Spencer Dodd

9.0

Second bottle of the to check if last time was a good bottle. 6/6 agreed they liked this more than the other Beaujolais I am rating after this. This wine once again has acidity and character, and had a sense of terroir. A little Air helps it out but I would highly recommend this especially for the price as a fun wine with some serious backbone behind it. Will buy it again! — 7 years ago

with Daniel, Jen and 1 other

Bryan Hopkins

8.9

For a 2014 bottle, I immediately get rich meatiness, wet leaves in Autumn, lots of smoke (like from burning Autumn leaves). On the palette, higher acidity than I might have expected, almost lemon-orange, which is far from what I would anticipate from a red Burgundy. Also astringent like tea. The scent gives a lovely complex sense of terroir, but unfortunately I don’t get it coming through as much on the palette. — 7 years ago

Matt

9.2

This is always so great. Combo of succulent orchard fruits, citrus, fresh honeysuckle and apple/lemon blossoms, poached quince, crushed rocks, kiss of oak. Very elegant and composed. Racy acid. Great floral lift. To me the oak added just enough sexiness without over taking the sense of terroir. — 8 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

Villa Symposia is the Languedoc label from Éric Prissette, the founder of Château Rol Valentin. The winemaking is overseen by Stéphane Derenoncourt. And from what I gathered, L'Origine is the flagship, or at least 'the' high-end cuvée here. The importer label indicates it's 95% Syrah, 5% Grenache (but a blog post from Taste Languedoc mentioned Carignan was added to the blend in 2012). The Syrah comes from the oldest vines of the estate, ~50 years old.

Opens with a noticeable amount of Brett, which can go either way for me. I view Brett like abstract art... done well and it's a beautiful lens to which to view a wine. However, when it's done poorly it's shit (literally). This was done very well. The pungent barnyard, stinky cheese, and saddle leather arrive heavily seasoned with baking spices, noticeably cinnamon, and herbs, including rosemary and tarragon. Ripe, dark bramble fruit, lavender oil, and pine resin pervade the palate and continue through the lengthy and structured finish. An extraordinary mix of the old and new world, while maintaining a clear sense of terroir, and providing an intensely vivid experience. It really hits its stride after 1.5 hours. Fair warning, if you don't like Brett at all then I wouldn't recommend this wine... however if you've ever liked a wine because of Brett, I suspect you'll enjoy. — 8 years ago

Elizabeth Smith

9.0

I love when I taste a wine and its bright berry flavors, structure, and cool-climate acidity reveal such a strong sense of place that you can't shake it. You sip and savor Finger Lakes Wine terroir and return to that very spot, Anthony Road Winery, and recall memories of years gone by. — 9 years ago

Evelyn Marin

9.3

Top 5 California Sauvignon Blanc from 50+ Year old vines. Incredible sense of terroir. Yes, from California. — 9 years ago

Ryan Wofford

9.2

Dark red fruit & spices. Great sense of terroir. Solid now or another decade #cdp #guigal — 9 years ago

Darren Manspile

8.9

New world fruit with old world sense of place — 9 years ago

with Craig and Aly

Steve Matthiasson

Owner/Winemaker Matthiasson Wines

9.5

First off, really fun varieties. But they combine to give a remarkable sense of sweetness in a dry white. And so complex. I love the layers and balance of white blends. — 10 years ago

Ben de Vin

9.3

Earth, smoke, you can taste the land. Terroir makes sense when you drink this wine. — 11 years ago

Meg Herring

9.0

Everything from Craft feels so bright, alive, and unique in the glass. This PN is no different. Classic PN profile with a strong sense of Willamette terroir. — 7 years ago

Maurizio Abbà

9.3

A very pleasant classic barolo from this family driven producer who proves once again to know his terroir and his grapes. There is no non-sense here, the wine is produced with full respect of the tradition and history that barolo carried with him through the centuries. The nose is dominated by berries jam, tobacco and pepper. Very soft on the palate, a surprise given the very hot summer the grapes experienced that year. My suggestion is to buy it as much as you can, it's easy to end up opening more bottles than what initially expected — 7 years ago

Barry Dumaw

9.1

This 2012 bottling from cahors is a very nice wine, young and fairly tight with some nice acidity and minerality. Some nice darker fruit flavors peek through along with some earthy tones. Thankfully not too sweet with a lower alcohol content and a nice dryer finish. Could use a little more skin contact for some more tannin structure. Sadly a lot of the French winemakers have been making their wines in a softer fruitier more modern accessible style( not all wines needed to be turned into fruity wines). And are losing the sense and tast of Terroir that French wines were famous for. Overall still a very nice example of a Cahors Malbec blend that will pair well with some fairly rich food, mine went well with steak and spicy garlic sweet potato. I do not decant wines as I like them a little rougher, not too fruity or softened up. Decant if you want to soften the tannins and bring out a little more of the fruit flavors either way it's an enjoyable wine. — 8 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.5

Holy smokes, no dosage and terroir!

R. Pouillon "Les Blanchiens" Mareuil-Sur-Ay 2007 "Brut Nature"

The persistence and density is profound while the terroir is perfectly on display. It does not taste like Champagne perse but more like a wine from a specific place with bubbles.

Complex and intertwined palate notes and a superbly fine bubbles create a texture of bead, mousse and that is then awash in pitch perfect acidity.

A good friend once said that while no dosage can seem crazy in some instances, in the right Champagnes it is great and can make so much sense.

This Pouillon is exactly one of those great instances! *Full Disclosure: I am not usually a fan of no dosage, especially in extreme examples - it just goes to show you have to always keep an open mind in wine (and life)! — 8 years ago

Jusden Aumand

8.9

Solid, good sense of terroir. Great value Bordeaux — 9 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.2

This producer always imparts a fascinating terroir imprint--texturally and aromatically conveys a sense of clay-driven earthiness, with peppery red and black fruit. — 9 years ago

Said Medina

9.0

One of the best Meritage blends I ever had. Makes sense bc the other is Opus One. You could almost say same wine different terroir?! Can you say that? Haha — 9 years ago

Chas Prasad

9.3

Chocolate and tobacco on the nose give way to bright berries on the palate. Beautiful blend from South Africa that blind would be an excellent Bordeaux yet has an unmistakable sense of South African terroir. — 9 years ago

Todd Anderson

9.4

Still very youthful and fruit forward, powerful, with great sense of terroir — 10 years ago

Mark Lenox

9.0

Oh my. Nice. Tight but not too tight. Hard to describe the flavors. Sense of terroir earthye. Yes, I spelled it that way on purpose. — 11 years ago

Kim Granlund

9.2

This is like terroir and fruit coming together for a big squeeze. The wild boar on the label makes a bit more sense after a few glasses.. This wine I right up my alley, and if I had the space, I would get it by the case. — 12 years ago

Eric Egan

9.2

The notes below are all from the Grand Fete de Saint-Jean in Faugeres (well, this year it was in Laurens, which was a bit of a shame as Faugères itself is a stunning place with a great atmosphere). My general impression was that this appellation is going from strength to strength - it will be interesting to see where it will be in 10 years’ time. The wines were all generally of a very high level (the best from the producers that attended are listed below); from the most traditional bottlings to the more modern efforts (though even the most modern is by no means an ‘international’ wine). I’ve been coming here for more than a decade and the wines were very good back then as well. However, now there is clearly more of a sense of pride in the terroir and finely tuned craftsmanship across the board. There are a few older producers that have always made stunning wines but joining their ranks recently are a bunch of young winemakers who have discovered the untapped potential of the region. Definitely an AOP to watch out for!

Slightly disappointed that they didn’t bring out the current vintage of Fossibus but can understand why, as the oak tends to dominate for a few years. This is in a better place right now; the oak is more integrated and, although I preferred the GR (below) for current drinking, this will probably be in a better place in 10-12 years’ time. — 7 years ago

Greg Koslosky

9.5

The best 2005 I have tasted in the bottle to date. Great aromatics with nice cool fruit flavors and a real sense of terroir. Great balance as well very impressive. From a low fill bottle that may have been a little more advanced . — 8 years ago

Michael Meyer

8.9

Juicy purity and freshness like a Beaujolais, but with a sense of Piemonte terroir. Italy is the king of varietal diversity, and Ruchè is definitely "out there" in terms of exotic rarity. I'd never heard of it. Very much worth seeking out. Fruit character is dark and wild yet vibrant - think wild blueberries or mulberries. Nice aromatics. Medium body and finish. Superb with a nice whitefish steak over risotto cake, grilled mushrooms, and artichoke purée. — 8 years ago

Conrad Green

9.6

Classy hair of the dog part 2. This was a revelation. Beautifully mature and leaner than the 90, it has a lovely complex palate of dark fruit, plum, violet, leather some great tart sour notes and a brambly, earthy, savory character. Good length... it reminded me of the 89 La Chapelle from last night. A really interesting wine that expresses the terroir perfectly. Uniquely this is higher in cab Franc than cab Sav (55% to 45- usually it's the other way around) and that makes sense on the palate. — 8 years ago

with Larry and Naoko

Jesse Lowenstein

9.5

You really get the sense of pure Sangiovese + Montalcino terroir with this Poggio. Classic Brunello nose and palate of fruit cherry leather smoke Tuscan dust minerality. Long long finish. Paired well with BBQ ribs steak sausage on a perfect Summer day. — 9 years ago

with Karen and Joe

Ethan Dunn

9.8

1979 vintage. Absolutely ethereal. Retained quite a bit of red fruit with a lovely touch of jalapeño and resounding sense of terroir. Gorgeous wine — 9 years ago

Yotam Sharon

Consulting Winemaker Gvaot, Miles, Alona; Blogger yotamsharon.com

9.1

A first taste of legendary geneticist Carole Meredith's wines from Mount Veeder. We had the 2011, 2012 and 2013, and while vintage variations were obvious, so was the sense of place common to all three. The 2012 is riper and broader than the leaner 2011, but classic Syrah pepper and floral notes are there. The 2013 was a touch sweet but these are wines clearly made with preservation of terroir character in mind. I'd love to retaste them with more age. Rating here is for the 2012. — 9 years ago

Pascal Levensohn

9.5

60 percent cab sauv. 25 percent Syrah. 15 percent merlot. Complex with tobacco and spice notes. Wonderful black olive flavors. I am starting to get a sense of the distinctive terroir of the Judean Hills. — 10 years ago

Ken Higgins

9.0

Very good chianti Classico in a classic sense. Good fruit, soft tannins, and great old wold terroir that makes the finish a great example of how good Sangiovese can be at a very reasonable price point. — 11 years ago