Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

From 375ml.

A very good Rhone producer visited in 2015.

At pop & pour, the fruits almost had a mid berry bubble gum character. That toned down almost immediately. Fruits are ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, baked plums, raspberries, dark cherries, juicy strawberries, chocolate bar to fudge, grilled, smoked meats, black pepper, dark spice, nutmeg, clove, iron pan, black tea, a touch of rubber toy, slight tarriness, dry herbs, roasted chestnuts, tobacco leaf, dry crushed rocks, dry top soil, hints of mint, dark, red flowers, violet’s, nice acidity with a well balanced-structured, stiffly tensioned with a lush finish that lasts 90 seconds and lands on earthiness & spice.

Plenty of life left in this 2012, even in 375ml. — 4 months ago

Jeanne gills

9.3

I don't like Pinot Noir and this was awesome — 6 months ago

Conrad Green

9.6

A fantastic nose. So multi dimensional. Gamey, meaty, violets, iron, herbs. Intense, defined. Long. Fantastic. — 7 months ago

with David

Jeremy.Buss

9.2

Excellent on a stand alone basis or in mimosas!! Slight brioche, caramel, butter, and a hint of apricot. Just as good at bottle opening as it was a couple hours later! — 2 years ago

Donald Williams

9.5

The perfect wine for shrimp appetizer and lobster tail dinner. — 5 years ago

with Bonnie

Donald Williams

9.6

Bonnie’s favorite Pinot Noir, with good reason. It’s just beautiful. — 5 years ago

with Bonnie

Andy Strand

9.2

Always solid — 6 years ago

with stephanie

David Koenen

9.6

Beautiful, intensely perfumed nose. Ripe cherries, wildflowers, orange zest, beautifully broad and full-bodied. Ripe, full-bodied, powerful, yet elegant. A wine that excels in its details. An iron fist in a velvet glove. — 4 months ago

Brett Foskett

9.3

Poured it, drank it, loved it. — 5 months ago

Brian Walker

9.0

Brioche, pears, with a nice bold, crisp touch. — 7 months ago

Michelle Beer

9.4

V Day wine, dangerously drinkable, fruity — 9 months ago

Brett Owens

9.0

Nice Chardonnay. — 5 years ago

Ben LaBolt

9.0

Beautiful winery that also produces bubbly. Medium bodied pinots that are well balanced w nice fruit. — 5 years ago

with Leo

Bret Anderson

9.9

Dry, complex, dynamic food pairing — 5 years ago

Conrad Green

9.3

Vegetal and tangy purple fruit. Sour cherry, bramble blackcurrant, salinity iron and some stink. Very feral and lively. Good stuff. — 6 years ago

with Naoko and Larry

David Koenen

9.5

Gorgeous nose! Grilled red pepper. Charcoal, thyme, warm earth. Pleasant, still quite rough tannins, iron and blood in the aroma, ink, iodine, sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic like acidity. Brilliant now, no rush. — 4 months ago

Shay A

9.4

My contribution to a large Rhône dinner. Standouts were ‘07 Chapoutier Le Meal Blanc, ‘89 and ‘90 Jaboulet La Chappelle, ‘11 Guigal La Mouline.

An over-generalization, but what I love about Cornas is the rusticity and sometimes feral nature of the wines (which I don’t find in Hermitage or CR) and this ‘05 is in that vein. I followed this from pop (after all, we are at the almost 20yr mark) and over the course of three hours.

Interplay of red and black berry fruits, black pepper, slightly herbal (maybe closer to potpurri floral) aromatically. Bright and nimble on the palate, nothing about this is ripe or soft. Energetic acidity all the way through surrounded by notes of iron (sanguine-like) and rocky minerality. Crunchy red and black fruits (whole-cluster?), hint of gaminess but not in the meaty-style I semi-expected. Clean and pure style of Syrah. Big structure at the finish…hard to imagine drinking this 10+yrs ago. Acidity and tannin will carry this a long time, but I think this is peak window for getting depth of fruit and complexity. — 6 months ago

Donald Williams

9.5

Perfect every time. — a year ago

with Bonnie

Brenda Terzich-Garland

9.5

Color - dark purple garnet. A bold expressive funky perfume fruit nose so classic of Cayuse with mineral-meat, smokey and mint notes lingering with a vanilla toast scent. Juicy and elegant; rich with dark plum-cherry flavors intertwined with a smokey soil bacon bitters taste—the mineral-iron characteristics follow with a tobacco long finish. Looking forward to seeing how the flavors change with different foods and as the wine opens up. Bionic Frog is favorite and definitely a wine to try and store in your cellar. Christophe Baron does it again! — 5 years ago

with Karin and Jill

Jessica Butler Chowning

9.0

Perfectly balanced wine. — 6 years ago