Seth Eli Barlow

9.7

Wheeeeeeeawawwwww, gurl! My Italian Stallion daddy done did me good right here!🐴 Givin me all kinds of cream and acidity so tight that you can bounce a quarter. Damn I wish I had more than I one bottle...oops, can I say damn on here? Are we allowed to curse? Cause this one done fucked me right. — 7 years ago

with Aaron and Maggie

Ellen Clifford

9.5

Oh hey wish I were writing these notes whilst sipping not in retrospect. All I can say is the mystery of what flipping grapes are in this, plus the confounding richness of the sweet and higher than expected abv PLUS the high acid lead to fun in a glass. Also that went well with kimchi deviled eggs. The sweet plus spicy...you guys hie thee to faith n flowa. Powa — 8 years ago

David Goldfinger

10

Dear WNH,
What an amazing weekend! Thank you Martin and Christine. A selfless act of kindness and generosity putting this together we cannot thank you enough. What a way to introduce wines, and more so, wine connoisseurs to each other. Upon leaving, Jamie and I were sad not knowing when we will see our new friends again. We wish everyone traveling safe travels and let's keep in touch. Cheers!!! 🍷 Panther — 8 years ago

with Gina, Daryl and 14 others

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Here is an example of a 98 you have taste so you don't jump to the conclusion that there were no good 98's made in Napa. Is this their best Martha's, no, but for the price it's selling at today...it's a pretty good value for this wine. Ready to go. Not sure how much better it's going to get but it still has a fair amount of life left...8-10 more years. Blackberries, black plum, dark cherries, Christmas cake, spice-box, eucalyptus, dry red floral, elegant soft minerals with crush rocks, tobacco leaf, nice acidity and finish. Delicious. — 8 years ago

Nicholas Cairnes

9.6

Luscious yet earthy. Fantastic. Thanks Taylor Chernoff. Wish you were here Thomas — 8 years ago

TheSkip

9.2

This is a mildly interesting story. Well, in fact, it's only interesting to me because I benefitted.

You may recall my previous BMW posting on Round Pond, how it was corked and how I was unlikely going to give them another chance. Well, the wine gods intervened and here I am.

I was on my way down to Boston and I made my typical stop at the New Hampshire liquor outlet. For those of you not in the know, it's probably the only liquor store in the US that has a dedicated off ramp from the interstate. It serves as the de facto rest area for the brief 20miles one is in NH on I95.

Every time I'm in there, it seems they are posting sale tags on the wine shelves. Well, I happened to see that this wine was (probably) confused for the cheaper Kith and Kin. They were strangely several shelves apart. On sale for $28. Plus an additional 15% off purchases seasonal sale! I said what the hell and picked up 4. Of course, it came up at $50ish but when I pointed out the price tag. Bam. $25 out the door.

An old friend of mine had a saying: free food tastes better and free clothes wear better. So, with that in mind, here goes...

Decanted 2 hours. The wine is deep dark red with almost no translucency. The nose is fairly intense. Lavender, cassis and leather. There is some mild heat in there as well.

The palate is rich and full bodied. The wine coats the mouth and the intensity from the nose continues. Cassis and dark fruits. Moderate to firm tannins. Nice finish. Definite notes of Rutherford dust. — 9 years ago

WhiteVinMan

9.1

Ah Stellenbosch, wish you were here! Should have brought more back... — 10 years ago

Ted

9.3

An all time favorite. Wish you were here Jeni and cj. Miss you guys. We are going to get that time tomorrow in the 200 back. — 10 years ago

with Jeni

Matthew Cohen

9.5

Lacks the weight of a "better" burgundy but god this is delicious. So complex. I almost want to cry. I wish that every friend I have were here to try this. Perfect acidity. Almost tangeriney fruit but not that obvious. Long finish. I should have bought two cases of this. Too bad this guy makes almost no wine. He'd be the next big thing. — 10 years ago

Zachary Sussman

Wine writer PUNCH

10

Rita Ferreira's gorgeous Bastardo, a game changer from the Douro. Wish it were imported here! — 12 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.3

The last of the 09's, this wine is absolutely delicious. Takes easily 3 hours before it starts to really express, even the 09. Pours a dark maroon into the glass. The nose is black licorice, blackberry, and flint. The entry is gravelly blackberry, mint, acidity still present. The middle is where this one starts to pick up some fig jam. The finish is dark, deep, interlaced, with a lot of integration that has already occurred here. Tannin on the finish, which were softer and dusty. This wine itself is just a treat, although it may come across as being a little "thin" if you don't give it the appropriate time. Definitely not your pop and pour wine. This one is big, deep, dark, and balanced, and ready for action if you have the time. — 8 years ago

Marc Brasseaux

9.3

@Charlie Evans this is the last of a great run of tasty Cab......wish you were here to enjoy it with us! — 8 years ago

with Shannon

Jordan Johnson

9.4

Very impressed! @Ron Yates wish you were here for this. — 8 years ago

Tom Wood

9.0

I've had this in the fridge for 20 minutes and it reads a perfect 18.0 degrees on the Vinotemp monitor. Ruby - purple colour to the wine and don't let its transparency fool you, this does have body and delivery! Instant thoughts were 'is this burgundy?!' (Despite obviously knowing better) it immediately reminded me of some of the darker - fruited and meaty interpretations of Pinot Noir from the Côte de Nuits but this feels ever so fresh. Olives in brine, blackberry and almost a dried prosciutto aroma the leaps out of the glass initially. The wine then started to show a lot more bright, red fruited character as time goes by. The olive brine and blackberry has nestled right in to the background playing quite a nice supporting role. Aromas of fresh raspberry, juiced oranges, ripe blueberry, sarsaparilla and a spicy, floral incense have arrived right at the forefront and there's barely noticeable oak work in sight. The palate follows with raspberry and blueberry but there's a dark chocolate that comes through with the faintest of bitterness, however not off-putting in the slightest. One very noticeable feature of structure here is alcohol; or the lack there of. I've found myself double checking the alcohol at times which sits at 12.5%. The palate flows seamlessly. There is a raspberry-like acidity and the softest lick of tannin. The balance here is admirable. Honestly, it's the type of wine I'm enjoying so much now for its freshness and I don't want to see this sit in my cellar for too long, in saying that I'd be very interested in seeing some bottle development in a few years time. — 8 years ago

Jim Wagonfeld

9.6

Wow. Clear ruby with peripheral minor browning. Breathtaking nose of smoke 💨, tar, leather, bacon and cloves/cardamom. Flavors of plum, olive, pepper and spices. Totally resolved oak, balanced acid and intense, long finish. Strangely, The Meat Church dry Rub on the rib eyes echoed the wine. Incredible! Wish you all could have been here. — 8 years ago

with Judy

Carl Fischer

9.9

This photo's for you @Martin G Rivard 😂 - as I went to put this in the recycle bin I thought of your photo and couldn't help myself. As to the wine - wow wow wow. I had tried this at an event over the summer with Donna Walker (who was lovely) and it is better than I remembered. Decanted for 4 hours. Massively opulent and Pritchard Hill to its core - concentrated, big fruit is the star here (mostly what I got were blackberries) with some slight earthiness mixed in. While the tannins are quite strong even after the decant, there was a nice acidity to balance them out (helped also by a decent amount of time in barrel) - this didn't come across as overly tannic to me. It had a silky smooth, rich mouthfeel that was incredible. Every sip was followed with a smile - the last wine I had that elicited a similar reaction was the '07 Hundred Acre Deep Time (thanks to @Mike Rowe) which still is pretty much the best wine I've ever had. This is a close second to me. — 8 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.0

K so having a WSET 3 tasting club is making me burn through my supplies faster than usual. And burn through their supplies too. Oops for all of us. Now I've tried all of Kokomo's offerings in terms of Zin (although I wish I had been wealthy enough to crack them all open side by side) and I must say Pauline's vineyard=least fave. Rockpile was the best. Timber Crest was in the middle and...to be honest? The least pricy "Dry Creek Valley" is both really excellent and not as pricy as Rockpile Zin. My top two were probably both the least expensive (Dry Creek) and most pricy (Rockpile) so there ya go. Anyway I'm reviewing Rockpile here! Tis purple-ruby in color, on the nose black sweet cherries and chopped vanilla beans plus crushed blackberries. On the tongue: medium acid, low plus tannins, medium body, black cherries and blackberries and vanilla ice cream and the finish...it is medium in length and there is more of everything I mentioned you smell and taste and anyway... Taste both the more generic-in-name-only Dry Creek Valley Kokomo Zin (avail to all) and the Rockpile(I think only club members can get this). And my blind wine tasting club will have more samplings soon that I can't wait to share. — 9 years ago

Miguel de Leon

Service Director/Wine Educator Casa Mono

9.3

A great wine for value and oomph. Strong middle; I just wish there were a little more to it for the finish. Biodynamic and you can tell. — 10 years ago

Ryan Bode

10

Vegas very KIND to us tonight. Wish bob and esky were here — 11 years ago

Jackie Rodgers

9.9

Haven't tried a Chilean Moscato before! — 12 years ago

Jody Scharf

9.0

Well now you know. I'm a Jets fan. Someone had to be. Anywho the cab although a gimmick not bad. I wish the Jets were not bad.... One day. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

If you thought Australian wine weren't for you or just weren't that noteworthy, you haven't had Dan Standish's wines. This is as good as any great producer I've had anywhere. On the nose, boysenberry, blueberries, black raspberries, olallieberries, raspberries, vanilla, nutmeg, clove, Asian spices, raspberry cola, dry stems and brilliantly fragrant violets. The mouthfeel and texture are liquid elegant heaven. 12 years in the bottle and it's just now peaking. On entry, it's a rush of ripe, lush; boysenberry, blueberries, black raspberries, raspberries &raspberry cola. Dark chocolate, darker but mellowed spices with uplifting heat, hint of pepper, loamy moist soils, dusty tannins, crushed dry rocks, vanilla, nutmeg, clove, blue fruit pie with crust, volcanic minerals, liquid fragrant violets, perfect acidity with a finish that doesn't fade and lasts minutes. The tension, length, structure and balance push perfection. photos of; estate with with Dan, wide side shot of the estate, a sample of the soil structure of the vineyard this wine is grown...under the top soil and Dan's estate vines. Producer history and notes...The Standish Wine Company was created in 1999. Dan Standish purchased a small parcel of Old Vine Shiraz from his parent’s vineyard in the heart of the Barossa Valley. The 96-year old vines are planted on the typical sand over clay soil profile characteristic of Vine Vale the sub region of the Barossa Valley. Dan never got a enology degree. He learned on his own traveling to the Rhone Valley. The influence definitely comes out in his wines despite the very different terroirs. He's worked in various regions around the world including; Napa, Sonoma and La Rioja. After he returned to Australia, he eventually became the Winemaker at Torbreck in the Barossa Valley. Interestingly, Dan worked as a chemical engineer prior to his career as a Winemaker. Meeting him for the first time in April was a pleasure. He is a true salt of the earth type of person, with a great sense of humor, who is absolutely passionate about making wine. He marches to his own drum...not at all a person who follows trends or changes styles if something or one becomes successful. His wines are beautifully special if you can find them on Winesearcher or other. He does not have, need nor want a US importer. He sells all his wine through his mailing list. You can order his wines from here but the shipping charges are hugely expensive from Australia. The shipping cost for three bottles were as much as the cost of the three bottles. The quality of his wines will stand in there with any producer world wide. Tasting his new releases in April was impressive. Finding a well aged bottle back in the US to enjoy tonight is simply fabulous! — 8 years ago

Roxanne Sayre

9.1

Wish you were here Theresa! Thanks for the great wine! — 8 years ago

Julie Kang

9.8

The high rating is not because I love Aaron Pott, it is not because we were eating at Echo and Rig in Vegas, it is not because the Somm here said it was fantastic when he tasted it... it was simply because it was awesome. Complex, balanced, smooth and lasting. Ready now.... hmmm... I wish I had tasting notes like Aaron. — 8 years ago

Jeffrey Lew

9.9

Picked this up off the shelf at Crush a few hours before dinner. Might of been the best bottle I have had yet. Wow. Amazing concentration, graphite, tobacco, and dark fruit. Great stuff @Jason Chang @Martin G Rivard wish you guys were here. Add this to the list of must have in the cellar. — 9 years ago

Tom Goldstone

9.2

Lovely wine in one of our favorite places! Only wish we were staying here again. — 9 years ago

with Jenn

Andrei Shustov

9.4

Wow! CDP of the year for me! Structure, smoothness, fruit, and more! Lots of plums, velvet, and back loaded minerality. Bravo! Neil, wish you were here. — 10 years ago

Katie Sugasa

9.3

Yum! Thanks so much Jack and Will! Thinking of you guys and wish you were here ! — 10 years ago

with DUSTIN

Jordan Gianelli

9.6

I wish wines like these were more readily available in my favorite restaurants. Rich but not dominant, full but not heavy. This may very well be my Goldie Locks bottle of Bordeaux variety WA wine. Always, always, always let this wine catch some air for at least 30mins to an hour and you will be gently introduced to a balanced and creative expression. — 10 years ago

Renee Bourassa

Sommelier/Wine Director Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn

9.0

Last of Lassaigne's Pinot Noir grapes are in here (10% of the blend, with 90% Chard)... they were torn out after the 2010 vintage. Get some while you still can! — 11 years ago