Mary H

9.1

Fun, funky and natty! Candied ginger, fermented bamboo shoot, kumquats. — a month ago

Matt Perlman

9.5

Strawberry, rhubarb, blood orange, and exotic spice. Mind blowing — 2 years ago

Vanessa

9.1

Cheers to the wines of South Africa 🇿🇦

This Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir is unique in that the grapes used to produce it primarily came, not from Hamilton Russell vineyards, but rather from neighboring vignerons.

Hamilton Russell made this unprecedented decision in the aftermath of devastating wild fires that imparted smoke taint to its estate-grown grapes. Unwilling to compromise on quality, I applaud Hamilton Russell for its tenacity and willingness to forge ahead to create this delicious Pinot Noir for its customers. 👏👏👏

This wine is comprised of fruit hailing from three different Hemel-en-Aarde (aptly meaning “heaven and earth”) Wards within the Walker Bay District, in the Cape South Coast Region of South Africa’s Western Cape.

This wine is a reflection of community, camaraderie, and commitment to excellence.❤️

👁 It is medium ruby with pale fuchsia rim variation.

👃 On the nose this wine has a medium(+) intensity of youthful aromas. The aromas include candied cherry, strawberry rhubarb preserves, violet, dried orange peel, white pepper, star anise, clove, and nutmeg.

👄 On the palate this wine is dry. It has medium(+) acidity, a medium body, medium alcohol, medium tannins, and medium intensity of flavors consistent with the nose. This wine has a medium finish.

Hamilton Russell, Pinot Noir, Walker Bay, ABV 13.5%. Vintage 2019. — 4 years ago

with Deked1

Freddy R. Troya

8.9

A hidden gem straight out of Bel-Air, a sophisticated Sauv Blanc vinified to age. Floral and tropical fruit notes on the nose, on the palate it welcomes you with some hint of dried peach and moderate citrus. It has some texture and a bit weight, yet it remains crisp on the mid range of the palate and has some distant but palatable candied white fruits. Drink not or cellar it for a later stage as this can easily age. — 5 months ago

Luis Arguero (@winefromAtoZ)

8.9

Los Pilares San Diego County Red Blend 2013: Fresh. Natural. Extraordinary. Consisting of 50% Grenache & 50% Carignan, this was a light-bodied, extremely unique wine. Red fruits (cranberry & cherry). Plum. Earth. Short finish. For me, the wine was a bit thin on structure but very clean & natural tasting. This was my first San Diego County wine and it left me quite intrigued & impressed. Hoping to explore other San Diego wines in the near future. Cheers🍷 — 3 years ago

Aaron Rankin

9.4

Such a treat. Closed initially and opens after a few minutes. Big, graceful, complex, nuanced, this has all of the goods. Ripe red fruits, some tart cherry, blood orange, and pine. Med+ mouthfeel, med acid, med- tannins and a finish that goes and goes. — 5 years ago

Aaron Tan

8.9

Surprisingly, I kinda liked this despite my aversion to overly-hopped beers. The nose is a straight up hop-bomb - floral, citrusy, piney. The palate's also full-on, with heaps of hoppy bitterness, but balanced by malty sweetness and tropical fruit notes (passionfruit and mango for me). Finishes crisp and earthy. Not bad, but not my kind of beer (not an IPA fan basically). — 6 years ago

Bruce Leboff

8.9

A little long in the tooth. Colour a deeper yellow than a younger example. Nose is subtle ( read limited) interesting on the palate. Pleasant with a medium long finish. — 6 months ago

with David

Matt Austin

Owner/Winemaker, Grosgrain Vineyards, Walla Walla, WA

9.3

From a 16 acre vineyard in the hills of Bel Air. Probably the most expensive vineyard property in the US. It’s currently owned by Rupert Murdoch, but this is from before his purchase in 2013. This is legit good. Much better than any Malibu wines I’ve had. 13.8 listed alcohol and fairly restrained style. Let’s rip down all of those mansions and plant some grapes! — 3 years ago

Shay A

9.3

I had a disappointing experience with the 2017 a few months back (I think it was in a dumb phase, because these are normally delicious), and wanted to see how the 2016 fared. I also wanted to compare my GlasVin aromatic burg glass with my new Grassl Cru burg glass.

Classic RM SE wine here. At five years, it’s still voluptuous and rich enough to play to those who enjoy the bigger style but has plenty of acidity and snap on the palate to cater to those who prefer more restraint. It does have some signature blood orange both aromatically and on the palate, along with spice, dark floral tones/potpourri and rich black cherry. Whereas the 2017 showed more cola and menthol, I don’t get that at all here. Bright and lifted overall profile. Quite delicious and will be easily for another 5+yrs.

As an aside, the Grassl Cru glass has a much more narrow rim and makes the aromatics more concentrated than the GlasVin. They both drank similarly. Maybe Grassl for more lean/true burgundy pinots that may need concentration and GlasVin for new world/bigger style pinots since they don’t need as much help in the aromatic department. — 4 years ago