Rebecca Ratzlaff

8.9

Wine club March 2019. Green apple, pear and lime. Light and zesty. 3.14.19 — 7 years ago

Brandon V

10

Super smooth! — 7 years ago

K

9.6

キクチさんからの貰い物
重くて香り高い
イスラエル産
また飲みたい — 8 years ago

Jessica Hereth

Sommelier/Wine Director Olympic Provisions

9.2

So go and live a little
Bone turns brittle
And skin withers before your eyes
Make sure you give a little
Before you go to the great unknown in the sky — 8 years ago

Dock Hooks

8.9

Kicking back letting the local tunes adjust my attitude with wine:30 showing on the clock she strolls in my direction digging the slow roll Hendrix spinning left then twisting right dressed in deep purple clinging and flowing interestingly crimson along her rim and edges back to casually claret whispering that she's from a small chateau hanging on the right bank of the Gironde near Arveyres. Offering her hand, I accept pulling her in close then a slow spin and a slower twirl she comes close bathed in the essence of blackberry and spice, young but ripe, wet earthy slowly working her way to a first kiss dripping then gripping, pulling tightly then going soft and silky still clinging while working her way deeper. I close my eyes, Hendrix stops and she's gone. A distant guitar string bends an unknown player. I spot her by the bar, her colors waving in the breeze of a lazy fan I reach out take her firmly by the neck, then lower bending her gently back then spinning her my way, she again engages, her essence lingering in my memory, we dance on as the tunes continue their spin. Later, when we are both done I figure she's likely a fine Merlot brightened by Cab Franc having found her way through new French oak nestled by the river, intelligently nuanced well worth the dance and cost is not an issue...

Hanging at Promise' Land Market where the tunes are always righteous, the people are cool, the conversation is groovy and wines dance from the walls... — 9 years ago

Shay A

9.4

My wife is a kindergarten teacher, so we both understand the importance of a little alcohol at the end of the day! With it being Valentine's Day, we figured this bottle from O'Brien, a favorite of ours, fit the day well! They are a sight for sore eyes when surrounded by big Napa fruit bomb cabs. These are beautiful Bordeaux style wines that accentuate restrained fruit but also a great blend of funky earth and spice. (And JRae's cookies in town has the best sugar cookies around...we'll enjoy one or two before drinking as this wine needs at least an hour decant before it opens...not a pop'n'pour style). — 9 years ago

Prem Salem

10

Very good wine. Crisp and light bodied, I love it :) — 9 years ago

Byron Hewett

9.1

Crisp and clean. Close your eyes and you think Champagne despite the rather dark pink color. Easy drinker. — 7 years ago

Eli Barton

9.5

I’m not a fan of merlot, and I don’t know much about Bordeaux, but I do have to say this was really enlightening. I only got a slight hint of age on the finish for the first 30 minutes we tasted it. It had a huge savory-meaty aroma that jumped out of the glass, and the dark fruit, black licorice, some herbal flavors had great persistence... still had plenty of acidity. after about an hour it started to taste a little tired compared to the beginning, definitely showed a bit more age but it was still subtle. I’ll remember it for a while. Maybe it was much bigger when it was younger, but I thought it was well balanced. And maybe it wasn’t the best example, but it kind of opened my eyes to merlot and pomerol. — 7 years ago

with Jennifer

Ceccherini Cristiano

9.2

There are expensive chardys coming from Beechworth, but not all of them
The quality of the fruit is superb, well over the average of the country
Stylistically they use oak, but thanks to the flesh of the wines it is less prominent than what the classic oaked chardys were
In this case we have a little extraction of colour from the skins.
I like it, it has got a wonderful feel in my mouth
Beechworth is not only Giaconda. That's a good news☺️☺️ — 8 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Needless to say, we slayed some dragons tonight. Let the birthday week continue!

This was the one wine that was poured blind from the evening. I guessed Napa (check), I guessed early 2000s (check), but figured it a petite sirah, mainly due to the amount of lively fruit in this! Since my experience with Caymus is limited to the 40th anniversary, you can imagine how my eyes were opened. At 16yrs old, this was blueberry pie, cassis, chocolate liquor and great oak integration. Tannins were PERFECT at this point. Open if you have it! — 9 years ago

with Mark

Jim Wagonfeld

9.6

Wow. Clear ruby with peripheral minor browning. Breathtaking nose of smoke 💨, tar, leather, bacon and cloves/cardamom. Flavors of plum, olive, pepper and spices. Totally resolved oak, balanced acid and intense, long finish. Strangely, The Meat Church dry Rub on the rib eyes echoed the wine. Incredible! Wish you all could have been here. — 9 years ago

with Judy

Heather Lane

9.5

If you closed your eyes you would smell this wine and think it's a white burgundy...slight petrol flinty nose which leads into a palate full of bright acidity and citrus...beauty — 9 years ago

with Kelli

Tom Inners

9.4

So old world in its interpretation and how it showed with graceful age here in 2019. Very little intervention in the winemaking as I have come to understand it from Randall and getting to know these wines past and present. A surprise winner of the bottles opened as part of dinner in good company. I will keep my eyes peeled for more bottles of the 1980’s vintages from LG as I have seen a few pop up across Sonoma County’s wine honey holes 🍯 — 7 years ago

Surveyor

9.0

Shardonnay Shardonnay — 8 years ago

Randy Fuller

9.7

This is an indigo-black wine, with nose that shows a lot more tar than the 2004 does. Savory notes abound. The palate offers firm tannins, but nothing scary. Blackberry fruit comes off as if it’s been trampled underfoot and gets an overlay of spice rack. It finishes long and savory. — 8 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.5

Exceptional balance. Rich, but so fresh. Pears, orange, flowers, lemon curd, cream, brioche, nut. Long, powerful palate, underlined by a driving acidity.

Some thoughts: In my eyes, RMs tend to fall into "extreme" categories e.g. Laherte - austere, Egly - rich (lees), Agrapart - rich (oak), Selosse - oxidative; but this wine doesn't fit here. NM-like, but not (I think of Chartogne-Taillet when I say this). Compare to Krug's Grand Cuvee, the Grands Vintages is definitely richer and broader (fair comparison, given how both wines are constructed).

From Chain Bridge Cellars:
As the name suggests, Eric Rodez’s Grand Vintages is a rich, powerful and very much “grand” wine in the tradition of Krug (where Eric learned his craft). This year's release is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay from seven great vintages going back to vintage 2000. Eric ages all of these base wines in used oak and blocks malolactic fermentation to maximize freshness and vibrancy. Then the carefully crafted blend spends 8 full years on the lees before being disgorged this October. The dosage is ultra-low - 2 or 3 g/l - so this could be labeled "Extra Brut," but there's so much richness and depth here that "Brut" seems more appropriate to Eric.

Past releases have earned plenty of critical praise, including 17.5/20 points from Jancis Robinson, 93 from Vinous, and 92 from Wine Advocate. This year’s release is explosive on the nose and palate, pumping out big notes of lemon curd, caramel, toasted nuts, baking bread, crushed chalk, and more. The flavors just balloon out to fill your entire palate and finish with layer upon layer of mouthwatering pie crust, lemon curd, hazelnut, crushed stone and salty caramel flavor. Try holding some for even more richness! — 9 years ago

Kristen Benel

9.5

Bar boulud — 9 years ago

Eri

9.2

Skinny legs from South Africa! The v first time to have orange wine :D Fine marriage with cream sauce - love it. — 9 years ago

Teri Vick

9.0

Buttery, oaky, tastes a lot more expensive than $4.99. — 9 years ago