Andy Stabile

9.2

Best of the trip so far.
Big fruit. Touch of Tabacco. Crisp tannins. — 5 days ago

Pooneet K

9.3

Last had 4 years ago and was excited to check in - this didn’t disappoint. That perfect ridge mix of old world sensibility and composition with new world fruit and character. 13.8%. Finish is long with nice acid. Great pairing with steaks. Nice wine.

Happy New Year! — a month ago

Iwan

9.5

An icon for a reason. Exactly what you want from a California Cab. Balanced yet bold, powerful yet refined. Amazing. — 2 months ago

Galen Hasler

9.2

Super complex light red fruit medium soft tannins. Leather olives — 7 days ago

Silvermo

9.0

Buen rioja, aunque no creo que esta cosecha nos de esta textura y bouquet. — a month ago

Ericsson

9.7

Yes—exactly that kind of wine: timeless, composed, and quietly authoritative.

It smells so good on first pour. Damp pine forest floor and clean mountain air register immediately. Everything else unravels from there; but that initial pop-and-pour sniff is pure magic.

On the palate, blackcurrant, cedar, graphite, and dried herbs unfold with control, carried by freshness and finely etched tannins in a medium body.

So classic, so intellectual, and deeply mesmerizing. Drink now or age. — 2 months ago

Andrea Watt

9.4

Oak, chocolate, and leather. Big, rich, and full. — 5 days ago

Lance E. Farman

9.1

Massive wine, huge flavor, judicious oak. Usually wines like this would be goopy but this is not. — a month ago

Gilbert Van Hassel

9.4

Despite a 17 pct alcohol level this wine is perfectly in balance. Blood sausage, long afterburn rather sweet. — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Presented double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and no obvious signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of ripe and some dried fruits: bramble berries, slightly stewed black cherry, dried herbs, stony earth, baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. The alcohol is high.

Initial conclusions: this could be a Grenache-based blend, Corvina-based blend or Sangiovese-based blend from France or Italy. I felt the combination of slightly stewed cherry and spices ruled out what I would want from a Sangiovese blend. Which, left me to decide between Southern Rhône or Valpolicella. I liked this wine…the oak treatment was interesting. I was getting a French barrique. Hmmm…

So, for my final conclusion: I’m calling this a Grenache-based blend, from France, from Southern Rhône, from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 2017, from a more modern leaning producer using a good portion of barrique. I’ll be damned! I don’t hate my call but I gotta get better at distinguishing these wines from Southern Rhône. I probably just need to drink more of both, lol. Tasty stuff! Drink now through 2039. — 2 months ago