Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Joseph Phelps Party. Starting off with the 89 Insignia from 6L.

Notes of stewed fruits; blackberries, dark cherries, rhubarb, cherries & strawberries. Cola liqueur, steeped tea, limestone minerals, well softened and layered baking spices, menthol, dry herbs, underbrush with withering & fresh bright red & dark florals.

The palate shows similar stewed & baked fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, rhubarb, cherries, strawberries. Cola liqueur, steep tea, limestone minerals, well softened and layered baking spices, menthol, dry herbs, dry top soil, dry rock powder, old to & leather underbrush with withering & fresh bright red & dark florals. Beautiful acidity and a well balanced finish that persists with some dark spice heat.

Photos of, the Phelps party and food spread. — 7 years ago

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

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

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

Martin Grisolle

9.1

One of my favorites — 10 years ago

Chris Lawson

9.9

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

Mark Flesher

9.4

The best Cabernet Franc on the table. Although it really did not have much competition. This was the ONLY Cabernet Franc on the table! This one had lots of black cherry, graphite, cocoa, cola, and pie space to the front and middle. The finish still showed moderate astringency with a fair amount of oak, yet this was probably just about as approachable as I have ever seen a bottle of this Cabernet Franc. I would say this one is probably one to two years away from a pop and pour! — 7 years ago

with Dan and Bradley

Ryan Vento

9.0

First time trying this producer but I’d say Christopher Vandendriessche has got something good going on. This BDX blend offers abundant notes of ripe cherries, plums, pencil shavings and eucalyptus on the nose with ample supply of spices, graphite, blackberries, raspberries, and dried herbs on the palate. Tannins still haven’t resolved themselves so it needs time to integrate; I’d say this has a few more years left before it’s peaked for optimal drinking. — 7 years ago

with Krystal

Andrew kimball

9.0

Best of the best — 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

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

Marilyn Barry

9.9

Soft and full of berries. — 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

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

Ellen Clifford

9.1

I’d go so far as to call it great! Nice work Toad’s Hollow. — 7 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

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

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

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

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