Eric Urbani

9.0

Still reliable. $32 at Costco ! — 8 months ago

Brandon Passley

9.0

Dark and rich. A little sweeter than I expected with the port. Would buy again. — 4 years ago

David Koenen

9.1

Raspberry, wet pebbles , basil, tomato leaf, whiff of pepper, salty, lip smacking finish. Very fine. — 5 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.3

Another mystery wine I don’t recall buying..glad I did. So hard not to groove on aged Sangiovese from a very good producer. Soft, silken, smooth and remarkably dark and concentrated at age 16. Home-made pasta, meatballs, and sausage and playoff football... doesn’t get much better. The wine displays beautiful classic notes of berry, sun-dried tomato, and some dirt. But marvelous match with the acidity of tomato sauce with pork and basil. Used to always tell buyers to stick to the two “f’s” when it comes to everyday reliable Tuscan red. — 5 years ago

Bryan Vogt

9.2

A little sweeter than I would like for a rye but so smooth — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Lush, fruit forward. Candied dates, prunes, clove, roasted character on the front. Gives way to a darker smoked meat character. Was the best with the homemade salad dressing consisting of avocado, fresh basil, Greek yogurt, green onion, garlic and parsley. In a way I could see all of these characteristics in this wine. In the past these have seemed a little tight and a bit closed off on the finish, but this wine was ready for the show. I think this producer is really quite underrated when it comes to the time it takes for these to really start expressing and I would put these up against any of the South African 'first growth' wineries. — 7 years ago

Ekasit Poositranusorn

9.5

Drink again on Nov 28, 2018; and this wine continues to remain my most favorite from Medoc. Must let it breath at least 30 minutes. Dark but bright ruby red color with very fresh aromas of red fruits like cherry, plum, and tobacco on the nose. Full-bodied and followed by very nice flavors of cherry, blackcurrant, chocolate, and a touch of sweet basil & dry tomato on the palate. Dry, silky but solid tannins, and end nicely with long length at the end. — 8 years ago

Michael & Lauren Keller

9.2

Such a delightful rosé! Juicy watermelon jolly rancher balanced with hint of cinnamon and basil. — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Over the last few years, I’ve grown quite fond of Raul Pérez’s wines. The challenge is, some of them can be rather elusive. “La Penitencia” is one of those wines. So I was pretty excited to try this. Popped and poured; consumed over three days. Wine pours deep ruby bordering purple and slightly turbid with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity. There does appear to be a small amount of fine sediment clinging to the side of the glass. On the nose, the wine is intense. There’s obvious presence of VA and overall, comes across natty; more than any other Raul Pérez wine I’ve had before. That being said, it is remarkably fresh with notes of cherry and blackberry; the pits, seeds, stems and all. There’s also spices, cinder block, and un-excavated basement. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+, bordering on high acid. Again, bright red and dark fruits along with pomegranate, grapefruit, and basil. The finish is a touch mousey with a biscuity sort of thing happening but it’s tolerable and I’m pretty sensitive. This would be too wild for many. Reminds me a bit of Fabio Gea’s “Onde Gravitational”. Plenty of life ahead for these. As it stands, I have another bottle and I won’t be in any particular rush to drink it. Lovely stuff. — 4 years ago

Lars Fasel

9.1

Covid Chianti kick continues. Nice herb and spice component. Tarragon, basil, sage w/ some tomato action. All held up in classic Chianti cherry. Great for price. — 5 years ago

Michelle M

9.4

Dense blackberry and strong cherry on the nose with spicy notes of mint, sage, basil, and black pepper. Later hints on brown sugar as it opens up. Nicely polished summer berries on the palate with a good tannic grip and sharp peppery spice lingering on the finish. — 6 years ago

Emily Kresie-Harrington

9.1

2016 vintage. Stemmy, fragrant, floral, much lighter than Cahors or any Argentine example. Candied violet, crabapple, blackberry, elderberry, incense, anise, tarragon, Thai basil. Really fun, especially with a little chill. — 7 years ago

Mary Rossillo

9.1

Wild strawberry and basil, light and stemmy — 7 years ago

Manchester Sheldon

9.0

Eucalyptus mixed with basil followed by tangerine peel on the nose, light acidity, barely fruity but rich with a finish of a hint of cassia bark. — 8 years ago

Corinna Korpela

9.5

Bio/organic practices with indigenous yeast, granitic soils. Great savory herbaceous basil, spice, dark fresh fruit, a little chocolate after being opened for awhile, some tannins well integrated. Delicious and food friendly — 4 years ago

Kristen Grimes

9.2

Blind Date wine! Blind tasting notes: "Bright ruby red, candied red fruits, jolly rancher and bubble gum. Low acid, low tannin, slightly effervescent. The food pairing suggestion makes us think Italy, but the fruitiness and low acid and tannin makes us think Not Italy." Soooo tasty with a BLT and pasta salad with tomato and basil. — 5 years ago

Lauren Vance

Buyer Whole Foods Market Oakland

9.0

Fresh, expressive and complete rosé. Fresh strawberry basket, muddled raspberry, stone fruit finish. White roses, basil, touch of white pepper. Hearty enough for BBQ. — 5 years ago

MaJ CappS

9.0

Smokey barnyard action.
Love that very complex nose.
Heavy bodied beauty bathed in dark flavor, Hints of genoveses basil, with prominent flavors of toasted blackberry,. A classically wonderful Rhône valley wine, orange peel acidity and well layered oak tannins. — 6 years ago

George Doolan

9.6

AP 10. Recommended for those who like sucking on rocks. This one evolved a lot over four hours, in the beginning, very powerful, salty with lime, fresh picked yellow flowers with warmth from orange citrus, sherbert flavors and persimmony- mineral core. Over time, the wine grew more chiseled, developing more tension and great complexity, especially considering this wine as a extremely pure with little botrytis. Minty-thai basil freshness complemented greatly with almost red fruited sweet fruit quality + rich red minerals + spice rack. 10.5% and off dry, this is a style of auslese rarely seen today but for me plays at the highest level. This is what umami means to me. #BerndPhilippi getting it done. — 7 years ago

Ray Vanderhoff

8.9

Eastern European origins for this grape. FLX wine from the originator’s winery. Sour lemon, peach and apricot aromas and flavors. Hints of fresh basil and oregano. Touch of mineral/slate. Crisp acidity. Good balance. If you want something other than FLX Riesling, this one is a very good alternative. — 7 years ago