Mo

9.2

A superb Zinfandel blend that tastes great now and possesses the requisite structure to age. Ridge sets the standard in American winemaking. Their corpus of high quality wines is unmatched in America and challenges the entire industry worldwide. — a month ago

Gilbert Van Hassel

9.5

Not only the best Swiss Chardonnay but worldwide. Smokey, chalky, long burn wonderful. Too little available and even less to get your hands on. Puts many burgundies to shame. — 4 years ago

george parkinson

9.2

bright garnet hues, bing cherry aroma, unctuous like so many 2015’s I’ve had worldwide. soft acidity but stated and present, medium body and finish. clean and well kept. — 6 years ago

Daniel Orenstein

9.0

Caramelized oxidized- lots of bruised apple and baking spices. Great mashed Thanksgiving pal — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Tried the new NV batch, blend of 60% Pinot Noir & 40% Chard. Established in northern Italy’s Trentino region over a century ago, & earned a worldwide rep as a source of luxury metodo classico sparkling wines from Italy. A blend of 60% Pinot Noir & 40% Chardonnay, nice light salmon color with aromas of fresh fruit and biscuit notes. On the palate flavors of strawberry, cherry and citrus, crisp with sweet undertones. Well balanced with lively acidity. Medium finish ending with a smoky mineral character. — 8 years ago

Sawyer Donovan

10

Absolute one of my favourite Chardonnays-so perfectly balanced with the new and old pal creation a lemon, butter and creamy finish! ❤️ — 8 years ago

Bret Barker

9.4

Vita Bella! What an elegant wine. Black Cherry, mineral, some floral notes, very soft tannins with a long smooth finish. My wife finished her first glass before I did and gave me a look.. better get involved pal!.. yes ma’am! — 9 years ago

Chris Zitzman

9.2

The 2023 Ottoventi Nerello Mascalese is a deep ruby-hued, single varietal from Sicily that should not be overlooked.

In fact, if you’re not familiar with the grape itself you can look for it within an easy majority of any of the reds that come from Sicily. To me- and I’ve been in a major Sicilian phase- this example of the variety goes right to the nature that appeals so distinctly to its fans worldwide.

While Nero d’Avola seems to be the grape that dominates the wines that we in the US- know that this is not that.

Of all the wines I’ve had made from Nerello Mascalese, I’ve thought of them far more approachable, more complex, and at times in a league of their own on a global stage. — 6 months ago

with Beth

Jay Eagan

9.5

Absolutely great Cabernet from Prichard Hill for my great SC pal — 5 years ago

with Kristine

Roger Ray

9.1

Perfect dark, bold Rioja - enjoyed with our family & friends over Thanksgiving meal. Worthy of the Decanter Gold Worldwide Award medal. — 7 years ago

Neal Ferry

8.9

1st Place and we win.... I haven’t won for about a year on competition because I’m making changes to what I have been going with over what my instincts tell me. Have to give all the credit on this one to Jeffrey Bell at HyVee 132nd & Dodge... thanks pal. Interesting this was the oldest vintage year of the 4 tonight — 7 years ago

Tawnia Milligan- Beckwith

8.9

Easy drinking red. Full@bodied for the cab lovers :) — 8 years ago

Steven Perlman

9.2

My pal Dave is a great host. Everyone talks about cigars leather and earth in this stuff. And they’re right! — 8 years ago

Chris Loretta

9.3

A Bottle to celebrate the life of an old friend. Miss you Raymond! Thanks for all the good memories pal. — 9 years ago

Spencer Fox

9.3

pal of mine just whipped this out from a cabinet in his living room. porcinis, cracked leather, cherries, gorgeous tannin structure. so generous and expressive. feeling like one lucky piece of shit — 2 years ago

Daniel M

9.1

A Talbot blanc with a bit of age on it. This is a tribute to Jean Pierre Marty, former wine director at Talbot and my father's best pal from the University who passed a bit over a year ago.
The color is a golden hue with almost a lemon peel nuance. The nose is marked by lemon and vanilla with some hay and flowery notes too. The palate shows a great acid drive, some nice lemony notes and a great width, some nice grip and a long finish with lemon, vanilla notes that last for a good minute... White Bordeaux for the win — 4 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

With global warming, this GSM is much more attractive than 90% of the Southern Rhône blends it’s patterned after. Nose has lots of kirschy Grenache fruit, loads of smoky ground stone minerality, and roasted green herbs. Trim yet mouthfilling, the palate is dry, not jammy at all, yet with nicely ripe fruit and tons of savory notes accompanied by zingy acids. Great dinner pal. — 6 years ago

Manuel Buergi

9.4

Accomasso. Years ago most didn't know him or not care about his wines. Now his Baroli are among the rarest worldwide. Good or bad? What an honor it was to taste this uber classic beautiful 1996 "Rocchette" (official single vineyard in "Rocche dell'Annunziata, la morra) from this outstanding vintage recently. Dark berries, cranberries, smoke, road tar & torched earth. Still a firm tannic structure, I loved a lot among the flavors of first maturity. A very straight, austere and honest Barolo that shows the traditional character of what Nebbiolo can be. Hope to stumble upon another 1996 again someday... — 8 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.0

This wine is a marvel of complexity that unfold as the minutes tick by. At first an herbal salt n pepper bomb it unfolds little by little like a delicate origami crane (clearly I’ve been crafting) to show its angles. A soundly linear wine with a...not quite a kick...but a huzzah in the bitter greens direction. And a bedrock of cola. Cherry cola. My favorite part of Pinot noir is the cola-leaden earth. Macerated black cherries hold down the fort. For all this complexity it is a straight shooting wine: the pal with a crazy life story who can distill information into NPR-worthy sound bites. It’s a beautiful babe that I think will hold up for years. Looking forward to seeing the flowers and earth in, say, 2021. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

The 14 Chablis are really good. This Louis Michel is no different. An excellent example of little intervention of good fruit. This producer uses no oak; which I really appreciate. After you start to appreciate good Burgundy, CA Chardonnays aren't that interesting. Not that I don't ever drink or enjoy some CA Chardonnay producers, I just prefer the cooler climate Chardonnays that don't use new oak. This 14 was clean through and through. Bright citrus, peach, touch of green apple, soft minerality, touch of saline, creamy texture and beautiful round acidity and ripe, elegant finish. Photos of, Louis Michel vineyard, vineyard heat sources to protect the vine buds during their sometimes difficult Spring weather/frosts, Guillaume Michel (Owner/Winemaker) and their Domaine. Producer notes and history...It was largely believed that Michel family had only been cultivating Chablis since 1850. More on that in a bit. The winery is situated right in the heart of the village with 25 hectares spread over the very first slopes that were discovered by Cistercian monks in the 11th century. 40 years ago, the family decided to stop making the wine in wooden barrels, preferring to create clean, pure and precise Chablis without adding artificial woody tastes. I've said it more than once and I'll say it again, if you have good white grapes, strong wood use only covers up good fruit flavor or hides mistakes either in the vineyard or cellar, baring a stylistic choice. Through this philosophy, combined with the limited yields inspired by organic wine-growing techniques, the Domaine has developed a worldwide reputation for fine wine-making in stainless steel tanks. Today, the Domaine is managed by Jean-Loup Michel and his nephew, Guillaume Michel, who is continuing the family tradition. The importance of their work in the vineyards cannot be overstated. Guillaume Michel is a firm believer in the philosophy that if you do a good job in the vineyard, 90 per cent of the work is done when the grapes arrive at the winery. This statement could not be more true in my opinion. It his grandfather who started the philosophy, Guillaume has only continued it and evolved it with modern changes equipment etc.. It’s a matter of preserving the authenticity of each terroir...working with very pure and clean wines. They understand and like to work differences in terroir. Making it very important to have the same vinification for all the different terroirs. It is important to have an aromatically neutral vinification. Up until recently it was believed that the winemaking history of the family began in 1850, but thanks to Guillaume’s mother and her genealogical pursuits the date has been moved back to at least 1640. Around that time a winemaker from nearby Tonnerre settled in Chablis, marking the beginning of the families venture in Chablis. Domaine Louis Michel covers a total of 25 hectares. A very large part (15 hectares) is the domaine’s premier crus. In addition to that there is two hectares of Petit Chablis vines, six hectares of village Chablis and two hectares of grand crus. Vaudesír is the families biggest grand crus. Vaudesír is interesting because it is actually a valley. One side facing south, very hot, producing concentrated and powerful wines. In Grenouilles, Domaine Louis Michel has half a hectare at the top of the slope. This nine hectare grand cru is just over 7 hectares and is owned by the cooperative La Chablisienne. Vaudesír and Grenouilles are quite similar in terms of soil. Vaudesír has a bit more of clay. Les Clos, their third grand cru, is very rocky. Les Clos is the typical Kimmeridgian soil of Chablis. If you're like me and enjoy your white wine with good clean fruit rather than with oak or too much oak but haven't tried Louis Michel wines, pick up a bottle. I think you'll fall in love with the style and the value as many are under $30.
— 9 years ago