Lauren Kelly

8.9

A nice middle of the road cabernet with all the vanilla/caramel flavors of heavily toasted oak barrels. At a much cheaper price point than typical napa cabs. — 7 years ago

with Diane

David Shaw

9.1

I love this wine, year after year. Densely extracted, deep purple-red. White pepper, black currant, mint, mushroom (well, Chinese black fungus is better, but not so familiar to most, so close enough) and other herbal notes in nose. White pepper, berry, maybe blackberry flavors, soft mouthfeel, tart seed bitterness, berry in finish. Some skin astringency and white pepper in aftertaste. Love the complexity; flavors are expressive and varietally on point. I’m not sure if further flavor integration with aging is possible, nor if further aging can improve on the current acid-alcohol-tannin balance. But that may just reflect the fact I drink up my wines too quickly to age them sufficiently. After their Jongleur-Petit Verdot, this is my favorite red of theirs. Also note how different the tasting notes are for this vs. a year ago. Is it just me, or are the wine dynamics really changing that much? — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

One of the Wines of the day for me. Thanks Leo. I don’t normally drink much Central Otago Chardonnay (usually buying the Pinot Noir) but this was brilliant. A certain amount of sulphidic funk together with lees stirring makes for a complex nose. Medium to full bodied with excellent balance between the fruit and mineral elements. Superb. Must seek out in the future. — 8 years ago

Mr Pab

9.0

Oaki, not too dry, great value for the price point ! — 9 years ago

Jim McCusker

9.1

Terrific offering from Russell From. His wines are great, but I think they need a couple of years to settle down. And this one has. Has great primary fruit aromas of boisenberries, black raspberries, and "grapes"! Great acidity with gives it persistence through the mid-palate, this wine has a nicely balanced finish. Not sure this has a lot of of years ahead of it, but there's no point waiting! — 9 years ago

with Vanessa

Martin Frowde

9.0

Clear maroon colour with gentle strawberry and raspberry bouquet. Nice and well delineated red berry taste (with dark cherry notes) if a little jammy. Classy and smooth but on balance I find the less restrained and more mouth-filling Cornish Point a more satisfying wine and better value. — 10 years ago

with Georgina

Yianni Stone

9.2

Grown two miles down the road and 12.9% abv. Very curious. Has a little bit of the drinkability of a Beaujolais, but the dark tannin structure of Napa cabernet. Spicy black pepper, but at this point, no roasted meat character. A little thin but solid tannin, fruit, and acidity. Will love to retry in a few years. — 10 years ago

Bob McDonald

8.9

The 2nd string red cuvée from Leeuwin Estate. Minty herbal Cabernet notes. Inherently a good Cabernet blend coming from Margaret River but only middle of the road. Drinks to its price point. — 10 years ago

Curtis Osborn

9.0

Curtis had this 10 years ago

Ross Ormond

9.1

Great wine, great price point — 11 years ago

Kate Oliver

9.8

From pots point deli wine — 11 years ago

Clive McNish

9.1

Really fragrant and very drinkable Petite Sirah. At this price point I haven’t tasted better. — 7 years ago

Steve Anderson

9.4

En Magnum. Purchased at auction. Research indicates these were likely bottled by Bevan for the 2016 Rusty Staub Foundation charity wine auction. Staub auction notes these were from the estate De Crescenzo vineyard in Bennett Valley. It also lists the 99 point RP rating for the Ode to M Syrah, which was from the Moaveni Vineyard just up the road. Don’t think this is the 99 pointer (and not planning on opening my sole M to compare), but it is quite good. Northern Rhône in style. Lighter bodied than expected, but a beautiful mid-palate and long finish. Went long on these at $48 per mag all in, and the wine (and I) will be drinking well for many years.😋 — 7 years ago

Darla Sipolt

9.5

Great Chardonnay foe the price point. Nice balance of oak and fruit notes. — 7 years ago

Michael Peterson

9.1

As it opened up the bright lemon zest on its way to lemon yoplait yogurt dominated with herby notes and just a touch of stone fruit. I know it has plenty of oak but very well-integrated at this point with great acidity and holds its 14.5 alcohol in check. Impressive for a 7-8 year old California Chardonnay. If you have one around still I’d definitely recommend letting it breathe 30-45 minutes as is wasn’t very showy when we opened it at first. — 8 years ago

Henry Potter

9.0

Round raspberry Cabernet with good body. Medium tannins, great middle of the road Cabernet. Simple. Delicious. — 9 years ago

Keith Levenberg

9.4

Really enjoyed this. The last Eminence Road pinot I had (2012 Elizabeth) was excellent too, and yet I can't seem to get a good bottle of cabernet franc from them. Weird. Anyway, this was a very different profile than the Elizabeth, very polished and not at all rustic. The hue in the glass is a very pale rusty red, barely deeper than a poulsard, but again there is absolutely none of the raspiness or funk I've gotten from some of the other wines here. There is a slight buzz of CO2, but very slight and a decant and swirl takes care of most of it. The fruit is past the primary, but still has plenty of sheen and gloss and conveys an essence of fresh wild berry flavors in a presentation that's less about the flesh of the fruit and more about the perfume, with sort of a mulled baking spice succulence. This may come from a cool climate but it has plenty of warmth. It's a truly unique expression of pinot noir that doesn't have an analogue to any other region I can think of. This is the point where I am expected to add a disclaimer of the sort that it is "not for everyone," but I honestly can't think of a single reason why. It isn't rustic, it isn't green, it is just a smooth and super-satisfying comfort wine of a pinot. — 10 years ago

V M

9.6

Sea Smoke's "Ten" Pinot is a big dark brooding Pinot to the point it can be mistaken for a cab. Dark cherry, road tar, tobacco and plum all make appearances in this masculine wine — 10 years ago

Doggfather

8.9

A solid Aussie Shiraz at a great price point. Perfect with lamb loin chops. — 10 years ago

Tom Wood

9.1

Seriously quite surprising. Chosen as one of the mixed doz for the wine selectors quartlerly delivery; a somewhat diamond in the rough. Medium bodied Pinot from Yarra Valley. Fragrant aromatics of cherry, vanilla and spice. Palate Follows through with juicy black and red cherries, a touch of raspberry, strawberries and cream and a real underlying gaminess. Only slight criticism and factor holding it back is the complexity. Nothing enabling this wine to progress from being classed as good - very good. But full points for drinkability. A juice driven Pinot with good balance, perfect transitioning wine for those unfamiliar with the grape. Has definitely scored an extra point here for completely taking me by surprise. Dan Murphys classes it as $16.99, get the fuck around it. — 10 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.0

Love these cool climate Shirazes from Canberra District. A riot of white pepper and spice. Medium bodied with earthy minerality with some charcuterie notes. Short term cellaring from this point. Took a bottle to the UK 23 weeks later on 26th July 2019 and had it with chicken at sister Helen and Nick’s place. Consistent tasting notes as above. — 7 years ago

Kevin Childs

9.3

Dark rich flavors. So worth the price point of under $20. Diamond in the rough..won’t disappoint. — 7 years ago

Martin Mills

8.9

One of my very favourite producers. Quite dark colour in keeping with its youth. The nose is a bit shy, and a bit boozy - at 14%abv it’s no lightweight but the alcohol is more pronounced on the nose than the palate. Opens up to lashings of red and black fruit and very true to type and terroir, fairly long finish. Perhaps I’m spoiled, but the 2014 isn’t for me in the same league with some of their other vintages (09 and 10, for example), and the Bannockburn is not in the same league as their single vineyard bottles which I’ve been fortunate to try recently (Cornish Point and Calvert Block). A very fine wine, but not as great as I remember. $53 at NSLC Port. — 7 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.0

From The Guardian... "'You think, has the world gone mad?' says Sam Harrop. 'We're spending thousands on cases of en primeur Bordeaux when a few hundred miles up the road there's a region producing red wines showing better terroir, and with more vibrancy for a fraction of the price.' He's talking about the Loire. Specifically, about Loire cabernet franc. Harrop's a New Zealander and master of wine, who's just spent four years advising Loire wine-makers on how they might improve their wines for the British palate, so he's not unbiased. But he does have a point. Cabernet franc is under-valued, not just at the top level, but all the way down to the supermarket shelf."
While no one should be comparing cabernet franc from Loire Valley to cabernet franc from the Right Bank, I can't dispute the quality nor the value. If modern gamay from Beaujolais is considered fresh and bright, then modern cabernet franc from Loire is fresh and dark. Wet cement, juicy raspberry, vibrant blueberry, and roasted red pepper, with some faint cocoa powder and floral undertones. — 8 years ago

p w

9.5

best of the 2013 RM chards at this point. so good. — 9 years ago

Marc Stubblefield

Wine Sales at Vino Carta and Kogod Wine Merchant

9.1

Pot roast drinking wine. Needed a good two hours to open up, then super savory on top of dense fruit. Olive tapenade, smoked meat, leather - then blue and purple fruit. Plenty of stuffing to go longer, but currently at a really nice savory/fruit balance point. Unclear to me where this is headed down the road... — 10 years ago

Matthew Andrews

9.3

Dried herbs and orange peel and just a little bit of wild yeast fuzz. The point is: this bottle of wine will pave the road to great sex. If not, you're drinking it wrong. — 10 years ago

Vinod Peris

9.0

Very clean tasting with mild hops. Nice low alcohol for an afternoon drink. — 10 years ago

Mark Bagley

9.4

Nice sippin' white. Punches way above its price point. — 10 years ago

with Lou and Monika

Cordia Cooper

8.9

Cordia had this 11 years ago