Vijay Parikh

9.5

Wine decanted for 90 minutes could easily use another 45 to 99 minutes in the decanter. It has a long runway ahead of it but with appropriate decanting can be enjoyed today. Beautifully balanced, cassis, olives, blackberry, blueberry, cedar, and a reasonable finish tells of its aristocratic lineage. Went well with the lamb we had for dinner — 6 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Ramírez de la Piscina traces its lineage back to the Navarra Kings who fought in the 1st Crusade during the 11th century. Aged for 24 months in Am & French oak, cellared for 36 months before release, grapes from its vineyards in Abalos. Rich bright red, ripe berry fruit aromas and smoky spices. On the palate fresh ripe cherry and blackberry flavors with fine silky tannins, leather, well balanced acidity. Lingering finish ending with some oak, earthy and mineral tones. Drinks well, great value for a Gran Reserva. — 7 years ago

Ryan Kaltenbach

9.0

Part of the Decker family lineage - enjoyed for Thanksgiving dinner. — 8 years ago

Kirk F

9.3

This wine has strong Burgundian lineage and while I generally think Carneros is a lesser region to other areas in Cali for Pinot Noir, this is a beauty. We spent an afternoon with Chris a few years ago and learned the true family nature of the wine’s production. It has it all, berries and spice leaping from the glass, a luxurious mouthfeel and texture and a super-long finish. Gotta get some more of this one. — 8 years ago

Cheryl Collie

10

Very smooth- — 8 years ago

Ed Lehrman

9.3

Big lineage and almost gets there. — 8 years ago

mattswineworld

10

From Shiraz vines planted in 1860, this may be the most expensive wine I've ever tried as well as one with the oldest lineage. Is it worth the price? I'm not sure you can put a price on such heritage - a century and a half in a glass. But anyone who doubts that Australian Shiraz can't rival the northern Rhône for complexity and longevity needs to get to Eden Valley and taste this wine. — 9 years ago

dmoore61

9.5

This is a great wine! Notice the DE Rothschild. lineage. This is a GREAT wine. Love it!. — 6 years ago

with E and Greg

Matt

9.0

Interesting nose one this. Savory/earth combine with melon, melon skin, golden orchard fruit, salt, subtle brown spice. Almost an underlying underbrush note. I really liked this because of its story, vineyard, lineage but did find the bottle in a but of a funky spot. Curious to try this vintage again. Structurally the wine is very balanced, def oak, a wine of place. — 7 years ago

Daniel M

9.1

Blood orange,liquorice , strawberry, violet (?), grilled meat(?!) on the nose. I could spend the evening with my nose upon this glass! What a nose ! Blood orange again on the palate which tends to have this bitter feeling all along the acid backbone. Red fruits around there too. Not as Burgundian and ethereal and precise as the chateau (cdr) in the same vintage but I can feel the lineage here. The finish is long with a bitter salty touch. Wow again. For a 13€ price-tag I could have this any given day. Perhaps one of the best value ever encountered. I can’t wait to open the big big brother fonsalette — 8 years ago

Benjamin Keator

9.4

Needs a 5-6 hour decant. After hour one, shows like a typical Napa cab. Dry, tannic, big fruit, large mouth feel. As it opened up in the glass over the next 2 hours it started to show its lineage. Coffee and chocolate notes appear, although not near Angelus levels. This is a beautiful right bank wine with many years left — 8 years ago

Andrew Schirmer

9.0

He may only be the dauphin, but the CdP lineage shows. Attenuated nose of currant bushes and herbs. Palate is a fat bitter blueberry note with herbs and cheek-quavering tannic finish. Great work. Amazing QPR. — 8 years ago

with Alsu

Michael Meyer

9.3

Showing that Kongsgaard lineage superbly. Perfect complement to @Dan Blackwell's short ribs. — 9 years ago

Helen p

9.0

Aged well over 6 yrs. Good with dessert. With family 2019 — 7 years ago

Ian Staub

9.1

The concentration and intensity on this 16-year-old bottle is mind blowing. At the core, pure ripe red and black cherry and berry fruit, moving towards the stewed end of the spectrum, with savory herbs, cedar, and earth radiating out brilliantly. Medium-full bodied, with high acid and high tannins, structure (with the complementing fruit holding strong) to last another decade or more. Though I know he was gone by this vintage, it’s hard not to see Gideon’s lineage in this bottle - Sierra wines that have something to say, with wild intensity and purity of fruit. Great food wine, enjoyed with steak frites at home. Decant for a couple hours to throw some sediment and let things mellow just a touch. 🌄 — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Fruit profile is somewhere between 12 & 13 with a lean towards 12. Drink amazingly easy for a 14. Medium body & the structure is leaner. The florals are incredible in the 14. Everything is so soft, ripe and rich. Drink now and cellar 10 years. — 8 years ago

Patti Gamboni

9.0

Not over extracted. Nice actually. Lineage is solid too (former winemaker of Screaming Eagle, Stagsland) — 8 years ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.4

Perched high atop the North Atlantic plate in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Ridge’s Monte Bello property boasts a rich lineage that goes all the way back to the 1880s. Even today, the drive up the winding roads that lead to the top of Monte Bello is arduous. It’s virtually impossible to imagine what conditions must have been like 130 years ago. Ridge's 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is fabulous. Beams of tannin and acidity make a strong opening statement, but there is more than enough fruit to fill out the wine's frame. This is an especially dark, virile Estate. Then again, that is 2013. Inky blue-purplish fruit, licorice, sage, exotic spices, and lavender grace the exquisite finish. This is an absolutely delicious mountain Cabernet endowed with real pedigree and class. It is also arguably the single greatest value in California Cabernet Sauvignon. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, Jul 2016) — 8 years ago

TheSkip

9.1

Much more cool climate than its lineage would suggest. Lovely balance Bergen vegetal and fruit notes. — 9 years ago

Sybaritewino C.Lawrence

9.1

This 2011 Napa Valley, Carneros #pinotnoir from the Beau Terroir Vineyard expresses its cool vintage & earthly lineage beautifully, with notes of briars, strawberries, & breakfast tea on a nose tethered to a palate that is enticingly textural, endowed with the satiny, sapid acidity of strawberries finishing long, with a fun flourish of dark chocolate, thoroughly complimenting those strawberry characters. Fun vino! — 9 years ago