Sipping Fine Wine

8.9

Blend of 55% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier, pale lemon color with aromas of citrus, floral and biscuit notes, fine bubbles and light mousse, on extended lees aging. On the palate flavors of crisp apples, peach and lemon notes, savory mineral, complex. Long ending with fruit and slight toasty biscuit character. — 3 years ago

Stefan Dolhain

8.9

2015 vintage. Kosher version. Owned by Belgian Maurice Velghe. 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Slightly rustic but well-done with Saint-Estèphe typicity. — 4 years ago

Patricia Schnitzer

9.2

May 8, 2021. Welcome home dinner w/ Jack D, Don, and LO. 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 10% Syrah, 10% Petit Verdot. Juicy black fruit, baking spices, leather. Well balanced and totally yummy. — 5 years ago

"Odedi"

9.0

Pale straw in color with a golden hue.

Strong nose of citrus, vanilla, spices, oak, yellow apples, pears and white pepper.

Full bodied, buttery and smooth, with medium plus acidity.

Dry on the palate with citrus, melons, apples, light grapefruits, spices, hazelnuts, oak, vanilla and peppercorn.

Nice length on the finish with spices and almonds.

This is a very tasty Chardonnay from Russian River Valley.

Spicy and intriguing. Interesting with a buttery, smooth mouthfeel. Nicely balanced and Oaky.

Right out of the bottle, it is in your face kind of wine, but as it opens up, it calms down a bit with less oak and vanilla notes, so give it 20 minutes.

Will be nice to see how this evolves in 5 to 7 years.

Good by itself or with food. I paired it with a cheese plate.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$55. — 6 years ago

Riccardo L.

9.0

Great wine. Gran selezione is always a bit underwhelming to me but this one holds its own. — 6 years ago

Craig Chapman

8.9

Nice easy drinking wine on the sweeter side. Paired well with pesto chicken — 7 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Tasted blind. Light tawny but there's a nice brightness in the color. Great old Bordeaux nose. Notes of black raspberry, cherry, moist forest floor, gravel and a little mocha. Amazing complexity in the mouth. This has more going for it in the mouth/finish when compared to the 55 Palmer next to it. The 55 Palmer overall was a better experience, but this was best in class for its complex mouthfeel. Guessed 1961 Palmer. — 7 years ago

John W

9.6

2010 1st label. Dark ruby. 55 merlot, 40 Cabernet Sauvignon and 5 petit Verdot. On the nose, leather, truffle, forest floor, plum. On the palate, cherry, caramel, oak, vanilla. Complex with good depth of flavor. Medium- Long finish. 9.6. Can buy at total wine. — 4 years ago

Luis Arguero (@winefromAtoZ)

9.1

Hand of God Fingerprint Series Red Blend 2010: Medium-full bodied. Excellent balance. Velvety tannins with layers of fruit flavors. Blackberry. Blueberry. Plum. Leather. Earth. Oak. Long smooth finish. Consisting of 55% Malbec, 35% Syrah & 10% Petit Verdot, this Argentine red blend presented nice structure & depth and after some breathing time, it released its true crowd-pleasing beauty. Definitely an outstanding wine selection with a very fitting name! En familia con el mano de dios! Cheers 🇦🇷🍷 — 4 years ago

"Odedi"

9.0

It’s time for some Merlot on this#MerlotThursday.

Ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

On the nose, plums, black currants, strawberries, sweet cherries, light cedar, licorice, vanilla, earth, herbs, chocolates, tobacco, spices, dark coffee and black pepper.

Medium plus in body and soft, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with currants, black plums, cherries, oak, light vanilla, spices, dark chocolates, coffee, peppercorn, earth, light vegetables and herbs.

Medium finish with fine tannins, tangy raspberries and peppercorn.

This young Bordeaux from Saint Émilion is already showing nice complexity with a nice mouthfeel.

Tasty and interesting. Tangy and rich. Needs a couple of hours to open up properly.

Still young, but starting to drink nicely now. I am surprised of how approachable it is already. Still a little unbalanced, and needs another few years in the bottle to mature properly. Would be nice to revisit it in 5 years.

This 2018 vintage is showing a lot of potential. A little lighter than the 2016 I had a couple of weeks ago.

A good quality wine that will age nicely in the next 15 to 20 years.

I paired it with Brie cheese and crackers.

A blend of 68% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$55. — 5 years ago

Matt Shirley

9.1

Dry and bold with just a hint of floral and fruit. Great in the mouth, will drink again. — 6 years ago

with Amelia

Jordi Pazo

9.0

Vila. Tast 1989-2019: 30 anys d'Història del Priorat Modern. 55% Garnatxa, 30% CS, 10% Carinyena, 5% Syrah. 45,00.
06.05.19 — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Love this Rostaing Syrah created from 12 or 13 different vineyards. The style encompasses everything thing I love about Northern Rhône. At $50-$55, their 2010 vintage of Ampodium pushes quality close to their much more expensive single vineyard bottling for a 1/3 of the price.

It’s round and elegant. Lightly roasted, creamy dark fruits, used expresso grounds, savory meats, just a touch of bacon fat, soft, understated minerals, dry top soil with dark withering & fresh dark florals. The round and beautiful. The finish glides over the palate with persistence and puts a smile on your face. It was a magnificat pair with my Short Ribs and Yukon Gold Horseradish Potato Purée.

— 7 years ago

with Christina and James

Delectable Wine

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9.4

The 2018 Les Carmes Haut-Brion was aged in 75% new oak with a touch more matured in foudres. It includes 55% whole bunches. This has a slight confit-like aroma on the nose, plush cranberry and wild strawberry intermingling with cassis and violet; aromatically, this is the more precocious recent vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine tannins, clean and pure with excellent acidity keeping everything on an even keel towards the finish. The 2018 has a caressing texture and is very persistent. I might quibble and say that I just find the nose a little trop, but the palate is superb. Tasted at the Les Carmes Haut-Brion vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2022)
— 4 years ago

Alan Weinberg

9.2

back of the bottle explains that this wine is 45% Chardonnay and 55% Pinot Noir harvested from the vineyard by the name of Folies de la Marquetterie, first pressing, oak aged. So it’s a single vineyard rendering.

It’s delicious. Lovely bouquet and palate presence, super fresh citrus that expands on the palate, finishes clean and long. I like the density and weight coupled with freshness. And it’s one quarter the price of CdC. — 4 years ago

Whitney Broussard II

9.2

Was a great buy for $35 now $45-55 there are better options — 5 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Rustic in a very good way. Nose has crunchy red berries, juniper, stony gravel, and a teeny bit of leather. Forceful flavors buoyed by forceful acids, pure, zingy, cherry fruit and a chalky minerality. Some relatively soft tannin. Not an erudite, pinky-extended sipper, but a great wine for pasta night. — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.4

A new upcoming Chilean icon blend @ £100-£120 that’s becoming a favourite of mine 😍 Did you know they play relaxing music to the wine in the barrel whilst it develops 💗 I reviewed the 2012 a few weeks back 😉 and can’t wait for 2013 to come out! I’ve still not tried their first 2010 release ... yet

📍 Vina VIK 2011

🏵 94 points w/ much more potential 👍

🍇 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Carmenere, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot & 4% Syrah 😍

🍷Opaque blackened ruby

👃 Chocolatey spicy rich blackcurrant & dark plum w/ soft oak, vanilla, blackberry, raspberry, dark cherry, wet leaves, herbs, a hint of purple flower, blueberry & minerals

👄 Full body of rich silky intense but balanced black fruits in oozy melted chocolate & creamy blueberry w/ a raspberry liquorice backbone in fine rock minerals

🎯 Long black fruit, raspberry, touch dry mineral & cocoa linger w/ a lasting purple teeth stain 😁 — 7 years ago

Michael gayle

9.0

Love it. Especially for the price! 55 degrees and decanter. I know, I know. Decanter white wine. Decanting never hurts good wine! — 8 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Pair of 55’s tonight! This had a deep dark color with dark cherry, plum fruits, earth, leather, licorice, mint & brown spices. — 8 years ago