Lee Pitofsky

9.5

2009 Allemand Horizontal. I absolutely love Allemand’s wines. Always a seamless combination of both elegance and power. Both the Chaillot and Reynard showed perfectly, with the Reynard a bit more concentrated and deep than the Chaillot. Both wines had superb intensity, focus and a wonderful texture with the signature liquid rock, violets, herbs and cassis of Allemand Cornas. Fantastic duo. — 5 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.6

The 2010 La Violette has a well-defined bouquet with predominantly red fruit laced with scorched earth, leather and just a touch of cassis in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with a grippy entry. This has fine backbone, perhaps a good deal of Cabernet Franc in the blend. Very expressive towards the finish and extremely persistent. A class act that is just beginning to show what it is capable of. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal. (Neal Martin, Vinous, April 2020)
— 6 years ago

Shay A

9.4

@Benjamin Keator had his hosting at the CC tonight and it was absolutely incredible. What a night of gorgeous wines! All wines are guessed blind.

5 reds tonight. 5 Bonds. Insane. I’m not going to try and evaluate each one as if they were crazy different because honestly, I found it fairly easy to determine all were from the same producer. That being said, I guessed all 5 reds were from the same producer and waffled between a horizontal or vertical...I ultimately chose vertical (which was wrong). I guessed all were Napa cabs. To me, this tastes the oldest, so I guessed this was an ‘09 (beginning of a 5 yr vertical). Lots of dusty red and black fruit. This was the most mellow. — 7 years ago

with Benjamin, Weston and 1 other

Stas Medvedev

9.3

🏅 Rating: 93/100 (4,3🌟)

PYCM 2015 Horizontal

Tasted right next to powerful Genevrieres, so showing less power. More grassy green young aromas. Seems weaker and diluted, but still rich Meursault style with nice texture and hints of exotic fruits. Vibrant acidity. — 7 years ago

Stas Medvedev

9.2

🏅 Rating: 92/100 (4,2🌟)

PYCM 2015 Horizontal

Waxy, less depth as opposed to l’Abbaye. Palate is floral and citrus. Energetic and nervous.

Baudines is situated near Santenay, much cooler as it’s one of the most elevated plots of Ch-M. Less deep white clay soil. Pierre-Yves has dealt with the same source since 2005 and knows the plot as if his own. — 7 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.4

The 2008 Trotanoy is a ferociously backward Pomerol that did not engage at Farr’s horizontal. Another bottle served over lunch that had undergone a long decanting was far more representative. It has a gorgeous bouquet with raspberry and menthol, a little dark chocolate and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied with ample freshness and vigor although it clearly demands a long aeration to really click into fifth gear. This is a multi-dimensional Trotanoy that probably needs another couple of years in bottle. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 10-Year On tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2018) — 7 years ago

Zack Hall

9.5

Horizontal tasting veritas nyc — 8 years ago

Hanibal

9.1

I decided to revisit a bottle that was the winner of our horizontal tasting of MSD 2016 village (10 producers tasted blind by 10 participants). And once again this is a hit for a village. Lots of complexity, licorice, spices and red fruits... more than satisfactory length for this level of appellation. — 6 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.8

The 2010 Lafleur is showing a lot of Cabernet Franc on the nose. It is supremely well defined with incredibly clarity and terroir expression. You could almost mistake it for a Left Bank. Figeac? The palate is precise and detailed, touches of burnt toast and white pepper sprinkled over the persistent and structured finish that does not miss a step. Brilliant. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal. (Neal Martin, Vinous, April 2020)
— 6 years ago

Sarah Oettel

8.9

Horizontal. The North Block went well with food but seemed a bit rugged without it. A lot of clove and baking spice. Alcohol was quite present, and it wasn’t as elegant as the South Block. — 7 years ago

Stas Medvedev

9.6

🏅 Rating: 96/100 (4,6🌟)

PYCM 2015 Horizontal

Very floral and delicate at this young age. Purity and consideration. Beautiful texture and weight. Harmonious wine with ideal balance as GC should be. Very long lasting finish.

A blend of Pernand and Aloxe.

The wines are magnificent but the issue here is the availability. Only one barrel of Corton-Charlemagne produced each year. — 7 years ago

Stas Medvedev

9.6

🏅 Rating: 96+/100 (4,65🌟)

PYCM 2015 Horizontal

Beautiful Meursault nose - fragrant and powerful with much volume and depth. Layers of rich dense fruits. Flinty mineral with citrus finish. Full-body with developing buttery and almond flavours demonstrating huge potential for aging.

Almost on par with Caillerets, so mostly depends which style do you prefer more: Mersault or Ch-M?

Genevrieres are among commune’s finest wines located on the limestone slopes. — 7 years ago

Stas Medvedev

9.4

🏅 Rating: 94/100 (4,4🌟)

PYCM 2015 Horizontal

Pronounced aroma intensity with a fine citrus top-line. Flinty mineral. Fills the mouth with considered energy and a very nice complexity. Super finishing flavour, discreetly long and mouth-watering.

Own vineyards in the same section of Chassagne as Les Champs Gains. Very difficult to choose between these two, but Chenevottes to my taste is 1-inch behind in this 2015 PYCM tasting. — 7 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.4

Luminous, pale straw-green. Wonderfully vibrant, perfumed nose combines pear, green apple, Meyer lemon, ginger, lemon verbena and a steely, iodiney quality. Densely packed, tight and young, with a terrific core of citrus, powdered stone and orchard fruit flavor of uncommon purity. Already seamless but still youthfully imploded, this really coats the palate with its concentrated flavors on the horizontal, extremely long finish. This is so complex and rich it actually tastes as if a portion of the grapes had been hit by noble rot. Clocks in at 14% alcohol but you can hardly tell. Along with Terlano’s Vorberg, Nalles and Magré’s Sirmian and the Pinot Bianco by Doro Princic, this is Italy’s best Pinot Bianco wine. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, May 2018) — 8 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.7

The 2010 Léoville-Poyferré has a very intense bouquet with blackberry, briary cedar and light estuarine/seaweed aromas that are very well defined. Pure class. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, layers of pure black fruit laced with pencil lead and a pinch of white pepper. It fans out wonderfully towards the finish, a Saint-Julien demonstrating wonderful density and precision. What an outstanding wine, perhaps less flamboyant than other vintages, one that will last decades. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal. (Neal Martin, Vinous, April 2020)
— 6 years ago

Hanibal

9.0

Morey saint denis village 2016 horizontal — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Sorry, short notes on this one. I had to get to Cape Point Vineyards.

This might be their most famous wine. Here is some history of this wine over the centuries. Napoleon Bonaparte had as much as 1,126 liters (297 gallons) of Constantia wine shipped in wooden casks each year to Longwood House, his home in exile on St Helena from 1815 until his death in 1821. The Count de las Cases reported that, on his deathbed, Napoleon refused everything offered to him but a glass of Constantia wine.

In Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen's character Mrs Jennings recommends a little Constantia for "its healing powers on a disappointed heart"

In Charles Dickens' last (and unfinished) novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Constantia wine is served to the reverend Septimus by his mother.

My quick notes. They make several passes through the vineyard waiting for the perfect raisinated grapes. The body is, thick, sticky and sweet. Marmalade, both peach types, apricot, nut skins, dried pineapple, lots of residual sugar, great acidity and a rich, sweet, well balanced polished finish. Not entirely different than Sauternes. Thick D’Yquem of South Africa.

Photos of; the Klien Constantia Estate vines with the mountains painting the background, the door to Duggies Dungeon, horizontal stainless settling tanks and the fruit of this wine in its raisinated picking state. — 7 years ago

Stas Medvedev

9.4

🏅 Rating: 94+/100 (4,45🌟)

PYCM 2015 Horizontal

Fruit nose with ginger hint. Here comes the Meursault mouth-filling power and high acidity. Less depth as opposed to Ch-M we tasted in the previous flight. Generous wine, but still a baby.

Fruit comes from the prized Dessus sector (top part), in the middle of Lafon’s portion, next to Puligny Combettes and touching Perrières. — 7 years ago

Stas Medvedev

9.7

🏅 Rating 97+/100 (4,75🌟)

PYCM 2015 Horizontal

Stony mineral with great aromatic depth. Almost silky herb note and camomile. Pure with a richer body and intense flavour. Steely elegant.

Parcel from wine-maker’s parents towards the top with stony and shallow soil. It’s his reference for all the other wines, never high alcohol, never low. Caillerets is one of the most distinguished wines of his cellar and my personal favourite of the tasting.

Multidimensional Grand Cru quality in all but name. — 7 years ago

Carol Sigman

9.1

Silky smooth sweet cherries and vanilla with a hint of espresso. One of the oldest vineyards in Saint Emilion. Call out to the man, lovingly called “The Boogeyman”, for the great Left Bank/Right Bank 2012 horizontal tasting recommendation this evening. — 8 years ago