Nishith Jobanputra

9.5

Perfection. — a month ago

Paul T- Huntington Beach

9.3

K&L notes, At the very top of the Haut-Médoc, embedded in a sea of gravel just next to the Gironde River north of St-Estèphe, sits the anomaly of the Left Bank: Château Coufran, the "Pomerol of the Médoc," so-called for its high propensity of Merlot vines in a region where Cabernet reigns supreme. While practically all of its Left Bank neighbors are making structured and powerful clarets, Coufran continues to make softer, silkier, classically tailored Right-Bank-style wines. Owned by the Miailhe family since 1924, the wine has been prized by those in the know for its early approachability and fantastic value, which is part of the reason it’s been a staple of K&L’s Bordeaux department for decades. Not only does the wine historically drink well at a younger age, it evolves beautifully over a five to ten year period. The 2009 is currently in a gorgeous spot only eight years after the vintage, showing secondary development and complexity beyond the primary fruit of its youth — a year ago

Tom Garland

9.3

Last vintage from Bressler, grapes going to Anomaly vineyards now. Was on the customer list at the start for a few years and still have 01 and 02 (popped an 02 a year ago and it was great) in the cellar. Grabbed some 2014s at a great price. For Napa, Bressler was always worth seeking...premium valley floor fruit, Mia Klein winemaker, and under $100 release price.

1 hour decant (little sediment). A splended inky dark magenta color. On the nose: floral, sandlewood, black cherry and plum, cedar, vanilla marshmallows. Taste: Elegant and smooth, soft tannins with blackberry, blueberry, chocolate, with a spicy cedar medium plus finish....ready to go another 15 years. — 4 years ago

with Brenda

ESF

8.9

Wild stuff - big bold brash - you don’t expect that w/this varietal, but this had all kinds of body & texture. Austere nose til it warmed up then it was throwing aromas like lime peel, green tea, Granny Smith, kiwi - green things… plenty of acidity, mineral & resoundingly dry finish. Anomaly / interesting, not sure we loved it — 6 months ago

Ely Cohn

9.3

Cubillo is a beautiful anomaly in a sea of $25 wines.

It’s the youngest of the lot, but the signature stamp is there, so obviously LDH Tempranillo.

Velvet milk chocolate, ripe black cherries, brand new leather boots. Rich and loaded with cocoa and coffee and raisiny red berries.

It looks like motor oil. Heck it has almost a decade in bottle. Plenty of acid to smooth out over time.

We should be stock piling this - quality and price don’t intersect so well very often. — 3 years ago

Gilbert Van Hassel

9.7

This will throw you off. First impression this is a young Rhône. First taste this a Rhône. The wine is all about power, full bodied, meaty. Not a lot of fruit nor any hard tannins. The wine is round and fills your mouth. Only on the back of your tongue you start experiencing some salinity and some of the typical barnyard Pinot. Not your regular clos de la roche, you either consider this as an anomaly or you can really like it. I decided to like it as a monumental effort but I am surprised it is a clos de l roche of one of the best producers. — 3 years ago

romo

9.0

Objectively an outstanding CF-ey anomaly. Just not for me. — a year ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Had forgotten about this one in the cellar. It’s a really nice “aged Southern Rhône” experience. So fragrant, with loads of rich mahogany and leather scents, iodine, sultry rich berries, crushed rock. Intense flavors that still show nice fruit. There is still a whack of tannin in the finish, which isn’t really drying out at all, amazingly. Probably an anomaly because this was a great and stacked and packed vintage when young. — 2 years ago

with Angelo

Martinez

9.1

A winemaking anomaly, Palo Cortado is a rare and mysterious Sherry style that “occurs” when a Fino fails to develop flor normally and begins to oxidize. Historically, these “deviant” casks would be marked with a crossed slash (“palo cortado”) to differentiate them from the rest, have their flor killed by fortifying the wine to 17-18 degrees and continue their life aging oxidatively like an Oloroso. They combine the aromatics of an Amontillado with the structure and smoothness of an Oloroso. This is a superb example by Cayetano del Pino, a venerable “almacenista” and one of the top Palo Cortado specialists. Intense nose with notes of orange peel and varnish. Smooth and powerful, with flavors of hazelnuts and a very long, subtly salty finish
— 3 years ago

Marc Melser

9.4

We had the 2013 Vintage on 8/16-17/20. The prior bottle was bad, an anomaly. This has all the characteristics and tastes of a good Napa floor Cab. Blackberry, cherry, cassis and vanilla. Full bodied, well balanced, fruit forward, New World wine. — 4 years ago