Lyn Farmer

9.2

Surprisingly medium lemon yellow color where a pale greenish lemon would be the norm. Rich and intense nose of white flowers, Apple, lime and a bit of honeyed peach and petrol in the background. More off-dry than medium sweet in perception thanks to the vibrant acidity. This is a lovely example of maturing Mosel riesling — 7 years ago

Brian Norton

9.4

Loved this! Not a campfire wine, per se, but definitely great for a garden party with a fire pit. Which I imagine is much more in line with the Frasier aesthetic you're all trying to cultivate. — 9 years ago

Stacy Woods

9.1

2014 - Brilliant, reflective, dark straw with a copper hue and a thin water white rim. Intensely aromatic, floral dominant, rose blossom, hibiscus, honeysuckle, subtle stone fruit and citrus, apricot, orange peel, and cantaloupe, a fleeting wisp of cigarette smoke. A dry wine but the mouth-filling perfume leaves a perception of sweetness. Medium plus alcohol lends a lingering warmth and viscosity to the palate. Medium plus acid and a touch of bitterness gives balance to the juicy ripe fruit aromas in the mouth. Fruit and floral aromas confirmed in the mouth with an additional hint of marmalade, and spicy ginger — 9 years ago

Chris Chiapparelli

9.5

You think that you know a wine, like PdC. Then you try something like this and it changes your whole perception of the genre. Serious juice. — 9 years ago

Colin jones

9.5

Value is a relative term. Considering what Abreu's single vineyards go for this is a steal! Because of 2011's negative perception the wholesale price went down. This is an amazingly luxurious bottle of wine for a third of what it could cost. Drinking well now, definitely age worthy. — 9 years ago

Olivier Bergeron

9.3

Foreign Extra Stout. Nez de café, de réglisse noire et de chêne. Bière très onctueuse. Saveurs complexes de réglisse noire, de malt torréfié rappelant le café et le chocolat noir sans aucune amertume provenant du malt torréfié. Légère perception de l'alcool. Longue finale de malt torréfié accompagné d'une faible amertume. Excellente bière. — 10 years ago

with Nathalie

Paul H

9.0

I have to say I did not like the nose on this bottle. We did not get to decant this one so my perception may be a little off. I got red fruit, anise and cloves ( clove is not my favorite smell ) now I have to say it did go away a bit by the next glass so could be just the initial opening. Lucky on the palate you get rich dark fruits and a silky finish, a little bit of a lingering cranberry was left on your palate. This was a pretty easy drinking wine. — 10 years ago

Stacy Woods

9.2

I said "wow" right out loud when I took my first sip. I am so glad that I was unable to fit the entire bottle into the beef bourguignon for which it was originally intended. I was so disappointed to only have 2 glasses left that my husband drove out into the snow to fetch another bottle. For $12 I wasn't expecting much more than a basic cooking wine. I was pleasantly surprised. Deeply concentrated purple with a large blue black core and thin grape juice rim. Fruit forward, ripe red fruit, figs, cocoa powder, cola. Medium plus body, smooth lush texture, low acid, well integrated, forward moving plush tannin, high alcohol 14% throws surprisingly little heat or prickle. A dry wine but with no bitterness and super ripe fruit there is a perception of sweetness. Flavors on the nose are duplicated on the palate with the addition of black pepper and Rosemary. I expect that this wine will enhance the bourguignon in the pot and in the glass! — 11 years ago

William Leslie

9.7

This is an excellent Napa Cabernet which is not too heavy (as many are) but has a great balance of fruit, oak and smoothness. What's interesting about this wine is the fruit flavor. There are flavors of blueberry, sweet tobacco, plum and cedar giving it a mild sweetness. This is balanced out with an underlying black cherry, dark chocolate and just a hint of spice that holds on for a long finish. I attribute the light spice touch to the cedar. The most enjoyable part is a mix of fantastic flavors not usually seen together but work so well in a very smooth blend. My only criticism is the lack of weight. A little more weight would make this stand out even more and fit the cab perception, but the smoothness makes up quite well in more of a top flight French Bordeaux way. — 11 years ago

Shae Kinsman

9.6

Loving this. Blows away my perception of what a spatlese should be. Intoxicating nose. Dense and rich. Length and texture. More please. — 12 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.2

Wine club gathering with dear friends. Two whites and two reds, all tasted blind.

This was the Merlot I had so many years ago that changed my perception on what could be done with the varietal. Love this stuff. It can hang with many of the big boys and exhibits nice finesse and depth with loads of espresso, ripe red fruits, and tar/balsamic. — 7 years ago

with Krystal

Rob Moose

9.3

This concludes my grand Cru Piuze a day journey. I ordered the journey according to my perception of the hierarchy. Clos was definitely the most backward, fiercely mineral and powerful. Kind of a tossup between Valmur and Preuses as to greatest current pleasure, and Clos got kinda beat up by Uncle Boon's in the studio. I do have high hopes for this bottling being able to actually age but who can say. — 9 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

8.9

Flight 5 - A Sweet Ending
The last flight of the evening was a flight of 3 Sauternes, including the great Chateau d'Yquem. Rabaud-Promis and Raymond-Lafon were the only ones showing unfortunately as the d'Yquem was corked enough that we knew it and thus wasn't judged. Both the RL and RP were a blend of 80-20 Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, the traditional Sauternes blend. The difference besides the vintage was the oak maturation. RL gets 3 years in new oak while the RP sees only 12-14 months in new oak.
The Raymond-Lafon 1996 showed the 3 full years of new oak and a full on sweet and dry attack of honey, candied peach, and marmalade all accented by the telltale pungency of the fungus botrytis cinerea. Custard and creamy notes delivered here as well amping up the flavor and body perception, with a clean and dry finish.

The RP showed an elegant and lighter attack because of the lighter vintage and less oak used in the maturation process. More notes of juicy stony fruits and sweet citrus showed here. This was a nice contrast to the RL.

Botrytis cinerea, aka "Noble Rot", gives the Sauternes wines a musky, but pure and sweet texture. The fungus evaporates the water in a healthy grape, thus naturally concentrating the juice and flavor in the grape. — 9 years ago

Michael Murphy

9.3

Always an amazingly tasty Zin. Full bodied. Definitely gets better after about an hour decant. — 9 years ago

Tommy Fogarty

Owner Thomas Fogarty Winery

9.1

Dunno if this is an example of "Italian wine contextual qualitative perception dysmorphia", but jet lagged and starving and after a sunset walk through the vineyards of Verduno, this wine is the FAHCKING SHIZZNIT with some fried snails and tomato Harissa sauce... — 10 years ago

with Lily

Chris Plance

9.0

Nebbiolos like this reinforce my perception that sometime you should go with Nebbiolo over Barolo. Not too tannic, not too much cherry, excellent with food. Great value — 10 years ago

with Anna

Begaya Dubrow

8.9

Very Malbec-y on the nose, blueberries and dark fruit, whilst the palate surprises with a bright fruit - good acidity, lighter perception of body. — 10 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.0

Vintage '10, disgorged in April '12, drank mid-January of '15. A really particular Champagne. There's a ton of fruit purity and intensity here. Also the overall body, dosage, and balance of the wine is on point, but there's little perception of autolytic aromas or oxidation in the wine. There's just really fresh pinot-noir-en-Blanc with bubbles. That is delicious, but I think, especially if you like more savory in your wine, some time in the cellar (5+ years) would be warranted. Kind of mysterious though. Most of the people who are working with this ripe-fruit style will either look towards more autolysis, less dosage, or more oxidation in the base wine. — 11 years ago

Matthew Marcino

8.9

Coming from a red wine lover this stuff is legit. Has a smokey finish... No not oak, smoke. I'm not a fan of oaky or buttery Chardonnay. This one stood out to be a bit different than most. The Bacigalupi vineyard has produced some beautiful reds and this lovely 2008 Chard. — 12 years ago

Eric Hwang

9.9

Our perception of a wine is influenced by not only the wine, but the surroundings and people with whom we're drinking it. I had this wine in a nice restaurant in St. Helena with Claire Pott, the winemaker's wife. It was rich and tightly structured opening up after an hour to flavors of cassis, cocoa and leather. — 12 years ago

Stephen Jackshaw

9.2

I found this enjoyable but drank it after the Realm so that likely changed my perception. The table thought it was good but needed more time. Plush fruit, and integrated oak. — 8 years ago

Tatyana Ryabokoneva

9.0

Ideal perception of prosecco. Fruits for girls who had good taste — 8 years ago

Steve Anderson

9.3

Beautiful, room-filling nose. Very clear light ruby red, a bit of spice and nice texture. Great pairing with the salmon. Only knock was a slight perception of sweetness, but that worked with the food. Mrs. A's favorite of the evening. — 9 years ago

with Albert

Christine Havens

9.1

Lilting aromas of apricot, pear, dried honey, lemon curd, anise. Stoller's Dundee Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2013 is clean and focused on the palate and more delicate than most. The perception is one of silkiness with beautifully integrated oak (you’d hardly know it’s there) except as a textural component, lending structure, allowing pure orchard fruit notes to shine through. This is a charming Oregon Chardonnay, and very drinkable at 12.9% ABV. If you haven't visited their tasting room, do. The view is breathtaking. Sample — 9 years ago

Lynn Gowdy

8.9

Citrus, peachy blossom, perception of sweetness on palate- barrel aging on total lees. (Semillion / Sauvignon Blanc 50/50) — 10 years ago

Brian Tuite

9.2

Been open 3+hrs, still hard as nails. Showing copious amounts of dark blue fruit then the tannic wall. Will revisit tomorrow. Suggest morning decant or 4-5 years sideways. Rating on perception of where it's headed. — 10 years ago

Shireen Ho

9.0

Had it when I was at Hilton Sydney's Glass Brasserie and it changed my perception for Australian wines. Love it! — 10 years ago

Justin Hansohn

9.0

Soft velvet mineral cut sugar free cherry pie. This totally reaffirms my liking of Loire red and firmly establishes Saumur is white wine territory. My apologies for blowing the spot on the free flowing sheets of Chenin acid. This is totally enjoyable for sipping with nothing else in the way of your perception...or to ironically balance out the glass of Saumur blanc in your other hand. — 11 years ago

with Arturo and

Stacy Woods

9.6

shiny, densely colored blue black with an even concentration from the opaque core to a thin cranberry colored rim. Intensely aromatic with fresh ripe red berry fruit, strawberry compote layered with black pepper, graphite, waxy mulberry, and rosemary. A dry wine but fruit forward flavors leave a perception of sweetness. Round acidity creates just enough mouthwater to balance full body and medium viscosity. Medium plus dusty, forward moving astringency reveals a harmonious finish with medium complexity and concentration of candied cherry, rosemary, and black pepper. High alcohol 14.5% but viscosity and extract minimize the burn. — 12 years ago

Brandon Shupp

9.1

Mark Ray Pinot noir (2009?)- Russian River Valley - really smooth AND HOLY CRAP Jenn likes it too! — 12 years ago