Eric Godin

9.8

Day 2 of my cold, we open an 89 lafite at work. Let's take my best shot.
A cool menthol with fennel and licorice pour out of the glass, dust is in the air, strawberries have been dried, currants stewed. Potpourri and pepper hand in hand. Lilies, pollen, honeysuckle. Nutmeg and candied ginger come next and it's time to sip before it starts to slip.
Cherries and spice, sandalwood. Depth and harmony. A tannin that is neither polished nor agressive. The potpourri is here too, and the flowers carry on 30 seconds later. The palate seems to brighten the longer I wait. Juicy wild blackberry and overripe raspberry. This actually tastes like a nice jam. Then it darkens, broadens, and holds with confidence. Now that's a sip. — 5 years ago

Eric Godin

9.4

Everything this wine is about is dark, dried, intense. Tar and figs with stewed berries on the nose yield ever-so-briefly to some bright red raspberries on the tongue but, within the course of a second, dry out and deepen to dried blackberries and figs, then further still to paste and dare I say to completely dehydrated. From there is transitions perfectly into an agressive, yet polished medium tannic finish. Every glass does the same, and it's a fun quick ride. Braised short ribs didn't hold much to this, but the blacklabel it did its job proudly. It's a proud wine, who gives off the quick impression that it is approachable and friendly, then unyeildingly drags you into it's deep, dark personality and doesn't care what you think. — 6 years ago

with Jay

Eric Godin

9.5

Sherry, brandied fruits. I lost my write-up on this one but as I wrote it became increasingly apparent how futile using words to describe this was. 76% Pinot noir, my favorite! Tart, taught, resonating with elegance. — 6 years ago

Eric Godin

9.6

Opening up like a Pinot, started off with potpourri and lemon zest, floated off to sandalwood, cigar tobacco, white and yellow flowers, blackberry, and leather and bee pollen. Flavors swing from bright, lemon-fresh berries and somehow flow through a gammut of berries and grapes into a dark, cocoa, flinty rock. A single, elegant cascade through flavors that lasts over a minute. A slow ride that ends so sweetly and softly you forget how much you're looking to sip again. Astonishing how bright this wine still is. — 6 years ago

Eric Godin

9.5

Opening up with a sweet sweet Meyer lemon and citrus zest from orange and lemon. As the glass warms, a fun funk of moldy cheese emerges along with some cinnamon. Warming further we see smoke, salt, limestone and granite.
The first sip of this is a roller coaster. Oddly enough fruit is the first thing across the tongue, followed hand in hand by a bright creamy smooth acidity ripe with gritty stones and finishing with a sharp, fresh, lemon juice. It has this dynamic tension, vibrating and singing with stinging stone. I haven't before seen minerals driven like this. A fun and playful pairing to all those stinky cheeses or mushrooms you surely paired along with it since no one in the house eats seafood. ;) — 6 years ago

with Jay

Eric Godin

9.2

Cinnamon raisins and ripe red fruits. Plush plum, pomegranate, and berries. Perfect balance of astringency, fruitiness, coarse tannins and acidity. Great for food or on its own to sit and enjoy over long conversation. — 6 years ago

Eric Godin

A nice ripe Bosch pear and pear skin shows on the second day the bottle has been open. Honeysuckle, lemon, white pepper, wet gravel.
On the first sip it is apparent you need food with this wine. Acid through the roof, sharp lemon, lemon zest, pear mid pallatte with a lightly bitter finish of lemon rind and a chalky, slatey, clay-like minerality. This wine is not bashful and is not concerned if you aren't ready for it. It was made with intention and you should pair accordingly. I made some rich cheesy gougeres that were a bit overpowered by this wine. — 6 years ago

Eric Godin

9.8

The last wine standing of another great trip through LA. A bit of a roller coaster in my journey, this bottle presented a similar situation. Upon setting the screw, the entire, intact cork pushed straight into the bottle. This may have been a sign of excessive exposure to oxygen, however maybe it just brought a little more age to to this relatively young wine. Heavy fur and peppery potpourri slowly opened to increasingly softening dusty gunpowdery tannins and a seedy blackberry jam. Not the kind you see anywhere else in the world. The earth matches the fruit in perfect balance while restraining itself as if not to overwhelm you or offend. A big, powerful wine indeed, but a power than comes from within, a power based on its subtleties and it's grace like a seasoned swordsman. — 6 years ago

with Jay

Eric Godin

9.7

Comes out of the gate swinging with closely interwoven fruit and spice, clay and wet earth. As it rolls along in the decanter(so hard to give it the time it deserves!) it starts to reveal some of its maturity - worn leather, cedar, warm hearth and incomprehensible lovely woods. Maybe hickory, cedar and smokey charged oak. At times it's smoked tomato and juicy beautiful barbecue. Had we granted the bottle the time, the story would have continued, perhaps forever. A whiff of VA was actually in balance and didn't offend me, with all the dried flowers and dessicated fruit leathers, all was welcome. A bottle of art, paired nicely with a rich pasta Alfredo. Age shown nicely, acidity still strong though I wouldn't wait too much more than a few more years. Thank you, Giuseppe. A story in every glass. — 6 years ago

with Jay

Eric Godin

9.8

Pure velvet roses and violets. The smell of the half ounce of this fills my entire face. Black tea, potpourri, anise, cherry, raspberry.
Finally sipping; tart, tight candied cherries and fruit roll up rush through driving by a perfect acidity. Black tea and anise show nicely as well. What an experience. A whole glass would be a vacation. — 6 years ago