Edward Nelson

9.2

Rocco’s takeout and a nice bottle. Not a bad Saturday night. Bonus that the wife is letting me call the ball after dinner. — 22 days ago

Steve Anderson

9.2

Old Faithful. Year after year. — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2019 vintage. Big and brooding from being disturbed during hibernation. Medium-heavy body. Pretty nose and a smoking profile. Sexy in an earthy, grounded way. Decanted and tasted after 30 mins and 2 hours post-decant. Still super-tight but all the promise of pleasure is there for the long game/cellar. Focus and push for decades. Would like to revisit in five years. 7.30.23. — 2 years ago

Steven Beishuizen

9.1

Five years after the vintage, this 2016 is drinking beautifully... Very deep coloring but a light nose of slightly liquered cherry.. On the palate, this one coats the mouth with that cherry flavor, with very integrated tannin. Not overly acidic here, but taking each sip makes me think of roast meat food pairings. Sage and zippy black pepper on medium finish. Very nice. — 4 years ago

with Anita

Neil Valenzuela

9.4

A nice comparison of French St. Julien and French winemaker, in the US with a Napa Cab.
The 1972 vintage was one of the legendary five Cabs selected for the 1976 Paris Tasting.

This 1975, had a deep garnet color with a brick rim. Loads of blackberry on the nose, casis and earthy notes. Fruit forward, black fruit and plum dominate, nice tannins. This wine definitely evolved through the evening.

Previous Notes Apply to the 75 St Julien:
Deep ruby color. Aromas of red fruit, leather and earthy notes. Amazing flavors, blackberry, black currant, tobacco and baking spices.

🏅92 Points - Decanter — a month ago

with Quentin

Shay A

9.2

My experience with South African red wines is limited, but I’ve enjoyed some Meerlust reds and a few other random bottles. I have to say, while this wasn’t a revelation, it is the best South African wine I’ve had to date.

This was a bottle opened blind for a few people. Oddly enough, there were similarities to this and a 2013 Almaviva…a burnt rubber/tire note on the nose alongside a vegetal/herbal pronounced note on the nose. Tangy/sour black cherries, red currant and red licorice too. Mostly red and black underripe fruit dominant. Even a bit of tar. This drinks like a chinon mixed with a lean vintage Bordeaux…the spice and vegetal flair is there next to the lightweight mid palate from a cooler Bordeaux vintage. A blend of five “noble varietals” in honor of Bordeaux, this was a unique wine that had people guessing from all over the world. After 1-2hrs of air from
bottle, it was balanced/integrated and ready to roll. I’d enjoy these sooner rather than later. — 4 years ago

Shay A

9.2

I’m between a 91-92 (same as I was for the Brut Reserve). After going through 6 of these and 6 brut reserve over the last year, I feel confident in the longevity of these Blanc de Blanc champagnes.

For a Blanc de Blanc, this shows plenty of yeasty/toasty notes with fleshy characteristics. Sea salted flaky honey buttered biscuits with lemon scone and honeysuckle aromatics. While the palate is similar, the finish is so drastically different than the rest of this champagne…almost too tart. Palate profile is rich with yellow fruits, kiss of nougat, and some classical limestone. The finish is just crazy underripe and again, tart. Razor sharp acidity. I think this is a champagne that benefits from time, whereas the Brut reserve is perfectly fine to consume now. — 4 years ago

Chris Zitzman

9.4

What a find. Not cheap ($50-70ish?) but as got the prices, so go the expectations and this wine from the Bedrock wine Company surpasses the lofty expectations I had for it. After a good, thorough decant this red blend opened up in a righteous fashion, with rich red fruits on the nose and one of the more ‘powerful yet graceful’ textures on the palate I’ve experienced in a long time. We had it with ribeye steaks and it was a meal for the books as the wine evolved in the glass. Powerful but graceful, stem to stern. — 2 months ago

with Beth

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

The follow up to the 03 Leonetti. @Paul T- Huntington Beach & I have been telling readers about older Jones Family Vineyards for some time. If you haven’t had or not tried this producer it will be the last time I try to entice to you to try this producer. Talking about it more will only drive up the prices on the secondary market.

This 09 is damn beautiful after nearly a four hour decant but it is still fairly youthful.

It is ruby, lush, gorgeous, ripe fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum with skin, dark cherries, plum, hues of purple, blue fruits & raspberries, poached strawberries, black licorice, mixed, dark berry cola, steeped black tea, dry crushed rocks, limestone minerals, dry top soil, dry herbs, hints of eucalyptus, dry clay, dry tobacco, new leather, spice, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon & vanillin, withering red & dark florals framed in violets & lavender, beautiful round acidity, beautiful; balance, tension, structured, smartly polished finished that lasts minutes.

Still needs another 5-8 years to show its best self.

The Jones Family vineyard is located off Bale Lane in Calistoga and was planted to all five Bordeaux varieties by David Abreu in the early 1990s. Heidi Barrett made the wines until 2008, and Thomas Rivers Brown now makes the wines. — 2 years ago

Jeff Lin

8.9

Very tanic in the beginning. Much smoother after some time — 4 years ago