Jim McCusker

9.2

From Russell From of Herman Story. Love his wines. This is one we probably should have had a year or two ago. Still really good, but a lot of the vibrancy that makes grenache so spectacular has largely fallen away. — 5 years ago

with Vanessa

Mick Farrell

9.4

This is the 1998... two days late, but still exceptional... and I disagree with the experts... slightly better than the 1996! — 7 years ago

with Stacey, Richard and 21 others

Muralee Murugesu

9.6

For a 20 year old St Estephe this Cos d’Estournel is sublime. Perfectly aged but shows a lot of youth throughout the hour opening with red fruit mixed in with leather and chalk. A good 35 sec finish. A classic Bordeaux that rocks! Kept from my Phd days ( Rodolphe this is the last one buddy) is surprisingly vibrant. happy birthday 🥳 Philippa. — 7 years ago

Matti Jokelainen

9.1

Great torre in the making. Sweet black and red cherry, strawberry and dusty like tannins. Nice structure. This beauty has 10-15 years ahead of it even with some air and food it already works great — 8 years ago

Justin Hart

9.4

Ah, the Rocks at Milton-Freewater produce such remarkable and distinctive fruit. Morgan Lee’s take on the Stoney Vine Syrah is outstanding. Earthy, gamey, succulent, dark and full stone fruit (plum) that just keeps going. This is good for another 5 years I think. — 8 years ago

with Cherish and Jen

Kenny Baldridge

9.5

Yum!!! It even has bill clay on the label. Ha!! — 9 years ago

Glenn Chance

10

Unassuming color, flavor that will blow your mind. Rich velvety fruity nose and a finish that lasts days. — 10 years ago

Vic Goel

9.2

Cherries, dates and an aged color that nicely straddles dark cherry and burnt umber. This is probably not as good as the 2002 vintage I had a few days ago, but it's still kick ass. — 10 years ago

John Berghoff

9.4

Absolutely amazing after 5 days open. Yea I said 5 days open. — 10 years ago

Carl Steefel

9.8

Informal gathering to drink some Bordeaux varietal bottles with steak.

1986 Cheval Blanc: This one showed suspect ullage, to the point where it had been hard to flip it. And in the end, it did turn out to be a controversial wine--was the orgasm 40 days, or was it 36 days? Hard to say... An extraordinary wine, classic in its own way, with fragrant dark flower and black cassis aromas wafting from the glass, and maybe more importantly for us, exploding in the mouth. Some of the more ordinary adjectives, like "smooth" and "balanced", are accurate enough, but obviously don't do this one justice. One could do a fluid dynamical description of the time evolution of this wine in the mouth, a broad attack that gave way in about 3 seconds to a sensation of acceleration and flaring across the entire breadth of the palate as the wine detonated, an oenological version of a jet... And then a persistent finish where the inner mouth perfume resonates as it fades slowly (or simply moved off to some parallel universe). — 11 years ago

Young Bock Lee

10

Aroma came up very easily, showing extreme floral and feminine aromas with silky texture of shiraz. It is rich but never too full. Maybe the most elegant shiraz that I've ever tasted in these days. — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

It has been a great day hanging out with my love & best friend for Valentines Day. If I could give anyone young enough advise on selecting partner, marry your best friend you love. Greater degree of happiness & success. ❤️😍😘🥰

Love you Sofia and raise a glass of one of our favorite N/V Rosé Bubbles in celebration. Cheers! 🍾🥂

Happy Valentines Days everyone. Hope you are with the wine & one you love the most.

@Oswald — 6 years ago

Kapyrick Wine

9.0

V15. Very good and well balanced. Smoked meat and cedar nose. Juicy black berry fruit. Soft, velvet black pepper finish. Nice wine. — 7 years ago

Brian R

9.3

Starting to find that good California pinots are better after a few years or a few days after opening or both. — 8 years ago

JT

9.5

full body, jammy strawberry — 8 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.1

K, this rating is certainly biased by my past experience with A. Rafanelli which has been amazing. Unless you want to open 2015 and allow to sit a couple days...wait! This is too young to be opened which makes me grateful I have another bottle I’ll crack open in, say, a year or so and it’ll be perfect out of the bottle. That said I tasted this day by day for three days and it just kept improving. If you open too young give it TIME. In youth it needs some time but once it has time? Hot damn. The tannins, alcohol, acid and fruit are in equal balance three days in...now. Wait two years and it may be extraordinary out of the bottle. — 9 years ago

Liz Hale

9.1

Berry, dry, delish. My new boat and beach can of fun!!! — 10 years ago

Rebecca Fletcher

9.1

Nutty, orange rind, and chocolate. M+ acid and M sweetness. M+ intensity. On the palate, raisin, dried fruit, cherry, caramel and orange. Long finish. — 10 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.4

2002 vintage Rose. Light salmon, copper hue. Chalk, wet rock to the fore. Red currant and cranberry. Slight blossom notes. Iron fragments. On the palate, very lean and balanced as is the Crystal style. Not the concentration of the white 2002. If there's any tannins here, you have to focus to notice them. Maybe at the back end there's a touch of weight from the tannins. Very young - too young. Don't touch for 7-10 years. Makings of a great wine as acidity is so balanced with the fruit. Love it. NB: Pinot cold macerated for 4 days - to extract colour but little tannins. Then blended with Chardonnay and co-fermented. Quite unique. No added red wine per se. — 11 years ago

Austin Ferrari

Wine Director Hillside Supper Club

9.6

Real wine! Lapierre takes me back to the chez days! — 12 years ago

with Aran

Ely Cohn

9.1

Bianco Antico sees a ridiculous 180 days on the skins of Malvasia di Candia Aromatica (different from plain Malvasia). It’s a grippy fully hopped juicy East Coast IPA. Copper tone. Bitter citrus and green tea and grapefruit.

Must love orange wine. Must love bitter dry. — 6 years ago

Andrew S

9.2

A lot of power, plenty of fruit and acidity for days. This is in a nice spot, but still on the way up. There’s a nice dusty/tar note, fennel, a touch of leather, maybe even a hint of violets. Best with a big rich meal. — 7 years ago

Michael Greene

9.4

Exceptional. Nose explodes with peach, melon, and grapefruit. Finish goes for days. — 7 years ago

Hayley McCord

9.2

What a great benchmark for my first White Rioja. This special wine has notes of fleshy ripe cantaloupe, jasmine and anise. Balanced with the yeasty and oxidative almost sherry like quality. I could drink this on a cold winter evening or a bright summer days. It is balanced, elegant and the finish is long and complex. — 8 years ago

with Jamie

Robert Evans Jr

9.3

Sweet Clean Crisp Honey suckle Green Apple — 8 years ago

with Nicole

Vijay Vaidy

9.8

Hard to find a better ambassador for 2001 Napa style. I'm not sure these wine makers ever surpassed this era ... Unfortunately a bit premium priced these days, but worth dropping some $$$ for, more than the average peer — 10 years ago

Chris Murray

9.5

Delicious. Dark, syrupy but fruity. — 10 years ago

Megan Langston

9.1

Catching up from last week's wine tasting — 10 years ago

with Brent

Willie Carter

9.0

The Boxer is big as hell and will take you where you want to go. Tons of dark fruit with coffee and cherries. I don't usually dig chocolate but it works here. The creaminess and the plums are on full display but it's the boldness that steals the show. — 10 years ago

David Langstaff

9.0

Whats not to like about a 35 year Yquem? A little thin. Honey and a little lemony. Gets a little faded toast at the end. But ... Works for me! — 12 years ago