Ki Punwar

Owner, California Wine Republic

9.3

Wonderful example of an aged California Cabernet; Spottswoode is so good year in and year out. 32 years old and still going strong. Tasted at California Winemasters Cystic Fibrosis benefit — 7 years ago

with Stanley, Kevin and 1 other

Delectable Wine

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9.5

The 2014 Barolo Monvigliero is quite refined and gracious, although it is also surprisingly dark, dense and concentrated by this wine's standards. A shy, reticent wine, the 2014 is going to need time in bottle to flesh out, especially in the midpalate. I have seen this with other vintages, and expect that it will be the case here as well. The precision, clarity and silkiness that are so typical of Monvigliero start to emerge as the wine opens up in the glass. Readers should plan on being patient. If that is not possible, try to taste the 2014 as soon as possible, because these wines have a tendency to shut down hard post-bottling. As always, Monvigliero is fermented with 100% whole clusters. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, February 2018) — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.4

Our monthly 4th Friday event at the storage facility. No requirements, just wine you want to share with others! Always an enjoyable time.

Special place in my heart for this winery. A few months ago, I had an '88 go celebrate my birth year. It was STELLAR. This is pushing forward easily...after an hour of air, the fruit and secondary earth and funk notes came out. So good! Thanks Walter! — 9 years ago

with Mark

Mark Grammer

9.3

Nose had some funk with leather, mineral and a hint of red liquorice. Evolved nicely with fruit coming out after an hour or so. Blackberry, blueberry were present after the earthy start. — 9 years ago

Matt Brock

9.3

Brought out the good stuff for V-Day. Aerated and decanted this bottle of beast for over an hour. Intensely rich fruit, rounded out by tannins that have clearly softened given the age of this wine. So rare to experience a bottle of this magnitude. The first few sips have been absolute heaven, and the balance will surely get better. — 9 years ago

with Jennifer

Petros Kostelidis

9.5

12 year old wine on our 4th year anniversary. It has been a wonderful journey so far and I'm sure the best has yet to come. Never been happier.
— 10 years ago

Steve Runner

10

OH MY HOLY FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER!!!  Here’s a spoiler for you: THIS IS AN EFFING AMAZING WINE!!  deep dark inky red…blood red…almost BLUE it’s so red with a brick bright shine on the edges.  On the nose this is a smokey leather chocolate dark cherry caress…it’s a a pleasure on the nose.  This is a thick, creamy wine on the palate with a nice chalky hint of Cab Franc.  The Grgich Hills Van Sauv, 2006 is an estate wine from Napa…and it’s a classic example as to why Napa Valley (and to some extend, Sonoma) have been challenging Bordeaux and the Rhone for so long.  This is a “biodynamic” wine…which for me is usually a “red flag” meaning it’s all “Foo”…but not so.  If I had to guess, the winemaker on this one cares ALOT about quality…and it shows.  The finish is slightly tannic, but not in a bad way…the effect makes the finish fade slowly with some outstanding beefy-cocoa notes.  At 14.5% alcohol this wine is on the “hot side” but this gives it a nice warm spicy-pepper flavor that wraps itself around your mouth and says “let’s party”.  This is a wine for tasting, by the fire with a fine cigar not too far from your fingers.  I would drink this any time of the year and can imagine it would be amazing with curry and Indian food.  The 2006 Grgich Hills Estate Cab Sauv from Yountville.  My wish for you is that you get to taste this awesome wine at some point in your life!! (THANK YOU CHIZ & ROB!!) — 10 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.5

1958 Giacomo Conterno Monfortino: from Jay. This was the Ying to the Mascarello's Yang. Lovely rich ruby colour with virtually no bricking on the edge. The nose developed over the course of 15 to 20 mins in the glass. Unlike the Mascarello that was shedding perfume from the moment it hit the glass, the Monfortino needed more air before becoming less brooding. Dark fruits on the nose. Purple plums, black cherries, some forest floor, light tobacco as well as some floral elements prevailed. The palette was a reflection of the nose so no surprises. The fruit was far from dried out and this particular bottle still had plenty of life left in it but from my recent experience this is the exception rather than the rule. I have had around 10 bottles of old Monfortino ('55 / '58 / and '61) over the last year and the bottle variation, as you would expect, is tremendous with the majority of them past their prime. The finish was strong and in keeping with the rest of the package with reasonable length and quality. Drink now. 95/100.

— 11 years ago

Patrick Knöfler

9.7

We poured the wine into a decanter and followed its development over a couple of hours. It was dark ruby in colour and offered violet, dark berries, cherry, ripe plum, cabbage, chocolate, cocoa, espresso, spices and vanilla on the nose. On the palate the wine showed red and dark berries, cherry, blueberry, blackberry, plum, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, spices and vanilla, paired with medium to medium-plus acidity, medium-plus fine tannin and incredible length. I really loved the intriguing cocoa note that lingered for quite some time. The plush, medium-bodied wine seemed restrained and elegant despite of its ripeness. It was smooth, and balanced except for the creamy oak that became more and more pronounced as time passed. The wine was very young and might well turn into something special with mid-term cellaring, the main issue being that it already is so delicious that it might turn out to be difficult to keep one’s hands off the bottles… A great wine; 93 points for the time being. — 12 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.7

I’ll stick with my last score, it’s mellowed since my last bottle. So this might not be a long distance runner just as @David L said — 7 years ago

Jonathan McCarthy

9.4

My favorite Yquem so far, the explicit apricot and marcona ride over a smokier, spicier background. Clean briquettes of fine Japanese coal with a skewer of white champignons and allium petals are roasting and carbonizing. Super compelling. — 7 years ago

jesus g

Hospitality Schramsberg Vineyards

9.6

I’m really beginning to see this transition where the 2013s-16s of Rhône and Burgundy are already so drinkable and showing ripe fruit. Like they are making them to drink now, this winemaking style is showing a little more fruit extraction and from what I’ve seen here in Napa, you’re sacrificing the ability to age there for the early drinkability. Hopefully I’m wrong and these are all just warmer vintages. I just wanna see these wines reach their potential 10/20 years out — 8 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.6

Happy place. All the Burgundy and Nebbiolo comparisons are apt, but this has a feral quality, a sense of animalistic earthiness that walks the line between elegance and wildness like nothing else I've experienced. I drink one of these almost every year for my birthday and lucky enough so far not to have experienced the bottle variation others have. (This one had a 2012 cork). Eventually they will run out of these library releases and I will be 🙁 — 9 years ago

with Steven

Bill Bender

9.2

This showed far better than I was expecting. My new associate brought it and it paired well with my surf and turf 🐮🦂 tannic but not overly so. Dark blue/black fruits. Tar, cherry, oak shavings. It paled in comparison to the magnificent Nine Suns but it impressed vs expectations. — 9 years ago

Jacob Robinson

9.8

One of the best I've had so far, smooth, full bodied, an favorite. — 10 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.6

2003 Domiane de la Romanee Conti Richebourg - from Jay. Decanted one hour prior to pouring. Dark rich velvet ruby in colour. Cracked green olives and first press olive oil on the nose initially which soon blew off to expose blackberries, black currant, plum and Asian spice. Opulent attack which carries through into a profoundly concentrated mid palette of dark fruits and velvety tannins with thick sap. This wine is overwhelmingly concentrated on the mid palette with a very lush texture with incredible concentration of fruit. The finish is both long and seamless and certainly not lacking in structure despite the nature of the vintage with the tannins displaying a degree of structure that I had not anticipated. A formidable wine which is developing much better than I would have expected for a 2003. This is the first bottle that I have had since 2008 and during this time the wine has far surpassed my expectations. For those who enjoy big fruit-forward Burgundy wines at a young age this Richebourg is approachable but I think patience is warranted in order to get the most out of this wine. Drink 2020 to 2045. — 10 years ago

Steve Jette

9.9

Amazing. Best Cab I've had so far. Very full body. — 11 years ago

Justin Ennis

10

This is the 1985 Napa Cab and was tasted out of 5 liter. This wine was excellent! Herbal notes with a touch of saddle. I was so surprised by how much red fruit was on the pallet with a wine this old! Amazing! — 11 years ago

Jeffrey Lew

9.8

We went 2/2 tonight. This bottle was a testament to perfect storage. Cork was perfect, and the wine was dark ruby with ever so slight bricking at the rim. Awesome. More approachable than the 90 and makes you wanna curl up with it for a long time. Better than the bottle I had at the Montrose vertical a month ago. Blind I would guess 10 yrs newer. For this price point and quality it's a must add. Edged out the Margaux. — 11 years ago

Charles Schneider

9.1

2 for 2, so far. Really overachieving. — 13 years ago

M. Christopher Roebuck

8.9

Single vineyard pinot noir from Coastal California. Very deep purple for the grape. Viscous. Medium plus bodied. Perfume, floral nose notes but to me they are a bit overrun by oak. Belle Glos website says that this wine boasts bright acidity, but I would disagree. In the palate there is a ton of red fruit, almost candy, and very little acidity. Some residual sugar, and low to medium tannins. This is a good wine, but an odd Pinot. To me, it's almost like someone delivered Pinot Noir grapes to Ravenswood for processing as a Zinfandel.

PS it's giving me a headache.

DAY2 UPDATE: So I don't throw out wine, I'm giving it another whirl tonight. Done with dinner. If I wasn't on the Keto diet I'd slam this with a big 2 slices of cheesecake and I bet it would be perfect. The point is-- besides the fact that I miss cheesecake--this is a way over the top Pinot Noir, residual sugar and it's still at 14.6% abv!!! I'm adding the plus because I believe this was made with purpose, just not what I'm looking for.

89+ points — 7 years ago

Susan Sangiacomo

9.2

Big Opus One fan. So far I find most ‘07’s to not be as great as the wine reviewers predicted. Still very good though. — 8 years ago

Carl Fischer

9.5

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.

This was WOTN for me. First thing I noticed - and could hardly believe - was how bright red the wine still was being 38 years old. There was some funk on the nose but a ton of fruit as well. The fruit stood out on the palate - and the wine had a brightness to it I couldn't believe. Flavors of raspberries and gravel and still had a great acidity. The somm did note that there is a lot of bottle variation. He opened the same vintage recently and it was all mushrooms and little fruit - so he felt his bottle was a little atypical. But that worked for me. Paired well with Comte. — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

On the nose, warm, leaner, stewed fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, spiced plum, poached strawberries, black raspberries, cherries, black licorice anise, spice-box, cigar, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, rich dark loamy soils & fresh/dry dark florals. The palate is lean, well resolved tannins, heated, darker spice-box, blackberries, dark cherries, spiced plum, poached strawberries, black raspberries, cherries, black licorice anise, cola, spice-box, cigar, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, caramel, dark chocolate, mocha, rich dark loamy soils & fresh/dry dark florals. Acidity pours over the palate. The finish is smooth, lean, pure elegant fruit with spice. It's lasts over a minute. The 94 is just starting to trend down but still the best vintage of Caymus Special Select I can remember. So if you own, time to enjoy it over the next two years. Enjoyed this at a private dinner/tasting at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay a number of years ago with Chuck and his son Joseph who makes the Bella Clos. Brings me right back to the fire pit closing out the night with this wine & the great group of clients we entertained. First time tasting this vintage with my wife Sofia. Photos of; the Special Select vineyard, estate grounds, beautiful Caymus fruit and the legendary Chuck Wagner-Owner & Winemaker. Another recent pristine bottle from my friend Alex @ "No Limit Wines." — 9 years ago

Alex Slutzky

9.0

$13
BEST WINE SO FAR 2/12/16 — 10 years ago

Gyzylgul Soyunova

10

My favorite one so far❤️ — 11 years ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.0

Ok what we have here is the 2011 which I found cleaning out my cellar so I decided to try a flight for thanksgiving. 11 to 13. From the color these wines are indistinguishable. On the nose they all have the same herbal notes. The 11 has thyme and raspberry it's now very elegant and will be awesome with the meal. These wines however taste unique and are not for everyone. Very style consistent through the vintages. The 12 has more strawberry notes and has a bigger mouth feel. The 13 has cherry notes or Kirsch it is my favorite and the best in my book. The rating is for the 2011. I would NOT recommend to age these wines. Drink NOW. Change! 11 now open for 7 days no oxidation better now! I adjusted the rating up. — 11 years ago

Bryan Garcia

Sales Grand Cru Selections

9.2

So much 🐴🍂✏️🚬 ! Nice to have an "off vintage" in pristine condition. Far from a blockbuster but delicious, soft, and very easy to drink. #birthyear — 11 years ago

Jenna Congdon

Sales Wine Wise/The Vienna Wine Co.

10

fave pink of the season so far — 12 years ago

Davis Smith

Sommelier Acquerello

10

One of the great wines of my life this far. I was tasting this 10 minutes after it was gone. My mom's birth year too so it's extra special — 13 years ago