Mark Mannebach

9.1

Strawberry & rose notes — 7 years ago

Patrick Hurley

9.2

Such and amazing wine. — 8 years ago

Andrew S

9.3

Great stuff. Somehow California fruit meets burgundy sensibility. — 8 years ago

with John

Ellen

9.5

So so delicious. Great taste, so balanced, amazing nose. A joy to drink. — 9 years ago

Orlando Anaya

9.0

What a beautiful Barbaresco! I decanted if for about two hours to soften it up. Once I started drinking it, yum! Rich, aromatic (just beautiful on the nose), and just a joy to drink. It had a great balance between tannins, dryness, and dark fruit (berries, plum). For the price at Costco, it's quite a steal. — 9 years ago

Jimmy Hayes

Estate Director Mayacamas Vineyard

9.3

This bottle was great - maybe he tiniest whisperer of TCA but it was good enough not to matter. For me 70's have been in such a nice place for coming on 10 years now - so many of the wines I have tried are supple, sweet and open. I'd have expected they would decline much more quickly then they have. Prices are right, too! This GL was so pretty and soft. A joy to drink. — 9 years ago

Mason Balistreri

Sommelier, International Wine Guild; Balistreri Vineyard; Sales, Joy Wine and Spirits

9.6

There’s a lot of wine being made in California and abroad that is, in theory, similar to this wine… Extremely old vines of obscure varietals, natural production and so on. However, in this case, winemakers Pax Mahle and Loren Grossman have delivered something that shines brighter than the rest - including their other labels. 

Titular “Pax” wines have a similar sense of spice, animal and force, but often lack the subtly found here. His other label “Wind Gap” capitalizing on the trend of hardly ripened fruit to give the wine telling minerality and that mouth-puckering tart freshness at the expense of body.  All of which is also evident in this wine, but much more balanced and slowly revealed. 

This wine is sexy and nimble, but has depth and a sense of place. Reminiscent of  Northern Rhone but less narrowly focused. It’s all you can ask for from California. They only made about 100 cases, and it retails for under 40 dollars. We have 9 bottles left at Joy Wine & Spirits, come in and get it. — 10 years ago

TheSkip

9.0

Nice wine. Probably not the 94 that it has received in the press — 10 years ago

Melissa Kunkel

9.5

Vintage 2013 — 11 years ago

Michael Myers

9.4

3L of joy. — 12 years ago

Jim Stehli

9.2

Joy Road “Connor” is delicious fruit and vibrant. It’s a wine that makes me want to live there. — 7 years ago

Gilbert Van Hassel

9.5

I very much dislike cabarnet franc but this wine is the exception. Yes there is a vegetal, grassy nose but this wine is complex, peppery and a true joy to drink. Plenty of good acidity, full in the mouth, long finish. Fresh — 8 years ago

Chris Leon

9.1

Always hard to resist the early exuberance of this wine. Pure joy — 8 years ago

Derek Baker

9.3

Special bottle. — 9 years ago

Mark Freund

9.4

Showing terrific now. Better than last bottle opened 2 years ago. Honeyed richness, good length. Shows class joy would expect from the house. — 9 years ago

with Erin and Ned

Luke Blanch

9.4

Whitefish on the sesame bagel, Sandlands Chenin Blanc in the coffee mug. Sunday joy. — 10 years ago

Gerald Montoya

9.3

A lovely blend of Frappato and Nero d'Avola. Deep, juicy, red, plumy fruit up front that should appeal to any palate, but great spice and minerality in the mid to rear palate with just a hint of Sicilian earth in the mix. Precise, focused and complete. A joy to drink, complex and interesting. Another great import from Jan D'Amore. — 10 years ago

Marc Stubblefield

Wine Sales at Vino Carta and Kogod Wine Merchant

9.1

Pinot that tastes like pinot. Like all of Jim's wines, it is its best self at the table with food. A joy. — 10 years ago

Kevin Walsh

Wine blogger doxologywine.com; Freelance Sommelier (Court of Master Sommeliers) Doxology Wine Consulting

9.3

A joy to drink. Lush fruit with enough complexity to keep it interesting from start to finish. — 10 years ago

Martin Redmond

9.1

Full bodied American made Saké with apple, lychee ,plum and spice character — 12 years ago

Chris England

9.3

1️⃣9️⃣9️⃣1️⃣

🗞 USSR no more, Desert Storm, Browser Invented
🎵 Everything I Do I Do It For You, Black Or White
🎥 The Addams Family, The Silence of the 🐑
🗣 Hasta La Vista Baby
🌍 5.3B

A touch flat for a Palmer but still a joy to drink @ £110 👍

🍷 Garnet ruby

👃 Flinty gravel, broken pencils & herbs through faded black fruits w/ light hints of oak & a romp in the forest 😁

👄 Med body of smooth mocha infused dark berries & plums w/ a liquorish tone

🎯 Med+ minerally mocha soft dark fruits w/ liquorice kick — 8 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.6

1996 vintage. At Hotel TerraVina with my pal, Gerard Basset MW. Unfortunately we didn't get time to decant it sufficiently prior to having with lunch. Typically I would have had at least a 2 hour decant before serving. Medium garnet hue, very bright. The nose is simply stunning and evolved constantly in the glass. Blackberry, black plum, cedar wood, lots of spices, cocoa and hints of roasted coffee bean. Tertiary notes have developed but there still seems to be a bit of development to be teased out of this wine yet. The palate exhibited an enormous amount of structure - high acidity and high tannins that are ripe but chunky. There's nothing round here - more linear and angled than curvy. Almost light bodied but with a big two-step punch of a finish: there's an initial hit and then a powerful umph of additional rev's that makes your head bob up and down in joy and happiness. Though it's drinking extremely well now, this will hold for decades to come. Fabulous. — 8 years ago

Gregory Fulchiero

9.5

Brioche, sweet hazelnut and meringue. A joy to drink ! — 9 years ago

Tony Kolish

9.6

Nearly perfect. A great joy to drink. — 9 years ago

Slestyan

9.1

Hint of pineapple and crisp — 9 years ago

Dan Weisshaar

9.0

Way young. Sipped at opening: tight, but warm and nice and hot. Decant: 6 hours: plums, nice and soft on palate. 8 hours: ooh, better. 1 day: a joy, super long finish, lovely. Guzzled (no day 2 report). Hiding other bottles for a decade or so.. — 10 years ago

Kina Kreer

9.0

May 2016 be sweet and filled with joy — 10 years ago

Ashleigh G

10

Served this at our wedding! — 10 years ago

Pierre-Yves Chauveau

9.4

rose, ginger natural joy sparkling in a bottle — 11 years ago

E & K G

9.8

Wow.. Wow... Wow... Could still age very well for a long time. Was absolutely a joy to drink. — 12 years ago