Ely Cohn

9.3

Pinotage is a grape everyone loves to hate, but I think it has parts to love. Kanonkop makes an ambitious, bold showy wine that swings big, has to nail it, and mostly does. To me, the Pinotage tell is a thing of smoking wet tar and milk chocolate coffee sludge. That's here. Follows with black pepper, bourbon spice and a curious banana note which I think may just be oak and smoke stacked sideways. Then follow the dark fruits. Blue plums and blackberries, and an underlying mineral saltiness. There's lots here and lots to love. — 5 years ago

Mikey T

9.2

$143 not sure how I purchased this, I think online after I found this in France, I remember it being better there. Maybe it’s just too hot here for a Pinot here and honestly it followed The Judge so the deck was stacked against it. — 7 years ago

S.S. Mandani

9.1

This wine’s bouquet brings to the fore memories of the sea. Once I take a sip, I picture a tapas restaurant with mahogany paneling, ambience lighting, and linen tablecloths.

At first taste, well-balanced. Perfect rich and tart berry flavors with a hint of natural vanilla and oak. Not too tannic and light & bouncy on the tongue. For me, I would love this with whitefish ceviche, tacos, and/or pasta.

Versatile and affordable.

Reminds me of a platitude I live by in terms of wine (and life), “If it tastes good, drink it.” I can still hear Larry, the spectacled, fourth generational New Yorker yell from behind the counter, bottles stacked on cardboard boxes, of his boutique downtown wine shop on Maiden Lane.

$6.99 — Trader Joe’s — 7 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.1

The Generous Pour at The Capital Grill. This delightful wine event stacked with Houston Restaurant Weeks was an instant win 💯

Paired nicely with a classic wedge salad. Perfect summer lawn party pounder. — 7 years ago

with Krystal

Alan Weinberg

9.6

simply stunning wine that led the field in a packed and stacked night. Vosne spice and a great finish that truly fanned out like a peacock's tail--all the DRC superlatives are appropriate with this bottle. Blew the 85 away, as it was surprisingly closed compared to 78. — 9 years ago

R. Addison Wehrfritz

9.5

Inky dark color with bold and brooding fruit on the nose. You can almost feel the Syrah and Zinfandel gracefully grappling with each for dominance in the glass. Their internal clash has rounded out the edges and imparted great muscularity that culminates in a velvety finish, 10 seconds+. Adamantine. — 9 years ago

with Melissa

Daniel McCullough

9.8

22eme - first time trying and boy did this deliver (and it was stacked up against some stiff competition) singing from the first sip — 5 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Stunning nose. Buffet is so great. Deep cherry, deep black cherry, deep berries, plum, spice, lavish minerals, layered and deep. Wow, palate is stacked. Pure fruit, tons of cherries, impressive concentration. Energetic edges but creamy in the middle. Dense, structured and energetic with big, imposing but ripe tannins. The lower wines are terrific for now in 18, but the higher ones once they age will be legend. But they will need age. Wonderful finesse and elegance but big late breaking ripe and juicy tannins. — 6 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Wow. Super wow. What a nose. Stunning. Haunting. Elegant. Ethereal. Pungent. Floral. Game. Feral. Meaty. Amazing precision. Just ridiculous. How can a wine this great be only $60! Côte Rotie is such a value. Wow. Palate is stacked like the best 15’s can be. So juicy and structured. What poise, precision and balance. Some wood peeking out but that is expected of young Burgaud. Stunning depth, focus and purity. What finesse. It’s big, it’s rich but it’s also elegant, light and finesse driven, with a stunning, drop you in your tracks granite finish. Wow. Echoes on the palate forever. Just keeps giving more and more. Huge depth, power and concentration but comes off as so refined and pretty. Wow. Just achingly beautiful. What a wine. — 7 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.2

The Generous Pour at The Capital Grill. This delightful wine event stacked with Houston Restaurant Weeks was an instant win 💯

Solid Cab that pairs nicely with a Kona-crusted dry aged NY strip. — 7 years ago

with Krystal

jarred gild

Head Wine Buyer Western Market

9.2

i DI'd and stacked this four years ago and nobody bought it. here's hoping the market has developed as much as it seems. — 9 years ago

with Personne

Tom Kobylarz

10

To me the most complex wine of the night offering a deep cerebral experience, with what I thought of as a berry bouquet garni was the 2000 Haut-Brion. The most contemplative, while also a deeply pleasurable wine, offered layers of classic Bordeaux notes of toast, coffee, currants, cassis, subtle & smokey campfire embers, cigar box...the list goes on and most of that was in the nose. The palate was texturally seamless, packed and stacked with structure that never got in the way, though you would notice it on the finish letting you know it was there.

2005 was locked up and unrelenting at first, the second go an hour later was more repenting but it was still not nudging much. A thoroughly excellent wine, but just not revealing much beyond the hints of its greatness.

#hautbrion #pessacleognan #bordeaux #wine — 9 years ago

Brandie Dixon

9.1

Fabulous wine even stacked against opus one tonight. Definitely could age more but strong structure and complexity. Deep color and earthiness that leaves an intense finish — 9 years ago

Jeremy Reuling

8.9

Really solid Cabernet Sauvignon...not overly complex, but very full flavored and leathery in a good way. The best part is that I didn’t even know I had it until last week because it had rolled back into the stacked pallets I used to use as a wine storage system and I found it as I was taking them out of my basement. Probably it was in there a couple of years. — 5 years ago

Jeffrey Williams

9.5

Excellent blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Hugh and complex Meritage blend that’s intense yet so smooth. — 6 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

What a stunner. I’ve been so anxious to try the 2017 vintage from the Southern Rhône and if this is an indicator of the general quality then we’re really in for a treat. The Rasteau from Beaurenard is stacked with the freshest brambles, blueberries and lavender. On the palate the dark fruits are perfectly ripe and wonderfully fresh. There’s a delightful weight about it too. I can hardly wait to try the CdPs! — 7 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.3

The Generous Pour at The Capital Grill. This delightful wine event stacked with Houston Restaurant Weeks was an instant win 💯

Freakin’ delicious as always. — 7 years ago

with Krystal

Kenta Hayashi

9.1

Unlike a 2009, secondary aromas of autumn leaves stacked on cherries and dried figs once again. Quite candied. Fleeting and light which made me guess 2007. Charming :) — 8 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.2

The Pavilion Rouge de Margaux 1998 was a stacked little powerhouse of a wine. Great color, here too a it had a deep ruby robe. A very solid effort here that held its own adding it's Margaux-ness to the flight with some added oomph and pop from some firmer than expected tannin, offset by rich and perfumed dark red fruits, smoke, toast and subtle spice. — 9 years ago

Rachelle Mazar

9.0

Full bodied and fruit forward, nicely balanced. This wine is more Syrah with Grenache and Mourdverde. Blackberry, cassis with hints of anise and mineral notes adding complexity on the finish. — 9 years ago