Shay A

9.5

Comparing this ‘12 against the PH Stagecoach ‘12 was just a spoil of riches. Very different wines in flavor profile, but very similar in texture. Whereas the PH was very dark fruit dominant with mineral notes, this was more finesse driven showing bright black cherries, mocha, cherries jubilee sweetness and some sandalwood on the nose. So well balanced on the palate with more sweet red fruit and Andes mint chocolate mint at the finish. — 6 years ago

with joe, Dan and 2 others

Jordan Wardlaw

8.9

Very tight. Shy aromatics of black cherry, baking spice and smoke. Well-balanced profile with low alcohol and ph. Give this one a few years. — 8 years ago

Chip Hughes

9.2

Warm, rich, Grenache-heavy. Like all of Xavier’s ‘15s, it touches all the bases: ripe, tannic and superbly low pH. Saline. Lots of vanilla bean and grated hard spices. Classic. #xavier #gigondas #rhone — 8 years ago

Artem Lebedev

9.0

Amontillado based on Manzanilla. Alc 18%. pH 3,2. TA 5g/l. Sugars 0,5g/l. VA 5,0 g/l. Dark gold/amber color. Citrus, peach, hazelnut, toasted. Very elegant. But little bit simple. Fresh, powerful, with good body and good acidity, long finish. — 8 years ago

Artem Lebedev

9.3

Alc 21%. pH 3,20. TA 7g/l. Sugars<9g/l. VA 1,5 g/l. Brown color. Walnuts, butterscotch, oak, leather, brown sugar. Perfect body, fresh acidity, mellow sweetness, very long luscious finish. — 8 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.0

Looking at this drop again. An interesting expression of Chenin. Definitely handled oxidatively. Straight out of the bottle, it tasted almost Jura like and as before, getting this whisky notes. Baked apple instead of quince. A nice minerality from start to finish. VA seems quite prominent after a while. Good to note that this was an excellent pairing with most Asian dishes.

Note: Analysis values
TA: 7.1 g/l
pH: 3.07
Alc: 11.3%
Malic: 1.3 g/l
VA: 0.43 g/l — 9 years ago

Dean Bernal Sr.

9.3

2010 PH Beckstoffer to Kalon Oakville Napa Cab. — 6 years ago

with Julie, April and 2 others

Shay A

9.2

@Benjamin Keator had his hosting at the CC tonight and it was absolutely incredible. What a night of gorgeous wines! All wines are guessed blind.

My guess here was ‘04-06 French champagne. I couldn’t guess a house, but I was able to rule out what it wasn’t (PH, Dom, Krug). This wasn’t reductive enough to be west coast. Balanced sweetness and yeastiness well. — 7 years ago

with Benjamin, Weston and 1 other

Chip Hughes

9.2

Cassis, red fruit, vanilla, pie spice. Touch of pleasant & appropriate herbaceousness. Superfine tannins, fine to drink now. Classic Napa Cab, but without the high pH and greasy texture that sorta ruins most of them for me. #napavalley #cabernetsauvignon — 8 years ago

Chip Hughes

9.5

More open & approachable than previous vintages. Typical Anonyme: tannic, huge ripeness and impossibly low pH. Kirsch, hot silica. Just incredible. #xavier #châteauneuf #rhone — 8 years ago

Artem Lebedev

9.0

Alc 21,5%. pH 2,92. TA 7,66g/l. Sugars 4,75 g/l. VA 1,03. Dark amber with broad light gold hue. Delicate and fragrant simultaneously, caramel and apricots. Very fat body, excellent balanced. Long finish. — 8 years ago

Chip Hughes

9.0

Nice to know Bordeaux like this will keep me happy in my cranky older years. Cassis, pencil shavings, cedar box. Big hit of Verdot for low pH and freshness. #bordeaux #petitverdot #listracmédoc — 9 years ago

Gibson Campbell

8.9

Racy, low ph, and just dirty enough. — 9 years ago

Shay A

9.5

Day 2 of Napa in the books!

The flagship offering from DA. 100% estate cab. Lots of similarities to the Old Vine Cab, but less spice and more sweetness. Would love to open one of these next to a Chappellet PH cab for comparison sake. Undoubtedly red and black fruit dominant with powerful and sweet oak. There is dark chocolate covered black cherries, fresh squeezed blackberries and underripe plum. Almost velvet like on the palate at this age. Needs time, of course, to fulfill its really nice potential. — 7 years ago

Chip Hughes

9.5

Achingly pure, filigreed and delineated...not the words you associate with Roussillon wine. But old vines, careful bio viticulture and the daring to harvest at the precise arrival of ripeness (13%) make for a modern-day version of iron fist in velvet glove. And on top of all that, the Catalan qualities shine through more and more with each successive vintage. Fraises, bramble, confits of tiny red fruits and the persistent haunt of black, low pH schist. Extraordinary. #rocdesanges #grenache #carignane #roussillon #catalonia — 7 years ago

Jordan Wardlaw

9.2

Intensely ripe, floral nose with unmistakable spice character. Loads of clove and allspice. Lychee, lemon zest, honeysuckle, pineapple. Very dry with a lush mid palate, creamy mouthfeel and a roasted almond character on the finish. Amazingly fresh and vibrant on the palate for such a low-acid vintage. How this wine retains such freshness and lift on the palate at 3.9 ph is hard to believe, but it indeed has remarkable balance and purity. Not at all heavy or ponderous. I always love ZH. — 8 years ago

Frederic Azemard

9.6

Amazing
Brought by PH — 8 years ago

Artem Lebedev

9.4

Alc 20,14%. pH 3,20. TA 7,88g/l. Sugars 6,90 g/l. VA 1,54. A lot of fruits, resin, bananas, rum spices, apricots. Beautiful balance, very fresh, perfect structure, nice sweatiness, perfect velvety harmony. — 8 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.3

Many have said to be weary of bottle variation, but this was incredible last night. Tasted with the importer here in Australia - Michael at Quelvino. Previously Coravin-ed bottle, so maybe why it didn't have the spritz everyone talks about.

So inky and meaty. The palate screams sour cherries with an array of spices and herbs. There's a richness imparted by some RS too, I feel. What stumped me the most was the finish - started of big and tannic, then evovles into this subtle drive that goes on and on. I'm guessing this is still too young, with such heavy fruit. Can't wait to try more of this.

Note: The cuvee came with analysis values, which showed good TA and pH for a red. Alcohol was in the low 13's and it was surprisingly dry (0.8 g/l if I recall) - could be fruit sweetness that I was tasting. The spritz mentioned is a common feature of the wines because they finish fermentation in bottle. The grapes used are mainly Croatina, Uva Rara, and Vespolina (also known as Oltrepò ughetta). Italy's OG natty winemaker, making wines from a single cru (monopole?). — 9 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.7

A tremendous wine. Needs only a short decant and it was singing!

On a side note, ran it through our FOSS and here's the stats (take it with a pinch of salt).

G/F: 0.1 g/l (value not to be trusted, but trust that it isn't totally dry)
pH: 3.79
TA: 6.2 g/l
Alc: 16.7% (OMG! Doesn't seem that hot)
H2M: 0.0 g/l
VA: 0.47 g/l — 9 years ago

with Michelle