Paul Jakubowski

9.3

Dark gold color. Needed some air to blow off some funk. Nutty and buttery with low acid. Medium plus depth. Finish could have been longer. Good QPR @ $34. — 17 days ago

David Shaw

9.1

New vintage, 722 cases made. Label promotes the wine as “fresh, lively, and dry”. Orange, red and pink in color, sparkling clarity; label notes that bentonite clay was used for “clarity and stability”. Nice to see such transparency (with no pun intended); honesty and disclosure are worthy goals here. A touch of sulfite and funk in the nose initially, this blows off later. Tutti frutti flavors, but mostly cherry, good acid, mercifully dry. Strawberry lemon finish with slight skin astringency. Tasty and true to varietal. — 5 days ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.4

Even “off” vintages are great! — 9 days ago

Jeremiah Juso

10

Insanely smooth - off the beaten path flavors — 3 days ago

Paul Jakubowski

9.0

11yr Wedding Anniversary! Wine needed a decant but we didn’t have time. Dark purple color. Great nose of cedar, dark cherries, and rustic elements. Was surprised by the olives and meats on the palate. Was very CDP like. Not sure if it’s in a weird spot, an off bottle, or meant to be that type of blend. Wasn’t bad, but not my style. Medium depth and finish. — 4 days ago

with Brooke

Jay Kline

9.3

Opened about an hour prior to service. The 2011 Chateau Simone pours a slightly turbid garnet color. Right off the first pour, this certainly isn’t faking the funk on a nasty dunk. Redolent of tart cherry, pomegranate, cranberry, cow pasture, red flowers, earth, mushrooms and grilled spiced meats. On the palate, the fruit and non-fruits are confirmed accompanied by stiff tannins and acid. The finish is long and satisfying. A wild yet charming wine. This was a fabulous pairing with grilled lamb chops. Drink now or over the next 5-10 years. — 16 days ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.0

Nice. Aged well for a twist off. — a day ago

Ericsson

9.3

This evolves decently over a couple of hours. Starts off discombobulated: tight, spicy, and herbal-ish, but turns into a structured, more mature powerful red despite its eighteen year old age.

At about the two hour mark the color is purple to ruby. Pronounced initial intensity with with redcurrant, blackcurrant, plus ripe red and black plum; followed by black pepper, clove, cedar, and finally meat and game blood. Dry, medium acidity, medium tannings, high alcohol, full bodied with high flavor intensity and a lengthy finish.

Very good wine. — 5 days ago

Jay Kline

9.2

My first experience with the 2013 Musar Blanc. I opened this bottle about an hour prior to service and enjoyed over the next three hours. Served at cellar temperature. The wine pours a bright golden color with medium, almost medium+ viscosity. The nose is…fascinating. Notes of lemon, herbs, marigolds, honey, marmalade, cloves, bandaid, and something that reminded me of an old rail yard. No cap. On the palate, lemon curd, slightly underripe star fruit, green herbs, a bitterness that reminds of walnut skin…the wine is really wooly, with a long smokey and rather saline finish. Medium+ acid that builds with air. This is about as Musar as it gets. Rustic, wild and irresistible all the same. I’m sure this bottle isn’t without flaw but that’s sort of what you get with Musar. Anyway, we had no trouble finishing off the bottle. It should be noted that the wine improved with air. I’ll hold my remaining bottle until at least 2028. — 16 days ago

Erik Longabardi

9.0

Started off good. Then died. — 17 days ago