Hanibal

9.1

Allot of whole cluster shows off right away when opening this wine. The nice is full of herbs, spices and red fruits. The attack is lifted with nice acidity, silky with notes of cherries, herbs, some reduction and saltiness. The finally was a tad short to give it that final wow factor....all in a very nice wine. — 5 years ago

Hanibal

9.0

Nose was very reductive when first opened I was about to give up on it but gave it some time in the glass...after 15min the reduction blew off and what was left was raspberry and pyrazines, very typical cab franc smell from the Loire Valley that I like so much but many I understand dislike. In the mouth acidity is pretty high alcohol is medium low and tannins are medium. Color is magenta. The taste in the mouth is of a great sweet attack followed by some drying tannins and a finale with good lenght. Given the price certainly worth holding on a few for 5 years to develop some complexity. — 6 years ago

barak heller hayun

9.0

Dense grey-ish red with significant legs 👁️
Petrol, some leather and dried red fruit with hints of smoked paprika and a variety of peppers 👃
Red fruit attack followed with assorted peppers buffet with some smoke on the background 👄
Medium acidity which helped for taste variation when paired with different things.
Light and pleasantly dry 🎯
Paired with a way too rich brunch it was excellent.
The more spiced food made it dull.
Camembert cheese made it sweet tasty cherry juice.
A balanced and pleasent highly recommended malbec
Very good vfm(80 nis).
24hr later the wine was terrible. So drink up! — 6 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.2

Night six on the Allure of the Seas and wine number seven from the wine crate. This night we are at Samba Grill Brazilian Steakhouse.

Deep ruby red. Attack on the nose was soft with notes of dark spices, anise and iron. Seems to need a little bit of time but the 2011 characteristics keep poking through with notes of twigs, herbal and greenery. With a bit more time came some cinnamon and dark red berries. Medium tannins (6/10) with solid acidity. Seems younger than the nose when you get to the palate with black currants, cassis, bramble red berries and a touch of heat. Medium to medium plus bodied with a little bit of earthiness in the medium plus to full finish. Drink till 2026. — 8 years ago

with Sean and India

James Webb

9.2

Brambly goodness. Indian spices. Ripe black fruit. Soft attack leads to good acid and barely perceptible tannins. Very nice wine with food, especially when you want a red that's not over the top fruity while still being light. Unique. — 8 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.0

Medium pinkish orange. Bright red fruits on the attack, a touch tangy with notes of melon, white floral notes, strawberries and a bit of roses on the nose. Moderate acidity (6/10) and medium bodied. A touch of heat in the attack which dissipated when it warmed up. Rounded mid palate with red berries. Long and dry finish. Drink till 2021. — 8 years ago

with India

Justin Chiotti

9.0

Pure. Red fruit on attack but still wound tight when first opened which leads me to believe it could age for some time. — 8 years ago

Denise Longeill

9.2

When I read that this was a blend and had Malbec added I was extremely excited. Didn’t disappoint, very smooth. You can taste the love that goes into this. — 6 years ago

barak heller hayun

9.0

second wine from the same winery in st chinian which is a part of Languedoc-Roussillon wine region.
the first one was newer (2016) and felt too oaky.

60% mourvedre
20% grenache
20% syrah

14% ABV

dense brownish red 👀

wet soil, leather, tobbaco, oak related spices and hinted blackberies. and some 🍄👃

medium plus body.
high acidity.

tart attack first.
then a chewy spicy candy with hints of fruit👄

long 🎯 with the dirt taste lingering and then switched by firm but light tannins drying things up in a pleasent way.

excelent vfm (75 nis but in france)

had it for three days.

first day it shined with heavily umamied vegan 'bolognese' and pasta (based on mushroom variety and black lentils).

second day it got fruitier with not 100% traditionly made arancini.

third day had it on it's own.

it stayed the same wine throughout those days.
was always better when poured with an aerator pourer.

I'm wondering if it was a better wine than the other newer wine, or if it is time that balanced it.

the conclusion is clear:
i need to visit my friend in 🇫🇷 and drink some more. — 6 years ago

Jinda Cui

9.5

A very special wine. So ripe the fruit and preserved so well in the bottle. It’s a raisin attack. So much grape, white flower and white fruit aroma. More aromatic when it’s in the mouth. Hints of dried apricot and jujube fruit on the palate. These characteristics usually come with a desert wine. But this one is nectar without excessive sweetness. Still mouth coating. May become more rounded after several years though. — 7 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.2

Grabbed this from the wine list at Chops Grille, great price at $128.00 ($101.00 with drinks package) a bottle. Deep purplish ruby red. Iron on the attack of the nose when the wine was cold, needed to warm up. Layered of vanilla, cinnamon, black fruits, dark red berries and a touch floral. Heavy tannins (8.5/10) with a full body. Dark palate with raspberries, black cherries, herbs and spices. Crushed dark gravel in the long finish. Needs a long decant or a year or two in bottle to open up. Drink from 2018 till 2032. — 8 years ago

with Sean and India

Ichiro Kawachi

9.3

PPM 169. When opened, can smell the peat five feet away. When shoving glass right beneath nose, aroma is (surprisingly) apricots and fruit. In mouth is like massive barbecue woodsmoke attack. Long lingering notes of bourbon cask, dying pitfire embers. Most assertive Islay I have tasted. — 8 years ago

Mark S.

8.9

This is 1996 vintage for comparison with 2012. When opening, 20% of cork was broken, however it should be ok. Matured garnet color, deeper not to see over there and even matured aroma without any weird, initial attack is a bit stronger than 2012, but it means it is still necessary to take one hour for decanting. It changed into powerful one but in the range of elegant with good balance between soft acidity and silky tannin. Of course, it is different from 2012, however, I feel it has been matured very slowly and doesn't make me feel such long time matured. I don't know it can be further matured. My conclusion is really calm and elegant as Saint Julien, good for the people who don't pursue strong impact and juicy taste. @2980, Winona, 170108 — 8 years ago

Christine Havens

8.9

As it's name suggests, the Torbreck Woodcutter's Shiraz is a baritone rumble of smoky blackberries, earthy firmament, black peppercorn and baking spices. The attack is juicy, but well-structured in firm, tightly-wound tannins. Really nice and one I'll want to reach for again, especially when grilling. Sample — 8 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.6

Just when you thought the oldest wine of the night was the 38' FKA Schmitt Pettenthal TBA, this pops up. Again I'll let SC describe the wine again:

Chateau La Mission Haut Brion 1923 was the oldest wine of the pre-auction dinner. Still so fresh with a lovely complex attack, a bit hollow [on the] mid-palate that shows an average vintage, and a long finish with a surprisingly good tannic structure. Stunning!

To add to this, I'd like to say WeinArt did an amazing job sourcing and cellaring this impeccable bottle. Kudos to them! — 6 years ago

Mike Godwin

9.1

After complete destemming and gentle crushing, it was macerated and fermented, reassembled in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature of 26ºC for about 8 days. When the desired organoleptic equilibrium was reached, the must was softly pressed.
Grape Varieties:
Aragonez, Syrah, Touriga Nacional
Tasting Notes:
Bright ruby red/violet colour. In the nose the intense aroma of red fruits stands out and there are hints of wood: a result of its ageing in oak barrels On the palate it has a smooth attack, with some elegant tannins present. It has a balanced acidity and a long finish.
Store and Serve Advices:
The wine should be served at a temperature of between 15ºC- 17ºC.
Food Pairing:
Salpico is ideal as an accompaniment to everyday meals and snacks and pairs very well with various meat dishes, certain fish, and cheeses.
Reviews and Awards:
. 15,5 points in Revista de Vinhos;
. 15,5 points in Vinho Grandes Escolhas. — 6 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.5

The cruise continues! Night eight aboard the Allure of the Seas and since the Special Selection has already been finished and the Opus is too young we ran downstairs to grab this beauty out of the suitcase.

Deep and dark ruby red. Deep and layered nose with tobacco, spices, vanilla, dark floral notes, black currants, cassis and a touch of scorched earth. Heavy tannins (7.5/10) with a full body. Smooth attack on the palate but very powerful with solid acidity and strong backbone. Layered with vanilla, cinnamon and dark spices with a strong dark black cherry undertone throughout. Long finish. Big powerful wine with a decade or more left in it and will only get even better with time. Drink till 2030. (95+)

We decided we needed to celebrate this vacation with my parents so we brought along the first high-end bottle of wine we purchased back in 2014 when we went into Total Wine and met Victoria. So glad we did! — 8 years ago

with Sean and India

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.0

First of the four year vertical we are trying out for #WAWineMonth. We had the 05, 07, 08 and 09.

A little worried when we opened this bottle, the cork was so soft it snapped in half as soon as we got in. But thankfully, the wine survived. Deep garnet with brick edges and a touch of sediment. Unpleasant attack with an overload of tomatoes that took a little bit of air to wear off. Followed by some aged characteristics on the nose with damp leaves and dark spices. Medium plus tannins (6.5/10) and strong yet balanced acidity. Medium plus finish with dried red cherries on the attack. Some darker characteristics on the backend with dark cocoa and gravel. Has some similarities to an aged Bordeaux. Dry and long finish. The flavors on the nose and palate definitely showed its age against the other three, but still not a thin wine. Drink till 2019.

Made up of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. — 8 years ago

with Sean and India

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.4

Tasted blind and this was wine 2. This was given a four hour decant.

Deep purplish ruby red. Definitely more complex on the nose, more than just fruits and baking spices. Started off with a kind of sweet bread and had some more savory undertones such as wood, herbs, and tobacco. A strong mid-nose with black currants, raspberries, baking spices and purple floral notes like lilac and lavender. Moderate tannins (6.5/10) and full bodied. Well balanced and great structure from the acidity. Layered palate with a bit of minerality in the attack before moving onto red berries, both bright and dark. A slight pinch in the long and lingering finish. Drink from 2017 till 2032.

When it came down to guessing straight away you could tell this was different than the first wine. More structure and complexity. Felt like it had a bit more age as well as less black and blue fruits. With the Georges III wines we have tried it has been pretty consistent that there is more red fruits and a bit of minerality like this one. So we decided on the 2013 Myriad Georges III. — 8 years ago

with Sean and India

Christine Havens

9.2

Named after the venerable Widow Clicquot herself, La Grande Dame Brut 2006 is a blend of 53% Chardonnay and 47% Pinot Noir. The nose is expressive—bioche dipped in honey, baked apple and a whisp of smoke hanging above richer aromas. The attack is deep and vinous, and there is a lovely creaminess at the center. It finishes nicely, with dried honey and chalk emerging when the bubbles have at last ceased. Tasted at Veuve Clicquot's visitor's center. 8 grams dosage | Sample — 9 years ago