Charlene Vacon

9.2

What a delightful light red. If you close your eyes, you’re drinking a white. Soft fruit, light acidity and a sweetness that’s fresh. I had it at room temp this time but I could see putting it on ice in the summer months. — 4 years ago

Brandi Bratek

9.3

I could drink this all day everyday. If you see it, buy it. — 5 years ago

Jim McCusker

9.3

Classic (maybe somewhat over the top) zin-driven wine from Paso. The wine clocks in at 16%, but if you cool it down a few degrees it comes into focus. Intense berry flavor (particularly given its age), this has nice complexity on the palate thanks to Matt Trevisan’s skill at blending. Not sure how much longer this will evolve...but I see no reason to wait any longer for this one. Drink up! — 5 years ago

with Vanessa

Stephen Pierron

9.4

Excellent representation of Saint-Émilion with aromas of earth, floral, herbs, and notes of blueberries, blackberries, licorice, and cedar. While it had low tannins, I was surprised to see so much minerality with this vintage. It was a great bottle and was decanted for over 2 hours, but definitely was not enough time and won't revisit until at least 3 more years. If you have a 2015 of this wine, my recommendation is to hold on to it as it is still very young. — 5 years ago

Ted Boydston

9.0

Today's selection for contemplating hurricane Irma's arrival Sunday here in Melbourne, FL. Fine cherry character, almost jammy, tamped down by a slight petrol undertone. Light, yet acidic, mouthfeel, lingers for many minutes. Probably passed by this winery in McMinnville, OR during a visit years ago to see small boutique wineries and the spruce goose. Wished I had seen it, even though this is a multi-vineyard multi-appellation blend. Worth a spin, especially at the price, if you can get a bottle out of the 1100 cases produced. — 7 years ago

Kyle Harvey

9.2

Christmas Day bubbly...Our favorite Etna sparkler...the 2008 was 👌👌👌. If you see this one on the shelf, grab it. — 7 years ago

Kyo Jin

9.3

Very competent and slick with much composure and with tremendous confidence. Just lovely. Get one if you see one. — 8 years ago

Matthew Walsh

9.3

You want some seriously good champagne - look no further - at a price you wouldn't believe. Grand cru at less than €20. This is only bested by the top cuvées of the big houses. Bought at the winery in Sillery - don't know how widely it's distributed, but if you see it, buy it. — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.6

In a word “Elegant,” 100% organically farmed Tempranillo from village of Laguardia, aged in barrels for nine months limiting the oak influence. Deep Ruby with aromas of dark berry fruit and subtle light spice. Palate, clean and fresh fruit flavors of cherry and sweet blackberry, very smooth with super fine velvet tannins. Long finish, complex ending bringing everything together. Outstanding about 1000 cases made. Don’t hesitate if you see a bottle. — 4 years ago

Angela Large

9.8

This bottle...has had me on a wild goose chase for a couple of months now. I picked this up in South Bend Indiana on a quick weekend trip and was astounded by the exquisite quality in a $19 bottle. This was the perfect wine for me. Great juicy, ripe berry flavors, not too dry, slight spice and smoke. I crave it; unfortunately it’s not available in Oklahoma! If you see it, buy it (and mail it to me)! — 5 years ago

Hayden B. Oothout

9.3

Spectacular moon mountain cab. I love Cabernet Sauvignon from this AVA. Good minerals and fantastic fruit on the palette. This is fantastic now and would age well in the bottle for a few more years. If you see this, grab it! — 5 years ago

Adam Kincaid

9.1

If you see this for $35 go buy it. Buy all of it. What a deal for this guy. Full bodied and powerful, but still super tight and acidic - this guy will age for awhile. Dark red cherries but with a smokey roundness and fruit preserve jam-iness. — 6 years ago

with Jillian

Steve Bozich

9.1

Upper Sonoma coast, flinty and minerally and lemon citrus. They got away from that on a couple recent bottling - not sure if it was the harvest or a change in style, but it was more lush. They already do some really nice Vouvray and Roussanne. Dry - man, you should see photos of their "soil"! — 7 years ago

Erika B

9.1

One of my absolute faves. If you see it,buy all of it like I just did. — 7 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.2

Drink up if you have some! Sweet ripe red fruits, damp earth, mushroom, tobacco and licorice spice. Can't see this getting better over time. — 8 years ago

Meg

9.7

Friday 5pm. Take off the heels, take on the wine! I had the pleasure of catching up with Jeff Shifflett this week, on the heels 😜 of sending one of my customers to see him. (He actually has wine for sale right now for those interested) Love this guy. If you are visiting Napa and you want the ultimate personal experience, he is your man. Passionate about his process -- from the soil to the bottle -- he is basically a one man show and does it so well. So talented, but yet completely down to earth. All of his wines are ridiculous. People are catching on -- he has a Merlot JV with Nickel & Nickel launching soon. #shifflett #winedown #heelsyes — 8 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.4

@Dominik SonaYou're the best! Walks off into the cellar, comes out carrying a massive bottle in a sleeve that could barely cover the label. I just love how ridiculous magnum riesling bottles look! I mean, we could see that it's a Koehler-Ruprecht for sure and the table shot straight to a warm vintage on the first sip (warm finish). Didn't take long for Franzi to identify the vintage and the rest of the pieces fell together subsequently (the body = spatlese, forget identifying the "R"). Guess making wines at the winery itself helps 😂

What to say about this wine? It's pretty intense, but the acidity and minerals kept it in check. Finely strung with pitch-perfect tension. This is the kind of wine that needs very little to push it over the edge into the hedonistic territory. Begs for time (like other 09's), as it's true elegance only revealed itself with air (bring on the crushed rocks and chamomile!). The nose is deep, with exotic fruit aromas, flint, toasted almond, florals, and that classic KR funk. Immense palate with lots of lychee and grapefruit, plus superb minerality with air. Creamy and long finish. Yes, the wine finishes a little warm and could be touch more focus, but it's a real class act for 09'! Power without weight, if you ask me. — 5 years ago

Susan Reiner

8.9

Had this for a special Valentine’s Day lunch. Delicious food wine. Not too much fruit. Just enough tannin. If you see it, try it. — 5 years ago

Philip Dobrin

9.1

Makes me excited to try their ‘13 Brunello. If you see this buy it — 6 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Is there any meal better than steak (Ribeye) and well aged Claret? This is another 1991 Bordeaux experiment of mine. 1991 was a vintage with horrible frosts and a less than favorable growing season, right? A vintage critically panned. This is my 3rd recent 91 from a good producer. And again, it didn’t disappoint. Like 97 and 07, it’s better with the right bottle age than young. Magic evolution happened in the bottle way down the road. This 91 is in great form with a fair amount of life ahead of it. On the nose; a little ripe fruit funk, wonderful dark & lighter red cassis, ripe blackberries, dark cherries, poached strawberries, plums, hues of blueberries, black raspberries, dry cranberries, vanilla, light cinnamon, rich, black turned earth, cedar, soft leather, dry stones, dry top soil, notes of dry herbs and fresh & dry red flowers. The body/palate is medium, round, ripe & still fresh. The tannins nearly completely resolved. Ripe, floral fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, poached strawberries, plums, hues of blueberries, black raspberries, dry cranberries & half cooked rhubarb. Vanilla, light cinnamon, touch of clove & nutmeg, rich, black turned earth, cedar, soft leather, dry stones, dry crushed rocks, dry top soil, notes of dry herbs, a little band-aid and fresh & dry red flowers. The acidity drips over the palate and the long, well balanced, still structured, nice tension, good length finish lasts over a minute. Again, love & appreciate the 12.5% alcohol. What a beauty with and without the steak. Next time you’re in your fine wine retail shop and see a quality producers 91 that’s been well stored, buy it and have it with a Ribeye. Photos of; their exotic Estate, Chateau interior, newer barrel room and their vines as viewed from the front of the Chateau that are across the road. Producer notes and history...Cos d’Estournel has a long distinguished history in the St. Estephe. Louis Gaspard d’Estournel, gave his name to the estate after founding in 1811. It did not take long before Cos d’Estournel became famous with wine lovers and royalty all over the world. In those early days, Cos d’Estournel did not sell through Negociants. The owner preferred selling his wine directly to his customers. In fact, Cos d’Estournel was exported to numerous countries across the globe, with a large portion of the production being sold to India. It was that connection to India that inspired much of the unique, east Indian design we see at Cos d’Estournel today. Cos d’Estournel was one of the first Bordeaux Chateaux’s to bottle, label and sell their own wine. This practice continued until the death of Louis Gaspard d’Estournel in 1852. If you’re at the property, the statue on the bench in the front courtyard is of the founder, Louis Gaspard d’Estournel. The Estate was then purchased by an owner that sold their wines on the Place de Bordeaux using the negociant system. If the Chateau was not selling their wines through the negociant system, it would never have been included in the 1855 Classification. Imagine that! So, it turned out to be a fortuitous decision. Cos d’Estournel was sold to the Charmolue family owners of the neighboring Estate of Chateau Montrose. They continued to own the estate until 1917, when it was bought by Fernand Ginestet. This purchase was the beginning of the next major step in the development of Cos d’Estournel. Decades later, the grandchildren of Fernand Ginestet, Jean-Marie Prats, Yves Prats and Bruno Prats took over ownership and management of Cos d’Estournel. In 1995, Bruno Prats sold the property to the Merlaut family, owners of the Taillan Group. The next era in the development of Cos d’Estournel took place in 2000, when Cos d’Estournel was bought by the industrious and wealthy Michel Reybier, who earned his fortune in the food industry. Michel Reybier hired the son of Bruno Prats, Jean-Guillaume Prats to manage Cos d’Estournel. Things further improved with the efforts of Jean-Guillaume Prats who helped design the most modern wine making at that time. A complete renovation of Cos d’Estournel took place in not only the wine making facilities and cellars, but in parts of the Chateau as well. While the wine making facilities are completely modern with their 100% gravity design, the outward appearance retained the original design and feeling that has always been a part of Cos d’Estournel. On October 15, 2012, Jean Guillaume Prats announced he was leaving Cos d’Estournel to join LVMH (Pichon Baron). Jean Guillaume Prats was replaced by Aymeric de Gironde. Following the departure of Aymeric de Gironde in 2017, the owner, Michel Reybier took over managing the Estate. What makes the remodel special is that the cellars of Cos d’Estournel are entirely operated by gravity. There are no pumps of any kind to force the wine. The purpose is to allow a gentleness to the wine and improve its purity and allow for the expression of their terroir. It set a new benchmark for cellars not only in the Left Bank, but in all of Bordeaux. Perhaps, the most inventive part of the cellars is the four 100 hectoliter lift tanks or wine elevators that replace the pumps used in the traditional pumping over and the racking off processes, which introduce air and often destabilize the marc. From the moment the grapes arrive, everything travels by the flow of gravity. Jean Guillaume Prats called this process a “pumpless pump over.” The 91 hectare vineyard of Cos d’Estournel is planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The vineyard is located extremely close to the border between Pauillac and Saint Estephe at the southern tip of the Saint Estephe. The Estate has very old Merlot vines as well, which date back more than 100 years. Part of the terroir is situated on the hill of Cos, which is at a high elevation for the Medoc at 20 meters. They also make a second wine called Pagodes de Cos. This is a great wine to buy in very good vintages. Especially, if your budget prohibits you from purchasing their first wine. — 7 years ago