Fredrik Finn

9.2

Surprinsgly good, fresh and elegant, with a good complexity, showing a mix of fresh and dried red fruit, the tell tale soubouis and mineral notes gives this wine its well deserved identity. A nice development in the glass. Good balance and structure. At five years of age the wine drinks very well and is not in need of any further aging — 8 years ago

Alex

9.0

Old world. Little bit of leather and tobacco and with some earthy funk to it. Once it opened up, lots of dark fruit and cola. Could have mistaken for Italian. — 9 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.7

Dark ruby - almost Opaque. Colour of an Aussie Shiraz. Lovely perfume. Powerful palate with incredible depth and intensity. Ripe fruit. Everything there for a long life. Much surprise when the identity was revealed as a Charmes with many thinking it was the Dugat Py Mazis. — 9 years ago

Zach Cherry

Account Manager Worldwide Wine & Spirits

8.9

What? Happy canyon SB? I don't know if it has any identity, as I have nothing to judge it against. But it's all sorts of green melon, pomelo, and maybe some oak? Wasn't expecting it, but there might be some barrel here. Worth a try. — 9 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Cherry notes with some dust and spice. Medium bodied at best yet ripe fruit with traces of spice on palate. Marg River Shiraz from the north does not have a definitive identity. Shiraz seems to do better in the south ie Voyager, Cape Mentelle and Leeuwin Estate. — 10 years ago

P A

8.9

This very good Piedmont red and its distinct Nebbiolo grape will never be mistaken for a southern Italian cousin. Good now but still young for a Barolo and with time the rich tannin flavour will soften out. But why wait it is a beauty right now. Aromas of earth, slight tar and rose petals. Enjoy — 10 years ago

with Taylor and paul

John Williams

10

Easily mistaken for a puligny Montrachet. The richness even for the '11 vi tags would indicate this is part of the modern Chablis style — 10 years ago

Robert Love

9.3

Dark inky purple. Black currant, fresh earth, and baking spice on the nose. A rich & powerful style. Tannins are nice and integrated in the mouth, leading to a medium-long finish redolent of dark fruit and mocha. This seems big and overripe on the nose but could be mistaken for top-growth Pauillac in the mouth. Not my style yet I love this wine. Decanted. #Napa #Cabernet — 11 years ago

Bruce Evans

9.1

Soft ,light .
this Syrah could be mistaken for a Pinot in 2011 — 11 years ago

Greg Anglea

9.8

On the other hand...singing at this point. Restrained yet present. Lovely light body with interesting tannic note was mistaken for neb by one guest. Paired great with 14 lb slow roasted fresh ham. — 12 years ago

Chris McClellan

9.0

Wow, loved this. Black/red fruits, raisinated, baked, fruits, no new oak, high booze, medium plus tannins and medium acid. Paired great with bbq chicken. I could have mistaken for amarone/ripasso, but this likely has more tannin. Well balanced. Need more! — 8 years ago

Michael Meyer

9.1

Super dry, crisp and precise. White flowers and lemon zest on the nose. Palate incorporates some nuttiness and salinity, and maybe a hint of stone fruits. Could easily be mistaken for a Chablis. — 9 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

A reminder that these were all tasted blind and as it turned out the fabled Romanee Conti was first. My notes - Lovely sexy nose of violets. Ripe yet restrained - aristocratic. Minerally, savoury with an incredible long finish. Fine tannins but will blossom. Actually my least pointed wine in the 6 Vosne Romanee Grand Crus. I'm sure it would not have been had I known its identity! — 9 years ago

Fred Calatayud

9.2

Pleasantly surprised by this Merlot - could have easily mistaken it as a cab. Strong, but nicely balanced dark fruit with a long finish. It still had a lot in the tank given the 2007 vintage. If you are sitting on this, you may start drinking it now, but it can go longer. — 9 years ago

Jessica Smith

10

Warning: Could be mistaken for French — 10 years ago

Gae Saccoccio - NdC

9.6

Really complicated on these so suspect days, expose themselves with concepts such as: tradition, terroir, identity without falling into the most sinister rhetoric if not sounds just trite and hypocritical as the counterfeit currency with which even large-scale industries - supported by marketing - pays back its inattentive mass audience riding the wave of the country of origin or protected typicality. A diabolical mechanism this one for which even the most noble ideas probably the right practices and good experiences completed in the scale of centuries to human measure and not on massive industrial scale, are trivialized by sleazy slogan, emptied of meaning to be more or less surreptitious thanks to barbaric persuasion techniques and brain-washing propaganda.
Yet with the Valentini's Trebbiano you may not groped to summarize in words if not by drawing on terms so appropriate to express it. Now concerning this iconic label we've got behind it a local grape variety, a real family and a great wine that collect in a bottle the past and present story of a side of Abruzzo who claims to defeats victories and sacrifices to dominate the abuses (on and of) nature, miseries and splendours of agricultural seasons. Places, people, vision, wines such as Valentini are here to remind us how each bottle stay so proudly standing as non-reproducible beauty and fermented goodness expressing all its artisanal uniqueness and authenticity which are just that suspect to industrial wine production in manufacturing chains on standardized quantities; wines that are all equal to themselves even though wine itself is not much left at the end of the day/cycle. Trebbiano d'Abruzzo Valentini 1998 is what we have to rate right now: rusticity with class; style, purity and glory of a local grape recognized by many admirers from all over the world: act local think global this is another slogan-cliché which in this specific Valentini's wine exemple could sounds a little less false and more effective. — 10 years ago

with Alberto and Giovanni

Charlie Beatty

Buyer wineworksonline.com

9.8

Impressive Pinot Noir Peirson Meyer has had a Identity Crisis. In years past they operated with 2 different labels. The other being L'Angevin !! That label is now on the back label!!! — 11 years ago

CK Vong

9.1

2007. Mistaken for a Tempranillo at opening. Juicy n chewy, bit spicy is typical for a new merlot, has structure. I do think right bank n margaux 07 r a bargain. Drink. — 11 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

10

All old vine Verzenay, about 2/3 Pinot Noir and 1/3 Chardonnay, all from massal selections. Unbelievable focus, cut, chalky power and length, with the signature hazelnut flavors that can be easily mistaken for wood. Patrick Arnould made a tiny us nitty of this, not to sell, but only to give away! — 11 years ago

with Cleora

Mark Flesher

9.5

Found this one behind another one in storage. All I can say is....DAMN. This drinks like a Sangiovese that I paid 3x the amount for. Dense cedar and a little sweet blackberry. Smooth operator on the front and finish. A part of me is very sad this one was bought out by Kendall Jackson but I hope they kept their identity intact. Lilac and pepper finish. Immense. LOVED this wine. Almost gave it 95 but not quite there. I wish I had another case of this one! — 9 years ago

Thomas Weber

9.3

Killer wine. I loved this. Macon Gamay grown on limestone if I'm not mistaken. Fresh red fruit on the nose and nervy palette with clean vibrant red fruit -cherries, cranberry, etc. 14€. — 9 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.6

Killer btl of this. This La Mish is still showing young but so good. No mistaken this wine. — 9 years ago

Josh Watts

9.7

So many levels. The true barnyard on the nose as it opens up to its true identity. Will slowly evaporate your pallet, causing you to focus on the aged cassis with a good dose of tobacco with subtle chocolate. We gave it about an hour and a half to open up and we enjoyed every last drop. YUM!! — 9 years ago

Harri Sharman

9.2

This was apparently a very tough vintage, but I was still impressed. Could easily be mistaken for a solid pomerol. Lush tannins and herbaceousness, backed up with subtle fruit — 10 years ago

Erin Morris

9.3

Love! Maybe I'm new to this blanc de noir thing but I didn't know a Grenache could do that. So delicious. — 10 years ago

EmM

9.2

Granny Smith apples, hints of toast balanced with good acidity and clean finish . A grower champagne with true identity. — 10 years ago

Yohanna

9.3

Great aromatics with lovely dry finish thats unexpected given the fruit and floral characteristics on the nose — 10 years ago

Yianni Stone

9.0

Noticeably hot vintage. Honestly could have mistaken for a Mclaren Vale or Barossa Shiraz. Malic and minerality from Viognier — 11 years ago

with Haley

Mark Livings

9.0

Love the sour zing in this Tassie Pinot almost like orange rind. Loads of black fruits and black cherries, fine tannins that fade just a little too quickly for my liking, probably because it's an '11. French oak nicely balanced and doesn't overpower. Could be mistaken for an Otago. — 11 years ago

Timothy Sekk

9.4

Med body, med + acidity. Soft, medium tannins. med + finish. CEDAR. vanilla. Spice. lots of acidity--would have mistaken for Sangiovese. Drink now or age 5-10 years. — 12 years ago