Keith Crump

9.0

Nothing missing a great Central Otago Pinot — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

Dark tawny. Burgundian nose. Notes of raspberries, earth, black cherries, smoked meats, some spice. Smooth and silky in the mouth. Tannins resolved. Good wine, missing the weight of a bigger vintage. — 5 years ago

Mike R

9.2

2012 - drink if you got them - not improving from a year ago - big and bold but missing one gear from being a sports car I want it to be - still smiling at the lake with @R Bowers on his anniversary and not social distancing very well — 6 years ago

with R

Adam Kincaid

9.2

If this bottle was single I’d be the desperate guy at the bar trying to take her home. Man, what a surprise! You think girl next door normal but one day you get suddenly blind sided and don’t know what you’ve been missing this whole time.

I normally hate garnacha but my god, this is a complex, moody, dark and difficult wine. Plays hard to get, if you know what I mean. Tobacco, earth, but lots of fruit and floral notes. This bottle is driving me wild. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I bought my first vintage from this producer & terroir beginning with the 2010 vintage and what a vintage to start. I bought four bottles for right around $50 or a little less. They were so amazing, I drank through them in no time at all. For those of you that read my posts, that’s not normally what I do. I like to drink one & age the rest. Since then, I have looked & looked for more. I’d finally given up hopes of finding more until recently I struck gold. I should have bought all nine bottles but a calmer head prevailed. It’s definitely changed since having it fresh. On the nose, the fruits are slightly macerated. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, glazed nuts, soft, delicate, chalky minerals, a touch of jasmine & yellow lilies. The body is much rounder & thicker than when it was young. Waxy. So, beautifully layered across the palate. Much of the palate matches the nose. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, apricots, peach, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, slight molasses character & glazed nuts with citrus blossoms, yellow lilies & jasmine. The minerals are much more grippy & bold as they cut across and set on the palate. The acidity round & phat. The texture is amazing as is the length, balance & beautiful, rich, long finish that lasts two-minutes plus. So glad I found more of this wine! Hubert Lamy seriously over deliver the terroir & the price point by a country mile. If you are not buying this wine on pre-arrival, you are missing great wine and excellent value. Can’t say enough good things about it. Especially, the 2010. I expect the 15 to hold similar quality. Photos of; Olivier Lamy, Olivier working in this vineyard, barrel room and their Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Vineyard. Producer notes and history...There have been Lamy’ s growing vines in St-Aubin since 1640, today it is run by Olivier Lamy. Olivier is a new breed of Burgundian grower keen to progress. He trained Méo-Camuzet & made a number of vintages before taking over in 1996 from his father Hubert. Hubert Lamy used to sell fruit to négociants, but that stopped in 1997. He grubbed up and sold off peripheral vines, keeping only the best and oldest sites. Currently he is experimenting with different planting densities in a quest to capture even greater expression of terroir. The Domaine produces both reds and whites and now has 16.5 hectares of vineyards, mostly in St-Aubin but also own a few parcels in Chassagne-Montrachet and a tiny plot in the Grand Cru Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Yields are kept low and recent innovations have been introduced with selection tables in the cuverie to ensure that only the healthiest and ripest grapes are used. His more recent move to reduce the amount of new oak with the introduction of demi-muids 300-600 liter barrels have also helped to improve the wines. Vinification is traditional and the wines are matured with only 20-30% new oak for 12 months before minimal filtration and then bottling. The quality is very high and is often superior to many wines from much more prominent villages that sell at twice the price or more. — 8 years ago

Raun Kupiec

8.9

Good, but maybe not up to the hype. Probably just too young and the bottle open too long at the bar. Nice complexity in the flavors but finish a bit meh. Some cocoa, mint, olive. Deep colors and smooth but overall feeling was thin and missing a middle. Definitely enough tannins and acidity to wonder what it will be like in a few years, but this is a crap business lounge and I don't want my flight delayed that long... — 9 years ago

Daniel M

9.3

Cocoa, strawberry, currant, vanilla, tar, cedar, wet forest soil, a lot of things happen. It's showing a bit of age but certainly not as much as the label shows. The palate is showing a strong acid backbone and this is quite striking here. It must be because of the vintage though. Nice strawberry, currant fruit all along, good width with a thin matter which lays a layer of silk all over the mouth. In mid palate come some rather well integrated tannins, bringing in some energy by disrupting slightly that very silky mouthfeel with a dusty touch. The finish is very long with fruit, vanilla, cocoa and maybe even mocha. Perhaps not the best Pichon Lalande but a very good take on a tough vintage which is still relevant and delivering to this day.
29 years old and kicking! We served it along with a slow cooked lamb leg and beans (traditional Easter meal in my region) and this was a perfect match. Celebrating wifey's birthday in style! — 5 years ago

Ed Chin

9.0

Missing the richness you’d expect. — 7 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.4

Popped, poured, and blinded this wine. It didn't take long for the notes to lead me towards Hermitage (so intense!), but I didn't think it was Chave's because it was lacking the meaty notes that I associate with his wines. I am, however, not an authority on Chave - I can count the number of times I've drank his Hermitage with my hands. Regardless, the 2014 Hermitage was certainly impressive and my WOTN. Full-bodied, dark fruits, quite ripe, but in no way jammy, spice - anise, juniper, and bay leaf, licorice, deep minerals, sexy supple texture. As the night progressed - seriously stony, air has brought out the meatiness (bacon), along with some gamey and musky tones. The fruit adamantly refuses to subside on the palate. A real masterpiece, especially for the vintage.

Here's another case of infanticide on my end, but at least in the name of research, I can attest to the excellence of this wine. Personally, though, I was missing some floral and crushed pepper characters which I love in Syrah. Just nit-picking.  — 7 years ago

Clayton R Strong

9.2

Cote Rotie, tries and true - missing the fruit element on this one. Just wasent quite worth the price tag in my opinion. — 8 years ago

Kevin Cahoon

9.1

Bright apple, blood orange, toasted hazelnut and subtle mineral notes make up the slightly shy nose. Palate has richness with yellow fruit and hazelnut but is missing a touch of acidity. Finish had richness of fruit but lacks precision. This bottle is just a touch underwhelming. — 8 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.3

Cherries, a hint of cocoa, a little funk, a bunch of acid. Pretty darn good. — 9 years ago

Tim Marino

8.9

Delightful wine. Fruity but not over the top. Mild tannins. Well balanced. Enjoyed with leg of lamb. Long interesting finish. — 9 years ago

erto l

8.9

much like the sanford one but has the dirt that was missing:-) — 9 years ago

Andrew Holod

National Sales Grapes of Spain

9.2

One of the more compelling and complex WA reds I've had. Still deeply colored, intense nose of chocolate covered cherries, but with a reserved character, rather than over-the-top confected. Very well balanced and missing the sometimes, too fleshy/higher Ph I find disturbing in WA reds. — 5 years ago

Ian Hamel

9.2

2020/5/5 with grilled lamb leg heart from a Lulu Peyraud / Richard Olney recipe and grilled zucchini. This certainly had the inimitable Northern Rhone bottle bouquet going, though it’s also quite lithe and red fruited, as opposed to deep and dark, with prominent acidity. It reminds you of the diversity in Northern Rhone terroirs - and that (if I recall) the Chance estate St. Jospeh is from relatively young vines — 6 years ago

Janell

9.2

welcome to captiva 🌴 island! surprisingly good random pick on the way to the “villa” ... the only thing missing was the corkscrew...relieved that housekeeping brought one up!! — 7 years ago

James Cahill

9.2

Pulled a LP after seeing David Lentine’s note on the ‘07. This ‘06 is drinking much better than the recent cellartracker notes but like the ‘07’s that I have drank, this is missing “that extra gear” that would put it into Division I. This is a D II athlete charging a D I scholarship price point. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

After a week of; bronchitis, sinus infection and an ear infection that perforated my eardrum, missing the UGC Bordeaux tasting, it’s good to be myself with the return of my palate and love for Billecart Salmon Rosé. 375ml. Ahhhh! — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.8

I can’t pour enough praise on Dan and his talents. I don’t give many wines near perfect scores, but this merits one. The nose is a beautifully balanced mix of floral fruits, earth and spice. Blackberries, huckleberries, boysenberries, black plum, black raspberries, plum, black raspberries, poached strawberries, dark moist soils, loamy dry soil/clay, raspberry cola, smoked meats, medium dark spice, vanilla, clove, nutmeg, lilacs, violets and lavender. The balance is incredible...one of the most balanced wines I’ve had. The structure, tension and length are so close to perfect. It’s in the OMG realm. The tannins are nicely resolved but still have teeth. It’s gorgeously lush and rich. Blackberries, huckleberries, boysenberries, black plum, black raspberries, plum, black raspberries, poached strawberries, hues of blue fruits haunt the palate, dark moist soils, loamy dry soil/clay, raspberry cola, black licorice, touch herbaceous, smoked meats, medium dark spice, vanilla, clove, nutmeg, black & white pepper, dry crushed rocks, stones, lilacs, violets and lavender. The finish is heaven all the way around. To borrow Bordeaux terminology, this is First Growth Shiraz. If you don’t seek out Dan’s wines on the secondary market, you are missing something special. Not at all meant to be enjoyed young. This wine is in a very good spot and has another 10 years of life going forward. — 9 years ago