Steve Rura

9.0

Not really a whisky drinker, but I can appreciate this Scotch. Very woodsy and dry. Cedar with orange bitters, and oaky vanilla bean. Clean fresh finish, with a long lasting Szechuan pepper tingle and wood chips towards the end. 14 yr single malt. — a year ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2000 vintage. Briar, earth and slight brickish nose. Color as if bottled yesterday. Light-medium/medium body. Throwing some serious sed. Decanted for two hours and a little watery on the concentration but plenty of fruit. I suspect this would have fared better with a six hour decant/lounge sesh. Also follows on the heels of last week’s tasting of the massive and undying 1990 vintage so there’s that. — 4 years ago

Michelle Littel

9.4

A really nice dry rose. At times felt a little sparkly — 6 years ago

Max Hollander-Eberly

9.4

So much yum! A little bit of VA is a really great flavour enhancer. — 8 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.1

Definitely more hop influence on this one. Definitely believe the 64 IBU rating. Floral hop with a little bit of Tangerine. Nice malt but is not overpowering. Just a little sumpin sumpin on Sunday night — 8 years ago

Mr.Pink

9.0

Black currant, coffee and a little violets. — 9 years ago

Me Meme

9.0

A good Shiraz. Would buy it again. Reminds me of the Yellowtail brand. Mmm — 11 years ago

Dan Fredman

Chef Sommelier World of Pinot Noir

9.2

Fully mature, showing nicely for an underappreciated vintage. On the herbal/earthy side of things, old style Bordeaux giving plenty of pleasure but few fireworks. — 11 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.4

2011. Blanc. No one drinks enough of this. That's because there are so few things to which its a good partner, but it would be an incredible cheese-and-charcuterie wine. Broad and oily, there's just enough acid to keep you coming back for more. Sun-baked yellow orchard fruits dominate, but there's more exotic fruits too (mango and dried pineapple) yellow flowers, tons of almond husk bitterness, green olives, bay leaf, oregano, tarragon, white cheddar. Oak is assertively present but not overwhelming. Place dominates over grapes here, as it's a mix of Clairette and Grenache Blanc and a hodge-podge of other things. — 12 years ago

Alfonso Faustino

9.7

This is an excellent wine. Full, robust, and had a little spice to it. — 12 years ago

Conrad Green

9.6

Meaty and intense. Lush with violets, a deep purity and smoothly intense. Really great stuff. A little more powerful than the 82 alongside but a whisper less refined — a year ago

with Walker and David

Daniel M

9.3

Opened yesterday and 2/3rd of the bottle was left to rest. Yesterday the nose was made of tar, cigare, cedar and oaky notes. There was very little fruit. 24 hours after the same notes are still showing but I can smell some cassis, some meat juice and a tiny peppery note. This is very concentrated and intense. The palate is very well made with a very strong acid drive, some very nice matter on the sides, a great width, a plush mouthfeel, some cassis and meaty, salty touches, a great mid palate with grainy, dusty tannins that power up a very long finish that tend to expand on the rear: there is that grainy, dusty layer of tannins that carries on for a very long time, these cassis notes that bring a bit of tanginess, and some smoky, oaky notes linger for a while too. This is an aristocratic wine and my last bottle will rest for another 10 years at least. Off vintage but great bottle — 4 years ago

Chris Dickerson

9.5

2014. Just really good. May have aged a little longer, but definitely drinkable right now. — 7 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Dark ruby, bright, doesn’t look it’s age. Awesome funky old Cal Cab nose. Notes of cherry, cranberry sauce, dirt and some balsa wood. Some steminess. Great perfume. Nice in the mouth but missing just a little bit in the mid palate. Really enjoyed this. — 8 years ago

Rick K

9.2

Ripe cherry nose with subtle earthy notes. Just a hint of the merde. Really interesting, a little funky. — 9 years ago

Colin Nuckolls

9.1

A good vintage. Coffee, Bing cherries. A little jam. Needs coaxing but a more than serviceable cdp — 10 years ago

Martin Frowde

9.2

Drinking the 1991 in 2016 after over 2 hours of decanting. Wonderful light sherry type nose with a hint of pepper and quite brick red colour around the edges. Such a soft texture on the tongue though still a little astringency on the finish. Very good. — 11 years ago

with Georgina

Denis Malbec

8.9

Good wine but a little bit too Bordeaux terroir like to my taste... Houyhnhnm!!! — 11 years ago

Mark Geller

9.2

Pleasantly surprised how good this was. Dark with more than a hint of sweet fruit up front but little to no mouthfeel and nothing on the end. — 12 years ago

Bobby Carrillo

10

Little brother meet big brother — 13 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2008 vintage. Had never come across the "Little Hill" until today. Light-medium body. Decanted and was fairly musty for 2-3 minutes before it started to blossom. Some blue fruit/menthol/eucalyptus throughout the experience. Demonstrative spice component on the back end. Could really only ding this on being slightly "watery" on the front palate. Otherwise, this is kicking now and has plenty of life and love to give. 5.27.23 — 3 years ago

David Nicewicz

9.3

Birth year Bordeaux and this has been excellent. Very old school nose of copious tobacco, forest floor and dark berries. Medium bodied but gaining intensity over the course of 2 h - tannins completely melted. Bricking is apparent on first pour but the color grows darker with time. Perfect bottle that is a little past it’s prime but fun to step back in time. — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy Spring! It’s one of our favorite points in the year. More; daylight, a little warmer in CA and everything starts to bloom which, means a long summer of gardening and being outdoors every day/night is not far off.

Since it was such a great day and basically most Californians are shut-Ins, the voluntary self quarantining was getting to me. I did the landscaping and got an afternoon of fresh air today. A breath of fresh air...ahhh! Wow, was it needed after Gavin’s Newsom’s estimate of 25.5 million Californians would be infected with Coronavirus over 8 weeks yesterday.

So, a good night to celebrate another day of being virus free with my 2nd favorite N/V Rosé Champagne.

All my numerous previous notes apply.

Stay safe everyone and remember the new terminology of the new decade...social distancing! Cheers! 🍾🥂

Photos of; Spring in our backyard & a Billecart Grand Cru Vineyard.

— 6 years ago

Johan Bogaert

9.2

Like always a true gentleman, somewhat lean but very sophisticated. Silky wine with fruit preserved. Very little signs of evolution. Very aristocratic but lacks some flesh. Still very enjoyable. — 8 years ago

Randall Brater

8.9

Light with hints of tart and sharp raspberries. Just a little bit of earth. Ok, better with food and cheese than by itself. — 9 years ago

Peter Lutz

9.1

What can I say? I love a granache. — 10 years ago

Mark Eastom

9.4

Holding up nicely! Bit of menthol, a little fruit hanging on and notes of tobacco. Silky tannin and a touch of orange rind on the palate. — 11 years ago

with Alexis and Anabel

Ben Powell

9.0

Unique blend. A little sweet. Good table wine. Not for everyone though. Kinda breaks the rules of red wine. — 11 years ago

Cory Fierro

9.3

Decided now would be a good time to try out out the 2013 Prisoner. While not as good as the 2011 the structure is different, showing a ton of black pepper and balsamic on the nose with a little bit of violet flowers, and a very lovely, elegant finish. Big bold red and black fruits give way to a lush, black peppery back end. The finish is shorter than expected but still nice. This is still a good wine, just not as good as previous vintages. — 12 years ago

Michael Slomer

9.6

Last bottle! Being discontinued at the restaurant — 13 years ago