Jay Kline

9.1

Poured into a decanter for about an hour prior to service; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2023 RTW CCC pours a deep ruby/purple color with a translucent core; medium viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of mixed brambles, purple flowers, Fig Newtons, black pepper, dried green herbs, and silica rich, rocky earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and comes across like laser cut steel. Drink now with patience through 2038. — 9 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Popped and poured; enjoyed from red Solo cups over the course of a few hours. This bottle of the 1982 showed very well today. It pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with beautiful notes of black currants, black plum, mixed brambles, tobacco, some green pepper, graphite, leather, earth, and soft warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. 1982: the vintage that keeps on giving. Drink now through 2042+. — a year ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Delicious throughout. The 2016 Contra Costa County pours a deep, slightly hazy garnet/purple with an opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and signs of light sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart, mostly black and blue fruit: blackberries, blueberries, plums, Montmorency cherry, purple flowers, black pepper, dry gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. I’m very happy to have holed away some bottles from the first few years of Sandlands. Not only do I believe these older vintages are showing well, but I also believe his newer vintages will be even better. Drink now through 2031. — a year ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Opened and decanted about an hour prior to service. The 2016 San Valentino is a blend of mostly Sangiovese mixed with some local varieties. It pours a deep ruby purple with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the palate, the wine is developing with fascinating notes of ripe cherry, blackberry, exotic spices, wild underbrush, old leather and rich woody notes, some VA and dried rocky earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ viscosity. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and lovely and despite the concentration of flavors, surprisingly nimble and super versatile with the variety of fare on the table including sturgeon in a miso with noodles (it kinda blew my mind actually). Sublime. Drink now with patience and through 2036. — 2 years ago

Konrad Ziegler

9.2

From Fermented wine shop in Canton. Chehamlem Mountains AVA — 5 years ago

jochen rueckert

9.0

Nice cheap orange not crazy — 6 years ago

Adelia Shiffraw

9.0

Dry, tannic, smoky finish — 7 years ago

Eva Milcetic

9.3

Currants, castelvetranos, kale, dried mango wtf — 8 years ago

Pooneet K

8.9

Nice orange wine from Georgia. Gives the impression of sweetness without actually being sweet. Some real grip without tannins, sort of an interesting orange wine mouthfeel. Nice. — 9 years ago

Jose Torres

10

Sweet and unique taste — 11 years ago

Alex Mutch

9.0

juicy red fruit, a little funk, dry earthy finish — 9 months ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Best on Day 2. The 2023 Lodi pours a deep ruby color with a translucent core; medium viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with lifted notes of fresh brambles, licorice, mixed floral bouquet, exotic spices and dry earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and has a really spicy quality to it. Really solid stuff but super fresh and patience will be required to enjoy the best from this vintage. Better after 2028 and through 2038. — 10 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of dinner. The 2015 Judge Family Vineyard Syrah pours a deep, inky, ruby/purple color with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with pungent notes of bacon fat, dark brambles, toasted blueberry crisp, lavender, dried green herbs and fine baking spice. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is aging slowly and gracefully. This remains my favorite Syrah made in the United States. Drink now through 2045. — a year ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of four days. Best on Day 3 and 4. The 2022 Estate pours a ruby color with a slightly hazy, transparent core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of tart red fruit: tiny underripe woodland strawberries, dried green herbs, red flowers, mushrooms, sous bois, spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and super fresh. Better after 2027 through 2037. Only 100 cases made. — 2 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.5

Not too woody like most extra añjeo tequilas that I have tried — 4 years ago

Rob Havana

8.9

Fabre meeting — 5 years ago

Ben Norman

8.9

Good, weird — 7 years ago

Michael Everett

8.9

More Georgian! Dank — 8 years ago

Wendi Hudson

9.0

Apricot and dried herbs on the nose and palate. Great texture and balanced acidity.
— 8 years ago

jo wino

9.0

yup, this was a good choice with the ameribella. cheese from Indiana; who knew — 10 years ago

Matt FELDMANN

9.3

Very fine bubbles at first, fine acidity and structure, light not overly complex taste, hint of spring flowers. Very good aperitif wine. — 11 years ago

Jay Kline

9.6

Poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service; enjoyed alongside the 2020 “Le Geynale” by Vincent Paris, over the course of a couple hours. The 2020 pours a deep ruby/purple with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose the wine is developing with blackberries, black plum, fig, lavender, black pepper, bacon fat, Gaeta olive, dried green herbs and rocky earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and sanguine. Compared to the Vincent Paris, this was slightly less perfumed, missing some of the high notes from “Le Geynale”. However, this had the base and blood of Chaillot, from which 100% of the fruit is sourced. Outstanding. Drink now through 2050. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 10 months ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2000 pours a deep garnet/purple with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with light staining of the tears and some sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of ripe and desiccated red and black fruits: mixed brambles, black cherry, some fruit leather, some actual leather, pipe tobacco, black pepper, some mushrooms and decomposing earth and gentle warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin (integrated) and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose where the fruit comes across a bit more desiccated and no less delicious. The finish is long. Drink now. — a year ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Poured into a decanter about 30min prior to service and enjoyed over the course of several hours. This bottle of the 1985 was more recently acquired from the chateau and in pristine condition. The wine pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of ripe and desiccated dark and red fruits: black currants, mixed brambles, tobacco, pencil shavings, some dried purple flowers, some green bell pepper, mushrooms, leather, some ferrous earth and gentle warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and slightly savory. Elegant and beautiful this was such a fun and rewarding wine to follow as the hours rolled by. A very strong showing at 40 years young and not slowing down soon. Drink now through 2040. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over a three hour period. The 2010 Chianti Classico pours a deep ruby with a near opaque core; medium(+?) viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, developing and initially, slightly austere but an hour of air did wonders. Funky Montmorency cherry, pipe tobacco, red rope licorice, carnations, mushrooms, decomposing forest floor, leather, tomato leaf, cedar box, a bar of Irish Spring that has been drying out in my in-laws shower basement for years (super specific but IYKYK); there is a little bit of VA too…but this is Italy baby so what do you expect? On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose with a bit of a high-grade Aceto Balsamico di Modena thing going too. The finish is super long, grippy and savory. A beautiful example from the southern part of Gaiole. This is entering its early drinking window and should be great for the next 10-15 years. — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

A couple of weeks back, I opened a bottle of the 2017 that was supposed to be my first impression of the latest release. Ferrando’s Carema “Etichetta Bianca” is one of my favorite wines in Piemonte and, well, it was a false start. It was brown, tasted like it was 30 years old, full of secondary characteristics and lacking any of the elegance or structure I’ve come to expect from these wines year in and year out. The cork appeared to be perfect; not sure what happened. It was just, flat. So, I opened another one of my bottles this weekend to see if I was dealing with a much broader issue. Much to my delight, this bottle was proper.

Tonight, the wine poured a striking, garnet color with a transparent core and a slightly watery rim. No staining of the tears. No signs of sediment. The wine is intense, woodsy, and has the smell of strong BO, spicy but in a good way? Like someone put on a fancy cologne to cover the fact that they haven’t showered in a week. Weird…I know…but trust me. You’ll smell it and then you’ll like it. Red flowers, red fruits like dried cherries and porchini too. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Long finish. Dried cherries, exotic spices and dried herbs. Overall, I got the impression of a round but rustic wine; unique in a way I have come to expect from these wines over the years. I had a little bit left in the bottle that I held over until the next day and it became even more fresh on Day 2. Based off my experience, you can certainly open these now and enjoy with some patience but I think these will benefit from some time in the cellar. Next bottle after 2027. — 5 years ago

Bob Dylan

9.1

smoky! no or minimal skin contact — 7 years ago

Monk Funkster

9.1

So much subtlety going on with this wine. Lots of flavors from great fruit and great minerality. Lots of complexity that is super fun to unpack. Definitely have the sensation of never being able to taste all of the flavors in this. — 8 years ago

Karamo Nicoise

9.5

Rich darkness — 9 years ago

Elena Moroz

9.0

Kvevri, вяжет — 11 years ago