David Shaw

9.0

Dense purple, highly extracted pigment. White pepper, violet, butter, blackberry and black currant notes in nose. Blackberry and coffee flavors, rounded mouthfeel, slight skin astringency and white pepper on finish, minerality throughout. Light bodied, fruity, and approachable, excellent varietal character. Slightly oily, nutty aftertaste emerges after an hour - almond? Barrel wood? A nice touch, but still a solid base wine without it. — 7 years ago

Justin Hart

9.8

Wet stone, creosote, black cherry and a hint of oak permeate this 10 year old Malbec dominant blend. On the pallet, huge tannins still greet you first, followed by intense red fruit (cherry and red plum), aged meat, white pepper and tobacco. This is outrageously good wine. It could still age another 5 years at least (hardly any signs of oxidation so far). — 7 years ago

with Cherish and Jen

Lara Van Dyk

8.9

Bovine dinner — 8 years ago

"Odedi"

8.9

Dark ruby in color with a brick rim and medium intensity.

On the nose, cherries, black currants, vanilla, licorice, cloves, spices, chocolates, peppercorn, coffee, earth, leather and wet leaves.

Medium bodied with medium acidity and nice legs.

Dry on the palate with raspberries, strawberries, cherries, earth, cloves, forest floor, spices and peppercorn.

Medium finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cranberries.

This 11 year old Israeli Syrah is over the hill now, but still enjoyable by itself or with food. Not balanced anymore, but showing nice complexity.

This Single Vineyard Syrah was good right out of the bottle and died down pretty quickly.

100% Syrah grapes Aged for 18 months in French oak barrels and bottled unfiltered.

14.8% alcohol by volume. — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

This wine seriously has more bacon fat and pork than I've experienced in a bottle. The fruit is one of the last things I will have in this description. It's why there is a pig in the picture collage! I had to do it because right now that is the dominating flavor of the wine. I am going to come back to this in a bit. Let's see what happens after some time in the decanter. This starting to calm down a bit. On the nose, bacon fat, pork, grilled meats, BBQ sauce, olive, loads of milk chocolate, brine, brown sugar, dried blood, pepper, black plum, dark cherries, blackberries, faint strawberries, dry stones, loamy clay soil, scorched earth, soy sauce and decayed dark florals. The mouthfeel is thick and brooding. Everything on the nose is on the palate. The acidity is round. The finish is thick, rich with intense flavors that stick to the palate and linger endlessly. If I had more bottles of the 06 En Chamberlin, I'd wait another 8-10 years to open them. It's still a monster. Photos of; the front of their tasting room in downtown Walla Walla that is generally always closed, the stone vineyard of Cayuse that needs to be horse plowed, Christophe Baron (owner), ready to pick grapes and a field pig...just because their is so much pork in this wine. Producer notes and history...while visiting the Walla Walla Valley in 1996, Christophe Baron spotted a plot of land that had been plowed up to reveal acres of softball-sized stones. He became ridiculously excited. This stony soil, this terroir, reminded him of vineyards he had visited in France (Rhone Valley) and Spain. The difficult ground would stress the grapevines, making them produce more mature, concentrated fruit. Christophe Baron had found a new home. He named his vineyard after the Cayuse, a Native American tribe whose name was taken from the French cailloux–which means, of course, rocks. Hours of back-breaking work later, Cayuse Vineyards has become five vineyards encompassing 50 acres: Armada, Cailloux, Coccinelle (Ladybug), En Cerise (Cherry), and En Chamberlin. The majority of the vineyards are planted with Syrah, and the rest dedicated to Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Tempranillo and Viognier. All of the vineyards are planted in rocky earth within the Walla Walla Valley appellation. Cayuse was also the first winery in Walla Walla to farm using biodynamic methods. These highly stressed vineyards average a yield of only two tons or less per acre (30 hectolitres per hectare), resulting in wines true to each vineyard’s unique terroir. Cayuse specializes in four estate-vineyard Syrahs, along with Bionic Frog Syrah, Impulsivo Tempranillo, Widowmaker Cabernet-Sauvignon, two Bordeaux blends named Camaspelo & Flying Pig and Viognier. Look for their other partnership wines; Horsepower & No Girls if you haven't already. Nearly 100% all mailing list, restaurants and secondary markets. — 9 years ago

Paul Henderson

9.1

Surprisingly restrained version of a Washington cab. Syrah, Malbec, and p. Verdot rounds it out nicely. Touch of oak. Red and black fruit, nice tannins and acidity — 10 years ago

with Chris

Roel van der Burg

Sommelier at Restaurant Entrepot

9.4

5e Cru Classé with cult status. Apparently known as 'the black horse' because the big Pauillac producers fear this wine when it is lined up next to their wines in a blind tasting. Brought to the restaurant by a regular guest who shared a glass. Great bouquet and texture! — 11 years ago

with Théo

Eric Hwang

9.0

Ripe black fruit and slight phenolic (antiseptic) aromas. The phenolic burns off after a few minutes. Blackberry and cedar with a smooth, rich finish. — 12 years ago

Hannah Beswick

9.8

Peppery says dad. No says mom — 13 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Pontet Canet tasting and dinner with Alfred Tesseron.

The 96 is a nice surprise add from Clyde’s cellar. Thank you Clyde.

This 96 is beautifully floral. The evolution is right around its peak. The body is medium full and the tannins soft. It’s an elegant beauty.

The fruits are ripe and delicious. Leaner blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries and shades of raspberries. Soft earth; dry top soil, dry rock, limestone minerals, old tobacco, soft leather, cedar with dry and withering red & dark florals. The acidity is like a waterfall. The long finish is well balanced fruit & earth and in a sweet spot.

Photos of; our dinner group, tasting room at Pontet Canet, the horse plows they still use in the fields and Chateau Pontet Canet. — 7 years ago

David Shaw

9.0

Inky dense purple in color. Butter, black currant and herb notes in nose with a hint of mint. Sage and blackberry flavors in mouth, blackberry finish with length. Later, cola flavor emerges. Fine grained seed tannins in finish. Nice complexity, a notch above. — 7 years ago

David Shaw

9.2

Last bottle, straight off the plane from the Arizona desert - look what I got waiting for me. Inky purple red in color. Dusty, later white pepper, mustard green, cassis and vanilla notes in nose. Slight matchstick. Slight skin astringency on front of tongue, raspberry water, black currant, mustard green and mint in mouth with cherry fruit leather and fine weight seed tannins on finish. Slightly alcoholic. A bouquet of herbs, veggies, weeds and red fruit in your glass, Washington state all the way. Could drink or age further. I'm pairing crackers and black pepper Boursin with this one, but garlic and herb might be better suited. — 8 years ago

Randy Fuller

9.4

The Mercer Malbec looks dark ruby in the glass. The nose offers some beautiful dark fruit - plums, blackberries and currant - and sticks a lovely dose of French oak in there. A nice, savory hint of black olives lurks in the background. The palate is just as enjoyable, with a fruity focus augmented by peppery spice and cinnamon. This is a wine that will be a hit at the holiday table, no doubt. It's a festive, fun red that can hold its own with the standing rib roast. — 9 years ago

Stephanie Arend

9.1

Pretty good, Rachael's fav. "Dark berry and black currant". — 9 years ago

Brad Rosborough

9.4

Decanted for 30 minutes. Cassis, black plumb and other black fruits on the nose and palate. Great long finish. Tannins are present but soft. A hint of oak on the finish. Definitely improved with air and time. — 9 years ago

Escobar Miguel

9.2

Delicious notes of chocolate mocha and black tea great acidity much bigger style of merlot for the money — 9 years ago

Scott Wiegand

9.0

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. This wine was a bit mysterious in the glass. I ordered it at dinner by the glass and didn't know much about it until I got home and looked it up. I would have sworn this was a Syrah based blend with some dark black fruit with coffee and black olive notes and had a fairly polished tannin structure to go along with a medium full bodied wine that I found very enjoyable. Definitely would buy again. — 10 years ago

Stuart Robinson

9.4

Damp sod, mushroom, black cherry; layered, complex, pomegranate with moderate acidity. Intensity of fruit and persistent finish. — 11 years ago

Sherri Housman

9.1

Nice WA Cabernet for the price. Dark berries, black currant, violets & vanilla. — 12 years ago

Rob Freelen

8.9

Great nose! Blackberry, spice box, black tea. Yum. Thanks Tj!! — 13 years ago

Ken Z

9.1

Drank 9/5/19. Tasting event. Tasting pour.

Scents of black cherry, blackberry, and baking spices. BlackBerry, blueberry, and chocolate flavors. Dark, full bodied finish.

4/21/8/4/4+90=91 pts. — 7 years ago

David Shaw

9.1

Second tasting. Dense purple red, moderately extracted pigment. Weedy black currant notes in nose. In mouth black currant, butterscotch, mint and later cherry flavors emerges. Seed tannins in finish need time to aerate. Cherry cough syrup aftertaste. 148 cases made. Nice wine, well made, great varietal and local character. — 7 years ago

David L

9.2

15’ Montagne Russe Silver and Gold Chardonnay. Holy mother. This is a beast of a wine.
Butterscotch, Banana foster👍, apricots.
Creamy finish with flavors such as caramelized peaches and custard. This wine is not everyone. If you enjoy Rombauer Club Selection Chardonnay $65 .
Bingo you’re a winner. — 8 years ago

Anthony Lombardi

9.3

Just got better as it took on air. Started out dark & right, opened up to show a mix of black & red fruit with palpable, fresh acidity, grippy tannins & cracked pepper aromatics. Syncline delivers again. — 9 years ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.4

Welcome to Easter weekend and lets start the weekend off right with a wonderful Bordeaux Blend from Andrew Will, the 2011 Champoux Vinyard continues to impress. This is a right bank blend of 54% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon.

The nose is beautifully expressive with notes of blackberry, black cherry, black currants, tobacco, licorice, chocolate, herbal notes, spice, violets and fresh tilled soil.

On the palate there is well balanced notes of black cherry, blackberry, black currant, green bell pepper that I love oh so much, chocolate, graphite shavings, and floral notes.

This is a full bodied wine with medium + acidity and firm outstanding gripping tannins. This wine does not disappoint.

Everyone have a great Easter weekend and please take thing easy, be safe. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 9 years ago

David Kline

9.4

Sourdough with blueberry, dried black currant, thyme, mint, black nigella sativa seed, black sugarless cake, and violet fragrances. Inky black color with a sedimentary side, but tar, graphite, baker's chocolate, espresso bean, licorice, forest floor biomass, black olive, and smoky black currant forever. Great wine from a storied vineyard! — 9 years ago

with Madeline, Josh and 1 other

"Odedi"

9.1

Here is another great wine from Israel.

Inky in color with a deep purple rim.

Great nose of smoke, blackberries, blueberries, plums, cherries, earth, oak, cloves, licorice, mint, cocoa and black pepper.

Dry and fruity on the palate with cherries, blueberries, plums, oak, vanilla, licorice, chocolate and black pepper.

Long finish with soft tannins, peppercorn and bitter almonds.

This is a great blend of 66% Petite Syrah, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Syrah.
Enjoyed it by itself, but would be great with a big hearty steak.

Very young, still, and needs five years to fully mature, maybe even longer, but already enjoyable. To me, this was the best one, so far, out of this winery that I tried.

Aged for 16 months in American and French oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume. — 10 years ago

Ted Germosen

9.0

#itsaSicilianmessage #Christmaswine #MtEtna #NarelloMascalese #MtEtnaSicily #Graci 2013 the nose exudes warm violets, blackberries, coffee bean, cedar, citrus rind & charred earth. Nice & stinky. The palate is lean, a bit crisp & smoky, crushed violets, horse saddle, leather, savory herb, black cranberry and slightly bitter, dark and lasting finish. Still a baby! #sommlife #somm #sommelier #instawine #Sicilianwine #Italianwine #Sicily #wineofthenight
#MerryChristmas2015 — 11 years ago

Amanda C

9.0

Heavy bodied, heavy tannins, mildly spicy, black currant. — 11 years ago

with Vince

Chris Miller

9.4

$26.99, delicious, rich blue and black fruit with hints of milk chocolate and vanilla — 12 years ago