Daniel M

9.2

We are celebrating my daughter's entering teenage years (tomorrow) and this Château Pape Clément 2012 is a year older than she is. I bought 2 bottles of it at a foire aux vins in 2014 back in Paris, have kept it since then, it went through a bunch of moves, including one from Paris to Warsaw and it came back in the trunk of our car this summer for the occasion. The carbon imprint of this (very heavy, on top of it) bottle is not great...
It was served along 2 massive beef tomahawk steaks cooked to medium-rare perfection by my dad.
Cassis, tar, tobacco, cedar, oak, a touch of red bell pepper which turned into menthol and black pepper as the wine warmed up in the glass (I had it chilled to 16°c and opened to shoulders).
The palate is full bodied, broad, layered, with cassis, black cherry, tar and oaky notes all along. It rolls on the tongue. The mouthfeel is soft and delicate but mutes into a grainy, gravely tannic wall that disrupts the finish and creates an additional layer of complexity. The finish is long, complex, evolving a tiny bitter note in the very end. The vintage is what it is and it can be felt in the way the wine is broad without being the broadest and in the mouthfeel which is a bit soft and lacking a tad of thickness. It's nevertheless a great wine which went super well with the steak. Happy Birthday Amelia! — 6 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Stunning. A total textural bomb, still very young but surprisingly accessible and open, which is the nature of 2020. Complex dark berry fruit, the sweetest, most velvety tannins, and that granitic edge only elite Hermitage gets. Powerful, deep and gorgeous. — 2 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Killer. Granite, red fruits, smoke, leather, so so aromatic. Just filthy. Palate is teeming with energy. It is insane that this regular cuvée from Gripa is so overlooked. A shanda. — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Popped and poured; enjoyed alongside Texas BBQ on the plane home. The 2005 “Hommage a Jacques Perrin” pours a deep purple with a ruby rim; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with mostly dark fruits: mixed brambles, black cherry, animale, star anise and black pepper, garrigue and stony earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This continues to be ever so dense but paired admirably with the BBQ. Drink now through 2055. — 4 months ago

Vasanth Balakrishnan

9.0

Notes from memory after many months - just remember this was beautifully integrated and singing after 14 years. I’m a huge fan of this Rhône Négociant and producer; consistently excellent. #vinsobres — 9 months ago

Tristan

9.0

$85 at restaurant — 5 months ago

Jim Powers

9.4

Classic Besucastel! I first visited this property in 1987, and the Brett character was unmistakeable. This 1990 is aging extremely well. Strong Brett aromas, but the fruit is also strong and in balance. If you are one that thinks Brett is an unforgivable flaw, you will hate this. Great Chateauneuf from a great vintage! Celebrating my son’s 33rd birthday tonight (1993 wasn’t a great vintage in CdP!) with a perfectly grilled NY steak. I am very pleased with this wine — 19 days ago

Dawn E.

9.1

Very nice Rosè! Crisp refreshing , strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, cherry, flint, long seaspray finish, fantastic QPR!
Somehow, it reminds me of the old Nesbitt's strawberry soda! Thanks @John Howard — a month ago

Jay Kline

8.9

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2022 “Le Domaine” pours a deep purple/ruby with an opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart, dark fruits: cassis, blackberries, purple flowers, Poblano pepper, horse blanket and a mix of organic and inorganic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. I always find this expression to be charming, albeit a bit rustic, and easy to love young while the single vineyard expressions are often backward for many years. Drink now through 2032. — 3 months ago

Alvaro Bustillos

9.5

Benito y c murgia joes dc — 4 months ago

Billy L.

9.5

Stunning Wine! Kudos to Loic Dugat & Family! Fabulous Cheers 🍇🍷👍🏻👏🏻 — 4 months ago

Matthew Doty

9.0

2023 vintage. Lovely — 5 months ago

Bethany Welch

9.9

Peppery cherry. Mineral with bite. Slightly effervescent. Everything I love in a gamay. — 5 months ago

christina a love

9.5

Barnyard yeast excellent 1+1=4 w strong cheese — 12 days ago

romo

9.3

1er nose and attack. A satisfying broad mouth-coating acid bomb. - at Laurelhurst — a month ago

Pat A

9.0

Good, but not as good as the Spanish Verdejo. Had at Victoria's for wine Wednesday. — a month ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

At dinner at Le Cabotte. Entering a gorgeous drinking window. The nose is classic Chinon, loaded with red currant, crushed herbs, mineral dust, and hints of cassis. Beautiful Cabernet Franc herbaceousness, not green or vegetal, but alive. Red currants, crushed herbs, a little tobacco leaf, iron, stone, and that unmistakable Loire freshness. The fruit has enough generosity from the vintage to give a subtle fleshiness underneath the structure. The palate is all tension and energy. Incredible freshness, mouthwatering acidity, and a long mineral spine carry the wine across the palate. Unlike Baudry’s larger, more powerful bottlings, this is about movement. The fruit feels suspended in the acidity, and every sip seems to pull the next sip forward. After forty minutes of air, the wine became even more expressive. The red currant and herbaceous notes moved to the forefront, joined by gorgeous minerality and tremendous freshness. It is not thick or heavy like Cabernet Sauvignon, nor does it possess the density of Baudry’s biggest cuvées. Instead, it is all acid, tension, energy, and precision. Juicy, vibrant, and effortlessly drinkable, with the kind of electric persistence that makes great Cabernet Franc impossible to put down. — 2 months ago

Matt Perlman

9.4

Lot of funk initially but on day two this really turned into a stunning wine. Give it some air and be open minded if there’s Brett at first because this is special stuff — 4 months ago

Dave

9.2

Dynamite. Cork broke, but not to worry. The wine is so good. Deep, expressive fruit and bitter leaves. Earthy. Improving considerably as it breathes. And the bottle weighs 37 pounds.
Listening to Amy Winehouse — 4 months ago

Rufus King

9.2

Nicely balanced Côtes du Rhône, enjoyed with steak frites at STK restaurant in Boston — 6 months ago