Delectable Wine

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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) — 7 years ago

Delectable Wine

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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

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

Geoff Troup

Sales Eder Brothers, Cellar Fine Wines

9.4

Such beauty and elegance. I'm sure some of it is the age, but an AOC known for power emitting such elegance...Wow. Anyhow, jammy raspberries and a whole garden of vegetables on the nose. Palate is quite refined with white pepper, rock and all the trademark CDP flavors. Im never a huge fan of that fruit in the front, but the mid and back arr gorgeous. What's truly remarkable is the balance...The ability to isolate any single flavor to ruminate on, how each nuance to perfectly morphs into the next. Still some pronounced tannin in this guy! — 9 years ago

Pamela Gallo

9.2

2009 vintage. Ripe, inky, jammy, oak nuance Tuscan cabernet. Great balance and complexity. Hard to find better cab at this $30 price point. — 9 years ago

E. Bishop

9.1

An awesome Pinot. Was a great surprise to actually like a Pinot. Most are weak, without a lot of flavor, or nuance. This was the exception. Great nose, warm on tongue. Flavorful and morphed into a delicate ripe fruit during dinner. Paired with a simply grilled salmon. — 10 years ago

Craig Haarmeyer

9.5

Burly mountain Chenin, but retaining the nuance of delicate fruit. — 10 years ago

Justin Hansohn

8.9

One may get the idea that these grapes have the potential at any moment in time in the winemaker's hands to come out as a monstrous beast. I come from the area this was grown in and for the most part contra costa is no great wine growing region and especially not near the delta. It's easy to see the meticulous care and winemaking being expressed here in perfect balance. I can't say this wine is too interesting or blooming with nuance but I can say bravo for setting a benchmark and showing that a hot desert environment with old vines and a lot of consciousness can make something drinkable in the daytime. 🙏 these ancient vines are getting taken care of and let's be honest, the people at bedrock are turning trash into treasure by doing this service. — 11 years ago

Richard Steinberg

9.2

I have had this wine many times out of the generosity of my friend. This wine had more earthy and nuance profile than mature raspberry. Amazing match with white truffles. — 11 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.2

This is a very forward and enticing darker berry fruit with fresh earth porcini mushroom and sage herb nuance. Very smooth and silky with nice freshness drinking very smooth but has balance and enough structure to go another 3-5 years more in the cellar. Excellent — 12 years ago

Beau Carufel

Winemaker/Owner Random Wine Company

9.1

I rarely drink California Cabernet, but when I do, this is the style I go for. Restrained and balanced, with so much more subtlety and nuance. Excellent stuff. — 13 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

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

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

Vinous Favorites

Delicious wines for less than $25 chosen by Vinous critics

9.0

Mori's 2012 Chianti jumps from the glass with a super-classic Sangiovese profile of juicy red berries, smoke, leather and spices. Dollops of Colorino and Canaiolo add nuance to this vibrant, traditionally made Chianti. (AG) — 9 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.2

Grace, power, nuance, & not enough — 10 years ago

with Paul and Owen

Matt

8.9

Sweet oak, juicy plums, leather, tobacco, finely ground rock, hoisin, baking spice. Massive tannins that still need time to calm down. 50% new wood. Oak is sexy but covers up that earthy nuance I want in Bordeaux. — 10 years ago

Robert Cunningham

Wine Educator DeVinimus, Wine Workshop

9.2

A bit mulled and cooked nuance. Nice but not showing well. — 11 years ago

Ted O

8.9

Nice cab, but lacked enough nuance to crack 90. Enjoyed at Giada. — 11 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.3

What a gorgeous wine.. Fresh, clean and focussed, yet unctuous and complex. Honey, tropical notes, caramel, spice and herbs. Very mineral, leaves a saline, clay-ey, gravel-like nuance in the finish. No signs of oxidation. 93/100 — 11 years ago

V M

9.8

This is an extraordinary cab sav dominated blend. Incredibly complex aromas Cassis, crushed dark berries, soy sauce, and coffee. The palate has similar nuance with meat drippings making an appearance. Beautiful long finish. — 12 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.7

It’s usually a good sign when the winemaker can articulate what the wine is about like this: “Ceras is Botanica’s counterpoint. Its color is more purple than red. It is more about minerals and herbs than fruit and flowers. It is a focused and elegant distillation of rock rather than an opulent cascade of fruit. It is an expression of the geology that lays beneath our land, the tart blue fruits of the coast range and the tender herbs that one finds amongst the trees and mushrooms of the Northwest forest.”

Her 2013 Ceras is yet another example of Maggie Harrison’s sorcery over the vines at Antica Terra. The focus and intensity of flavor is off the charts, yet it maintains an almost ethereal weightlessness, only emphasizing the layer of silk that separates you from the wine. The pungent rock is so on point and distinctive it instantly reminded me of the scent of lichen growing on rocks, which I experienced in Colorado when I was 7 or 8 years old. This sets the stage for the level of complexity exhibited. The fruit has both an extraordinarily high level of purity and yet the woven tapestry of herbs and spices and even fruit blending are impossible not to notice. The key being that nothing is forced.

The nuance of complexity only being noticed when desired is nearly an impossible feat. I can’t help but recall James Conaway quoting Andy Beckstoffer in his recently released book: Napa at Last Light: America’s Eden in an Age of Calamity. “If a wine was a model with a chipped tooth, you’d have to give her something to compensate with. If she needs better shoulders, better breasts, give her some. But her real charm is in how she carries the defect.”

After reading his book, I can tell you I’m definitely not certain whether you can accept his quotes verbatim. One thing is certain, though, Maggie Harrison’s Antica Terra wines carry the defect like no other. — 8 years ago

Delectable Wine

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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) — 8 years ago

Todd W

9.3

Floral nose with some oak aromas. Big and still tannic. Enjoyable but without much nuance for me. May still get a bit better with another year or two. — 9 years ago

Erik Helms

Sommelier/Wine & Beer Buyer Whole Foods Oakland

9.3

A really enjoyable Chardonnay with minimal oak impact (10 months, used). Drinks really clean and zippy, with excellent acidity. Fruit leans more towards citrus rather then tree fruit. Fresh and zesty with lime, lemon, and orange blossoms. Oak nuance complements without overpowering the purity. — 9 years ago

Michael Mallon

8.9

Great Priorat. Dark and brooding, but with some nuance. Black fruit, tea, tobacco with highlights of caramel. — 10 years ago

Bill Bender

9.6

Sweet Mother I'm in barolo heaven. Tar, rose petal, flint, gravel, lavender, deep red precious sweet fruits and rich soil. Such a velvety masterpiece of power and nuance. — 11 years ago

with Greg

Anthony Lombardi

9.2

Cheese & Hors d'oeuvres. Spicy nose. Precision & nuance on the palate. — 11 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.8

Boushey vineyard they have been farming the same block since 2003 the highest elevation block old more mineral based soils. Blackberry compote with light smoke billowy and lavender notes very big and complex bouquet. Big and chewy with lots of jammy fruit very rich and still has wonderful freshness with a long layered finish wonderful balance juicy blackberry fruit very big but has lots of nuance black olive tapenade a bit of a savage note lovely complexity length. Finish 50+ most excellent + — 11 years ago

Christopher Hoel

Sommelier/Senior Wine Advisor Soutirage

9.8

The more I have this wine the more I find the nuance. Getting better everyday!! — 13 years ago