Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Follow up to the Clos Fourtet and to close out the Allen Brothers Ribcap.

The nose reveals, dark, ripe & slightly stewed fruits of; blackberries strawberries, black raspberries, black cherries, dry cranberries & blueberries. Steeped fruit tea, anise to black licorice, dark, fruit liqueur, dry crushed rocks, dry herbs, dry twigs, cinnamon, light nutmeg, clove and vanilla, leather, cedar, graphite, dry tobacco to cigar ash, dark spice, sweet tarriness, eucalyptus with candied mixed in with withering, dark florals & red, blue, purple flowers that are set in lavender.

The palate is, rich, ruby and round. The mouthfeel is glorious. This is a perfect window for a first bottle of the 08 Dunn Howell Mountain. The dusty tannins are round and about 50% resolved. This 04 has another 15-20 years of good drinking ahead of it...properly stored of course. Dark, ripe & slightly stewed fruits of; blackberries strawberries, black raspberries, black cherries, dry cranberries & blueberries. Steeped fruit tea, anise to black licorice, dark, fruit liqueur, dry crushed rocks, slightly, moist clay, dry herbs-sage, dry twigs, cinnamon, light nutmeg, clove and vanilla, lots of dark melted chocolate, mocha powder, leather, cedar, graphite, dry tobacco to cigar ash, dark spice, sweet tarriness, dry, dark earth, limestone minerals, slightly, moist clay, volcanics, eucalyptus with florals that are candied mixed in with withering. They are dark, red, purple, blue & violets that are set in lavender. The acidity is round and near perfection...Colorado rushing river like. The long, well knitted, balanced, elegant finish lasts minutes.

Just misses 95. It will be there in another 5-7 years and could stretch to 96 at its peak.

The advantage Howell Mountain has is it sits above the fog line (more sunlight hours) and benefits from cool nights giving it slightly longer vine fruit ripening & better acidity.

Photos of; the legend, Owner-Winemaker Randy Dunn, an aerial view of his Howell Mountain Vineyard, barrel room and landing pad to process fruit for fermentation. — 6 years ago

with Christina and James

Sam

9.3

Light body. Lovely Ruby color in direct sunlight. Cracked pepper on the nose, raspberry, red peppers and hints of leather on the tongue. Tannins are mild, almost not there, roll completely through. Very enjoyable but almost feels like needs a couple more years to mature. — 8 years ago

Sam Zimman

9.3

"Gamay/Malbec"
First of all, it's gamay/côt. Fabulous gamay burnt tire nose, bright smashed berry jolly ranchers melted into the backseat of said car w said tires. Drink chilled and in bright sunlight. — 9 years ago

James Ayling

9.0

This 2009 Italian powerhouse comes out swinging! Rich powerful berries of sunlight, high tannins / acidity. Enjoying this with my lovely wife. 👦🏻👩🏽🍷👌🏼 — 9 years ago

Jonathan Bennett

9.0

Had to crack this out seeing as average sunlight intensity over the last week has crossed my tried and true kW per square metre threshold.....:-) — 9 years ago

Gerald Moose Stacy

9.4

This is like that Saumur I once had. It's a lively and beautiful Riesling (yeah, not a Saumur) with all the luscious Riesling things it does, but right in the middle of it is this amazing burst of fresh sunlight on dewy leaves in the morning. So much richness! — 10 years ago

with Paul

JRWCSW

9.0

Beautiful ruby color in the sunlight, floral violet, clove, dusty aroma. Cranberry, white pepper, red fruits on the palate. — 11 years ago

Mervyn

9.5

When I took this from my storage, it was on the cold side. Left in the sunlight for two hours, and tasted so much better for it. A very smooth blend and very much to my palate — 6 years ago

Patrick V

9.4

The two big surprises of 2019 for me have both been Bourgogne AOCs; the first being Bachelet’s Rouge ‘15 and now PYCM’s Blanc ‘17. It is a beautifully captured handful of pale and sparkling sunlight - with billowing wafts of lemon peel and white peach. Obv depth is lacking compared to his village or GC, but still holds up very well with some really refreshing acidity and purity. — 7 years ago

Mathew

9.3

Lovely, bright, sunlight, apricot and slate. The natural sugars of the spatlese are there but chill after 21 years waiting #myfavoritethings — 8 years ago

Diane Withrow

9.5

Buttered apricots. Meadow. Pale golden. Sunlight. Golden. Rich. Kristy Yamaguchi? Crusty bread and cheese? Liver? Celebrating life? Simply lovely. — 8 years ago

Mark Oldman

10

1971 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands Échezeaux in magnum: hoped for an "8," landed a "10". Explosive nose of rose water and licorice and molasses, joined later by baked apple. Rich and exceedingly smooth texture, almost like olive oil. The finish keeps going, like the gustatory equivalent of ocean waves, pure and vibrant and fresh. Like drinking sunlight. - #DRC #wine #Burgundy #winewednesday — 9 years ago

Renny Cabreros

9.0

Medium bodied with hints of blackberries, licorice, and burst with energy and sunlight. A juicy Brunello that had me yearning for a steak. — 9 years ago

Christine Havens

10

From pre-phylloxera vines, Taylor's bought a small lot of only three barrels from the 1863 vintage that had been quietly resting in a cellar for well over a century—the producer had the foresight to reserve them when phylloxera swept through the region. An important wine because, as Taylor's staff pointed out, ungrafted vines no longer exist in the Douro. An incredible experience, and one that I felt lucky to have since the winery has fewer than 12 bottles remaining.

There is an incredible, concentrated sweetness on the nose; coffee, vanilla, maple syrup, and dried tobacco leaf. In the mouth, lacquered elegance, a long toffee-hued ribbon slowly unfurling, like removing a sheet from an ancient mahogany bureau, there is dust and warm wood and leather, layered against dates, dried orange skins and burnt sugar. Spiciness and minerality emerge on the finish, filtered sunlight through ancient glass and sea salt captured by time and slow evaporation. — 10 years ago

Julia Geisler

8.9

Thank you so much to Holly at The Whitby for sharing this pick! Very pleasant to talk with and a wonderfully versatile palate.
I received for Xmas one of those nice sunlight alarm clocks that goes off with chirping birds in the morning and weirdly that’s what I thought of when I took the first sip of this. Acidic but not in a way that makes you want to throw it out the window. A nice little wake up call (but for the evening! not the morning) with just a nice lil fruity kick to make it pleasant for sipping.
A reminder that I’d really like to try more orange wines for the sake of simply Understanding. — 6 years ago

with Chantelle

Tom Kobylarz

9.2

Girolamo Russo “a’Rina” 2016 Etna Rosso 🇮🇹 $25
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Nerello Mascalese (94%) and Nerello Cappuccio are the yin and yang of red grapes that grow exceedingly well in the wild and high altitude clime atop the Sicilian volcano #MountEtna.
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A hell of a bargain at about $25 as this crushes most Bourgogne/Hautes-Cotes under $50 and would give pricier versions a run for their money. It is also more complex now and ready to consume when compared to many similarly priced, well made “Langhe” Nebbiolo wines. From the @coravin this was ready to go and opened up well with 10-15 minutes in the glass.
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A youthful medium ruby color, fairly transparent. The nose suggests to me a red Burgundy, possibly a Beaune or Chassagne-Montrachet red from the wildness of the Etna character. A deep underpinning of rocky minerality, hints of ash, rose petal and purple florals, with dabs of red cherry and red plum fruit, sweet spices with hints of old leather jacket and unsmoked pipe tobacco. The palate is juicy and fresh, with refined, silky, ripe tannin that are youthfully firm. Excellent density and persistence, but light as a feather. Medium+ on the finish.
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Etna red wines are commonly described as having similarities to nebbiolo from Piedmonte and pinot noir from Burgundy. There are for sure some similarities, but make no mistake that Etna wines, when made well, refract the wild and volcanic Etna terroir well and are genuine in their own right. •
The complex volcanic soils of Etna, combined with some of the highest elevations for vineyards in Europe at 3,000+ feet, can produce wines with immense complexity and freshness. A sense if refinement comes across in the density without excessive weight, allowing for transparency of terroir. Most vines are trained in the traditional bush-vine method, which works well in the rocky soils that see a lot of wind and sunlight at these high altitudes.
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#GirolamoRusso #aRina #NerelloMascalese #NerelloCappuccio #EtnaRosso #Sicily #Italy #GiuseppeRusso #coravin #winesolutions #wine #winelover #somm #sommelier #instawine #wineporn #naturalwine #vinnaturel #winegasm #winegeek #vin #vino #vinos #vinhos #wein #ilovewine #winetasting #winetime — 8 years ago

Anthony Pro

8.9

Pecorino... ohhhh ohh! Pecorino, ohhhh ohh oh! I'm loving this winery. Lemon. See through the sunlight... she wore lemon. But never in the daylight. — 9 years ago

Marshal White

9.3

Beatiful bottle. Just enough richness. Powerful tannin. Plums, leather, tobacco shot through with sunlight — 9 years ago

Ryan Brandt

8.9

A tame Sauvignon Blanc, you can tell the sunlight exposure changes this SB from others in cooler climates. Enjoyed it overall though. — 10 years ago

David Kline

9.5

Lemon and green pineapple leap from the glass but so do green apple, smoke, schist, mushroom, lemon pudding aromatics. Green apple and lemon oils draped over an iron structure of immense, polished acidity.tart lime, basil, green onion and of course, white pepper to last and last. Enormous and refined. Bright as sunlight, but nuanced. Amazing on so many levels!! What a pleasure to drink! — 11 years ago

with Courtney