Alec Jeffery

9.0

This is why France trumps the rest when it comes to a Cabernet blend that has history, complexity and place of origin at a great price point. A great vintage does help 😊 — 6 years ago

Aaron Rankin

9.1

Nose of smoky red fruit, roasted herbs. Tightly wound acid and grippy tannins show the youth, while framing and lifting concentrated fruit. Interesting and well made, but not my jam, at least not yet. — 6 years ago

Guy Mantoura

9.2

A lovely well rounded wine with no nasty sides. Enjoy by itself or with food. Light tannins and long legs - just the way I like it! — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

In 1858, it was the first winery in Rioja to produce wines using the Bordeaux method. In 1972, it was the first to promote the Rueda Designation of Origin. A blend of 90% Tempranillo & 10% Graciano (varies sometime Mazuelo is added). A powerhouse of aromas, berry, sweet spice and some citrus on the nose. On the palate, dark berry fruits, cacao, some smoky pepper with a savory character. Fine tannins, nice balance and good length ending with slight mineral, oak and earthy tones. Great value, short term aging potential. — 7 years ago

Eric Stec

9.1

2010 Vintage on 10/2/17. Aroma immediately when opened, smelled jammy, almost stale or vinegary. Let it breathe after pouring--good move. A depth of experiential flavors when drank but also long after. I love that. I don't know if it's an indicator of aging well or simply the characteristics of the wine from origin. Savory, leathery and pencil, earthy upfront then a strong fruit in the middle. Lingers w some sea air aroma/taste that is nice. — 8 years ago

Charine Tan

9.0

RIP to the late Zlatan who passed a month ago.

Zlatan Otok is one of my favourite wineries in Croatia. I appreciate every single one of the wines that I've tried but that said, this Zlatan Otok 2010 Crljenak is my absolute fave.

In 2001 a research, funded by Mike Grgich of Judgement of Paris fame, on the origin of Zinfandel came to fruition. It confirmed that Zinfandel and Primitivo came from Croatia. Unfortunately at the point of discovery, the vines of Crljenak in Croatia was near extinction. Today, only a handful of Croatian wineries still produce this wine. As far as I've tried, the Zlatan Otok 2010 Crljenak is the best representation of this variety.

Notes: Colour is dark garnet with some clarity. On the nose, I get cboth red and black fruit, white and black pepper, slightly perfumey like amber and musk. The palate reflects exactly what's on the nose, carried off by vibrant acidity and prominent minerality. Tannins are slightly coarse but sweet, which means it should be aged in the bottle for a while longer but ready to be enjoyed now. What I love most is how it opens up and expresses itself on the palate like a triangle--from narrow and shy to wide and lively. This Crljenak has lighter body than most Californian Zinfandel.

The final conclusion: Yes please! It's slightly cheaper than Lytton Springs, and I'm getting more pleasure from this. — 9 years ago

Rich Friedland

9.2

Melon and stone fruit nose. Lime and hints of grapefruit with a mild finish. Nice balance of oak to steel. — 10 years ago

Kevin Russell

9.2

This brings you straight to its origin. Elegant and balanced. — 10 years ago

with Jen

Meredith Stegall

9.5

Delicious traditional Pinot of less traditional origin. — 11 years ago

Doug Burress

Sales K&L Wines

10

Good-bye Triple Wood, hello old Friend. — 12 years ago

Matt

9.0

This captures the style of Saint Préfert quiet well with its sleek profile, freshness and lifted aromatics. This has some serious class for its CDR origin, very pure and elegantly structured. Fresh to overripe black fruit, stones, candied olive, smoke and lavender. There’s a hint of meaty-ness as well. The florals are this wines most intriguing component, coupled with the snap of acid the blend has, tremendous value. 85 GR 15 CI, “la Lionne” in Sorgues, gallets soils, full concrete — 6 years ago

Barbara C Pitcher

9.5

Quite a hit at our Christmas Champagne tasting! — 6 years ago

Ty Clark

9.5

Incredible — 7 years ago

with Mande

Justin Hansohn

9.0

Classic CdP...juicy, robust, earthy, not overdone. I would call this in balance for its origin. — 7 years ago

Danielle Huizen

9.5

See pic. Didn't have it on the app. Great okanagan cab franc (cheese and metal) with fruity merlot blend. — 7 years ago

Randy Boesch

9.2

One of our very favorite red wine blends. Lots of dark red fruit flavors with plum boysenberry raisin noticeable. Should pair well with Tri tip off the grill. — 9 years ago

Matt Sterr

8.9

Somewhere between saline and smoke. — 9 years ago

Ginger Vintner

9.1

Vino: VILLA WOLF GEWÜRZTRAMINER

Vintage: 2014

Origin: Pfalz, Germany

VinoVT Rating: 9.1 (10)

Grape: Gewurztraminer

Info:

Comment: Beautiful example of a Gewürztraminer with slight stone fruit and floral notes. Wonderfully balance with slight hints of spice and rose.
— 9 years ago

Jeffrey Paul

9.1

Similar to champagne in production, but Italian in origin, nicely tart. — 10 years ago

Aaron Dornstreich

9.0

A beautiful ripeness without sacrificing it's origin. — 10 years ago

Joe Carroll

Owner/Wine Director Spuyten Duyvil, Fette Sau, St. Anselm & Gotham Artisanal Provisions

9.5

Jean Van Roy's amazing story of Zwanze 2013. When we started renovation works in the cellars of the brewery two years ago, much to our surprise we came upon the remains of some very old walls. In agreement with the medievalists of the city of Brussels, the works were stopped in order to allow archaeological excavations to take place.

Shortly thereafter we were astonished to find out that Cantillon brewery had in fact been built on the ruins of the very ancient Abbey of Cureghem! According to the medievalists, this religious community was well-known during the middle ages for its fowl fed on draff and, more specifically, for its dish of stuffed Cureghem capon, which was served with a beer brewed at the abbey and apparently drew pilgrims from all over Europe.

Yet it was truly a heavenly surprise when the excavations uncovered the cell of the abbot, Father Faro. In the small room the archaeologists found quite a few old reference books, one of which contained the original recipes for the beers brewed at the abbey several hundred years ago. We didn’t hesitate for a second and decided on the spot to recreate one of these mythical beers.

This beer, which will be our Zwanze for 2013, therefore bears the name of its illustrious place of origin, Abbaye de Cureghem (Cureghem Abbey). Cureghem was formerly a village established many centuries ago on the banks of the Senne, the river running through present-day Brussels. The area was very heavily industrialised during the 19th century and, among other things, became home to many breweries. Today, it is part of the municipality of Anderlecht.

Since beers commonly referred to as “abbey beers” are not, or not any longer, products of spontaneous fermentation, we decided to brew a top fermentation beer, from a technical point of view in any case. The yeasts were selected in collaboration with Institut Meurice, a post-secondary college in Brussels specialising in biotechnology. Brewed in March 2012, our “Cureghem” beer fermented four weeks in stainless steel tanks before being blended with 10% lambic and pumped into 400-litre barrels of various origins. After maturing for six months, the beers were blended and put into casks or bottles to undergo re-fermentation and reach 7.2% ABV (Alcohol by Volume).

Inevitably, a top fermentation beer brewed in a spontaneous fermentation environment will be affected by the wild yeasts in the air, and this is certainly what happened in our case. For our Cureghem, the cultured yeasts were clearly the main factor behind primary fermentation and I think that the wild yeasts in the beer will instead play an increasingly important role as the product ages. However, despite the addition of the lambic to give it a little “extra something” in terms of character and ageing characteristics, this Zwanze cannot in any case be considered a spontaneous fermentation beer.

The long fermentation period coupled with the presence of wild yeasts lends this beer a solid character with a dry finish that lingers on the palate, while the combined use of fresh and aged hops yields both freshness and bitterness. Moreover, the different malts used give this year’s Zwanze a coppery colour along with a touch of caramel and candied fruit that provide body. Clearly, this is not your standard “abbey” beer but, perhaps, it is representative of what these beers were one or two hundred years ago — 12 years ago

Tracy Hall

9.4

Super smooth and pretty! — 6 years ago

Ryan Mullins

9.4

Best original yet — 6 years ago

Matt

9.0

Dominated by tertiary character typical of origin and the sweet lingering of new oak. Past its prime as the palate has shed a lot of flesh by now. The nose is gorgeous; burnt ends, toasted herbs de Provence, hardwood smoke, ash, pepper, licorice root, coffee grounds, vanilla, baked plum and dried red fruit. Wood tannins have some firmness, but there’s an acid component balancing it out. Still found this enjoyable though — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Founded in 1972, Bodegas LAN was named after the initials of the 3 provinces in the Rioja Designation of Origin: Logrono (now La Rioja) Alava and Navarra. Deep Ruby with red berry aromas and some spice. On the palate tart cherry with cinnamon and vanilla oak flavors with subtle herb notes. Fine tannins, good balance, medium finish ending with earthy leather notes. Nice value. — 7 years ago

C. Cole

8.9

Lighter than I prefer, but still nice. — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Bodegas LAN founded in 1972, named after the initials of the 3 provinces in the Rioja Designation of Origin: Logrono (now La Rioja) Alava and Navarra and located in the heart of Rioja Alta. A blend of 85% Tempranillo and 15% Graciano, bright deep red with aromas of sweet red fruits. Complex palate with blackberry, cherry and plum flavors, gentle spices, balanced. Soft tannins, lingering finish, mineral notes on ending. Wow! — 8 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. — 9 years ago

with Alberto and Giovanni

Louis Steiner

9.0

Delectable identified this as originating in New York for some reason. This winery is in the Niagara region of Ontario, specifically Beamsville. — 10 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.0

Intriguing experimental white wine. Spain in origin with Portuguese and Spanish winemaking partnership. Mineral, almond, white blossoms and apple skin notes. Fresh on the palate ans sherry like in flavor without the bitterness from the flor of a Fino sherry. Tasted great the second evening matching the profile with a little more depth and freshness. #niepoort — 12 years ago