Lyle

9.3

Alexander Valley cab like all the rest. A little earthly and peppery. — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured to celebrate a personal achievement because we often don’t celebrate the little things enough, right? As a longtime fan of the Champagnes by Paul Dethune, the Cuvée Prestige “Princess des Thunes” pours a brilliant golden color with a persistent mousse. On the nose, loads of brioche and lightly toasted croissant, lemon bar, meringue, raspberries, Marcona almonds, honeysuckle and chalky minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry. Acid is medium+. Confirming the notes from the nose. The texture is creamy, with an almost oily character as it warms, giving this a rich, almost round impression of the fruit. No doubt the generous addition of reserve wines going back the last four plus decades contributes to this richness. The low dosage acts like a bustier giving a very appealing, sexy lift.

This is a really lovely 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with 70% of the blend coming from the base vintage (unknown). The other 30% of this cuvée comes from a solera of 34hl oak tuns with vintages going back to the 1970’s. Super delicious stuff that was finished all too quickly. Disgorged in March of 2021. — a year ago

Fredrik Finn

8.9

70% Cabernet Sauvignon 30% Sangiovese. 8 months in french barriques, some previously used to age Sassicaia, but you already knew that of course...
Good concentration of the nose with a mix of dark and red, sun drenched berries, black plums, cassis a whiff of strawberries and lavender. Sweet licorice, cedar wood and spice acts in the background.
Palate maintains a fresh (high acidity) spine through solid but fruity tannins, boils fruit intensity through the mid palate with a modest complexity but a sold finish. Good performance for the 3rd wine of Tenuta San Guido but overall a bit to average — 3 years ago

Tom Elliot

Founder Northwest Wines

9.5

One of the hottest vintages on record in Europe was handled quite well, if not exceedingly well, in Germany. This Saar Auslese 375ml acts more like a Gold Cap, if not a BA without botrytis. Coconut milk, mango, and papaya. Offering silky, supple texture with adequate acidity to keep it fresh and harmonious these past 20 years, with many more ahead. — 7 months ago

Jim

9.3

Costco $22.99->11.99 Better than the usual Pinot. Buy more. — 2 years ago

Andy Hall

8.9

This wine has gotten a little better over the last 4 years but it has the same headline. This song has no crescendo! While it is still pleasant on the front end, it has absolutely no depth or nuance in the finish. — 3 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.2

Opened for Zoom tasting with Mike Officer. 66% Semillon, 24% Muscadelle, 10% Chasselas! Bone dry, medium clear gold in the glass. Unmistakeable wooly/lanolin notes on the nose from aging Semillon; pungent savory herbs and sweet, ripe pineapple. The wine takes on weight and nuance as it warms. Drinks more like a white Bordeaux blend. The wine acts like a shape-shifter...dry apricots one moment, then crushed almonds, then quince or kiwi. A fun roller coaster ride impeccably balanced with plenty of fruit and acid verve. — 4 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

There are some acts that are hard to follow. So is the case with the 06 Bordeaux vintage vs. 05. However, that is not entirely the case with the 06 Lagrange. Normally Margaux for rack of lamb, thought I’d try some St. Julien elegance and change it up a bit. Exquisite with the Allen Brothers Lamb Lollipops.

The fruits are, dry, ripe, ruby; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, black raspberries, bright, dark cherries. Dry clay, semi-sweet lead pencil, charcoal, sandalwood, fresh tobacco notes, limestone powder, dry herb notes-bay leaf, dry river stone, dark, rich soil with dry leaves, a mix of Indian & Asian spices, some black licorice mixed with dark fruit cola, charcoal/volcanic ash, mix of semi-fresh to withering dark, bright florals framed in violets & lavender, really nice acidity and lush , rich, smooth, velvety, well balanced finish that last two-minutes. Happy Labor weekend from #ChateauIsbel — 9 months ago

Delectable Wine

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9.1

Les Romains is a vineyard with its feet in flint to the east of the fault line in Sancerre. The 2020 Sancerre Les Romains begins with a fruity and open welcome, blossoming and silken in the mouth before tying the wine up; the flint influence acts like the belt on a pair of trousers tightening up the middle and leaving a sensation of sinew and length with a fine nettley fragrance. (Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous, August 2022)
— 2 years ago

Chris Zitzman

9.3

Right off the pop of the cork, Tuck Beckstoffer’s entry-level “1975” California Cabernet acts as a simple-yet profound introduction to a whole series of extremely highly-regarded wines from one of the most legendary names in all of California. The nose provides a lush and surprisingly broad array of flavors from stewed cherry to a Smokey- bit of charred oak- and its caliber is defined by how those aromas find their way to melt together- even as young as it be. As it breathes and evolves the structure softens and the tannins begin to more gently explain as well as reveal the flavors that are, sip-by-sip, emerging on the palate. Medium-bodied but with plenty of structure to spare, the (just unbelievably) inexpensive 2018 Beckstoffer “1975” Cabernet is one to try. Then buy, by the case. — 4 years ago

with Beth