Shay A

9.6

Though not the same as it was pre-COVID -19, a handful of us were able to gather (while keeping our distance) to celebrate being back together and opened some fun wines to share. Wine is always better with good company.

Here’s one you don’t see very often. Tiny producer who has a track record of doing magical things with this vineyard. This falls in to the hedonistic type bucket. My first glass was like smelling a freshly baked mixed berry pie being pulled out of the oven. Dark chocolate, Andes mint, baking spices, charcoal and sandalwood jump from the glass as well. It was both elegant but rich on the palate. Decidedly dark fruit driven on the palate (less of the red fruit profile I typically get from GIII vineyard) as well as lavender, plum and currant. Lengthy finish that is delicious but still very youthful. Thanks for opening @Benjamin Keator — 6 years ago

with joe, Dan and 2 others

S.S. Mandani

9.3

One of my close friends and I aged a bottle of this French Malbec upon his leave from NYC.

It’s not a particularly great bottle. It can be bought for $11. It is exceptional because of its context. We forget that wine is an opportunity. A moment of memory and gratitude to create. If we use this excuse to gather with friends, then we’ve already elevated the wine.

We aged it for just 1.5 years and so it met its 5 year mark. It was light, resembling the composition of a Pinot Noir. It was airy and, now, after tasting the bottle this weekend again, new, without the extra aging, we can tell that the chemical, sugary aftertaste disappeared.

Great out of the store, even better after personal aging in a walnut veneer bar, and exceptional if drunk with friends, especially close ones.

Two bottles, across two weeks, aging one for almost two years. For the cornerstone experience, a 9.3.

— 7 years ago

Jennifer

9.2

Um....I really like it. The other ratings are ridiculous. It’s a fresh Bordeaux that’s all organic and all that jazz. I gather it’s like a table wine in Italy which is better than any California/USA wine. And I like it. — 7 years ago

Brian Tuite

9.2

Solid Rosé for $17 — 9 years ago

erto l

9.2

argh, the agony.... '08 is tasty! really quite an enjoyable drinker that ought gather lots of praise and rate top dollar. it's pop first growth now and metallica will probably start hawk'n it like they do brioni. how is brioni metal? it's not but then neither is metallic;-) more importantly though, how is this haut-brion? — 9 years ago

Stephen Becker

9.0

What they serve when all the Force ghosts of dead presidents gather for their annual 'state of the union' on the Jersey Shore. — 9 years ago

Riccardo L.

9.1

good, but a bit lighter than what I want out of a premier cru from here. it was outdone by a standard pommard, for example. tough vintage from what I gather. — 9 years ago

Shay A

9.6

Though not the same as it was pre-COVID -19, a handful of us were able to gather (while keeping our distance) to celebrate being back together and opened some fun wines to share. Wine is always better with good company.

The ‘04 has always been a favorite of mine, but this is really close. Aromatically, it is decadent and seductive. Sweet and ripe red, blue and black fruits dipped in fondue chocolate, with graham cracker and espresso, but also a charcoal/graphite like mineral note. It is silky on the palate with waves of more chocolate dipped fruits, nutmeg, Mexican vanilla and dust all wrapped in a rich profile that is still elegant and balanced. Gorgeous wine courtesy of @joe leatherwood . — 6 years ago

with joe, Dan and 2 others

Mark Flesher

9.3

First of a few. Bought big on this one and I think this one will be the best of the 17s from what I've been able to gather. Sweeter youthful wild red and black berry medley on the nose. The entry is with mild to moderate acidity. Mulberry, rhubarb, and brambly youthful fruit. Dried herbs, a little bit of tart cherry on the finish with stiff oak tannin. Excellent structure. Solid 93 now and this one is still pretty astringent on the finish. Gonna be even better than this in a few years. — 6 years ago

Donald Patz

Owner/Winemaker Patz & Hall

9.0

It needed a few minutes to gather itself but it did open, mature, vanilla bean, earth/leather, sweet cherries, tobacco-shop and spice. Obviously drink it now - storage is everything - special. — 7 years ago

Hetty Forsyth

9.2

“That is where everything begins, where everything is settled and their ideal is as simple as ABC: "a wine to drink over and over again", a subtle wine, with fruit hints, harmonious and vigorous at the same time and which would ideally gather rugby men and ballet dancers, sweet dreamers and loudmouths, curious amateurs and picky aficionados.”
Jacques Maigne, « In Vino » N°6 — 7 years ago

with Nick

Jessica Hereth

Sommelier/Wine Director Olympic Provisions

9.2

Well, I knock at your door
Gather your heart from the floor
When no answers come
Ever still, never run

No question why
You just slip slide on
You slip slide on by — 9 years ago

Amanda Yanagisawa

9.0

8.5 first day first day, 8.7 end of first glass. 9 on the second day. Very first glass drunk seemed rather insipid. After that it seem to gather some body. Second day second glass. Had some raisiny taste. Enjoyed it. — 9 years ago

Edmond Bordelon

9.0

Syrah is making a comeback, or is becoming more popular. The color on this Round Pond Syrah is beautiful. The wine is just a little tight and bright at this point. Give it some time to gather some more depth. — 9 years ago

with Katherine

Shay A

9.6

Though not the same as it was pre-COVID -19, a handful of us were able to gather (while keeping our distance) to celebrate being back together and opened some fun wines to share. Wine is always better with good company.

My second time with this wine in the last year. Amongst the Cayuse and Hor Categorie, the sweetness here was easy to pick up, but it was supremely balanced. This is a marriage of Napa Syrah and WA/OR Syrah...it has the sweet compote-like dark fruits as well as melted dark chocolate, but it channels a savory bacon fat and roasted herb character toward the finish. Iron fist in a velvet glove right now...simply outstanding. Thanks for opening @Dan Fitzgerald — 6 years ago

with joe, Dan and 2 others

Shay A

9.3

Though not the same as it was pre-COVID -19, a handful of us were able to gather (while keeping our distance) to celebrate being back together and opened some fun wines to share. Wine is always better with good company.

From the 2018 Cayuse Ex-cellar sale. Followed over two days.

The oldest Cayuse I’ve had to date and a testimony to the quality and longevity of these wines as the wine was drinking beautifully. This sat with the cork removed for about an hour before it was tasted the first time. Aromatically, the Cayuse funk was just barely there (I’m assuming a combo of age as well as less use of whole clusters/stem back during these vintages), but even just a touch of that funk is enough to reel you in. Iron driven, teriyaki, stewed tomatoes, and dark cocoa dusted dates. It has a semi muddled profile on the palate but the acidity is still keeping this lively, and it went from black cherry dominant in day one to a darker, roasted black cherry/underripe blackberry flavor on day two. Olive and truffle mushroom on both days, but day two had a distinct sage/wintergreen type note at the finish. Complex, integrated, and delicious. Thrilled to have been able to acquire one of these, courtesy of @Bill Bender — 6 years ago

with joe, Dan and 2 others

Seth Morgen Long

Broker • Arterberry Maresh / Winemaker • Morgen Long

9.2

From a magnum served blind this is the most typical and delicious version I’ve had. Haven’t always enjoyed the bottle variation or the level of residual sugar but this one was special from a not so special vintage as I can gather. — 7 years ago

Jeffro Beaudeen

9.8

OMG! this is the Sanford & Benedict Signature Series bottling from Sanford. Richard Sanford I believe initiated a project whereby the six most highly-regarded winemakers in the area would each take a sampling of the Sanford & Benedict grapes in 1991 and make their own bottling and then those six people would gather together and blend to create the "signature" bottling which they felt would represent the best that that long time vineyardhad to offer. I have had this wine several times early after release with Richard Sanford in attendance at an event on my patio in Alta Dena and several times since and virtually none of the bottlings had ever overwhelmed me . . but this bottling at this time is delicious and evolved and balanced and and and and . . . way beyond my expectations. if you have this wine in your Cellar open a bottle now and reconfirm why you bought it in the first place . . Good s*** Maynard'! 😀 — 8 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

Tasting this makes me want to visit Italy. Beautiful aromatics that pervade. Blind, and on the nose alone, I could instantly call this Italian. Black cherry, fennel seed, crespone, with dried flowers and herbs. Full-bodied, but not thick, it sets up shop on your palate. Excellent structure, and from what I gather, this must have started to uncoil. I was prepared to decant, but never felt the need. — 9 years ago

Peidong Yang

9.4

Blackberries, smoked herb, full-body, go nicely with food at Gather. — 9 years ago