Daniel M

8.9

This label cracks me up every single time😃
Violet, cherry, iron, earth. A firework of a nose and no trace of any barnyard funk lately which is good improvement on the same bottles opened one year ago. The palate is well balanced with a crazy fruit, violet exploding here and there, a strong acid frame and some matter, côte du Rhône style. Gentle tannins kick off a very playful finish with violet and cherry and a lot of fun. This wine is made out of grapes grown 10 miles from the house I grew up in near toulouse and it's always a win! (pun intended) — 5 years ago

Alex Lallos

Owner No Limit Fine Wines, Private Wine Consultant

9.2

These old durney cabs keep going and going. Dark in color still with an evolved but nowhere near 'dead' nose. The palate is still fresh and beckons another sip. Beautifully made carmel valley cab from the oldest vineyard in the AVA — 6 years ago

with Lee

Matt Trader

8.9

More Margaret River tonight - just couldn't get enough. I will say this: particularly, this wine is not for the Barossa fan. It is more of a Crozes Hermitage kinda wine with more acidity, softer and fresher fruit, and floral qualities.

👃damp red fruit, fresh rosemary and basil herbs, anise, red flowers

👅raspberry, black and green peppercorn, herbes de Provence, red apple skin, red plum

Fresher fruit forwardness than Crozes Heritage, but super similar. Margaret River is very French in style. — 6 years ago

Nicole Revilo

8.9

I liked it, especially after it opened up. MW body. Right between medium & full. — 6 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.5

Ripe, big but savoury with great length and fine sweet tannin that seems to come from nowhere. Black and red fruited, complex. Would never have picked it as an Adelaide hills shiraz. Many thanks Seth and Magda! — 6 years ago

Jörgen Lindström Carlvik

Owner, Brix Wine Consultants

9.6

Big wine in terms of structure and still nowhere ready, but from 2022 it will be majestic. Its deep core of spice, great fruit and chalky earth flavours are beautifully framed by serious grip and fresh acidity. — 6 years ago

Ron R

9.1

Just opened the case, which came direct from the winery, en primeur.
I let this breathe for 3 hrs, reason being, I could smell sh%* in my glass. It took a while to evaporate, but in the end, the Bdx notes shone through. This needs food, as the acid structure overpower the tannins. Good light mouthfeel with a tart cherry finish. Drink this with rich meats or full-fat, soft cheeses. Still fresh and youthful, and has the stuffing to last for another 15 years, at least.
At 12.5 abv, the alcohol was nowhere to be seen. — 7 years ago

Jeff Shapiro

9.3

"If we can’t grow it ourselves, we buy it locally and if we can’t buy it locally we buy it from friends.” Which means that all of the grains used are grown less than 100 miles from the distillery and many other ingredients are sourced from even closer. — 8 years ago

Dade Thieriot

10

Kick-Ass Kabinett! #2004 was an epic year for #Riesling in #Germany and this bottle has only moved a matter of miles from its original birthplace. Freshness is the hallmark of this incredibly clean, fleshy #Rheingau. Lovely balance that will certainly take it out another decade or more! #prinz #Kabinett #rieslingrocks — 8 years ago

David Gething

8.9

This came after the Pasion de Bobal so my critical faculties may have been slightly impaired but I enjoyed it a lot. Full bodied, ripe and velvet smooth with cordial rich black fruit and a dark, bitter sweet finish. Probably wouldn't have guessed it was Spanish if I didn't know. More like Oz or Argentina, hot, sweet & high (14.5%) alcohol. It doesn't have the acidity I associate (rightly or wrongly) with even the biggest Spanish reds but then it is from deepest Andalusia, barely 50 miles from Cadiz, so very hot. Don't think they're still using this Tintilla de Rota though, or if they are it's a tiny proportion of the blend. Current listings put it down as Syrah Merlot Cab. Oaked too, 5 months, new & nearly new. 2012. Oh, & it's a tenner from Cuckoo Wines... — 9 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Last bottle, had a bottle about a year ago, aged nicely. Their vineyard is a few miles away from the Pacific Ocean and aged, in French Oak, about 1/3 new, deep ruby with black fruit aromas and earthy floral spice notes. On the palate, soft raspberry, black cherry and blueberry flavors, rich and complex with integrated spice and oak. Smooth tannins with good balance of juicy acidity still has room to age. Lingering mineral finish, an outstanding wine. A real pleasure, wish I had more! — 5 years ago

Chris England

9.5

Fabulous relaxed & reasonably priced meal at “Blanc” in the Mandarin Oriental with Chef Carme Ruscalleda, whose restaurants have won 7 Michelin stars! ⏩ Scroll for delish city’s food pics on Instagram ⏩

A truly unique wine that’s €112 in restaurant & €56 from winery that went with all the foods shown perfectly 😍

📍 Terroir Al Limit Pedra de Guix 2014

🏵 95 points

🍇 Pedro Ximénez, Macabeo & Garnatxa Blanca

🍷 Amber honey w/ a bronze orange tone

👃 Light burnt marmalade, stick toffee pudding foam, old sherry cask, fallen green apple & vanilla custard

👄 Med refreshing body of brown green apple in torched brown sugar w/ honey, citrus zest & baked orange w/ soft sherry tickles

🎯 Long aged tortured toffee old apple in honey & brown sugar - a sherry but elegant & subtle

💭 Mrs E says “Nowhere near as heavy as it looks”

— 6 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.1

Vintage 2007 - autumn leaves, mocca, mushrooms, cedar, mature Lady from curious #carignano grape. Absolutely a wine with elegance. But nowhere middle of the road 😯 authentic beauty from #sardinia — 6 years ago

LM Segal

9.4

Sadly, the last in a case. Reprising my notes from last year, still true except a bit more liquorice :

A year ago I was loving this, 92 and better than the 08 Dominus. Go figure this gets even better. Peaking. P&P, outrageous candy cherry nose came outta nowhere. At cellar temp, just vanilla-liquorice dreamy with power behind it and some serious length. Softer and more nuanced as it warmed in the glass. No need to wait. — 6 years ago

Dave Genevro

9.4

Beautiful wine. Blend of 30+ year old nutty deliciousness. Dark caramel and amber colors. Rich and fuller bodied with burnt caramel, oranges, almonds and toasted hazelnuts at the finish line. Perfect acid balance from the get go. Length along the palate for miles. 20% ABV. — 6 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.1

The 2012 is absolutely mind blowing good. I decided to open a 13 to see how it would compare. It needs more time in the bottle. It wasn’t showing as I would have expected from this legendary vineyard. It was good but nowhere near as awesome as the 12. — 7 years ago

with Christine

Martin Redmond

9.2

The wine pours a medium gold color with promising honeysuckle, baked apple, melon, and baking spice aromas. On the palate it's full bodied for a wine that sees no ML. It's harmonious with bright acidity and a hint of tannins that add to its delightful structure. It shows baked white peach and apple, melon, a bit of nectarine and baking spice flavors with a lingering finish. This is a great winter white! The fruit was sourced from the Bonofiglio Vineyard, owned by Glenn McGourty and his two brothers. It's a seven-acre organically farmed vineyard is located five miles north of the town of Hopland. It was aged in neutral French oak for five months with lees contact and stirred once a month to increase mouthfeel. 14.2% abv — 7 years ago

Scott Taddeo

9.0

These Samuels wines are always so enticing on the nose, they feel miles apart from most other wines from the vale... Has the beautiful floral note, close to lavender, with a lovely jubey feel along with proper red liquorice, blackberry and some exotic middle eastern spices. No more than medium bodied, with flavours similar to that of the nose but lacks a bit of intent and authority. — 8 years ago

Dave Gass

9.8

Awesome wine from an equally awesome winery!! We love pretty much every wine that Doug and Susan make and love their winery grounds even more! This cab Frac has a smoky satin start and a smooth pepper finish that goes great with food but even better by itself!! Love it love it!! — 9 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

8.9

This is one of the folamari estates only a few miles from the sea — 10 years ago

Amber Archer

9.0

$32 @bdwinecenter •
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From what I understand after translation, this blend’s contents were produced between Riomaggiore and Volastra (of and around Cinque Terre). In my travels through Italy this past summer, I actually had the chance to visit Riomaggiore. In this seaside town of Cinque Terre, I learned that the wines produced there are very hardy. Not only are the majority of these Cinque Terre vineyards constructed into the side of the cliffs/mountains/hills (whatever you’d like to label them, they’re featured on the bottle), they are also mere meters from the sea in some cases. I remember one of the local ladies of one of the five seaside towns telling me of one vineyard (can’t remember which one, probablyyy had too much wine that day) that was only 60 meters away from the surf. With this info in mind, you know that salt water will be absorbed through the grape vines, influencing the grapes’ taste. This results in a very light, delicate brine. It almost reminds me of a sea urchin, and on a lighter note, Haruno’s seaweed salad. 😂 I really dig this wine. A very translucent gold, almost a straw. Definitely let this one warm up a tad, from drinking it completely chilled to room temp, it’s an amazing change. Definitely prefer it after some warmth has reached it. And can we talk about how amazing it is that this wine had the chance to come to the US from like 5,000 miles away where the populations probably don’t exceed a couple of thousand people—and a select few of those choosing to devote their entire lives to cultivating these grape vines? Cheers to finally getting off work 🍻#cinqueterre #manarola #riomaggiore #wine #winetasting #photooftheday #instagood #italy #blend #white #travel #love #bisson #rosenthalwines — 5 years ago

Josh Thorpe

9.4

Definitely get again!
Great blend — 6 years ago

with Mark and Keith

Al Shikoh

9.2

Light reddish purple with amber rim. Aromas of cherry pie and spearmint with hints of damp earth and cloves. Medium bodied with intense cherry flavor, bright acidity, and 14.3% alcohol. Sourced from a vineyard planted in 2000 to 100% Swan clone on a coastal ridge at about 900 feet elevation 5 miles from the Pacific Coast in sandy loam soils. 10% whole clusters included then aged 25 months in seasoned French oak barrels. This is a lovely Sonoma Coast appellation Pinot. $55. — 6 years ago

with Kelly

Matt Trader

9.0

If you like lifted, bright, crisp and refreshing, this is the wine for you. Incredible value for a fairly cheap price. Tropical bright feel, pineapple, gala apple flesh, Meyer lemon, under ripe melon, and light cream. It seams to be light percentage of Malo, along with aging in either stainless steak casks, or concrete eggs. Crisp and clean finish, excellent for a 60° Sunday. — 6 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Growing up on a working farm in NY, Paul experienced first-hand the influence of terroir on the character of fruit, his father had him taste apples of the same variety grown in different orchards several miles apart from one another. Aromas of berry fruits and herb notes. On the palate juicy blackberry and strawberry with black tea and herb spice. Elegant soft savory tannins on lingering finish ending with mineral tones. — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.1

Quite an enjoyable wine from Ceretto. I remember this one being just right down the middle and very enjoyable from this producer. It was a good wine no doubt. I remember this wine being right down the middle for what it was. Good ripe fruit up front. The middle of this wine had a nuttiness that was complemented by a little bit of Italian herbs. Finished with good weight and structure. I get the feeling that this wine is in a slight bit of decline. Although nowhere near the gutter, I think the best time to enjoy this wine was probably 1-2 years ago. Still not a bad wine in an all-star lineup, and the only Italian wine on the table today. — 7 years ago

with Benjamin

Chiara Laudicina

10

Amazing fully tasteful red wine from California. I've chosen it with a risotto with pumpkin and bacon. Great smell and taste. — 7 years ago

Greg Gratson

9.0

Good, $15 from wegmans. — 8 years ago

Tourswede

9.2

A little recap from last week. And of course it's gamay and it's lovely. Served at home with strong moldy cheese, local plum jam and Miles Davis best, and second, great quintet LP box.

(flag decoration a tour present from a certain disco dad while on tour in Australia around 2007. Thanks again Mr. It still hangs in the kitchen.) — 8 years ago

Adam Hanks

9.4

Actually Sea View Ridge Pinot. Incredible PN from 1800 ft elevation less than 2 miles from the ocean. Powerful but balanced. Great balance of fruit and spice, with soft floral and perfume notes. — 9 years ago