Tom Casagrande

9.1

This reminds me of a Loire Gamay. Gobs of tangy berry fruit leaps out of the glass, with a bit of spice and lots of high-toned cracked stone (almost limestoney) minerality. It’s zingy and bright in the mouth, with lots of bright berries and a bit of spice. Fluid textured with little to no tannin, it’s got zingy acids and a cleansing finish. Very fun to drink. — 5 years ago

Pooneet K

9.1

This is quite a bit more accessible at this point than I expected, even without a decant. The “typicity” factor is very high - olives, some earth, some meat, maybe the slightest hint of some green notes. Excellent acid and medium tannins - nice with pork chops. Delicious. — 5 years ago

Michelle Current

9.4

A very lovely bold, red wine from California! Semi dry, a little peppery and definitely a wine I will buy again! Cool label and decent price point with high ABV - ready to get into trouble! — 5 years ago

Belinda

9.0

This was a nice everyday wine, chose it to eat at home with a meal consisting of pork belly, rice, and bok choy veggies. Specifically for its high acidity and medium body. Not a terribly compelling wine but versatile for its $13 price point. — 6 years ago

Elliott Skorupa

9.4

Outstanding fruit and berry top note, Smooth and silky finish. High quality Zinfandel for the price point. Good pairing with Thai food due to the peppery finish. — 7 years ago

Winston Biltz

8.9

Pronounced nose of red and dark fruits; medium acidity with high tannins. Flavors of blackberry blueberry cherries raspberry and dark chocolate and pencil lead notes at the end. Delicious at this price point. — 8 years ago

Jack Petras

9.0

This is one beautiful little Bordeaux at a great price (about $26. A bottle. This 2012 shows nice softness without losing any structure. Gorgeous hints of cedar, star anise, black berries and ripe cherries, with a little dark chocolate in the background. Very high value real Bordeaux for everyday drinking that far surpasses any Cab blend from the new world at similar price point. The terroir really makes its point with this wine. — 8 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.9

Its been awhile since the funk in the trunk👍🏼
Jeb’s 💯 point review as follows

From a vineyard planted in 2013, the 2016 Syrah High Contrast saw loads of stems and mostly neutral barrels. This thrilling wine has a Chave Hermitage-like purity and class as well as gorgeous notes of cassis, black raspberries, smoked earth, and graphite. It's deep, pure and layered, incredibly layered, pure, and long, with a finish that won't quit. This isn't for those looking for an inky, massive wine, but it’s pure class, complete, amazingly long, and elegant. Give bottles a few years in the cellar and it’s going to shine for 15-20 years. — 5 years ago

Emily Branton

9.3

Floral on the nose. Baking spice and plum on the pallette. Long finish. EXCELLENT with chocolate. So well balanced would never guess the high alcohol level. Would love to try again with steak or lamb. Definitely worth the price point. — 5 years ago

Justin Hansohn

9.1

This is a style I am not familiar with, very high achievement; dense fruit very ripe and candied but somehow preserving lots of savory meaty characteristics. Michel Liger Bel Air once said that Pinot is pure flavor and this is a great excercise in exactly that. I was surprised to see 14.1% abv but this holds it well. Not hot. Balanced yet also over the top. Not into the price point but I also understand people that could really get into this. I could definitely drink it everyday with probably any food too. — 6 years ago

Jack Thompson

9.2

Big day of wine! Grand Reserve tasting at Total followed by steak night.

Chalky, high acid Chardonnay from South Africa. After opening up for a few hours, more malo began to show itself. — 7 years ago

with Arden

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

Rich, deep and intense, drinks like a tremendously high quality California Chardonnay like Aubert CIX Vineyard or the fabulous Australian Cloudburst Chardonnay. Pastry cream, honey, exotic citrus, butter, minerals. — 7 years ago

Meeter B

8.9

It was obvious at first Sup that this was not a $20 bottle of wine. It was great. Loved it. To be honest, the price point was looming over me. This would have been a great $80 bottle. While it was solid, my expectations were high and I’m not sure by how far my bar was exceeded. — 8 years ago

Chris McClellan

9.0

Excellent well rounded...tannins smooth but present, high acid..earth/mushrooms...cherry, dark plums present and present which I expect for 2010. Just an absolute well balanced wine with our chicken stew fireside seating is on point. — 9 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.3

Vintage 2015 | Multi blend from Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Chenin Blanc. Lovely effort! I gave the wine 4 hours in decanter and afterwards it had a velvety taste. Good concentration, berries in smell. Paired with Côte de Boeuf from the grill, morels and sweet potato. The only point that I don’t like is high alcohol. With the food the wine gets a nice impression of chocolate and cacao. — 5 years ago

Sagee Aran

8.9

2018 vintage. The JS 94 point on the label is certainly far away from my findings. A pleasant fruity Malbec, good VFM. — 5 years ago

Colin Cahoon

8.9

Caramel, dark cherry, leather, black pepper, black tea, and menthol. Medium plus alcohol, medium tannins, and high acid. A bit darker than I expected, but smooth and yummy, none-the-less, particularly at the price point. — 6 years ago

with Susan

John B

9.5

I am a big fan of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and every bottle I’ve enjoyed from Beaucastel has been a wonderful representation. However, this is my first time trying the Hommage as they can be hard to find and come at a significantly higher price-point. The Hommage, as the name states, is made in honor of Jacques Perrin and comes from the best vines on the property.

Our wine today is opaque medium ruby in color with pale ruby variation toward the edges of the glass. Slightly tight on the nose, we let this decant while my friend and I enjoyed a different bottle. Once the wine opened, the nose offered aromas of dusty pomegranate, graphite, sous bois, wet gravel, mushroom, and cigar ash. This is another wine I could smell all day. Since that’s not the main point of wine, the palate showcases notes of chewy cherry, red licorice, tobacco, soggy earth, and green underbrush. A beautiful bottle with plenty of gas left in the tank, this is full-bodied with moderately high acidity, fully integrated mild tannins, and a long finish that really made me wish we had more with my last sip. — 7 years ago

Colin Cahoon

9.4

Big and racy with tart fruit, caramel, and spice. The nose is more Bordeaux or high-end Napa Cab. This Gigondas tops any CDP at this price point. A beautiful wine. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I bought my first vintage from this producer & terroir beginning with the 2010 vintage and what a vintage to start. I bought four bottles for right around $50 or a little less. They were so amazing, I drank through them in no time at all. For those of you that read my posts, that’s not normally what I do. I like to drink one & age the rest. Since then, I have looked & looked for more. I’d finally given up hopes of finding more until recently I struck gold. I should have bought all nine bottles but a calmer head prevailed. It’s definitely changed since having it fresh. On the nose, the fruits are slightly macerated. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, glazed nuts, soft, delicate, chalky minerals, a touch of jasmine & yellow lilies. The body is much rounder & thicker than when it was young. Waxy. So, beautifully layered across the palate. Much of the palate matches the nose. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, apricots, peach, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, slight molasses character & glazed nuts with citrus blossoms, yellow lilies & jasmine. The minerals are much more grippy & bold as they cut across and set on the palate. The acidity round & phat. The texture is amazing as is the length, balance & beautiful, rich, long finish that lasts two-minutes plus. So glad I found more of this wine! Hubert Lamy seriously over deliver the terroir & the price point by a country mile. If you are not buying this wine on pre-arrival, you are missing great wine and excellent value. Can’t say enough good things about it. Especially, the 2010. I expect the 15 to hold similar quality. Photos of; Olivier Lamy, Olivier working in this vineyard, barrel room and their Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Vineyard. Producer notes and history...There have been Lamy’ s growing vines in St-Aubin since 1640, today it is run by Olivier Lamy. Olivier is a new breed of Burgundian grower keen to progress. He trained Méo-Camuzet & made a number of vintages before taking over in 1996 from his father Hubert. Hubert Lamy used to sell fruit to négociants, but that stopped in 1997. He grubbed up and sold off peripheral vines, keeping only the best and oldest sites. Currently he is experimenting with different planting densities in a quest to capture even greater expression of terroir. The Domaine produces both reds and whites and now has 16.5 hectares of vineyards, mostly in St-Aubin but also own a few parcels in Chassagne-Montrachet and a tiny plot in the Grand Cru Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Yields are kept low and recent innovations have been introduced with selection tables in the cuverie to ensure that only the healthiest and ripest grapes are used. His more recent move to reduce the amount of new oak with the introduction of demi-muids 300-600 liter barrels have also helped to improve the wines. Vinification is traditional and the wines are matured with only 20-30% new oak for 12 months before minimal filtration and then bottling. The quality is very high and is often superior to many wines from much more prominent villages that sell at twice the price or more. — 8 years ago