Alexandre Pagliano

9.0

We like rosé a lot, and this one is a good one. Mostly red berries and cherries on the nose, rich and bold, fine bubbles, perhaps lacking a bit of nuance. Excellent with or without food. — 5 years ago

with Adriana

Bob McDonald

8.9

Delectable - this is the Craighall Vineyard Pinot Noir - not offered in your choices. This wine had a lovely vibrant colour of dark crimson. Aromas of cherry but somewhat latent and still promising much. My experience with Dry River Pinots is that they need at least 10 years and I cannot understand the Drinking Window from the winery as 2019-2022. I have made a note to drink my 2nd one in 2025. This is a big full bodied concentrated Pinot with plenty of Tannin. Only 649 bottles of the Craighall made. The next day still solid, dense and ungiving - without nuance. Needs cellaring time. — 5 years ago

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9.6

The 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia is powerful, rich and explosive, with tremendous drive. Even so, several bottles have been quite closed. That is probably a very good sign for the long-term, but readers should not plan on touching a bottle anytime soon. A wine of vertical drive and aromatic nuance, the 2016 Rancia is super-complexed. Only with a few hours of air does it show the nuances and layers that were so evident from barrel. The 2016 is a painfully stubborn wine in the early going, but it will offer superb drinking pleasure for those who can wait. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, August 2019) — 7 years ago

Chip Hughes

9.4

Love pouring this next to Burgundies. It’s definitely California-fresh and energetic, but there’s a salinity, structure and nuance that put it into a higher class. Exceptional. — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.2

A fab £56 St Estephe showing how well they can age but boy this is an oak dominatrix in an oak bondage orgy 😁 only for oak lovers 😉 I still enjoyed it 👍

🏵 92 points

🍇 40% Cab S & 60% Merlot

🍷 Opaque ruby

👃 Rich oak driven smothered dark fruits that drown out any other nuance aromas but some sooty smoke creeps through

👄 Med silky smooth body of oaky dark berries w/ a liquorice & mocha touch

🎯 Med+ liquorice & mocha dark fruits w/ dry oak dominating — 8 years ago

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9.3

Lurid ruby. A highly expressive bouquet evokes fresh red/blue fruits, Asian spices and smoky minerals, along with a sexy floral pastille nuance. Sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering sappy raspberry, boysenberry and spicecake flavors that are given lift and cut by a spine of juicy acidity. Distinctly elegant in style. Finishes very long and smooth, with silky tannins that fold smoothly into the vibrant fruit. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, March 2018) — 8 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.3

If tar and rose petal are the stereotype, then I think I'm safe in calling this traditional. However, there's plenty of nuance in the layers and the style that make this special. An old leather-bound book, citrus peel, dried tarragon, and ripe strawberry. The finish is firm, but not without a lively and racy acidity. One of the better food wines I've had in a long while. — 9 years ago

Nicolas Lau

9.2

One of my first Spanish wines. An old world wine with a beautiful nose of cherry and mineral earth, stone perhaps. And the palate supports that with a nuance of acidity that's both strong but very controlled and long. This wine I will remember. Balanced, light oak, and delicious. — 5 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

When I lived in Houston in the aughts, I drank a few fragrant Cotes Du Rhônes from this estate, so I was eager to try their Giggie, even though I’ve grown tired of Southern Rhônes as the climate has warmed and Phillipe Cambie seemingly put a spell over the majority of producers. Well, this is a bit better than the typical blocky, heavy wines that seem increasingly prevalent there. It’s densely colored (of course), but the nose has a bit more elegance and nuance than the typical Gigondas estate these days, showing fresh dark berry fruit, really interesting almost chaparral-like garrigue/earth notes, warm stones, and meadowy wildflowers. In the mouth it’s dense, but a little lighter than the new norm thank goodness, with nice savory flavors and decent acids. Tannins are soft. It won’t make me forget Giggies from the early ‘80s, but it’s nice. — 5 years ago

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9.5

Deep red. Displays sexy, highly perfumed aromas of red fruit liqueur, Asian spices, incense and smoky minerals, along with an exotic potpourri nuance. Densely packed with flavor, yet lithe as well, displaying alluringly sweet raspberry preserve, cherry, blood orange and floral pastille qualities that show superb delineation and mineral lift. Fine-grained tannins lend gentle grip to an extremely long, focused finish that shows noteworthy clarity and insistent spice and floral pastille qualities. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, June 2019) — 7 years ago

Sébastien F

9.0

Frais, fruité. — 8 years ago

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9.4

The 2005 Dom Pérignon is just starting to enter its first plateau of maturity, as the aromas and flavors now show the complexity and nuance of a wine that has been in bottle for a number of years. Dried apricot, smoke, dried flowers, orange peel, almond and chamomile give the 2005 its signature flavor profile. More mature hazelnut and coffee notes aren’t too far away. Today, it is the wine’s density that is most surprising, but that should allow the wine to age gracefully for many years to come. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, July 2018) — 8 years ago

Geoff Troup

Sales Eder Brothers, Cellar Fine Wines

9.5

This is absolutely gorgeous. Black tea, licorice root, graphite, smoke, burnt popcorn kernel, musty Bordeaux style. Tremendous structure, dusty chalk and dynamic acidity, especially for California Cabernet. Black pepper, heat and severity with tremendous nuance and quite a set of balls. Baby Monte Bello...all of the complexity with a little less of the weight. — 8 years ago

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9.3

Seavey makes wines endowed with real personality and character. Credit for this must go to the late founder William Seavey, who left a terrific legacy to the next generation, and Philippe Melka, the estate’s long-time consultant. Seavey’s Caravina is one of very few top tier estate Cabernets in Napa that you can buy and still have plenty of change from a hundred-dollar bill. The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Caravina is going to need at least a few years to fully come together. Aromatically expressive and beautifully layered in the glass, the 2014 delivers superb quality and pedigree for the money. Smoke, cedar, tobacco, graphite, tar, licorice ,and dried herbs add the closing shades of nuance. Caravina remains one of the very best values in Napa Valley Cabernet. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, Dec 2016) — 9 years ago

Anthony Lombardi

9.8

Aromatically, pretty much perfection. Elegant & silky with layers of texture. Kept unfolding with nuance & detail with air. Acid brightens the pure brisk fruit. Drinking beautifully at age ten. — 5 years ago

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9.0

The 2017 Chardonnay is soft, supple and absolutely delicious. Light tropical notes, lemon confit, white flowers and bright acids give the 2017 striking nuance as well as character. The Foxglove Chardonnay is built on a core of fruit from Los Alamos, with a touch of fruit from Paso Robles, vinified and aged in steel, with no malolactic fermentation. Best of all, it is a stunning value. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, September 2019) — 7 years ago

Mike Evans

9.4

A touch of mint and evergreen, a dash of spice, a small strip of leather, and brilliant tart cherry, great class and nuance with a touch of rough tannin giving it all something to hold on to. It blossoms with air but still maintains nice grip. — 7 years ago

Pierre-nicolas Chabanel

8.9

Vintage 2016 — 7 years ago

James Forsyth

9.2

Good depth and nuance. Tastes like a decent mid range Champagne. A ringer in a tasting one day? — 8 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.1

Oh hell now that I’m Court certified I’m SO happy to drink things I won’t be tested on! Southern Rhône/almost southern coast rosé all day every day! This almost has the nuance of the Tavel I so love. Most Syrah then the 40 % Grenache kicks in with red fruit for days. Not quite so balanced (alcohol high-ish and acid not quite so integrated but this is under ten bucks!) as I may wish but dang tasty. Let’s do this beat by beat.
Eye: damn that’s almost fuschia with added salmon nose: ripe strawberries and stones Tongue; blueberries those dang Syrah indicators rear their delicious head. Along with strawberries and underbrush and a wet stone or two. This is a wine to grab by the hand and take on a weekend picnic. May not be a soul mate but you won’t regret minute together. — 8 years ago