David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

It's Baseball & BBQ night. Go Giants! I Coravin'ed four wines to see which would pair better with pork ribs, pulled pork, seasoned baked beans & slaw. Started with the Pinot...that worked pretty well w/ the ribs but not necessarily the spicy beans. Then, the 07 Hope & Grace Malbec. That went ok. I think the H&G Malbec is perfect solo. Third...was the 09 Ridge Carignane. This was the more classic pairing...yum. However, the 05 DuMol Syrah was the real winner for all four of us. It's worked well with the beans spice and the BBQ sauce. Handled both worlds of strong spice in the beans and the sweet and light spice in the BBQ sauce. Fun experiment. — 8 years ago

B

10

2013 Domaine De L'Abbeye Clos Beylesse Rosè. ELO at HB w J&H R and Leon. — 8 years ago

B

10

Magnum Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé. Champagne to kick off dinner at the house w B&K K, J&L B, and M&R H and BP. Such a great champagne. — 8 years ago

B

10

Magnum 1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia. Drank at Archetype lunch w B&K K, J&L B, and M&R H. Second of the red lineup, following a magnum of 1975 Heitz. Much bigger and its youth showed. Lovely wine that we all really enjoyed. — 8 years ago

Manuel O. Mendez

9.0

Bought this after hearing Russell talk about it at a Twin Liquors tasting. Must say day one quite quaffable but no great shakes, but developed on day 2 to quite velvety w/ good tannins on the finish. A very nice wine. — 8 years ago

M

9.4

Delicious and bursting with fruit flavor. Pear, Granny Smith, honeydew melon, white peach, and nectarine. Rounded out with bright acid, tons of minerals, and hints of flint and petrol. Texture is lush and waxy and coats the mouth for a lingering finish. 2011 vintage. — 9 years ago

Nick Davis

9.2

Gosset Excellence Mag, with the notorious @Jason W Smith. Use caution! — 9 years ago

B

10

1999 Riserva Soldera Brunello. Drank w K, H&J R at Bar Tos. Awesome. K really loves this wine. — 9 years ago

Erik Sjolund

8.9

Rich riesling w some petrol but also deep grape taste. — 9 years ago

Nitin Khanna

9.6

Scott Kveton 40th birthday. Laura, Scott, Sarah, Ryan H, Josh F, Alison, Paul W, Bobbi, Chris & Cheryl — 11 years ago

B

10

2004 Colgin IX Syrah. Lunch w J&H R and Leon at The I. This followed the '98 Roumier Bonnes-Mares burgundy. Totally different. Huge- we got heavy savory notes: olives, pepper, olive oil. Loved it! — 8 years ago

B

10

1998 La Spinetta Gallina Barbera d'Alba. ELO at HB w J&H R and Leon. We were surprised by how much we liked it. Note to get more of this wine! Really well balanced- some fruit, leather, soil, and smoke. Not a super notable finish, but greatly enjoyed this. — 8 years ago

Cynthia Garcia

9.2

Crisp pear on the front that turns into a silvery Granny Smith apple and finishes like a Wethers Original. — 8 years ago

B

10

Magnum 1997 Dal Forno Romano Amarone dell Valpolicella. Drank at Reddwood lunch w B&K K, J&L B, and M&R H. Third of the red lineup. Neither K nor I had tasted this before and it was delicious. Enormous and inky. It was just massive both in flavor and how it coated the mouth. Slight sweetness. Very cool to try! — 8 years ago

Daron Watson

9.1

mostly candied orange & lemon w some Granny Smith, hint of almond & nougat, still some acidic lift — 8 years ago

Cynthia Langstaff

9.9

Bright cherry fruit perfectly balanced w earthy notes of forest floor. Great linger with hints of astringent tannins. Awesome! — 8 years ago

with Nicole, Todd and 3 others

Ty Methfessel

9.3

Kaleidoscopic aromatics. Hi toned w great lift it put on some weight w air. — 9 years ago

Jason Gaffner

9.2

Really impressed w the single vineyard sbs. Tastes almost like domaine de chevalier or smith haut lafitte for a fraction of the price — 9 years ago

Geoffrey Turnbull

9.1

Somm Factory II - Evolution
Session 3 - Germany vs Ontario
Ac: H
Alc: M-
B: M-
T: -
S: Off-dry
Brilliant straw appearance; floral nose w lychee; stone fruit, grapefruit flavours. — 9 years ago

Ashley Kepping

8.9

Smith and w with Caxton — 10 years ago

B

10

1998 Domaine G. Roumier Bonnes Mares Burgundy. Lunch w J&H R and Leon at The I.I. K took a chance on this wine- not a terribly notable year- and it was out of this world. HR particularly loved this. Bottle had been standing for 2 weeks, which K thinks contributed to making a huge difference in our enjoyment. Color was completely clear- no murkiness. We had a hard time pinning down the nose on this wine. No hard edges- super subtle in texture, taste, and nose. K makes note how surprised he was that this wine is drinking so epically right now. — 8 years ago

B

10

1999 Domaine Dujac Clos de LA Roche. ELO at HB w J&H R and Leon. Very mellow and delicate- nothing overt- from the get-go. Gained some really interesting savory, meaty notes as it sat in the glass. Thought it drank really well. — 8 years ago

B

10

Magnum 2007 Domaine Leflaive Batard-Montrachet Chardonnay. First white wine for dinner at the house w B&K K, J&L B, and M&R H and BP. We love this white and it was a treat to try out of magnum. — 8 years ago

B

10

Magnum 2004 Bond Pluribus. Brought by Joe for Archetype lunch w B&K K, J&L B, and M&R H. Third of the red lineup. Big, big wine, but gorgeous. Tons of tannins and dark fruit. — 8 years ago

Christine Yi (cy_eats)

9.2

2011. clean, crispy granny smith apple, steel, mineral, saline. delicious w food. really enjoyed — 8 years ago

Mike Lundberg

9.0

Full body w/soft tannins. Smooth and delicious, this 2009 was a pleasure! — 9 years ago

with Sylvia

Geoffrey Turnbull

9.1

Somm Factory II – Evolution
Session #6 Italy VS Spain
Ac: M+
Alc: M+
B: M+
T: H
S: Dry
Ruby w/ violet
Nose: stewed fruit, slight mustiness, low intensity. Herb de Provence.
Very drying, from tannins.
BW: Lifted nose; purple flower smell, lilac or lavender. Slightly riper, rounder than other wines.
(A really pretty wine!)

— 9 years ago

Marc L.

9.6

Really nice dessert beer. w/Rob & Beth — 9 years ago

Mike Blom

8.9

Intense lychee and Granny Smith Apple peel aroma. Great representation of an under appreciated varietal. Full body w/ good acid balance long lychee finish without being soapy. — 9 years ago

Tarryn Drinkell

9.5

Was really impressed better than thought it would be - w/ Sarah H — 10 years ago