Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Domaine Carneros established in 1987 and belongs to Champagne Taittinger (a personal favorite) considered the concept in 1947 in the mind of Claude Taittinger. The 138 acre estate is situated in the Carneros appellation of CA. A blend of 58% Chardonnay & 42% Pinot Noir, crisp aromas of stone fruits and floral scents. Apple and pear flavors with citrus notes in a fine mousse with good bubble flow. Creamy texture, well structured, lingering finish ending with mineral tones. Will age!! Nice! — 7 years ago

Susy Pow

10

Delectable dessert wine. One of McGuigans best, certainly one of the Hunter Valley's finest sweet dessert wines — 7 years ago

Kieran Roberts

9.1

Excellent depth of palate, robust fruit and loads of white pepper. — 7 years ago

Paul Luce

9.5

I challenge you to go to the Piedmonte. If a visit with Maria Teresa doesn't change you forever, nothing will. The wine is personal, emotional and beyond perfection... — 8 years ago

Alex Powell

9.5

At 12% alc....holy mackerel what fruit!!! A plethora of plum skin and sweet cassis erupt in your brain, wrapped in caramel with flecks of dark chocolate, doused in aged balsamic. Talk about hedonistic, it's no wonder parker loves this vintage, large-scaled sweet cassis swimming pool of a palate, ultra rich and long...quite opiate-like in its generous overloading of easy pleasure. This will be saturated in fruit for a long time, its around middle age now. A sheer pleasure, however I'd have preferred some more complexity, but that's personal taste. Decadent like a banana split ice cream! — 9 years ago

Craig Wallace

9.1

Personal favourite — 9 years ago

James Pendergrass

9.3

A personal favorite. Mike Brown and team make a great wine. Bright berry flavor. Could lay down a bit longer. Great none the less — 9 years ago

with Peter and Peter

Jörgen Lindström Carlvik

Owner, Brix Wine Consultants

9.2

International Sherry week has started! I'm always there with beautifully individual bottling, revealing Flor aromas and flavors, freshness and minerality. Great wine made personal. — 10 years ago

Seth Truman

9.5

My personal sommelier from Total Wine recommended this. It's not Brown, but not far behind. — 10 years ago

Chris Scanlan

Sales Amy Atwood Imports

9.3

Jou Jou Vin 2011 Mossik Cabernet Franc from White Rock Vineyard, Napa Valley. It's always difficult when tasting friends wines to remain objective, and while I want to shout this wine from the hilltops (Radio-Coteau style!) I also want to be I also aspire to eliminate personal biases - positive or negative. Jou Jou you should know your wine received much conversation towards a mostly positive frame. The touch of brettanomyces was dually noted, there were comments on carbonic maceration, but I found balance throughout. I jested about the wine being topped with Baudry La Croix Boissée but the fact is, this wine has a strain of brett that works well with the fruit. The brett adds a spicy, wet earth, or mulchy wet tobacco leaf component that lends itself to wines of Chinon or Bordeaux. Is that replicable? Future vintages will tell. Will it grow in bottle? I plan to drink many more for my own recognizance. First day had some notes of carbonic maceration and brighter red fruits, along with that leafy Cab Franc character, fine dense tannins and moderate acidity with a slight sour note likely a proponent of brett. Day 2: I'll be damned. This is some damn good shit. It's worth that $250 dollar price tag! ;) But truly, the leaf/mulch quality is intact and integral, the darker berry fruits come out but there is still a pleasant sour cherry mid-palate that combines with the albeit softer yet still dense/fine mouth filling tannins. I realize part of the reason this wine was the talk of the blind tasting was that the brett, while in balance, set it apart from every other wine tasted. It was unique, it spoke of an older world style, it crept up in conversation because it lent something else to talk about. Kudos Jou Jou. The wine was made from 12 year old CF vines farmed organically (uncertified) grown in a layer of white volcanic ash. Grapes are fermented WC with ambient yeast in open top macro-bins, gently foot tread, native ML, pressed dry into 75% neutral FO and 25% Stainless Steel. 50 ppm SO2 added post ML, 10-15ppm added before bottling, racked once to bottle in June 2012. 25 cases produced. Good luck finding some! — 11 years ago

Roman Sukley

9.7

2012 CIRQ Estate Treehouse Pinot Noir. Michael Browne’s (of Kosta Browne) personal project which as I understand is an homage to the Summers he spent at a ‘Circus Camp’ in his youth. Treehouse is an amazing hilltop (stunning elevation) property in west Sonoma County with red, iron-rich soil surrounded by (say what?) coastal cypress trees. I had the pleasure of visiting, hosted by Damon Wong, and it's an amazing Vineyard. Unlike anything else I've ever seen. I can understand Michael's fascination with it. The wine: On the nose, red fruits, cedarbox, with notes of rhubarb and fennel. On the palate, pomegranate, kirsch, black tea, spices, roasted herbs along with hints of black truffles and white pepper. Beautiful texture. Lengthy finish. Classic expression of Pinot Noir. If I had to distinguish it from Kosta Browne from a flavor-perspective, I would say higher acidity and a bit of tannin give it a quality more accustom to Grand Cru Burgundy which is not bad company. I'm a fan. Congrats to Michael as well as his partner in this project, my friend Kenny Rochford, one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. — 7 years ago

David Annis

9.5

Wow. Just wow. Cork was perfect. Black licorice on the nose, particularly the cork. Cedar and wild berry notes. Medium mouth feel. Jill thinks it's just starting its decline. She's probably right. After 23 years it's unlikely to get better, but the other way to look at "starting its decline" is that it's peaking. And on a personal note, having visited Seavey and having met the owners, it makes me happy to have enjoyed this bottle as thoroughly as we did. — 8 years ago

Leslee D. Miller

Owner and Certified Sommelier Amusée Wine Consulting

9.1

One of my personal favorite #Burgundy regions, Mercurey. Aubert & Pamela de Villaine's 2011 'Les Montots'--this dusty, truffled, earthy genius was really so pretty. Needs a wee bit of time to open up, but the cheery lil cherry bits sure were tasty! #ShadowsintheVineyard tasting. #certifiablydelish — 9 years ago

Charles Antin

Senior Wine Specialist/Auctioneer Zachys

9.6

A personal favorite. Pure Maillard meat. — 9 years ago

with Sylvia

Joel Robitaille

9.0

Another great champagne for under 30 euro. Personal préférence - prefer the Billecart-Salmon. #champagne #france #bubbly #under30euro — 9 years ago

Matt Baker

10

Z-Best!!! My personal fav of all time!!!! — 9 years ago

Paco Suro

9.6

Gorgeous wine. Small producer in Rioja. Had this at El Portal which is a two star. Price.... 40eur so think less than 30eur retail. Come on at a two star! — 10 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.5

One of the rarest types of sherry from passionate sherry lovers that tend their own personal collections — 10 years ago

Anthony Szabo

10

full-bodied and savory. lots of black fruit and earth. priorat is a personal fave — 11 years ago

Filip Rokita

9.3

Super dry. Big body. Cherries in abundance. Great wine but not my personal favourite somehow. — 7 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

This comes from the personal label of vineyard manager Josh Clark and his wife Heather. Winemaker is Thomas Rivers Brown.

This is Samuel L. Jackson cast as Henry David Thoreau. A richly polished voice, with an attitude and a cadence that would even make gibberish entertaining. Beyond the ostensible hedonism, though, there's a substance that is layered, nuanced, and contemplative. But the former can certainly make it hard to focus on the latter.

Opens with some obvious, but not overpowering, malo butteriness which sets up perfectly for the blueberry pimp coat that takes center stage, surrounded by pencil shavings, crème de cassis, licorice, baked fig, and cigar box.
— 7 years ago

Sara K

9.0

Very enjoyable! Definitely a personal favorite. — 8 years ago

IdoAlonGalOn

9.1

One of the great syrah of Israel. You gets all the notes of typical syrah with a bit Israeli sunshine. — 9 years ago

Raul Puga

8.9

Perfect complement to a lunch meeting with parillada @Garcias in Uruguay — 9 years ago

De'Anna Goodson

10

Well rounded blend. Definitely a personal favorite. — 9 years ago

Noah Carlson

9.1

Noah had this 9 years ago

Alex Hill

9.5

Hate to love this wine in spite of the maker's personal shortcomings, but gotta give credit where it's due. Tremendous complexity in aroma, flavor, and texture showing bright quince and persimmon along with hazelnut and oxidative notes. Solid acidity and waxy texture. — 10 years ago

Kristin Taylor

8.9

Love this one. It's easy for a date night, just something to unwind with. A personal favorite for the boyfriend and I. — 10 years ago

Lindsay Dunn

9.6

La Bota #14... From an 1809 Solera at Valdespino...from Eric Solomon's personal collection — 11 years ago

Chad Kaul

9.3

Personal favorite — 11 years ago