Sarah Milsow-Guenther

9.3

This just keeps getting better. The Stoney Vine funk is still very present but subdued a bit. Such a lovely wine, bummer it isn’t being made any longer. — 4 years ago

Steve Rura

9.4

Outstanding wine. On the young side, but I really savored it and geeked out 🤓

On opening:

Very restricted and obviously young. Tight, bitter, stoney aroma in the glass. Not the best time to drink it, but not bad and clearly well made. Not much alcohol showing, even at 15% abv

2+ hours:

Starts to open up with underripe raspberry fruit and herbal aromatics

3rd day:

Fully open with amazing red fruit complexity. Raspberry is still leading with dry notes of current and cranberry. Savory and white pepper, refined acidity and balance. — 5 years ago

Lisa Gagne

9.0

Nice balanced grapefruit hints, not too overpowering — 5 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.1

What a smokeshow. Gorgeous nose of cherry liquer, cassis and lavender. Amazing purity and so not gloppy Grenache. Smell those Galets. Spice and licorice as well. Palate is so fresh and elegant with unreal purity. So juicy and Stoney with a trickle of heat but as it airs it will integrate. Lovely texture and freshness. Long finish. — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.5

When Mrs Es been away in the 🇺🇸 all week & she lands .. what does she want 🤣 I think the 2012 is the best priced, finessed & yet w/ depth Sass going @ £107 (now £145+) from 09-15 vintages although 09 & 15 are my favourites 👍

📍 Sassicaia 2012

🏵 95 points

🍇 85% Cabernet Sauvignon & 15% Cabernet Franc

🍷 Dark opaque ruby

👃 Minty, herby, sweet cedar & soft smoked oak through dark cherries, raspberry jam, peppery spiced light blackcurrant & wild blackberry w/ stoney minerals, clove, lavender, liquorice & leather 😍

👄 Med body of silky elegant ripe spiced blackcurrant w/ cracked rock mineral & liquorice tones

🎯 Med+ black fruit blackcurrant driven wallop w/ mocha & raspberry liquorice slap
— 7 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.1

Very fruity, very floral, very kinky, palate is super granite with superb stoney tannins. Very clean. Juicy. Excellent. — 7 years ago

TheSkip

9.2

Well then. Still on the WA train!

If there were some magical continuum of wine, this is immediately to the left of hyper extracted Pinot Noir. I don't know that it would be accurate to call it a Pinot-lovers Syrah, but I'll go with that anyway. — 8 years ago

Sarah Milsow-Guenther

9.2

Liked this vintage a lot better. A nice balance of funk and fruit. — 4 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Yowza. This is crazy. Stunning mid season cherry. Just phenomenal pure, deep and clear cherry. Sick clarity here. 9.6 nose. Just insane. Stones, soil, licorice as well. Floral. So focused. Amazing fruit clarity here. Top notch. Superb concentration and power. Sappy and so pure. Electric freshness and just ridiculous energy. This is so balanced, deep and well made. Big noble tannins that are perfectly ripe and just gorgeous. Juicy clean fruit and so stoney and mineral. Utterly classic and superb Pommard. 103 year old vines. — 5 years ago

Stacy Stadnik

9.1

Everything from this area is money. — 5 years ago

Al Shikoh

9.0

* appearance: dark purple
* aromas: blackberry, black olive, vanilla, cracked pepper, smoke
* palate: very dense, black fruit, black olive
* structure: full bodied, medium+ acidity, medium tannins, 14.7% ABV
* finish: long, peppery
* winemaking: 100% Syrah blended from three vineyard: Les Collines Vineyard (44%)/Lewis Vineyard (41%)/Stoney Vines Vineyard (15%), aged for 17 months in 15% new oak and 85% older oak barrels
* cost: $45 — 7 years ago

Matt

9.3

Incredible value, punching well above its weight class. Classic CNDP character and texture, true to form and class. There’s a deal of finesse here not often seen at this price point. To me another example of Mourvedre’s place in CNDP’s future regarding climate change. Nose is ripe and confitured blackberry, roasted black plum, Provençal herbs, mocha, hot stones. Palate confirms nose; plump black fruit framed by stony minerality, garrigue, and white pepper. Underlying savory elements of meat and smoke. Tannins are assertive yet very fine, again very stoney in character. Acid is fresh, almost has a Gigondas or elevated character to it. Pure class with plenty if soul. Will develop quite well but so delicious right now. 70 GR 30 MV — 7 years ago

Nancy Croisier, CSW

9.2

Great smokey nose, nice representation of Walla Walla Syrah w savory notes. — 8 years ago

Douglas Braun

9.0

Guava beeswax Stoney minerality leesy character (less of the perfume of Malvasia) really fun — 8 years ago

Douglas Braun

9.1

2011 vintage red rim color really pretty bottle bouquet mushroom , earthy , spice , anise , spiced strawberry jam, Stoney ,still some major soft tannins (rim color between red and brick) great time to drink — 5 years ago

Douglas Braun

9.1

2013 Vintage - amazing salinity Stoney character -lemon/lime zest , good acidity — 5 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.3

Sourced from the esteemed ‘Stoney Vine Vineyard’ in the Walla Walla Rocks AVA, the 2017 ‘Tall Tales’ Syrah begins with lovely stony undertones that mingle with the green olive tapenade, bacon fat, cigar ash and clove aromatics that all marvelously combine in the glass. The texture imparted is seriously good as is the flavor range from Satsuma orange zest to ripe red cherry to shades of Umami, bulls blood and sweet pipe tobacco. Delicious now, this will continue to evolve well over the next eight to ten years — but why wait? Drink 2019-2026- 93 — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.6

A rare wine 98 RP wine from Clos Mogador we grabbed at the winery for €180 that’s needs a big decant to free the powerful yet elegant complexities that stir within 😍 still totally overpriced I think 🤔

📍 Clos Mogador Espectacle del Montsant 2007 (more pics of label ⏩ on Instagram)

🐮 Paired w/ slow cooked beef 🥩 & Mrs Es Mac cheese 🧀 👌 but was better w/ beef vs cheese 😉

🏵 96 points

🍇 100% Grenache from 120+ year old vines

🍷 Deep garnet ruby w/ brown edge

👃 Spiced peppery black cherry, smoke, earthy truffle & a touch of red berry fruits w/ a subtle gravel flinty minerality

👄 An elegant med body of intense ripe concentrated black cherry silkyness that’s not overpowering incredibly w/ earthy truffled red berry fruits & dry rich stoney rock minerals

🎯 Long earthy dark cherry, red berry & slight blackberry earthy touch dry stone mineral linger
— 7 years ago

Thomas Ng

8.9

Light but funky nose, fruitier and not as dark as the other reserve syrahs from VA piano, very smooth — 7 years ago

Nate Miles

9.1

Stoney stream water. — 8 years ago