Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

The nose shows nice blue floral fruits. Ripe; blackberries, dark sweet & slightly sour cherries, creamy black raspberries, strawberries and soft plum. Limestone, volcanic minerals, light vanilla, fruit tea, soft, understated fresh tobacco, caramel, milk chocolate and fresh bright red and blue flowers.

The body is medium full. Tannins soft and tarry. Ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, creamy black raspberries, strawberries and soft plum. Limestone, volcanic minerals, crushed dry rock powder, soft dark spice, light vanilla, fruit tea, soft, understated fresh tobacco, used leather, wood shavings, caramel, milk chocolate and fresh bright red and blue flowers. The acidity is beautiful. The finish has to flush out but, it’s long, balanced and delicious. This will be a great Insignia. I’ll wait 15 years plus before I open my first bottle.

Photos of; their Estate vines of their terrace, terrace tasting area, more Insignia artwork from the visitor center and their signage as you walk to their Napa facility.
— 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

A little Rosé magic from Sleight of Hand on Christmas Eve. The Magicians Assistant Rosé is one of better Rosés I had recently. On the nose; pink rose petals, beautiful fragrant soft minerals, powdery chalkiness and lean fruits of; watermelon near the rhine, cherries, strawberries & pink grapefruit w/ a touch of sugar. The mouthfeel is medium, rich and a touch gluey. The palate fruits match the nose. Minerals that grip softly, just the right amount of powdery chalkiness, pink roses, watermelon Jolly rancher, perfect round acidity and an elegant, balanced finish. Merry Christmas everyone ! May it be joyous! 🎁🎄❄️⛄️🥗 — 9 years ago

Carl Fischer

9.3

Renegade Wine dinner series at Rebelle NYC presented by sommelier Patrick Cappiello. Focus was on Cab Franc: 15 wines paired with 5 courses. Posting a few favorites.

Was excited to see this on the list. A very French style of Cab Franc - but a nice balance of savory and fruit. A touch sour but very smooth, round and refreshing. Was excellent with food (beet tartare).

— 9 years ago

Beachin Wino

9.3

Like Baby Blue the blueberry aromas jump right out of the glass. First glass, honestly didn't seem any better than the Baby Blue. One hour later with filet mignon the wine had opened up considerably and WOW! This is one to pair with a juicy steak🍷. — 9 years ago

with Fred

Jean-Francois Pelletier

9.4

Deep color. Intense nose of white chocolate, red cherries, some blue fruit and vanilla. Full body, beautiful balance and long finish. So good. — 10 years ago

with Chris and Michael

Michael Meyer

9.1

Dark blue fruit, mocha, and spice on a taut frame that spins out to a long minerally finish. This should improve considerably with a few more years of bottle age. — 10 years ago

Mark Maruszak

9.3

Crazy awesome. Tons of black pepper, smoke, tobacco and bacon fat. Luscious dark fruits. Very fruit forward palate. Waaaaaay too young. — 11 years ago

Bret Thompson

9.3

At the lake with Jaice — 11 years ago

Henrik Poulsen

9.2

A great example of true varietal character matched with the perfect amount of oak.
I absolutely LOVE this and can't recommend it enough.
— 11 years ago

Jessica Doyle

8.9

Chill it & kill it! — 12 years ago

with Brendan

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Saturday, steak & Claret night. Ribcap (the prime and most tender meat cut) & an 05 Clerc Milon. 05 an excellent vintage in Bordeaux! 😋

Time to look in on the 05 Clerc Milon after 10 years in bottle. 10 years in bottle is always a good first check with quality producers. Since I have nearly a case of the 05, I’ll open another bottle in about 3 years.

On the nose, slightly candied, ripe fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, baked strawberries and hues of blueberries. Vanilla, caramel, mocha chocolate, some cinnamon, saddle-wood, steeped tea, light graphite, dark rich soil, sweet tarry notes, crushed, dry rock powder, stones with lavender, fresh dark flowers and violets.

The body round, ruby, lush and full. The tannins like velvet. It’s starting to enter a very good drinking phase with another 15 years plus ahead. The fruits are ripe but more floral on the palate than the nose. Blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, baked strawberries, creamed raspberry cola, hues of blueberries and cherries on the long set. Vanilla, caramel, mocha chocolate, some cinnamon, saddle-wood, steeped tea, dark roasted coffee, used leather, light graphite, dark rich soil, underbrush, sweet tarry notes, crushed, dry, rock powder, stones with lavender, fresh dark flowers and bright violets. The structure, tension, length and balance is hitting its stride. Great round acidity. The ripe, rich, lush, well balanced finish is very good and will continue to get better & better and lasts minutes.

Photos of, Clerc Milon, their new barrel room first used for the 09 vintage. Their dining & reception room, our friend and Winemaker Jean Danjoy. He was the Assistant Winemaker at Opus One for 10 years before designing the new Clerc Milon Cellars and becoming the Winemaker for the 09 vintage. He has pushed the quality at Clerc Milon with each vintage...achieving the highest rating every for Clerc Milon with a 93-95 Parker rating for their 2017 vintage. Not only is he a very talented Winemaker but, perhaps the nicest person I know. And the last photo, Chateau Clerc Milon and Estate vines.

Clerc Milon sits adjacent to her sister property, Chateau Mouton Rothschild. — 8 years ago

Andrew kimball

9.0

Best of the best — 9 years ago

Kevin M

9.0

The 2006 Rusty Shed Chardonnay is a blend of four blocks of Chardonnay on the Flat Rock Property. Grapes are hand picked and hand sorted before whole bunch pressing takes place. It was then cold settled in stainless steel, 100% barrel fermented and left on the lees for 10 months. Wild and commercial yeasts were used for primary fermentation, followed by malolactic fermentation to soften the natural acidity. The result?
Beautiful example of a mid to full bodied Chardonnay with butter, vanilla, apples and light spice on the palate. A lot of flavour and elegance at this price point. Sampled this 2006 in 2017 but this should sit well and perhaps develop more for a few more years. Best part? It's from Niagara! Loved it!
#chardonnay #flatrockcellars #twentymilebench #therustyshed #niagarawine #ontariowine #coolclimatechardonnay #vqa #2006niagaraharvest #niagaraescarpment #niagarachardonnay
— 9 years ago

Merritt Santino Raül Gilé

8.9

Pretty crisp. Granny smith apple and maybe a hint of melon and pear. Limestone. Mineraly. If that's a word. — 10 years ago

with Alison

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

Dark cassis and purple corals on the nose. Beautiful rich ripe blackberries, blueberries, black pepper, dark dry earth, crushed dry rocks, some black licorice, ambers, hint of grilled meats, still big chewy tannins with a nice round full big rich fruit finish. Medium plus tannins and medium acidity. — 10 years ago

Marilyn Barry

9.9

Soft and full of berries. — 10 years ago

Chris Lawson

9.9

Don knocked it out of the park with this vintage!! — 11 years ago

Chris MacLean

9.2

I didn't love this at first but it really grew on me over the course of a few hours. — 11 years ago

with Alessandro and Eli

Katherine Hansil

9.3

One of my all time favorites. Great balance. Great body. Elegant. — 11 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.2

Ken Kahn is the owner nick goldschmidt is the consulting winemaker from all estate fruit 80 acres of vines the young vines go into this cuvée. — 13 years ago

Nate Lane

9.3

Cherry and spice, just like the label says. Great balance. This one is out of the park. — 8 years ago

with Karalyn

Carl Fischer

9.3

Visiting family, which always require copious amounts of wine, and mom scored big time by having this one on-hand. I was excited to try this as I’ve heard great things about this winery and their wines. Layered and balanced this has streaks of both sweet and savory. Bacon, dark fruits, blackberry, vanilla, char. Full bodied. Strong tannins, but not overpowering. It was delicious. — 8 years ago

Matt Perlman

8.9

Good balance of roundness and acid; smoked butter, lemon and green apple — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

On the nose; warm baking spices, fresh, ripe dark fruits of; blackberries, blueberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, vanilla and fresh purple florals. On the palate, there's an explosion of; blueberries, black plum, dark cherries. Then; exotic spices, dark cocoa powder, M-M+ tannins, lighter fruits of raspberries & poached strawberries fill the mid palate, dark soils, crushed dry rocks, stones, soft leather, lavender & violets. Very good structure, balance, solid acidity with a strong fruit finish. Barrel tasted the 2016 vintage at the Nickel & Nickel Entrecôte. Photos of the staff pouring and futures offer poster. — 9 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.8

If there were ever an archetypical Syrah, Jamet's Cote-Rotie would be a strong candidate. To me this is a pure expression of a classic Northern Rhone Syrah. It is not a single site, but a blend of terroirs, encompassing over 20 sites mostly from hard rock schist bedrock with little to no topsoil. There is NO Viognier in this wine like one might expect from most Cote-Rotie that might have 1-5% co-fermented.

Importantly, there is also a lot less of the oak character that can dominate and overwhelm many Northern Rhone wines. The oak maturation, while not short at 22 months, only uses 15% new oak with no trace of it on the palate as it is perfectly integrated. Grape bunches are whole cluster fermented and macerated for up to 3 weeks.

The 2007 we have here was drinking superbly for a young wine, showing lively and racy layers of peppercorn spice, roast beef, and warm blackberry and currant fruit from the hot 2007 vintage. While from a warm vintage, not a hair is out of place. Density and purity exude from the nose and hint at what a brilliant future this wine has. Perfect acidity and fleshy ripe tannin provide the backbone structure for father time to peel back the layers of this beauty. I will be chceking back in 5 years at the earliest. — 10 years ago

John Lenart

9.2

Fresh dark berries, cola, dry lavender nose. Flavors of surprisingly fresh fruit, great acid and silk tannin. This still has a decade. — 11 years ago

Kyle Groombridge

9.1

Fantastic chard. The picture of balance in a white wine - creamy and buttery with some butterscotch, mango, pineapple, and yet a lovely acidity drawing you into another sip.. Drank the whole bottle and kinda want some more... Very good QPR. — 11 years ago

Dave Chambers

9.1

So @Heather Leatham went down to the cellar tonight to match our dinner with a bottle and decided on the Flat Rock Cellars 2009 Gravity Pinot Noir. A first impression of the nose is a slightly barnyard earthiness with cherries in the background. The color is a brick red, good clarity. The flavours are full of ripe red fruits, a hint of tannins and good balancing acidity. The finish is medium with the cherries and a hint of spice at the end. — 11 years ago

with Heather

John Skupny - Lang & Reed Wine Company

9.4

2004 - lots of things going on with this lovely wine - seems just right at 10 y.o. But had enough stuffing for another five or more — 12 years ago

Michelle Moser

9.5

Sophisticated summer in a bottle... Lovely bouquet of flowers, peaches, vanilla, carmel and almonds- reminded me of peach cobbler. I was grateful for the long clean finish as I did not want it to end. Lovely! — 13 years ago