Thomas Brenner

9.3

This brawny Rutherford SB is much like that kid that joined the marines just for fun. Bronzed pear color. Fat legs coat the glass upon initial swirl. Robust, rich and perhaps almost pine-tinged flavors of lime and kiwi. Bold, with a nice, weighty mouthfeel. Has body and bite. Was very lucky to find this wine indeed. Yellow flowers and a slight honeyed essence from the Semillion with a present minerality. I think zesty is a great adjective for this Rutherford SB — 9 years ago

Martin Bergo

9.0

Pale yellow with green tint, tearstaining mouthwatering swirl; sweet delicious citric nose; rich and robust bone-dry taste with fairly high alcohol, and long finish dominated by acid and tart green apple and some 3iery aromas. Nice message in this bottle from Wittman. Want to try Morstein next. — 10 years ago

Erin Ferraro

9.5

Great inexpensive Rioja, bought from Swirl and Sip — 11 years ago

Ron R

9.0

A very good Rioja, which was a pleasant surprise. Notes of prunes, sweet berries and black olives swirl in the glass. The palette is glossy, with polished tannins and very bright acidity. Finishes sweet, with a long tail. Excellent value for a $15 wine. — 10 years ago

with Anne-marie

Rosie Macdonald

9.0

Dark dark fruit, cinnamon swirl, nutmeg and liquorice. Slightly briny with minuscule spritz. Well balanced mid length — 10 years ago

Jim Walsh

9.0

2010 Vintage. Pleasantly surprised. Clean, fruity and full bodied. Let this wine swirl around in your mouth. Smooth tannins, crisp finish. — 11 years ago

with Christopher

Matt Kiessling

9.2

Bananas!!!! (And not the fruit-crazy, yeasty, brilliant) We couldn't sniff, swirl, and sip enough it seemed. If you enjoy esoteric wines it needs to be on your list. — 11 years ago

Lyle Coffield

Sommelier Kokkari, Evvia Estatorios

9.1

Out of the bottle into the glass. A suspiciously translucent and raisiny brown. This wine suffers from progeria... not a bad thing if your a 2011 Barolo sitting open on my counter but extremely unfortunate if your lying around in some cellar doing nothing. The clock is ticking on this one. A quick swirl and a whiff meh... Smells like Nebbiolo. Cheap Nebbiolo. First taste mere seconds in the glass.... Flat and watery... Watery, the key sign of an oxygen starved bottle... Some wines need to breathe... Some don't. This one does. Just a little... A baby's breath... Well actually, I dipped an aero latte in it and gave it a whirl until it developed a rich creamy head and Wow! This little wrinkly, raisinated tot matured into Barolo! With roses and tar and terra cotta earthiness and a palate to match. What a surprise! — 10 years ago

Dock Hooks

9.2

Maroon to burgundy with a deeper burgundy rim, spin it around and dampened earth and last night's smoldering fire hits but mellows to spice interestingly accenting camomile and a way far-off Play-Doh fantasy then back to the smoldering ember blueberries and strawberries unctuously coating, clinging front to back, then the tannins squeeze the acid and fruit just enough to slow the flow for a lazy decent into a skinny-dipping swim, swirl and, hell yes, another swig, which at a mere 12% I want to dance all night! Don't know about you, but I plan to snag a couple of cases of this seductive stuff with the sunrise. For now, "a glass of red and the sunset..." — 10 years ago

Ariana Preece

9.7

"Our" wine from Oliver. From Swirl or Steamworks only. — 12 years ago

with Bart