Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2023 “Date Night…” Sauvignon Blanc is made more in the Sancerre style than the Bordeaux Blanc style. It’s bursting with grapefruit and verbena; herbal and grassy. There is some lovely acid and minerals too. This is a very strong example of this style in a New World way. Drink now. — 9 months ago

Nathan Renfro

9.4

Dark ruby. Decanted 30min, needs to open up a bit tight out of the bottle. Opens up very nicely. Dark fruit - cassis, blackberry, black cherry and maybe not of blueberry. Oak. Grippy tannins and nice finish. Always a good night when a bottle of Realm is opened. — 3 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.6

The weekend upon us and we're hosting another dinner party for a couple of friends. Tonight's theme was Rhone wine, so good stuff on deck, with age.

Notes pending... (Entertaining guests first 😉)

Absolutely perfect, yet only coming into it's zone, decade to go here...

Notes from +24H open:
Nose has ripe cherry, dried cherry, dried blackberry, red velvet cake, ripe plum and dry, mineral-ly earth.

Palate has silky-sweet cherry, ripe red currant, (light) cigar wrapper, dried cherry, faint eucalyptus, faint wood notes, dry earth, faint iron notes on the long finish. Mild tannins persist today. Expect to enjoy this vintage another +10Y when held in proper storage.

This bottle was singing at the top of its register last night, slightly diminished today. Absolutely perfect cork, no Durand required for extraction. Acquired a mere two years ago, from a local retailer beginning to close down his shop. He purchased a case on release, stored in his cold cellar; when I got to hunting it only a single bottle remained.

I've had the 2000 vintage before, and it was a treat in a more youthful stage, but a delicacy with our meal last night. We baked a 3lb beef tenderloin (Kinderhook Farm; Valatie, NY) coated in an herb paste then an herbed panko crumb crust with parmesan. About a 50m cook, 30m rest yeilded a perfect 130° center. Served alongside smashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts with thick cut bacon. We had fantastic company, connecting again with a wine trade friend and his wife after a few years break in our dining schedules. — 4 years ago

Eric B

9.3

Bargain of the night and surprisingly delicious. The 06 is in a good spot right now. Pop and pour. — 6 years ago

with Ryan, Kelsey and 1 other

Shay A

9.5

Night 1 of the Fall WNH event in San Antonio. What a killer start to the extended weekend, all courtesy to Shawn and Jennifer for hosting! Tonight was Italian wines.

Another in the running for WOTN. Maple and rich! Cherry and vanilla tobacco on the nose with herbal spice and a strawberry tart finish. Young and acidic! There is a very underripe red fruit dominant profile here. Crazy how young it tastes for 23yrs old. Bravo @Shawn R ! — 7 years ago

with Mike, David and 5 others

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tasted blind, from magnum. Old dark ruby color. Amber rims. Notes of black cherry, spice, earth and something like pencil lead. Ok in the mouth, refined, but lacking energy. With the meal this was enjoyable but was somewhat sleepy all night. Likely at peak and given the magnum format, it's time to drink up 750s. Guessed 62 Latour. — 7 years ago

Andy Stabile

9.2

My last bottle…
A few years back I bought 3 bottles. Now can’t find another 2017 on the inter-webs.

Soft mouth feel with a kick not from tannins, per se, but from a strong peppery finish. Just loved.
36% Grenache, 36% Syrah, 31 mourverdre…
After 2017 they jacked up the Grenache and it hasn’t been the same. Not sure the vineyard is even still around.

Was fun while it lasted…. — 9 months ago

Mike Saviage

9.9

Tasted blind. Deep purple color. Looks very young, compared to the 45 Margaux next to it. Almost opaque. Notes of black fruit, cracked walnuts, sweet fruit, raspberry and some cedar desk. Super rich in the mouth. Seems young and is firm, but tannins are softened and the mouthfeel is velvet touch. Long finish. It peacocks all night. The walnuts thing leads my guess to Latour, but can this be the 45? Is it a 61 or 82? Could be... I go with it being a 59 given how young it seems. Just an amazing bottle of wine, open for ~9 hours by the time we left, it seemed to effortlessly power along. Thanks Stan! — 3 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.1

The juice, the energy, the dammit I don’t want it to be so tasty but...Artemis got you. Because she’s a goddess and says so. I mean, there are other deities. Ones more powerful or whatevs but I’ll run through the woods with this for a night — 6 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Last night in MT at the lake. Gave this several hours of air. Nice dark tawny color. Vibrant in the glass. The nose is great right away and stayed on point through the evening. Notes of black cherries, warm raspberries, old cedar, some plums and a little leather saddle. Rich and silky in the mouth. Velvet glove. Long finish. Great wine. — 6 years ago

Jack Petras

9.8

Fortunate enough to have tasted this along with 6 other stunning wines last night during a cellar tasting. This 36 year old 2nd growth was nearly perfect, unusual but very pleasant mint, camphor, crushed sage and rosemary aromas with the same cooling delicate herbal initial palate. Dried but expressive red fruits mid- palate with a great structural graphite element throughout. Whiff of new leather. Changed in the glass showing different mellow facets. Pretty much intercepted at the exact right time. A real privilege to taste such a renowned vintage with folks who appreciates what was in front of them. — 7 years ago

Michael Flynn

9.1

Beautiful nose and long finish . Matched well with grilled flank steak at Libby’s birthday, then perfect next night with truffle and mushroom pasta ( TJs). 1ltr bottle! — 7 years ago

leon egozi

9.2

Superbowl of wine night. From a magnum — 7 years ago

Alan Weinberg

9.5

$168 a bottle on Italian Viking cruise. I know what I’m drinking every night. — a year ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

1975 vintage. From magnum. Decent fill and cork. Decanted and tasted after two hours. Medium body. Nose remained angular and sharp throughout but flavors vacillated between finesse and brutish. Not the star of the night, yet impressive nonetheless. Out of magnum, looks to have 5-10 more years left of quality in store. 3.5.24. — a year ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy Spring! It’s one of our favorite points in the year. More; daylight, a little warmer in CA and everything starts to bloom which, means a long summer of gardening and being outdoors every day/night is not far off.

Since it was such a great day and basically most Californians are shut-Ins, the voluntary self quarantining was getting to me. I did the landscaping and got an afternoon of fresh air today. A breath of fresh air...ahhh! Wow, was it needed after Gavin’s Newsom’s estimate of 25.5 million Californians would be infected with Coronavirus over 8 weeks yesterday.

So, a good night to celebrate another day of being virus free with my 2nd favorite N/V Rosé Champagne.

All my numerous previous notes apply.

Stay safe everyone and remember the new terminology of the new decade...social distancing! Cheers! 🍾🥂

Photos of; Spring in our backyard & a Billecart Grand Cru Vineyard.

— 5 years ago

Shay A

9.4

Monthly WTF guys blind tasting group. This month was our annual, and famed, Left Bank vs Right Bank theme. All wines served blind as usual. Started off with a Rosé and a champagne. Great night.

This was one of my favorites of the night. One of the best young Bordeaux’s I’ve tasted. Ripe and modern nose (fruit forward) with smoked meat and baked blackberry pie. The palate revealed cocoa/dark chocolate, baking spices and a hint of blue fruit wrapped by black fruit. Big. Will obviously get better, but was shocked how good this was now. I called this ‘12-14 Left Bank. — 6 years ago

with Andrew, Jack and 6 others

John Van Trijp

9.9

Battle night Pelmer vs. Margaux — 7 years ago

Christophe Aebi

9.2

Was slightly disappointing against the other premier crus from the night. Not the first underwhelming encounter with HB, maybe just not my wine. — 7 years ago

Nena Madonia

9.9

Sunday night wine — 8 years ago

with Andrew, Dana and 1 other