Philip Deibel

9.3

Home alone for 24 hrs! The perfect time to open something older. Fully mature Bordeaux... I mean Napa! Dried fruit and tobacco, there is still a frame of tannins but they are well integrated and slightly chalky in texture. Enjoyable but more mature than I prefer. — 5 years ago

Robert McCall

9.4

Wow. This guy shed its youthfulness within the hour after it went into the decanter. Evolved several times over the next two into a real treat. Dark fruit, cedar, leather, lavender. Scent geek stuff. Silky tannic grip emerged to frame dark fruit, tobacco/mint, a l’il spice box. This producer delivers every time for me. Quickly becoming my go to Bordeaux house. Awesome again. — 5 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Roald 2016 “GSM” short for Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. Grapes sourced from Chalk Hill AVA as well as other California sites. Medium Ruby color of this lovely Rhône Blend with aromas of dark berry fruits, rustic spices and smoky notes. On the palate flavors of black cherry and blackberry fruit with cacao, leather and earthy notes, wrapped in vivid acidity on nicely structured frame. Fine tannins, medium+ finish ending with a fruit and spice character. Drinks very nicely now! Good value! Tasting Sample! — 6 years ago

Doctor No

9.2

Dried cherry, bit of raspberry and fresh plum, subtle toffee, garrigue, tobacco notes on a lithe frame. Improved over two days. Big nose of acetone present on opening was totally gone in 15min. — 6 years ago

Amer S. Ahmed

9.1

Beautiful wine - expressive medium+ nose of violets, rose, blackberry, red and black cherries, and lavender, following through with a medium body and bracing acidity on a mineral frame. Long finish — 7 years ago

with Kumail

Jörgen Lindström Carlvik

Owner, Brix Wine Consultants

9.3

Souring aromas here; just awesome. Dark cherries and plums, spice, wet stone, mineral and dark chocolate frame an elegant and beautifully balanced wine, worthy of its pedigree name. Needless to say, no magician on planet Earth can foster true greatness in vintages like this BUT only enviable estates are able to bottle THIS given the circumstances. It fails to broadening its mid-palate and tannins are already integrated, better love sooner than later. Bought on release. Note to self; one legendary vintage from here, please. — 7 years ago

Daniel M

9.0

Northern Rhône style fronton. Delicious. Pepper and cherry and plum on the nose. Fruits all over the palate. Long acid frame that makes it very easy to sip on. Love it. We paired it with roasted squabs : perfect match! — 8 years ago

Ron R

9.5

Petaluma Tiers - In my mind, a first-growth chard from down under.
I spat my pacifier out when the cork disintegrated, but I need not have been concerned.
The visual presentation is stunning - look at that golden color in the glass. The nose displays roasted almonds, nutmeg, toasted bread and white fruits.
Palate is regal, revealing poise, layers and complexity. The mouthfeel is dense, while notes of nuts, exotic fruits and oak are layered. The acidity provides a frame for the overall structure. The almost undetectable oxidation is to be expected, but that just adds to what is a stunning example.
@Bob McDonald, any backstories to share?
Pairing this with filet and porcini mushrooms (which I have never cooked) 😱 — 5 years ago

with Anne-marie, Eric and 2 others

Michael Goldstein

9.5

Tremendous. Leathery, smokey, herbal, musky, cocoa, plum, earthy. Layers of deep, dark flavors delivered on a lithe, well-balanced frame. Tannins were largely resolved and this was gentle and flowing. Fresh and energized and kept getting better the longer it was open. The nose was beguiling: cocoa, earth, smoke. A beautiful, delicious wine. — 6 years ago

with Charles

Sipping Fine Wine

8.9

Inspired by the golden hills that frame the landscape of San Bernabe Vineyard at the southern edge of the Santa Lucia Mountain range. Deep color with berry fruit aromas and notes of toasty honey scents. On the palate blueberry and cherry flavors with vanilla, cacao and toasty notes. Smooth tannins balanced well with acidity, lingering ending with espresso and spice character. Nice value. — 6 years ago

Amer S. Ahmed

9.1

Unexpected and delightful - Pinot Noir from Southwest Virginia! From vineyards planted at 1800 feet (big diurnal range and early harvest), this silky wine sang with notes of loam and damp earth, maitake mushroom, cranberry, red cherry, raspberry compote, boysenberry, violet, lavender, black pepper, toast and wood smoke, with bracing acid and medium-plus tannins on a medium frame. A long, satisfying, and juicy finish. One to seek out that proves how careful site selection and winemaking skill can produce superb results from innovative grape/region combinations! — 6 years ago

LM Segal

9.2

No explanation for why this was so good but it was. And what’s with @delectable photo upload? It’s cutting off within the frame, sorry. — 8 years ago

Henrik Poulsen

9.3

13.6% alc.

Super expressive fruits at this early point that almost is too much/overpowering for the supple and elegant structure of this wine.

While still utterly pleasing I could wish for more tannins and "frame work" here and hope this will gain better balance as the fruit mellows down a bit. — 8 years ago

with Kurt-Inge

Severn Goodwin

9.1

Nose has lightly grilled lemon, wet limestone, oxidized green apple peel, minor oak char and vanilla creme.

Palate has day-old lemon zest, yellow apple pulp, dried white florals, slight lanolin and dry earth. Mild acidity, just doing wonderful tonight.

Our last bottle of 2016 😢. Paired great with large slabs of Steelhead trout on the grill, toasted orzo with garden herbs and a wonderful salad of microgreens with early lettuces from a local farmer. Our greens likely to be ready in a couple more weeks. 🤤 I really need a full on greenhouse, a cold frame isn't enough! — 5 years ago

Matt Sterr

9.0

Lychee, pear 🍐 on a dry, clean frame. A little waxy, but for the money this is a real good buy. — 5 years ago

with Alex and Tim

Daniel M

8.9

This label cracks me up every single time😃
Violet, cherry, iron, earth. A firework of a nose and no trace of any barnyard funk lately which is good improvement on the same bottles opened one year ago. The palate is well balanced with a crazy fruit, violet exploding here and there, a strong acid frame and some matter, côte du Rhône style. Gentle tannins kick off a very playful finish with violet and cherry and a lot of fun. This wine is made out of grapes grown 10 miles from the house I grew up in near toulouse and it's always a win! (pun intended) — 6 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Had this Year ago. More than 40 years, Ponzi Vineyards set the standard for New World Pinot production with many innovations & techniques. All 130 acres of Ponzi vineyards are certified sustainable. Aromas of rich ripe fruit and osk spice, aged for 20 months on French oak (30% new) with fruit from Ponzi's Aurora, Abetina and Madrona vineyards. On the palate cherry and strawberry flavors with currants, herb and licorice notes. Lingers, well balanced frame ending with spice, cedar & mineral tones. Nice! — 6 years ago

Scott Taddeo

9.7

he wine itself is intensely aromatic leading with touches of violets, lavender and blue gum before notes of black currant, cassis, ripe plums, liquorice, dark chocolate and some toasty oak. Immediately assertive in the palate with power being the defining message, the wine is extremely focused with inherent freshness nestled within its big frame. It’s extremely youthful and those with patience will surely be rewarded, but jeeze it’s hard to stop drinking it now 🔥 — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

It's just one of the best evening starters unless your are going to bust out; Krug Rosé, vintage Krug & Salon or like's. The fruits are bright, delicious and leaner in style. Black cherries, black raspberries, strawberries, cherries, tangerine & watermelon near the rhine. Delicate, powdery chalkiness with a fine and slightly sharp edge that I love, baguette, beautiful saline & minerality. Fresh, crisp acidity and a delightful finish with long staying power. Photos of their beautifully manicured property, A frame racks waiting to be riddled, the grape press after first pressing and the best days in the vineyard...harvesting! Normally, I'm regularly a 9.3, but tonight it's showing me a little more. — 8 years ago

Rajiv Ayyangar

10

This is a knockout wine, a stunner, a pitch-perfect expression of love for wine in general, and Loire Cab Franc in particular. It's wild in all the right places, and impressively refined where it counts.
Medium ruby color. Arresting and straight-up delicious nose that has a certain choreography to it. Specifically it reminds me of Jiří Kylián - finding freedom within a melange of classicism and visceral impetus. Exuberance in wine is rare enough, but exuberance with such focus and intention?
The classicist bent was my first impression - a correct nose of stewed bell peppers and coffee grounds (pyrazines), earthy dog fur with slight clove (brett), and a savory blackberry-cherry fruit compote.
Tasted blind, you would guess Loire, but you might wonder at the shifting nature, at how occasionally the bretty flavors rear up in a flourish, only to be overshadowed a second later by a warm, pure fruit. There is something haunting about the fruit here - it seems to contain memories of many different wines. The wildness is complex - dried leaves, dog fur, toasted mushroom, spiced clove, moist earth. The pyrazinic aromas have uncommon depth and character - stewed bell pepper, coffee, and nascent tobacco.
On the palate, the wine dances with an elegant 12.6% alcohol frame, vibrant acidity, and satiny tannins - the medium on which the finish is printed. There is a moment, mid-palate, where the individual components come together seamlessly - a strong argument for structural-aromatic integration in the Clark Smithian sense. On the finish, the flavors subtly unravel, then persist like a vocal ensemble with synchronized vibrato.
Get this. — 8 years ago