Ivor

9.1

Good barolo on the verge of breaking into the tertiary territory. Concentrated lush fruits, sticky tar, asphalt and softening tannines. I prefer them a step further down the road so I’ll revisit in two years. — 4 years ago

Vinoland.com

9.6

Barbaresco of a beautiful vintage, 2008, coming from a, we can say it, grand cru of Barbaresco, the Montestefano, completely exposed to the South, good component of blue marl in the subsoil.
The wine after two hours of opening is expressed with intense balsamic sensations of gentian, liquorice, dark chocolate and dark tones such as underbrush, musk and mushrooms and hints of ripe fruit.
Tannin still tense and alive, significant that would still be able to age very well.

Great Barbaresco with a complex and rich sip, fully representative of the territory.

Very little sulphur and intervention both in the vineyard and in the cellar.

Highly recommended — 6 years ago

Por La Vida

9.2

A well made wine with 16 years of age? An extremely enjoyable experience. Shows the textbook signs of aging with beautiful faded coloring, sophisticated and round nose, and firm tannins. Despite its medium body, it’s relatively big and full bodied on he mouth. It has moved beyond the fruit that typifies CDR Village and onto more dry, refined, chateau Neuf du pape territory. Thoroughly enjoyable and drinking well now. — 6 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.4

Reticent at first, but it gains serious intensity and minerality with air. The fruit is lush, concentration quite remarkable, yet astoundingly weightless - a real lesson in tension. This is clearly treading into 1er territory. — 7 years ago

Ted Corvey

9.5

Amazing how young this still is, but after it opened up I found myself just kept smelling it. In tertiary flavor territory. Rose, cherry, light tar, and rich wood notes on the nose almost perfectly mirrored on the palate followed by a crazy long finish. Beautiful wine, that once again I drank way to soon. Patience is a New Years resolution. — 8 years ago

Marc Stubblefield

Wine Sales at Vino Carta and Kogod Wine Merchant

9.1

I've been on the hunt for this for a while now, and I'm happy to finally get some in my glass. The juicy cab franc with its spicy and peppery undertones does take in a Loire direction, but then the zweigelt adds a different sort of funk that pushes it into new territory. A lot going on here for such a quaffable wine, and it comes across as dynamic, alive and idiosyncratic. It also pushes all my happy buttons. Yum. Holla @Phil Ashton! — 9 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

I'm not sure if I wasn't expecting it, but this was so good, so immediately, I think it did surprise me. The perfume is laden with lavender and rich cherry that frequently ventures into kirsch territory. Heavily seasoned with Asian spice, orange peel, licorice, and sautéed herbs. Everything translates though and is heightened in the mouth, notably the lively sweet and sour cherry. The lengthy follow through adds stone-based minerality to an already complex and beautiful wine. But don't be mislead, this leans towards hedonistic in style. 94+ — 9 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

These are night 2 notes. (I thought I entered notes on Night 1, but they weren’t there, so Night 2 it is. And that’s a bonus for this wine because it’s better on Night 2.)

Nose is gorgeous, with sweet, sultry cherry ooze, Graham cracker, some moist humus, and a dark florality. Very soft and enveloping in the mouth, great fruit on entry, good mid-palate density and ripeness, and a long finish that tails into savory territory. Really fine value. — 4 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.4

@Dominik SonaYou're the best! Walks off into the cellar, comes out carrying a massive bottle in a sleeve that could barely cover the label. I just love how ridiculous magnum riesling bottles look! I mean, we could see that it's a Koehler-Ruprecht for sure and the table shot straight to a warm vintage on the first sip (warm finish). Didn't take long for Franzi to identify the vintage and the rest of the pieces fell together subsequently (the body = spatlese, forget identifying the "R"). Guess making wines at the winery itself helps 😂

What to say about this wine? It's pretty intense, but the acidity and minerals kept it in check. Finely strung with pitch-perfect tension. This is the kind of wine that needs very little to push it over the edge into the hedonistic territory. Begs for time (like other 09's), as it's true elegance only revealed itself with air (bring on the crushed rocks and chamomile!). The nose is deep, with exotic fruit aromas, flint, toasted almond, florals, and that classic KR funk. Immense palate with lots of lychee and grapefruit, plus superb minerality with air. Creamy and long finish. Yes, the wine finishes a little warm and could be touch more focus, but it's a real class act for 09'! Power without weight, if you ask me. — 6 years ago

Jay Root

8.9

Nice fruit.solid jam texture. I am enjoying this wine, but not head over heels. Something tells me I should really live it—given the grape composition, territory, etc. overall still a very nice wine — 7 years ago

Tom Dare

9.3

2012 is lovely red fruits, needs a few more years, but delightful now. Maggie is on top of her game, in serious territory, — 8 years ago

Erik Nordman

8.9

A new first for me! Slovenian Sauvignon Blanc. Clean, fresh juicy, not veering too far into the super-pungent unripe gooseberry and blackcurrant territory. Pours a very pale green-tinged straw hue. Moderate concentration of aromatics of lime juice and zest, grapefruit pith and pulp, guava, wet stone, tarragon, and a lager-y leesy undercurrent. On the palate, the fruit character is riper and more guava-oriented, alongside more wet stone, tarragon + a bit of cilantro, and slightly lagery lees influence. Acid is medium (+) to high, dry, light body but with supple texture. Alcohol is medium (+ and ever so slightly hot on the palate but definitely at a tolerable level. Pretty solid stuff. — 8 years ago

Daragh Hoey

9.0

A lithe and mineral Pinot Blanc, with all the sweet balance you would expect from great Riesling territory. — 9 years ago

Joe Weinberger

9.1

Cuvée N - Lapierre’s non-sulphured Morgon. The 2019 vintage is very accessible now, but I think could give even more pleasure with some short to medium term aging. Lapierre certainly has a “house style” and this fits squarely into a similar structure as past vintages. The fruit is very high toned (almost verging on VA territory), and there is ample acidity that should carry this wine for years to come. — 5 years ago

Martinez

9.0

Sometimes dismissed as Burgundy’s lowliest category, Passetoutgrains - which loosely translates to “all grapes allowed”- is a type of field blend made with at least one-third Pinot Noir and no more than two-thirds Gamay, traditionally planted and fermented together. In a territory prime for Pinot Noir, where this grape often reaches astronomical prices, however, Gamay is however gradually being pullet out, making Passetoutgrains an increasingly rare find. This juicy, quaffable blend is two-thirds Gamay from Gilly-les-Citeaux and one-third Pinot Noir from Chambolle-Musigny. — 6 years ago

Scott Taddeo

9.2

Having tasted some of the worlds best Cabernet all day I had my doubts as to how this would hold up, turns out I needn’t worry. Laced with violets and eucalypt lift supported by fresh black currant, black currant pastille, plum skin, pencil shavings and toasty oak. Just avoids going into full bodied territory, but the swathe of tannin and fresh acidity keeps the wine in balance. Still a baby. — 7 years ago

Matt Trader

9.3

What a fantastic wine. Wow. Though these guys are known pioneers in the upcoming Natural Wine world, this particular vintage was a hard year in a number of ways, resulting in a unfamiliar territory for the family. However, this wine was out-freaking-standing.
Slightly funky on the nose, but beautiful red fruit and luscious velvet tannin on the palate. Absolutely my favorite pizza wine now. — 7 years ago

Barb Anderson

9.0

Perfumed brightness, tangy red fruit and a rich lingering finish. — 8 years ago

Matt Franco

9.0

Super cool in many ways. The ripest by far. Getting into ripe old Nebbiolo territory. But still delicious. — 9 years ago

James Shamas

8.9

New territory for me but very nice weeknight wine with weeknight roasted chicken. Lovely acidity. — 9 years ago