines are even close to 100 years of age! Those are his largest holdings. The smallest vineyards of Rene Rostaing are located on Cote Blonde. Rene Rostaing also has vines planted in; Fonjean, La Vialliere, Le Plomb, Bouchare, Leyat, La Roche and La Tupin. Their oldest vines are more than 70 years old and are used for Rene Rostaing Cote Blonde. The majority of those plantings are on the steep hillsides with mica, schist and rocky soils. 25% of those vines are closer to the bottom of the slopes and on the flats. Rene Rostaing remains a traditional Cote Rotie producer who is not among the last to harvest. His wines are aged using very little new, French oak barrels. On average, Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie are aged in about 10% new French oak barrels. Rene Rostaing produces 4 different Cote Rotie wines. Rene Rostaing Ampodium, which was previously known as Rostaing Cuvee Classique, is a blend of 13 sections of different vineyards, but it does not include their best holdings on La Landonne or Cote Blonde. The fruit for Rene Rostaing Ampodium has at least 40% or more of the stems removed and run between 12-13.5% abv. The wine is usually made from 100% Syrah and is aged in an average of 15% to 25% new, French oak barrels. The amount of new oak can be less, depending on the character of the vintage. About 1,750 cases are produced each year. The wine is no longer called Cuvee Classique, the name was changed to Rene Rostaing Ampodium with the 2009 vintage. Rene Rostaing La Landonne comes from a terroir consisting of sands with iron oxide and traces of quartz. This wine is always produced from 100% Syrah. The grapes are partially destemmed, with about 10% to 20% of the stems removed, depending on the vintage. There are vintages when no destemming takes place. The remainder of the grapes are whole bunch fermented in stainless steel vats. Rene Rostaing is not a believer of using too much new oak for the aging, which on average uses 10% new, French oak barrels and the remainder of the harvest is aged in demi-muids (600 liter) and French oak barrels. This wine is like most wines from La Landonne, masculine and meaty in character, requiring at least a decade to soften and develop. On average, Rene Rostaing La Landonne produces less than 600 cases depending on what the vintage delivers. Rene Rostaing Cote Blonde is perhaps his best. It’s produced from a blend of 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier. The grapes are co-fermented. The vineyards is planted in the region call Arzel. Arzel is a poor, mineral laden soil with deposits of Silex and Mica on a steep hillside. The vines are more than 50 years of age. The grapes are partially destemmed…35% to 50% of the stems are removed. The remainder of the grapes are whole bunch fermented in stainless steel vats.
The remainder of the harvest is aged in demi-muids. This one is the hardest to find and most collectible of all their wines. In fact, they only produce close to an average of 350 cases of Cote Rotie in most vintages. Rene Rostaing Cote Brune made its debut with the 2013 vintage. The vines were once part of the holdings of Marius Gentaz, which eventually passed to Rene Rostaing. Rostaing replanted those vines in 2000. Made from 100% Syrah. — 8 years ago

Anthony Lombardi

9.0

Carignan from 40 year old vines. A 50/50 mix of barrel fermentation & carbonic. This is a brilliant means of handling Carignan. It has the powerful, brooding dark fruit, but also shows a youthful approachability as the structure is tamed somewhat. I frankly find it astonishing that this can be on shelves for ten bucks. It is a bit one note, but that note is a really good one. — 10 years ago

Zachary Price

9.0

A total wine pick up. Vacqueyras is a French AOC in the southern Rhône region, established in 1990. Often receiving the unfortunate moniker of "a poor man's Châteauneuf-du-Pape", the wines are typically GSMs and can age nicely if produced correctly. This one is 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, (the AOC requires a minimum of 50% Grenache in the wine). While you can drink the wines young, they truly begin to shine after 3-4 years. This wine seems to be peaking now. ~$17 | #totalwine #vacqueyras #GSM

On the eyes: Dull deep brick brown, slightly cloudy, peaking to slightly orange at the rim. Med stain, med tears, no gas/floc.

On the nose: Black cherry, mulberry, vinous, nice oak character, hint of petrol and pepper.

On the tongue: med+ acid, med tannin, med alcohol, med body, a bit chewy in the mouth. Bright red cherry, stewed blackberry, a hint of mulling spices, touch of oak and tar. Nice finish. — 10 years ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.3

Discovered these wines at Garagiste in Seattle way back when they were 40 bucks. Slightly orange tinge. Don't get a lot in the nose just a hint of iron. On the palate leather. Lost its fruit may be closed? May be I am unfair? Will try this wine over the next two days and adjust my rating if I was wrong. Ok here we go a day later under Argon (I build my own system) this wine shines! Now it has dark faint cherry notes and some cedar plank slightly bitter in the back. Long but light on its feet! This is one beautiful spectacular classic Brunello! Can't believe the average price is now 81 bucks 50% more but this happens quite often with the gems I discover early enough in their geek/enthusiast price cycle. By the way their 2012 Chianti is also very good for much less but more rustic. — 11 years ago

Robert Torretti

9.2

2004. Surprising for a Barbera. Yes, it had acidity, but the acidity had mellowed over the years. Less fruity than a typical Barbera and with more earthiness. Strong with the Funghi pizza at Marta and with the Rabbit Meatballs. Great suggestion by Brian (one of the somms). Also, a good deal: Delectable says the retail price is around $65 for current release and $50 for the 2004. List price at Marta was only $72! — 11 years ago

with Christine

Lauren Baumgarten

8.9

One last graduations dinner! Tonight with the Forces. — 11 years ago

Fabien Lainé

Blogger VinDeling.com

9.5

Delicious and finesse, a very good value for money, one of the best Douro Touriga Nacional - This wine shows a different character. With origins in old vineyards Valley Mendiz, with 50 to 70 years old, the novelty is the combination with a percentage of Touriga Nacional from Quinta do Sibio. Very concentrated in color. Very expressive and elegant aroma dominated by notes of wild berries and cistus well combined with wood. The palate is full and balanced, very silky, fresh and intense. Final greatly extended — 12 years ago

Andrew Hahn

9.7

One of the best unfiltered sakes I've ever had. Floral nose with an amazingly light and sweet body. Very clean finish. Great with nigiri sushi. — 8 years ago

Lawrence Asrikin

9.4

Asahi Shuzo is one of the very few breweries that offers Junmai Daiginjo in multiple seimaibuai and keeps everything else remains roughly the same. As a result, you can experience how seimaibuai affects the end result. At 39% seimaibuai, it's priced right between the 50 and 39. Interestingly, it has slightly darker colour and bigger body than its siblings. Similarly nose with different finish. A little more forward than the 50 and 23 and sharp pineappley finish. — 9 years ago

Chris Roberson

10

What an amazing wine, great note of light cherries and plums. Smooth finish with a lot of great fruit flavors blended very well. One of the best pinots I have ever had. Happy I bought a case of initial release and have a few bottles left. — 9 years ago

Chris England

9.2

@ £50 - one of my fav pink NV with LP Rose, Bolly Pink NV & Billecart Salmon pink but this NV is a little lighter than normal

🍇 100% PN

🍾 Disg'd Mar 2015

🍷Pale peachy salmon copper pink

👃 Creamy citrus, red currant, apple & cherry, light smoked peachy oak, minerals & red flower

👄 Smooth & refreshing med body of red fruits with tart strawberry, apple, grapefruit & some cherry coming through in a lively bubbled mousse with low+ acidity & big minerality

🎯 Long red dry fruit filled mineral infused — 9 years ago

Chris England

8.9

One of my favourite St Estephe chateaus on great QPR 👍 @ £40 this 04 was at its peak 2yrs ago but still an enjoyable drop that won't improve

🍇 48% Cab S, 50% Mer & 2% Cab F

🍷 Dark ruby

👃 Mellowed gravel, minerals, leather, wet leaves & earth through aged stewed blackcurrant & fresh blackberry w/ light smokey oak & herby tones

👄 Med smooth body of deep earthy blackcurrant, dark plum & double shot mocha

🎯 Med earthy muted dark fruit mocha kiss — 9 years ago

admiral von schnauzer

10

Sooooooo.. yeah. That happened. For real. First any d'yquem is cause for celebration. One significantly older than you is cause for alarm. Also from 375ml, so i would surmise "fully mature". Slight seepage, go figure, and during a cork test I got some movement out of it, so decided it was go time.

Note it was apparently still doing its job, the som got it out with my Durand in one piece. And yes. I will bring my Durand to a restaurant with old bottles for corkage because why would I want the poor som to go nuts and lose his mind with a screw-pull?

Colour was dark. Castrol gtx20-50 (used) with definite fading to amber. Reddish tones nearly through out. Browny honey y orangey colour as a whole, and remarkably dark.

Nose was intoxicating. As always. Very... bright. Alive. The aromas and high tones betrayed the dark colour. Honey, apricots, creme brulee scents poured forth readily, and i regret choosing to not give this wine a half hour in the decanter prior to consuming. Thicker than a regular white wine, but not like oil.

Still had some acidity. Texture was other worldly. Initial tastes were peary honey botritis fruity, and those faded to more stone fruit, apricots, honey comb, i swear light aromas of orange blossoms. We lingered with this for about an hour, well worth the time.

Oct 19, 2016. Abc cocina, Manhattan ny. — 10 years ago

Jay Popp

8.9

One barrel made. White grapes at least 50 years old. No identification of varietals. — 10 years ago

David Lown

9.1

The best sip was the first where it had incredible complexity. Over time it got bigger but I feel like it hid the crazy complexity a bit. What was left was a more savory style of Barolo with beautiful fruit also. Obviously a 2010 Barolo is a baby. Can't wait for ten years from now besides that I'll be 50. Actually I take that all back. Ten years from now will suck and this wine may be one of the only good things. — 10 years ago

Alex Soto

9.1

For the (almost) 3rd time, I am at Quintonil restaurant (one of the top 50 restaurants of the world - Pellegrino's list) enjoying Caymus wine with business partners. — 11 years ago

William Allen - Two Shepherds

Owner/Winemaker Two Shepherds

9.0

amazing Rhone rosè from @garagiste_wine for $10!Would be a great one at 2x the price. Gorgeous watermelon flesh color, nose of fresh cherries, tomato Vine, strawberry. Great balance of acid and fruit with lingering finish, would pair well with a wide array of summer fare. Blend of 50% Syrah, 21% Cinsault, 18% Grenache , 6 Counoise, 5% Mourvedre. Sad I bought only 1. — 11 years ago

Dade Thieriot

10

OMG--this old
#Latour is so massive that you could eat it with a fork!
One of the greatest vintages of the 20th century, and, even now, this wine has years of life ahead of it!
And to think that I used to work in a wine shop that had cases piled up ten high priced at $50 per bottle! #1959 — 11 years ago

with Petra and Wietske

Jon Kolman

9.6

White silk. Was phenomenal. Not too sweet. Great flavor. One of my favorite whites. — 11 years ago

Muralee Murugesu

9.6

Round supple and absolutely fantastic. Long finish nearly 50 seconds. Probably one of the best sake I have tried so far. — 9 years ago

Armen Martirosyan

9.5

I am not a big Robert Mondavi fan, but this 50 anniversary 2013 vintage is one of those exceptions. Very smooth finish yet balance body. — 9 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

So, as I understand it this one was about 50 Syrah, 30cab, and the balance PV. Good wine, and apparently was opened up yesterday and decanted for quite a few hours before being served toeday. Immediately the front hits you with that Paso Syrah fruit. Blackberry, spiced cinnamon cake, herbal middle. The finish shows tamed acidity and definitely some oxidation likely in part due to the decant times but was showing some pepper and spiced fruitcake. This wine almost seemed to have a bit of an oxidized quality on the finish. IMO, the 20 percent PV and 30% cab really don't show until the very back. The fruit is definitely ample, and it wins that award hands-down with exception to the 2011 Morlet that outdid it in the youthful fruit / jammy fruit category. Finished with lots of oak like the 2008 Blankiet. This one still has 10 years ahead of it easily but was good to enjoy tonight. — 9 years ago

with Benjamin

Pat Taylor

9.6

Celebrating the completion of the house renovation, April 2017. On decant, the bouquet was immediate and everywhere. This was awesome. Herbaceous and fruity. The colour was notably opaque. Amazing red berry/cocoa and the 50% merlot presence rounds out a very pleasing palate. Perhaps the best testament of all: Michelle asked me to buy this one again 😂 — 9 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Aged for about 10 months in French oak (50% new). Light yellow with big aromas of stone fruits and nutty citrus notes. On the palate apple and pear flavors with bits of lemon rind, fresh and crisp, complex with mineral and wet stone on the lingering finish. Very Nice, about 300 cases made. Put this one in the cellar for a few years, you will be rewarded! Tasting Sample. — 9 years ago

Matt Trader

9.1

I've gotta hand it to Chuck's daughter on this vintage and say that she is becoming a great wine maker! It's funny, I preferred the Merlot over the Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. As a matter of fact, they both tasted quite similar to one another, but the Merlot had a one up on papa's wine; that one up was TANNIN STRUCTURE.
It had that similar raisin like nose, but showed some herb spice notes and nutmeg, with a core of sugar coated strawberry and ripe cherries. In the glass, the liquid was dark ruby with an intense purple hue, and long legs. The pallet exhibited notes of stewed black and red fruits, vanilla, clove, dark chocolate, and finished with finesse and lingered with an ever so charismatic bite.
In conclusion, I feel as if the Emmolo Merlot for the $50 is much more adequately priced than some of the Caymus family wines, and had a fantastic tannic structure, with acidity to accompany it. It wasn't AS sweet of a red as the Cab, so I will call it WOTN.

Brava Jenny Wagner!

CHEERS! — 10 years ago

Martin Redmond

8.9

Ir can be challenging to find #Champage for lees than $30. This one for the bill quite nicely. This one is a harmonious blend of 50% Chard, 40% Meunier and 10% Pinot Noir from organic fruit. It's crisp, tangy, and clean with a toasty apple, lemon and mineral character #enofylzwineblog #champagnecampaign #champagne — 10 years ago

Matt Trader

9.2

If I had one sentence to describe this wine, it is this: "Ca' Togni is the definition of desire." The vintage was a 2006, and let me tell ya, have the years been great to this mistress! Showing a deep brick red color, and a wine still showing all its wonderful fruits, with an expected maturity thrusting forth delightful complexity, this wine will make you love Black Hamburg! (Black Muscat) On the nose, notes of dried figs, dried rose petals, old leather, strawberry-rubarb jam, followed by a pallet of racy dark maraschino cherries, brown spices, and a vanilla finish. Phillip Togni is a hell of a wine maker out of Spring Mountain! I highly recommend trying one of these, even if it is $50, it was most certainly worth it! On top of that, it is 1 of only three wines he crafts, still in his 80's, still the king of the mountain. — 10 years ago

Tracy Hall

9.4

50/50 Franc/Merlot. Coming into its own. Still big but not as big as the vintages before this one. Smooth and pleasing. — 11 years ago

Lenard Henson

9.5

Lenard had this 11 years ago

with John

Jordan Gianelli

9.5

Tip top quality. Dark and dirty tones on the nose lead to an eyeopening showcase of depth of flavor carried with such grace and softness. Pure artistry and craftmanship. Homerun, slamdunk, hole in one. — 11 years ago