Lee Pitofsky

9.5

The Bernard Boisson Vadot bottlings (particularly Genevrières) are all so good. I think the kids are not yet matching the quality of Bernard. Even the frost laden 2016 vintage is fantastic tonight, rich, textural and so vibrant with great depth at the core, racy citrusy acids and the perfect amount of attractive flinty reduction. Great bottle. — 3 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.3

I’ve heard for years about the wildly extroverted and extra-ordinary Sancerre wines from Sebastien Riffault. His wines are an outlier of ripeness in a sea of lean high acid chalky juice. Rich with an amber glow.

He picks his Sauvignon Blanc at the last minute to reach a level of ripeness you’d never expect could come from the tiny cold pocket of the Loire.

Now I like both styles, but this is super fun and something completely new to me.

Think juicy peach, fresh apricot, and bright yellow pineapple. But still with high acid - nothing flabby. — 5 years ago

Jonathan Salky

9.3

This wine was great. Smooth, no tannis, restrained dark fruit and leather, like a pomerol. Perfect age. Wish I had more! — 6 years ago

October Cleveland

9.1

Yeaaahh boooii — 6 years ago

Jonathan Wall

9.3

Bad frost killed the vintage but the few grapes that prevailed made a stunning wine! So fresh. It just explodes out of the glass. Opened years too soon. — 7 years ago

Craig Pritzlaff

9.3

Rich and smokey. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

New ice wine producer for me from Yakima Valley. Paired well with Hedy's ice cream & sorbet creation. Nice array of stone fruits, marmalade, nuts, dry pineapple, wet stones, very good soft minerality, beautiful acidity, a thick, rich well polished finish with just the right amount of (RS) sugar. — 8 years ago

Antoinette

9.5

Really enjoyed this while on vacation in Bucyrus Ohio and at Cedar Point. — 8 years ago

ESF

9.5

Sublime - just so in the pocket, soaring aromas of dusty cherries, spice, tar, violets, almost a tawny character. So textbook. Seamless flawless palate, the tannins are just perfectly resolved & elegant balance w/acidity, just enough secondary flavors mingled w/cherries on palate through lengthy velvety finish. — 3 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.4

Appassimento dry racked - my first of this style. Rich and ripe, thick tannin but far from overdone, lovely savoury black olive, mild spice, nice grip and enough acidity to keep it in balance. Keeps me coming back for more. — 5 years ago

Lindsay Walker

8.9

Soft tannins and smooth finish. Pretty good for the price. — 5 years ago

David Kline

9.2

Solid black base with cappuccino frost. Fine bubbled spring snow-melt-on-medium-range-mountain lacing. Just shy of sweet, chocolate nose with coffee dusting. Cocoa shell, sprouted barley grain toast, dark rye, medium grilled beef loin. On the palate, cocoa nibs, dark chocolate shavings, mocha grind, with a zippy chocolate effervescence throughout. Top-notch porter, with a balanced body and great depth in a fine porter. — 6 years ago

Jody Scharf

9.5

Nose of apple and plum. Ready but young in color. A little acid, medium body, fruitier than minerals. — 7 years ago

Katharine Scott

9.0

Such a well balanced Sauv Blanc! Very pleasantly surprised, I️ really loved this one. Crisp and smooth with a wonderful oiliness and a bit of acidity but not too much. Makes my heart warm on these cold winter nights 😅 — 8 years ago

Andrew Keenan

9.4

Moores. 2016. $18 on special. Surprisingly complex for a Macon Villages. Apparently an early frost helped super concentrate the surviving grapes. — 8 years ago

Scott Rowe

9.0

Sitting in an amazing little pocket of joy right now. — 8 years ago

Jeremy.Buss

9.2

Still hard to believe this is a Syrah! Feel like this is a combination of a Pinot, Merlot and maybe Syrah. Very limited pepper in this with tons of fruit-forward flavors. Highly recommend this and if you ever get to hear Doug Frost in person recommending this wine it is well worth it. — 3 years ago

Kevin Løk

8.9

I’m back, bitches. Dead phone for three weeks took me out of the Delectable game for a minute. Rest assured it was only some nasty pocket lint up in the charging port of my iPhone 6s. Meanwhile. Been drinking (obviously), will post later some of my exploits during my offline time. Meanwhile. This doesn’t totally connect for me as a Barbera, but it’s good. Natural wine must and raisins intrude on what I normally like about this varietal (which is one my faves, in general). Missing that spiciness but hey. Happy to be back on the Delectable wagon. — 5 years ago

with Caroline

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I have mentally thought about doing this post for quite awhile. Opening this 2003 Verdignan brought on the appropriate moment. I am a believer in paying respects and it’s the basis of this post.

We learn to drink certain wines from the regions we live near or from the people we learn & enjoy wine with as we walk the road to understanding what we really enjoy. I started as an exclusive CA Chardonnay drinker for many years before moving on to nearly every varietal and regions offer. Next was Napa Cabernets which, led me to my true love, red Bordeaux. It was a bit of curve getting there but, once I had them with proper aging, I was hooked for life.

While my curiosity got me to Bordeaux wines, there one person that helped shape my Bordeaux palate and I agreed with more than anyone else’s, including every well known wine critics at that time and even today after spending 10 weeks learning from several Master Sommeliers on my way to passing the Court of Master Sommeliers exam and becoming a Sommelier myself. This person is Clyde Beffa Jr., Owner of K&L Wine Merchants.

Clyde has been traveling to Bordeaux for over 40 years and sometimes multiple times in a year. His palate and experience are second to none. Especially, when it comes to Bordeaux.

I owe him a lot. He taught me the importance of letting good Bordeaux’s age 20 years plus. What were the jewel value producers. Brought in Bordeaux wines direct from the Chateaus that had 10 years of bottle age and older. Bordeaux’s that critics did not like young but, he knew something special had taken place over time as he was tasting them much later in their lives and often. I bought and drank a lot of these wines. They also kept temptation at bay in me reaching for my too young and more expensive wines.

He is very kind and kind enough to allow me to travel with him & key staffers to the 2014 En Premier to taste what was a very difficult 2013 Bordeaux vintage. You can go to En Premier and then there is going with Clyde. You have all the key appointments, Chateau accommodations/dinners and taste somewhere around 1500 plus wines in 6 days. He is loved by the Bordelais and for good reason.

So, I dedicate this post to him. He is the one who told me to buy this little known 2003 Verdignan at the same “Affordable Bordeaux Tasting” I mentioned in my Chateau de Candale post on Friday. As of Friday, that was the wine of the tasting. Well…until I coravined this slowly over the weekend. This 2003 was under $25 and it is one of the very best Bordeaux’s I had in some time. As well, perhaps the best QPR in my over 20 years collecting wine. Clyde knew that day just how good it would become. He said, forget about this for 20 years. So, I am a little early here.

Clyde has recommended more great Bordeaux’s to me that most people don’t hear about, let alone try. He told me to buy the poorly reviewed 91 Pichon Lalande when he brought more into the store seven years ago Chateau direct. It was a very difficult vintage with spring frost, hail storm and a difficult growing season. He described as “Heaven in a Bottle” and It most certainly the case. To this day, Pichon Lalande is my favorite steak wine and the 91 is still my favorite vintage. I purchased a 3L from him recently that he brought in direct from the Chateau for my 60th next year. Can’t wait to open that with our good friends and celebrate.

As for the Verignan, the nose reveals; dark brooding & slightly bake fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, black plum, some poached strawberries & haunting blue fruits. Black tea, forest floor with leaves, anise, limestone, moist clay, dry crushed rocks, dry stones, beautiful, mid intensity dark spice, dry tobacco, graphite, mixed dark berry cola, understated, well layered baking spices; clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, dry herbs, mint with candied; dark, red, blue and purple florals.

The body is full, rich, lush, satiny with plenty of well rounded, soften tannins. The tension, structure, length and balance are excellent and will continue to improve. This will last another 15 years and beyond with proper storage. This is a very classic Bordeaux well balance in fruit and earth. It is sheer elegance on the palate. It’s why I love Bordeaux more than Napa and I love Napa Valley Cabernet. Dark brooding & slightly bake, ripe fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, black plum, boysenberries, some poached strawberries & haunting blue fruits. Black tea, dark chocolate bar, touch of mocha powder, light caramel notes, Expresso notes, forest floor with leaves, anise, limestone, moist clay, dry crushed rocks, dry stones, beautiful, mid intensity dark Asian & Indian spices with just right amount of palate heat, dry tobacco, graphite, dry twigs with a little sap, mixed dark berry cola, understated, well layered baking spices; clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, dry herbs/sage, mint with candied; dark, red, blue and purple florals. The acidity is round and nearly perfect. The long finish is, classic, elegant, well balance fruit and earthy Bordeaux that persists softly on the palate for minutes with just the right amount of spice.
This is a heady wine that you really think about as you slowly sip and it affects your whole body. Can’t wait to have another in five years.

Photos of; Chateau Vergignan in Medoc near St. Estephe, their vineyard that reveals where Bordeaux gets its earthiness, Owner Jean Miaihle who acquired the property in 1972 and a wide shot of their vines. — 5 years ago

Patrick Vanhoucke

9.0

LONGING FOR THE SOUTH

Yesterday I drank this very nice Macedonian semi-dry T'ga za Jug red wine.

The wine is made of the native grape variety Vranec. It has an intense red color, and the distinctive taste of raisins and raspberries, which make it a nice sweet treat (hence: semi-dry).

The wine is named after the poem ‘Taga za Yug’ of the Bulgarian poet Konstantin Miladinov (1830–1862), one of the Miladinov brothers, who originate from Ottoman Macedonia. Both brothers are thought to have laid the foundation of the Macedonian literary tradition.

‘Taga za Yug’ means ‘longing for the South’ (el anhelo por el Sur): "If I had an eagle's wings, I would rise and fly on them to our shores, to our own parts [...] Here are frost and snow and ashes, blizzards and harsh winds abound [...] There the sunrise warms the soul".

When it is cold outside, and fiercely raining, I can assure you that it makes you long for the sun that warms the soul. Drinking the T'ga za Jug wine in good company and nice surroundings makes for a wonderful or sometimes even better alternative.
— 8 years ago