Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Piccolo Cru’ – Red Blend – Vintage 2021
Calistoga, Napa Valley, California, USA 🇺🇸

Overview
An Italian-inspired Bordeaux blend crafted under the steady hand of winemaker Gabriella Gazano, who has guided the estate for over 25 years. This cuvée unites 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 15% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. It’s a wine that marries the structural power of Bordeaux varietals with Mediterranean elegance and Napa Valley ripeness.

Aromas & Flavors
Vibrant layers of dark cherries, cassis, and ripe blackberry, supported by graphite, cocoa, and a whisper of dried herbs. Hints of cedar, vanilla, and warm spice from the oak complete the aromatic tapestry.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied yet graceful. Firm, polished tannins give structure while a velvety mid-palate carries richness and depth. The finish is persistent, balancing dark fruit with savory spice.

Food Pairings
Made for hearty and soulful fare: osso buco, braised short ribs, Tuscan ribollita, or grilled ribeye. A natural partner for Italian-inspired dishes that emphasize flavor and tradition.

Verdict
Piccolo Cru’ is a harmonious bridge between Old World refinement and New World power. Structured, soulful, and deeply satisfying, it captures both the strength of Napa terroir and the finesse of Italian winemaking artistry.

Did You Know?
Calistoga, the northernmost tip of Napa Valley, is famed for its volcanic soils and hot days cooled by evening breezes. These extremes allow Bordeaux varietals to develop ripeness and structure in equal measure, ideal for blends like Piccolo Cru’.

🍷 Personal Pick Highlight
This bottle sings of duality: a Tuscan heart wrapped in Napa muscle. It’s soulful, elegant, and powerful, a wine I’d revisit for its depth, story, and sense of place. — 8 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2019 vintage. Surprisingly, hooky lead vocals drinkability with decent backing fruit and a helluva solo electric guitar spice bridge. Ripe and ready to rock. California-styled French effort. — 4 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.6

An absolute monster of a wine. 4 hours in the decanter served perfectly to allow this 2001, perhaps one of the best Hommage vintages ever, to flaunt its incredibly complex aromatic array of black fruits, roasted Provençal herbs, licorice, campfire smoke and Christmas spices.

It’s still youthful with ripe tannins and a ton of muscle. Nowhere near its peak. But it’s entering its drinking window seamlessly, being incredibly giving and expressive with sufficient air. Similar to how VV Gonon differs from the regular bottling, Hommage just cranks everything up to 10 and it’s concentrated flavors come at you in waves. But it never gets heavy as there is just enough lift and precision to keep everything harmonious. A very special bottle from a very special vintage indeed. — 5 years ago

Sean Trapani

Founder/Educator Wine Fluent, Consultant ABC Fine Wines & Spirits

9.5

Lovely, soft old gal with tons of fruit left in her. Bold summer berries on the approach that yield to sun-dried plums across a cocoa bridge. — 6 years ago

Jan de Weerd

9.0

Needed some time to open up and reveal its dark fruit flavors of dark cherry, tart plum and pomegranate. Limited depth. Wondering if this wine is already getting over its peak.... — 6 years ago

with RoAnne and Tammy

Delectable Wine

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9.8

The 2015 Lafleur has a broody but intense bouquet with exquisite definition and top quality Cabernet
Franc showing through. This just has to be Lafleur! The palate is extremely well balanced with gentle grip, almost powdery in texture and demonstrating enormous depth and persistence on the finish. It is nowhere near ready but it will be a wonderful Pomerol. There is a sense of audacity here that is compelling. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, July 2019) — 7 years ago

K. Ross

8.9

Old Bridge Cellars, Napa. 13% abv. Lemon cream. Clean citrus. Lemon rind. Zingy! To me this is the classic NZSB! With slight creaminess. Very good wine! — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Had this a few times, but I was finally able to sit down and analyze it over an evening. Their only cuvée produced in 2014.

Upfront, rollercoaster aromatics initially…rich, then mellowed out with an hour of air. After a few hours of air, a much more ripe CdP profile came out. Great bridge wine from Cali GSMs to bigger CdPs. Deep red in the glass with aromatics of fig, brambly red and black fruits. On the palate, big but not unbalanced. No trace of brett. Soft fig, muddled underripe black cherry, garrigue (smoked herbs); lengthy finish. Kiss of black pepper. Big Grenache vibe here. Lovely with air. Probably best in the near term based on the fruit forward structure. — 3 years ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.1

This is the 2016 Pepper Bridge Trine Walla Walla Valley Estate Vineyard Bordeaux Blend from Walla Walla, Washington. This is a blend of 35% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec.

On the nose there is black cherry, seeet strawberry, blackberry, black plum, bkack currant, graphite, violet, green bell pepper, vanilla and earth.

On the palate there is cherry, strawberry, black cherry, green bell papper, black pepper, licorice, spice, cedar and earth.

This wine is medium to full bodied with a smooth savory mouthfeel medium + acidity and medium + smooth mouth filling tannins that brings a long blue and black fruit graphite finish. A very nice wine from Washington and winemaker Jean-Francois Pellet. Let's all have a great weekend. Please stay safe and healthy. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 4 years ago

John Bratincevic

8.9

Smells creamy and fresh. A little honeyed. Really inviting. Very smooth and deep. Almost a little oaky? Tastes like a mild Chardonnay. Has nowhere near the lemony taste I am used to with most Sauvignon Blanc I’ve tried - markedly different. Gentle flowers? A little melon? It’s good. Not worth the price to me ($25?) but good. — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.3

My second time with this producer after having the 2015 Les Frionnes a few weeks ago. I find the two to be quite different and definitely preferred the En Remilly.

Aromatically, it shows caramel dipped Granny Smith apple, melon, pineapple, honeysuckle and a kiss of oak. Where it really differs from the Les Frionnes is the profile on the palate...much more texture and richness here. Classical chalk and limestone alongside more melon, underripe white peach, and the very end of the finish has a note of granulated brown sugar which is really unique (and enjoyable). It’s all wrapped in a nicely dense but quite lifted profile. The warmer it gets, the more honeyed it gets. I thought this was best just a tad warmer than cellar temp, and feel this would be a good bridge to white burgundy for those who enjoy quality US chards. Thanks to @David T again for the intro to this producer! — 6 years ago

Doctor No

9.4

Honey on the nose, almost pure, floral, orange blossom honey. Followed by honey on the palate - sweet but nowhere close to cloying, with this beautiful, saline, mineral back end and fresh but not zingy acidity. Lovely, pretty, rich but lithe wine. — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.1

This wine has really changed quite a bit in the last two and a half months. This used to be quite a bit more tropical and acidic, but today's bottle opened showed more of an amber hue and nose of buttered popcorn and caramel. The palate seems to have more of an overripe red apple, and resembles more of an apple cider then wine. Finishes with a dried nut note. Not too sure what to think about this. All I know is that this one is nothing like the bottle I had in February. Good, but nowhere near great. If this was my first score for this wine, I would probably give it an 88.if you have any of these, I would either hold on to them for another six months in case this one is in a really funky spot, or drink them all now. — 7 years ago

with Shay

Emily Singer

9.2

Really dry, crisp, fruity rosé that comes in a can — FINALLY. Almost a little too easy to drink. — 8 years ago

Chris Thompson

9.0

This is a nice “easy-to-drink” wine! Soft enough for almost any pallet yet pairs with so many things: burgers, red meat, cheese, fruit, or just sip! — 3 years ago

Danny Martinez

9.5

Happy Boxing Day 2022 from 🇭🇰! Ok. Bottle is done. Meal is complete. Honest review to follow. One — this wine. Serve this to anyone and they will be thrilled with its drink ability and balance coupled with depth and refinement. It’s Brunello de Montalcino’s finest (according to Sr and Sra Martinez). While service was a bit slow — where were we to go? Nowhere other than to people watch and enjoy the show. Technically it’s still alba truffle season; one tagliatelle order later (don’t ask the price); so happy. A dual of meat dishes: delightful (though don’t leave Danny alone w pomme purée) — but at the end of the day, it is the desserts that reign supreme. The sgroppino! The soufflé! Pannetone with mascarpone cream! The box of chocolates and truffles (and a side of limoncello). Visit at Christmas, we insist. This was a lovely visit at a staple favorite. 5 stars! — 4 years ago

Ming L

9.1

The Hall Masterpiece is a tough act to follow, but at about 1/3 of the price, this cab from this little known producer holds up just fine.

Blackberry, cassis, incense, licorice, anise, and subtle forest floor on the nose. Full body and quite masculine, but there is still a generous feel on the mid palate. Supple tannins. — 4 years ago

Chris Sowick

8.9

Chain Bridge Cellars. $12.98. Nice mineralogy. Great competition to Provence. — 5 years ago

Robert Koch

9.5

Nose of dark berries, hint of dark chocolate, and a touch of grassy (!) barnyard, but nowhere near a burgundy like another poster suggests. Closer to a rich Beaujolais (Moulin a Vent?) with a tick more acidity in the nose.
Palate is dry, with pronounced dark berries, punchy, with prominent but well balanced acidity to carry the palate without being overburdening. 2010 vintage has lost its tannic acidity to a point where the berries almost (but only almost!) become too pronounced causing a missing dimension, even with semi-fat-heavy food; the remaining “fruity” acidity helps though.
Generally great development of nose and palate already within 2 hours.
At €19/bottle for 2010 vintage easy to recommend :)
— 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

Whenever I have a really older bottle of wine, I think, what was I doing in this case 1989?

About this time of year, I was walking into Candlestick Park for the Bay Bridge World Series while this wine was fermenting. I was walking through the parking lot when the 89 earthquake hit. It was like Godzilla was a Gopher tunneling under my feet. The stadium erupted with a resounding cheer. Earthquake during the World Series...yeah! It wasn’t until an hour later that hard reality set in.

This Chateau Lynch-Moussas is a recent direct purchase from the Negotiant. 89 was a pretty good Bordeaux year. So, why not see how a 5th Growth producer wine evolved over 30 years. It’s a treat to enjoy wine with this much age.

While Lynch-Mousses has improved vastly in more recent vintages, back in the day, they made some nice wines but, not great. This wine shows beauty & elegance but, it lacks fundamental elements of high quality. However, its fruit and structure have held up nicely over the years.

The nose reveals a fair amount of; barnyard, mushrooms, ripe; blackberries dark currants, dark cherries, black raspberries & strawberries on the edges of the glass. Black plum skin, dark chocolate, raspberry cola, mocha, caramel, clove, nutmeg, burnt cinnamon, tarriness, graphite, leather, old tobacco, dark spice, dry herbs, dark, rich, black earth, stones, dry brush, steeped tea with withering red & dark florals.

The body is still full and round. The fruits are still ripe & slightly candied. The wine is still holding an interesting drinking window, it’s on the decline. While that sounds not good, I find them in this phase infinitely more interesting. Ripe; blackberries dark currants, dark cherries, black raspberries & some strawberries. Black plum with skin, dark chocolate, raspberry cola, mocha, caramel, clove, nutmeg, burnt cinnamon, vanillin, tarriness, graphite, leather, old tobacco, dark spice, dry herbs, dark, rich, forest floor, mushrooms, stones, touch of limestone minerals & crush rocks, dry brush, steeped tea with withering red & dark florals with violets. The acidity is round & excellent. The long finish is; rich, ripe, well balanced & intergraded with long drier but, very floral persistence.

Excellent with our steaks. Still has another 5-7 years of good drinking ahead with excellent storage. I also miss the 12-13% ABV of the 80’s Bordeaux’s.

Photos of; the entrance view of Chateau Lynch-Moussas, Count Jean-Baptiste Lynch of Ireland and Chateau founded in the 1800’s, the owner/operator since 1961 - Emile Casteja and their barrel room.
— 7 years ago