Andrew Mecoli

9.0

Cot (Malbec) from the Loire. Dark fruit and firm structure, but surprisingly drinkable and sharp. No sulfites added, #naturalwine. Great price quality. — 10 months ago

Kevin Løk

9.0

This label could keep @Sam Shepard warm through an interminable quarantine, boy howdy. Much thanks to #naturalwine warlord @Brendan Devine for hooking up a nice bottle from his friends at Heights Grocer.

Decanted one hour. Started slow but opened up beautifully. Tart plums and black pepper. Wanted a little more body but again I guess they left that on the label (zing!?). — 4 years ago

with Caroline

Mason Balistreri

Sommelier, International Wine Guild; Balistreri Vineyard; Sales, Joy Wine and Spirits

9.9

No one in Colorado drinks more Pax than I do. From the "glou-glou" Wind Gap label to the 100 point Hillside Syrah, I love these wines. My favorite vineyard is Griffin's Lair and I think I've had every single vintage. The older bottles can be quite big, intense; while some of the newest have converged toward the leaner Wind Gap style, but either way the terroir has always shined through any stylistic trappings to reveal some of the best Syrah in California.

This 2012 is a perfect example of just how good it can get. More "Cornas" than "Cote Rotie", it's not as elegant as the most famous French Syrahs, but it doesn't have to be! Instead, the power is simply stunning. There's absolutely no fat. No extra ripeness. No over blown oak. No decadent opulence or gimmicky fruit. This is pure, unadulterated wine that gives everything great about Syrah in a sublime fashion. Unique to this vintage is amazing tannin structure, making me think this will be the longest lived vintage I've tasted.

I know that Pax recently got a 100 point score from Galloni on his Hillside Syrah - and Iove that wine too - but how did this only get 94 points? I understand the ideological importance of awarding a perfect score to a low alcohol, lighter extracted wine, but I'm afraid it's going to discourage this classic style. I love powerful syrah and I hope it never goes away. To me, this is basically perfect.


#PaxWine #NaturalWine #Sonoma #PetalumaGap — 5 years ago

Todd Scurci

8.3

#bluebird #rosé #naturalwine — 2 years ago

with Annie

MICHAEL COOPER DipWSET

Owner TomeVinos wine shops, WSET Level 3, Blogger www.spanishwinesandmore.com, blog.tomevinos.com

8.9

100% #VerdejoNegro, also called #Trousseau, #GodelloNegro, #Bastardo or #Merenzao.
Planting year of the vineyard: The vineyard is dated at the beginning of the 20th century. Located in the payment of Casamala. Only 12 strains Only 75 bottles
Soil: Boulder and sand on clay bottom.
Height above sea level: 900m.
Winemaking method: This is the only monovarietal elaboration of this breed in these wine lands. The grapes were collected on September 24, destemmed and fermented in a stainless tank until drained on October 2. After a month's rest, he moved to remove the lees. After another month of rest it ends up bottling without filtering in 75 bottles numbering them. This microvinification shows us how our ancestors knew the possibilities of these soils and the different castes to produce wines of the highest quality. No additives are used.
Tasting notes: Vivid color, medium high layer, marked acidity, slight bitterness, acidic fruit, pirouette, wild strawberries, cherries, blueberries, violets.
Recommended temperature: 17ºC
Alcohol: 12.5% ​​VOL Total So2: 9mg / l Total acidity: 5.95 g / l PH: 3.56 Sugar: 0.0A volatil: 0.87gr / l.
Number of Bottles: 75 numbered units of 75 cl. numbered
Certifications: Conventional cultivation is not certified in organic. It is made in #naturalwine. — 4 years ago

Mason Balistreri

Sommelier, International Wine Guild; Balistreri Vineyard; Sales, Joy Wine and Spirits

8.9

Sass is always one of my favorites for the price but I hadn't tried this vintage yet. As always, the fruit is ultra bright and expressive. There's no doubt about it, this has that natural wine vibe to it. Slight VA makes the aroma explode out of the glass... raspberry, blackberry and sour cherry. It's very lifted and lively. Slightly hot and the fruit is maybe a touch astringent. Structurally, this wine lacks delineation but it's delicious anyways. It's a different take and a more honest wine than most in the price bracket. Last time I talked to Jerry Sass he told me he was using less and less so2. Very cool.

#OREGON #PINOTNOIR #SASSWINE #OREGONWINE #WILLAMETTEVALLEY #oregonpinot #naturalwine — 5 years ago

Ericsson

8.8

Grüner from Austria. The color is almost bright yellow. On the nose there’s stone, smoke and citrus, and butterscotch aromas. On the pallet this has lemon, lime, and spicy white pepper; sharp and sourish. Definitely a bold and highly acidic white wine with deep contrasts. #naturalwine — 3 years ago

Stacy Markow

8.9

#naturalwine made from 75yo Xarello Vines. Slight cider vibe, with remnants of banana runts, ginger, and flowers. — 4 years ago

Bonnie Chu

8.8

Raspberry funky funk #naturalwine. Light tannins, oh so very #cabfranc. #flatironwines — 5 years ago

Mason Balistreri

Sommelier, International Wine Guild; Balistreri Vineyard; Sales, Joy Wine and Spirits

9.6

Cool label, but can you explain what the hell "sérine" is? Apparently it's some tight clustered Syrah clone that's both "highly precise" and "vulnerable to disease". Sounds risky... Especially considering this comes from the frighteningly steep terraces of Cote Rotie. Not only that, but the wines were made without new oak or sulfur. He also picks early and uses some amount of carbonic maceration. Jean Michel Stephan uses to work for Guigal, but I guess he must of learned "what not to do" instead of mimicking the style.

The intensity is beyond belief! Cote Rotie is already aromatic, but this is amplified by the carbonic quality. Further, there's a large amount of Viognier here too, which lends a bright tropical punch in the midst of classic Syrah notes (tapenade? meatiness?). There's some similarity to the Matthieu Barret Cornas I just drank, but this has far more clarity in the aromatics - a quality both important and underrated. So striking here are the aromatics, it's hard to even move on to actually tasting the wine - but once you do, it surprises again.

This wine's balance is very strange... No oak, but the high acidity is tapered by carbonic maceration. It's soft, but lean at the same time. There's a slight oily texture which might be from the Viognier, but it's counter balanced by an amazing display of fresh fruit. Raspberry, pear, black cherry, and even pineapple. From the nose to the mid palate it's an exhilarating wine., but the finish is noticeably abrupt. The tannins are tart and bitter like the skin of an under ripe plum. Aesthetically it works. From the nose all the way into the mid palate, this wine is so "over-the-top" that a sudden, unexpected bitterness comes across as a moment of clarity instead of disappointment.

I highly recommend the wine. I hope to taste other vintages and bottlings.

#syrah #naturalwine #coterotie #northernrhone #jeanmichelstephan #syrah #biodynamic #rhone #northernrhone #rhonevalley — 5 years ago