Brad Jensen

9.1

Suuuper dark color, with reds and purple hues perfectly meshed and looooong slow legs despite the alleged 13.9 ABV. Nose of ripe dark plum, blueberry, mossy wet wood, strawberries, peppery notes and chocolate. Still got a sharp bite being so young, with notes of iron, plum, dark cherry, dark chocolate and red meat on the palate. Tasty, but not blown away. Paired with taco steak, spicy chicken and taco bowls it was really tasty. — a year ago

Phil Orlandini

9.0

Plums and cloves, pairs well with cast iron steaks, pitbulls in tortilla blankies, and God of War Ragnarok — 3 years ago

Erik Longabardi

9.2

Paired with a cast iron spatchcock chicken. Delicious — 4 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.1

N: Black currants, plums, a bit shy.
We slo-oxed for 90 min.After 11/2 hours , much more generous. Black/Red fruits. Sappy.
P: lots of tar, nicotine, black cherry.
Really well integrated tannins w ample acidity. Perfect w a cast iron Ribeye.
Thanks @ Fassselections.com — 5 years ago

Severn G

9.1

Nose has cranberry sauce, red Twizzler® candy, white pepper, ripe plum, mashed red raspberry and lightly toasted oak.

Palate has ripe cherry, ripe red raspberry, fresh cranberry, light ripe plum with mild (drying) tannins and a medium finish.

Cork pulled for a 4H slow oxidation, then 1H decant. This wine is still a teenager, the 2016 should easily hold thru 2024.

Blend of Pinot Noir & Blaufränkisch.

Paired to lemon chicken in a dill cream sauce; cast iron pan from stove top to oven, becoming our most versatile piece of cookware! — 5 years ago

Severn G

9.5

Nose has ripe plum, mashed blackberries, dark chocolate powder, strawberry jam on leather, molasses, molasses cookies, wet soil, nutmeg and vanilla bean.

Palate has blackberry compote, black cherry reduction, partially dried plum, wet baking spice, wet+dry leather, dark chocolate shavings, (light) oak/vanilla influence remains. Extended finish, really starting to pick up incredibly at 3-4H in the decanter.

Paired with Allen Bros. ribcap (USDA Prime version) tonight, unfortunately our grill has a 4ft. snow drift in front presently so the best I can muster was a super hot cast iron pan from the oven, then onto stove with lots of butter and in 7m total we had beef to die for...Which I had some competition for dining this evening.

This bottle was a very generous gift from my West Coast brother @David T from earlier in the year. My work travel schedule was hectic and never found a good time to settle in on a weekend with the wine or pairing, until now. (I've lost track of the amount of COVID tests I've done in the past 5M, but all have been negative 🙏 to date.) A fabulous gift to enjoy now that I'm hopefully relaxing for the next 2w...
Happy Holidays to everyone.🎄 — 6 years ago

Andrew Holod

National Sales Grapes of Spain

9.1

Pulled an older bottle from the cellar, paired with grilled beef flap meat and Francis Mallmann inspired potatoes griddled on cast iron over charcoal.
Deep Ruby purple color. Nose of blackberries, salty licorice, star anise, and a hint of prune. A touch of Port like fruit concentration, and with aeration vanilla and cassia notes come up. Still hearty structure this is medium to full-bodied and could take another 10 plus years in the cellar. This is definitely new world. — 6 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

I opened this bottle of the 1971 Taurasi Riserva with a Durand and, to be honest, I don’t know how the cork could have been extracted, intact without it. The cork was fully saturated and super gnarly looking. I poured a small taste to check color and see what was happening on the nose. It came across a little lethargic and funky so I poured the bottle into a ship’s decanter, careful to manage the sediment, and allowed it to stretch its legs for about four hours prior to dinner. The process of decanting filled the room with a wonderful perfume; this was a good sign! It turns out, it needed all of that air because it transformed into quite the darling.

In the glass, the 1971 showed remarkable color for being over half a century old. It presents a rudy, garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of desiccated cherries, Balsamico, dried leaf tobacco, leather, Mexican birria, and volcanic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins (all integrated) and medium+ acid which is keeping this very much alive. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and has a saline finish. This bottle ended up being a very lovely experience and a fine compliment to a simple dinner of filets prepared in cast-iron and some spaghetti carbonara that I made with some pancetta made by my brother-in-law. After looking at the label a little closer, I realized that this was back when Taurasi had only achieved DOC status. In fact, they had only just received that status the year before in 1970! Taurasi has since been awarded DOCG (1993). Drink now and enjoy! — 2 years ago

Mark Farrell

9.9

Second time having this wine. Dark ruby with a nose of blackberries, cassis, violets, and lavender. Also picking up notes of anise and vanilla this time. Perfectly balanced, everyone is playing well together on this wine. The acidity, tannin, and fruit are in perfect harmony across the long, powerful finish. Had to pair this with a nice steak. Did a steak tasting along with this wine. Cast iron seared Snake River Farms(SRF) ribeye medallion, SRF sirloin, and a local grocery store NY strip. I would have expected the ribeye to be the winner, but the sirloin was the favorite for all of us. All that being said the wine paired perfectly. Also had a glass of this wine with my wife’s pot roast the day before and it was divine. Hearty beef is a perfect pairing for this powerful wine. — 3 years ago

Aimalohi Gray

9.4

Aged in cast iron, aged in French oak.
At via locusta in Philly — 5 years ago

D Scher

9.1

2013 vintage. Medium ruby. Strawberry violet nose. A more subtle style, with red currant, black raspberry, a touch of coffee and sweet spice. Perfect with cast iron NY sirloin steak. 13% ABV. — 5 years ago

Robert Torretti

8.9

The last of my Chezeaux 2006s, the first vintage I bought from him on release. This took a little time to open up (an hour or more after opening, without decanting), but once it did, it was really nice. Good earth and fruit (darker cherry) on the palate. The nose was a little dull even after opening, but with a good swirl of the glass, it got going. Enjoyed at a Covid dinner at home with a friend: farmed duck breast (D’Artagnan) cooked by sous vide (garlic, shallots, rosemary and some sherry) and seared on a cast iron skillet, sautéed mushrooms, and haricot vert with toasted almond slivers. — 6 years ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.1

Don’t let the deep purple color throw you off, this wine is low in tannin, bright
and light on its feet. Teran is the (biotype?) of Refosco grown in Slovenia’s Carso on limestone and iron-rich terrarossa. Dried cherries, herbs, dried leaves, red earth. Very food friendly wine, worked with both a flatiron steak and Calabrian fried chicken. — 6 years ago

Angelo Casagrande

9.3

Dark, Smokey, black berry fruit, soft tannins, iron and a little lean on mid palate. Not having had many of these, my guess is this is about as good as it’s going to get. Thanks to my brother Tom who hooks me up with a lot of the best wines I have ( no doubt compensating for being a mean big brother... :)) having withdraws a buttermilk roast chicken. — 6 years ago

Vasanth Balakrishnan

9.1

Typically brilliant #chianticlassico 85% #sangiovese 15% #merlot. Red / violet floral + woodsy nose, classic earthy-iron varietal aroma, bright acidity, soft tannins and a bit of roundness courtesy of the Merlot, some spice on the finish. Brilliant pairing with Chicken Paillard topped with blue cheese which brought out the spice in the wine, interestingly enough. — 2 years ago

with Walt

Shay A

9.3

As a die-hard fan of the Rocks funk, the profile of these wines are totally up my alley. That being said, even I admit that these desperately need food to be at their best. This was no different.

Followed over two days. Two hr double decant day one.

60/30/10 cab/merlot/Tempranillo. Up front, signature Cayuse funk (iron, savory whole cluster herbal profile). Tempranillo really shining. Nothing BDX about this. Thin, spicy, peppery. Black cherry but mostly underripe with a metallic finish.

Day two, I paired this with food (grilled chicken and beef) and this wine transformed in to a totally different wine. Much more heft and core of sweet, ripe fruit. Like a cool vintage left bank Bordeaux but without Brett. Floral, soft pipe tobacco, dark fruits, fig. The overly savory vibe of day one is non-existent on day two.

Perfect example of a wine that simply needs time to evolve for those who find the Cayuse funk too intense (I don’t mind it, but also appreciate it as a layer, not a main player in a wine). — 3 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.2

This was a real surprise. Pale gold in the glass, quince paste, tangerine, floral, a touch nutty, but with real acidic verve—not even remotely tired or flabby. Not quite on the level of Gonon Oliviers but really fantastic. Maybe I should rethink my biases re: rhone whites. Excellent with cast iron chicken with olives and artichokes — 5 years ago

Severn G

9.1

Nose has carmel dipped strawberry, dried lemon zest, under-ripe lychee, grilled pear slice, slightly oxidized yellow apple slice and dry crushed rock.

Palate has honey drizzle over lemon slice, neutral oak, dried pineapple, pineapple core with light acidity and medium finish. A very nice wine for 2018, hitting this much too young. At $48 this is good, if you can land for under $40 it would be a way better value.

Cork pulled for a 5H slow oxidation.

Great pairing tonight with 'Georgian Chicken'; (local) chicken thighs with dry rub, seared in cast iron, then simmered/baked in a walnut/cilantro/jalapeno/tomato paste sauce, finished with pomegranate seeds & pomegranate vinegar drizzle. — 5 years ago

Donald Williams

9.3

Started the day with Taittinger mimosas, finished with Iron Horse unoaked Chardonnay paired with chicken in sun-dried tomato cream sauce. This is living. This is a Chardonnay for people who think they don’t like Chardonnay. — 6 years ago

with Bonnie

Matt

9.4

Came out reduced and required ample aeration to open up. Ripe brambly berries, baked plums, hot stones, crushed rock, singed cast iron, fresh tar, cured meat, dried flowers, cinnamon, star anise, sweet brett. Classy and suave, there’s considerable energy and elegance in its texture. Burgundian if you will. Just the right amount of “dirty” adding layers and depth to a beautiful wine. — 6 years ago