Anya Spethmann

8.9

Some thoughts on this bottle:

- The 22 g/L of RS show as about half that and is a component of why the wine tastes objectively delicious. I have suspicions as to why we in Niagara are a bit snobbish about RS but we really ought to get past that.
- Has just the slightest hint on the nose of the distinctive Niagara riesling note of black olive. I’m told that’s due to picking due to weather pressure and picking for necessity rather than phenolic ripeness. Will follow up as to how and when and why here.
- It’s really quite good. Definitely comfortably above average on any grading scale. But not as objectively high-quality as the chardonnay and that seems to hold true for the region. — 6 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.2

What an incredibly expressive nose. Olive tapenade, lavender, eucalyptus, violets, black pepper. It is medium ripe with well integrated, restrained oak. Comes in a full body with high acidity and concentrated mile-long flavors dominated by dark fruits and a salinic metallic quality. No faults to mention but so intense I’m fine and happy with just one glass. Sometimes that’s all you need. — 7 years ago

Martin Bergo

9.5

Oily and viscous golden wine; the smell is like sticking your nose in a bouquet of perfumed lillies and roses - quite striking; and on the palate it is opulent, fairly high in acidity for the region, and had a mile-long finish with tropical fruits. Had with sushi! — 8 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.6

Burnt caramel, fruit cake, brine, vegetal perhaps, wood, malt, and a good dose of smoke. Thanks to GC for this amazing drop!

Note: High Spirits is an Italian independent bottler owned by Ferdinando (Nadi) Fiori, which specialises in single cask single malts bottled at cask strength. This bottling is part of the Loch and Castles of Scotland series (No 4 of 18), sporting some beautiful old prints of the subject-in-question on the front label. Incidentally, bottle no 4 of 326 (and 18 mags). Distilled 1995, bottled 2005. Ex-port cask. Springbank Distillery, Campbeltown.

From the whisky whiz KL's IG, although I didn't exactly get the same notes (much to learn here; KL tasted the exact same bottle): A very unique nose. Quite vegetal, capsicum, with a touch of smoke. Rather tight. Palate is sweet and syrupy, vegetal, earthy, and malty. Left to open in the glass for 10 to 15 min, and that's when the magical Springbank character appeared. Beautiful and elegant. Lots of port character. — 8 years ago

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9.1

The wine is clear and bright with a deep garnet colour.

It is clean and in a developing stage in the nose, displaying intense aromas of lavender, ripe dark plums, dark cherries, black pepper, cedar and clove.

In the mouth it is dry with a medium acidity. It has firm fine-grained tannins and a warm high alcohol strength. It is full-bodied and fleshy, with a pronounced juicy concentration. The finish is very long.

It is a very good quality wine. It has a wealth of flavour concentration and a lingering finish. The tannins are well-balanced by the alcohol and th fruit, and it also shows some degree of complexity provided by oak ageing, but not enough to go the extra mile. Its main sin may be being a bit too international in style, with too prominent oaky notes, however if anyone knows what's the true expression of a Syrian wine let me know. And this is more a question of style than "objective" quality. — 10 years ago

Nicole Tarkington LaBrecque

8.9

Great tasting blend. Paired well without dinner at Mile Wine Company. — 10 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.6

One of the only wineries in Napa that bottle ages in the cave walls. Old-world technique for an awesome old-world styled wine. Bottles may have come down, but spirits still high and lucky stars counted. — 11 years ago

Courtney Cochran

Sommelier/Host hiptastes.com

9.5

Pale garnet with orange rim. Volcanic fairy dust presents quickly on nose, then dehydrated plum, Cointreau, brown sugar, Worschestershire, nettle, clove, black olive, campfire ash. Palate brings med+/high- acid, high tannin, med+ alc, flavors of tart red cherry, black olive, brown spice, fairy dust minerality, cigar paper, American Spirits. Long finish, improving with air and thank you *tres much* — 11 years ago

Brandon Thiessen

9.0

Lean and high acid; toasted coconut, caramel corn. — 7 years ago

Steph Cerino

9.7

Very smooth and great flavor. High spirits. — 7 years ago

Bryce Wiatrak

9.3

A collaboration between Nashville Craft and Fugitives Artisan Spirits, Grandgousier is a welcome entrant to the blossoming Tennessee Whiskey category. The mash for Tennessee Whiskey must by law consist of at minimum 51% corn, but Grandgousier's clocks in at a high 89% from sustainably grown heirloom varieties. You can taste it too in the whiskey's warming breadth and gratifying sweetness - flavors of walnut peel and char meet crème-brûlée crust and honeycomb. — 7 years ago

Monica Malowney

9.2

Well balanced and a lot of fun! — 8 years ago

Kim Stanbro

9.0

Birthday gift recommended by Vicki at Spirits Of Mt Vernon. High alcohol, took a while to open up. Hour decant then each sip is more and more delicious. Tobacco, celery, meat. — 9 years ago

with Dave

Erik Nordman

9.4

Midweek wine! Classic and tradional Barbaresco nebbiolo. Bright, fresh red cherry and rose, dried cranberry, anise, a bit of leather, cola, menthol freshness, and just a tad of that tar and baked clay starting to develop. Already quite aromatic, yet I can tell that it has so much room to open up still, and would age beautifully. High acid, moderate body and firm tannic structure, but the the tannins are quite fine and velvety. Elegance with power. Opened spontaneously after kind of a rough day and it's honestly just what we needed. Amazing how treating yourself with a surprisingly good bottle of wine can change your spirits! — 9 years ago

Marc On

Writer Originalverkorkt, Lobenbergs Gute Weine

9.2

Still young with his 8 years of age, can go the extra mile. Great, steely mineral drive, high acid, strong finish. — 10 years ago

Vasudev Vadlamudi

8.9

Distilled so it's clear. Based on arabica (tastes like a very high quality coffee maybe stumptown?) — 10 years ago

with Aaron

Bryan Szabatura

8.9

Wine Date with CJ & Stephanie. — 11 years ago

David Mark

9.0

We both really enjoyed this. Recommendation from a worker at Morton Williams Wine and Spirits (Blair) — 7 years ago

Lori

10

Allegro Winery
Punk
PA Rose` wine
Produced and bottled by Allegro Winery
Brogue, PA 17309
717-927-9148
www.allegrowines.com

**My new favorite obsession. Local PA wine. I searched PA Wine and Spirits stores high and low for this wine and no dice. Tracked it down at Wegmans (grocery store) in Williamsport, PAin June of 2018. Worth the wait! I bought two bottles to bring back to the Burgh with me! Quite sweet and had beautiful coloring. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I bought my first vintage from this producer & terroir beginning with the 2010 vintage and what a vintage to start. I bought four bottles for right around $50 or a little less. They were so amazing, I drank through them in no time at all. For those of you that read my posts, that’s not normally what I do. I like to drink one & age the rest. Since then, I have looked & looked for more. I’d finally given up hopes of finding more until recently I struck gold. I should have bought all nine bottles but a calmer head prevailed. It’s definitely changed since having it fresh. On the nose, the fruits are slightly macerated. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, glazed nuts, soft, delicate, chalky minerals, a touch of jasmine & yellow lilies. The body is much rounder & thicker than when it was young. Waxy. So, beautifully layered across the palate. Much of the palate matches the nose. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, apricots, peach, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, slight molasses character & glazed nuts with citrus blossoms, yellow lilies & jasmine. The minerals are much more grippy & bold as they cut across and set on the palate. The acidity round & phat. The texture is amazing as is the length, balance & beautiful, rich, long finish that lasts two-minutes plus. So glad I found more of this wine! Hubert Lamy seriously over deliver the terroir & the price point by a country mile. If you are not buying this wine on pre-arrival, you are missing great wine and excellent value. Can’t say enough good things about it. Especially, the 2010. I expect the 15 to hold similar quality. Photos of; Olivier Lamy, Olivier working in this vineyard, barrel room and their Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Vineyard. Producer notes and history...There have been Lamy’ s growing vines in St-Aubin since 1640, today it is run by Olivier Lamy. Olivier is a new breed of Burgundian grower keen to progress. He trained Méo-Camuzet & made a number of vintages before taking over in 1996 from his father Hubert. Hubert Lamy used to sell fruit to négociants, but that stopped in 1997. He grubbed up and sold off peripheral vines, keeping only the best and oldest sites. Currently he is experimenting with different planting densities in a quest to capture even greater expression of terroir. The Domaine produces both reds and whites and now has 16.5 hectares of vineyards, mostly in St-Aubin but also own a few parcels in Chassagne-Montrachet and a tiny plot in the Grand Cru Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Yields are kept low and recent innovations have been introduced with selection tables in the cuverie to ensure that only the healthiest and ripest grapes are used. His more recent move to reduce the amount of new oak with the introduction of demi-muids 300-600 liter barrels have also helped to improve the wines. Vinification is traditional and the wines are matured with only 20-30% new oak for 12 months before minimal filtration and then bottling. The quality is very high and is often superior to many wines from much more prominent villages that sell at twice the price or more. — 7 years ago

lato

9.5

Tart w sweet mile high finish making me drunk — 10 years ago

Randy Fuller

9.0

This is an astounding dessert wine, although it really doesn't taste like dessert at all. It's made dry, Port-style and hits 19% abv. I would never have guessed that high, as smooth as the wine drinks. Dessert wines always seem bombastic in one way or another - "Check out all this residual sugar!" or "How 'bout that fortification, buddy!" This one is as elegant and smooth as a good tawny. The fruit is dark and plentiful - brooding and slightly funky on the nose, rich and perfectly balanced on the palate - like a Syrah oughta be. The tannins are extremely gentle. Afterward, it's the fruit you remember, not the spirits. The grapes are organically farmed at Circle T Vineyards in Arkansas. — 10 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

9.7

Breakfast gin at K&L. Wonderful creamy texture balanced by fine high toned citrus and clean juniper. Lovely craft gin from Rasta Cruz. — 11 years ago