Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Haut-Bailly Dinner in SF with Veronique Sanders of Haut-Bailly.

The 16 is sensational. The 16 vintage has the widest drinking window that I have tasted in my 25 years tasting Bordeaux. The style is lighter, brighter, ripe fruits, blackberries, black cherries, black raspberries, dark cola, picked up nice expresso notes revisiting another tasting at the end of dinner, beautiful understated earth of; stones, dry top soil & clay, dark fresh & slightly withering flowers. Great acidy. Elegant, well balanced finish that wows young. This will flirt with a near perfect score in 15-20 years of bottle age.

Served with Creek Stone Farm Filet of Beef, Sautéed Potatoes, Red Wine Sauce. @Mathilde French Bistro

Photos of; Clyde Beffa Owner of K&L Wine Merchants & Veronique Sanders, dinner menu & pairing & dinner guests. — 6 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Alsace Gewurz is a wine I pop when I want to reward myself. Tonight it’s a reward for getting a lot of yard-work done on a ridiculously hot and humid day and not getting dehydrated.

The nose is Gewurtzy, of course, in that it shows lychee, apricot, and musky florals, but what really sets this apart from the run-of-the-mill G-Dog is its minerality. Takes it from the verge of cloying, with which Gewurz can flirt, to something special. Soft and full in the mouth, slightly sweet. Very long finish. — 7 years ago

Jason Lee

9.5

Love this dirty little rose. Drinks like an orange almost. Substantial but with all of the flirt and beauty of a great rose. Cold pressed yuzu strawberry with a little stone fruit so fresh light refreshing and pretty. Brings a little Italian summer back into my life on this frigid New York night. BUY NOW at wine therapy wish I'd bought a case 😔 — 8 years ago

Cyrus Kay

9.3

Immediate tart fruit nose - raspberry and blueberry, rhubarb; gives way to ripe blackcurrant. Hints of charcoal.

Lovely palate - beautiful balance. Very smooth texture - very well integrated tannins. Starts with more tree bark-sequence notes, herbaceous and cinnamon undertones, before fading into rich, soft black and purple fruit, with exceptionally bouncy black currant again a dominating theme, and with minor forest floor undertones to add the equivalent of subtle crows feet.
It's like it tells you it's age first, then proceeds to flirt with you. This is a cougar wine: it snares you with a sense of mature yet bouncy fun and then proceeds to beguile you with a mix of old and new in both aroma, taste and texture. A slightly high level of acid from its advanced years is a low price to pay for drinking it all.

Lovely long finish that gives beautiful chewy fruit, yielding to herby zest after seemingly long time.

Only criticisms are a slight muddling of fruit flavours, and a slight preponderance of acid on the front of the tongue. — 9 years ago

with Aimie

Nathan Kidder

9.1

Funky and tart, like a barn rave. It's been a few months since I've gotten to flirt with Burgundy proper, and I'm glad to be back. Pairing with chicken cacciatore, to bring out the herbaceous, wet-hay-like gaminess that makes wine like this perfect for dinner tonight. While the tart acidity isn't usually my first choice, it balances my dinner masterfully. I bet in 3-5 years, the barrel spice, fruit, and acidity will marry well. — 9 years ago

Mark Gagnier

9.0

Pervasive delicate fine tiny bubbles. Pear, smooth, slightly creamy. Very drinkable — 10 years ago

Jeffrey Davies

9.5

Levensohn 2012 Napa Valley/St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon
I had the good fortune to taste this exciting wine on two occasions, first at a party for the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux organized by Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider) in Bel Air, together with a number of top Bordeaux producers! And then at a dinner at Silvio Denz's Château Faugères, a grand cru classé in Saint-Emilion. I've always enjoyed sharing some of Napa Valley's finest with some of Bordeaux's top producers! I think it fair to say that everyone, myself included, was very impressed with this rendition of Pascal Levensohn's latest release, produced from grapes grown in his own Saint Helena vineyard, most of which fruit he sells to Vineyard 29.

The color is like the band: saturated Deep Purple, leaving little doubt as to the ripeness of the harvest. The nose gains in both intensity and complexity as the wine comes to life in the glass revealing aromas of ripe blue and black fruits, subtly underscored by hints of vanillin and espresso, these latter scents being the result of nearly two years aging in high-quality, new French oak barrels. Nothing is overstated here, au contraire: complexity is as much in play here as is concentration. On the palate, the wine has a velvety caress thanks to its superbly integrated grape and oak tannins that confirm the impression of ripeness but also the deft hand of the winemaker. Similar blue and black berry fruits that were evident on the nose also infuse the flavors of this intriguing wine. The wine's finish is lengthy and altogether seamless. Nothing stands out but for the overall harmony and balance of this beautifully knit rendition of Napa Valley Cabernet.

I thought the 2010 Levensohn was a very fine wine when I tasted it last year. But this 2012 rises to a whole new level, one where it begins to flirt with some of the Valley's most prestigious names. My friends from Bordeaux, with whom I was pleased to share it, were as impressed as was I. Alas, the wine has but one fault: there were only 49 cases produced – and one of them is already spoken for!
— 11 years ago

Dezel Quillen

9.3

Fields Family Wines ’14 Stampede Vineyard Zinfandel (SRP $28): Ain't no fun if the homie—The Spaceman—can’t have none (lol). This delicious Zinfandel is produced from 75-85 year old vines and made in small lots (only 100 cases made) with minimal intervention in the vineyard and cellar. A bright ruby color, this medium-bodied wine is juicy with beautiful raciness—showing a good sense of balance between richness, freshness and finesse. It offers appealing aromas and flavors of cherry and tart plum (gorgeous fruit), with notes of dill, spice, perfume, and loam adding complexity. This wine paired exceptionally well with the cherry/pecan baby-backs I smoked over the weekend. If you enjoy vibrant, food-friendly Zins that flirt with elegance, then this is your ticket. Put this producer on your wine radar if they’re not on it already. You can visit fieldsfamilywines.com to learn more. And for the record, of the four 1978 [Kiss] solo albums, Ace had the best one! — 6 years ago

.:;2):’kicndnebxhjd

8.9

From one of our newest california AVA's, Gap's Crown. This wine's a flirt: slab of malo, cantaloupe/papaya/pumpkin, and browning apple. Bottle says it's grown on clay soils and it's pretty upfront with that. Some rubber or glue here too on the nose and texture. Like zero citrus notes.. veeeeery smooth and subtle acid I'd give it a 5/10 it's like a slow wave. A little extra floral for Chardonnay and I think the nose exceeds the palette. Honestly let this open up because 30 minutes later I'm enjoying it levels more. Finally this wine was picked because I was looking through my stash for a wine that pairs with lord of the rings lol. Good wine for sure. 14.4% — 8 years ago

Kacie Lyn

9.0

Buttery, acidic, full flirt — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I've been curious about this wine for some time. The original 05 Ausone review from Parker was revised and one would think it was at the request of the Chateau. Parker's 💯 point review started something like this...if you are over the age of 55, you'll want to decide if you want to buy this this wine. Largely, due to his call on it's years of drinkability; which was from 2055-80. Parker's review was mysteriously revised within two months of it's original review. Tonight, I Coravin-ed this tasting of the Chapelle D'Ausone. The 05 Chapelle D'Ausone is still very big & tight but starting it's journey into a decent drinking phase. The tannins are still chewy and dark. The fruits are; ruby blackberries, dark cherries, a mix of blue fruits, strawberries paint the back palate, dark & milk chocolate, caramel, Christmas cake, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, spice-box, black tea, a whiff of green bell peppers, irony minerals, loamy soils, tree bark, a touch of leather, lead pencil shavings, dry stems, dry stones & dark moist soil. The acidity is perfect. The structure, length, balance and tension flirt with glory. The finish runs ripe to dry fruit and the minerals are rich with a dark elegance that lasts and lasts. As good as this wine is tonight, I'll put this bottle back; which is 1 of a 6 pack and wait another 7-10 years to reopen it. Both of Ausone's 05 wines are meant for most collectors end of life or meant to be left for their children. — 9 years ago

Scott Taddeo

9.2

Red fruits, high toned florals, spice, slightly smoky and super herbal with no noticeable oak. Doesn't flirt with northern Rhone, but is its own thing all together. The medium bodied palate is complimented with gorgeous satin like tannins met with thunderous fruit intensity — 9 years ago

Peter C

9.1

Bit timid. Red fruit, sweet tea leaves. Earthy. Flirt. Makes me want to try more. Very well made. — 10 years ago

Ellen Clifford

8.9

Nan Helgeland makes extraordinary wines because she pays attention both to the wines and the people making them. That’s a whole other story though. This wine: red red fruits for sure(cran-rasp-blackrasp) well balanced but the tannins are gonna play hard to get, then they flirt with you then hide again. It’s intriguing — 7 years ago

Doctor No

9.0

Spice and red tea nose. A bit of dried citrus peel and menthol. Cranberry fruited. Starts out light but eventually begins to round out with air. This is distinctly Spatburgunder in the way it seems to flirt with both ripeness and depth but doesn’t quite seem to get there and remains complex and interesting despite. — 8 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

The strikingly vivid and dark array of red fruits, including black cherry, black raspberry, pomegranate, and cranberry, flirt and fight with the densest of rose petals ever come across, while a soundtrack of potpourri keeps the fire stoked. This is the work of the red Jory. Intoxicatingly simple and simply intoxicating. — 8 years ago

Alexander Vadas

9.5

Wow..... lingering minerality; feels like this wine knows how to flirt with your tastebuds — 9 years ago

Jessica Call

9.0

Excellent wingman wine (used it to give a little flirt). Now let's see if this can get us to "date" #3. — 9 years ago

Tiffany Sams Cox

9.3

Where is that place where richness and precision collide? Where barely ripe tropical fruits flirt with a lacy veil of mineral sensation and just a tickle of late summer roll in the hay gets caught in my hair...That place? Oh, it's the Sonoma Coast squeezed and bottled with the Rivers-Marie label. — 10 years ago

Jonathan K

9.1

Eleni loves this one! — 11 years ago

with Eleni