Ray Vanderhoff

8.9

Blend of Garnacha (55%), Syrah (39%) and Mazuelo (6%). Dark ruby color with garnet highlights. Aromas of wet soil, coffee, violets and ripe red fruit. Flavors of strawberry, raspberry and red cherry fruit, dark chocolate, minerals and baking spices. Bit of vanilla on the long and pleasant finish. Soft/tight tannins and vibrant (a bit overbearing) acidity that causes the mouth to salivate. Medium-plus body and structure. Needs aeration. — 5 months ago

Brett Rogosin

9.3

This stuff is fantastic. I wish I bought a whole case. The color is honey. It smells like honey suckle and ripe apricot. The acidity causes my entire mouth to salivate and crave more. The palate is pure delight, also honey suckle, apricot, minerals, and a hint of ripe cantaloupe. — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

Tasted blind. Medium gold color. Killer old white burg nose. Notes of lemon creme, white dry soil, some spice, a little honey. Rich and powerful in the mouth. Some fine acidity on the finish causes some pucker. Very interesting overall profile, and my guess is I’ve never had this before which is accurate. I go with a 95 Corton Charlie as a guess. The power and great mouthfeel expanded as this absorbed air over the afternoon. Each sip better than the last. — 6 years ago

Brian S

9.2

Such a great thirst quenching grapefruit flavored beer. One of the best hangover cures at only 2-2.5% ABV. — 6 years ago

Wulf Losee

9.1

2017 tasted 2020. Bananas and wildflowers on the nose! The scent is almost oily. Malolactic fermentation gives it a silky tannic feel on the top of the mouth. Slight hint of bananas and chalk on the end. A surprising long finish. Very nice. I’m a confirmed Chard hater, but this causes me to reconsider my prejudices. — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

It’s Labor Day Weekends and all we’ve done is Labor. However, it’s all good now.
Cheers! 🥂

All previous notes apply.

@Paul T- Huntington Beach Ruinart Rosé cures all earthly mosquito bites! 🦟 — 7 years ago

Sarah

9.3

Is it just my family in which this wine causes serious controversy?! There are those of us who really like it....and then there is my mother who hates it. It's a go to for me for it's cheap price point. It's what I do if I'm feeling g slightly less needy than Bota box but don't want to put in the effort of "risk" of trying something new. Knowing this it was one of the three bottles Liz brought me last weekend. — 7 years ago

with Liz

Ira Schwartz

9.8

The nose comes at you like a firehose filled with citrus, honey, apple and almond. Crazy concentration that causes your cheeks to bulge. Insane level of acidity but it still manages to release flavors of citrus , honey and toast. A palate saturating finish . Given the bear hug structure I’m amazed how giving the palate is. — a year ago

Ellen Clifford

9.2

Yes please mag I have another. Because my synesthesia causes me to liken wines to fabrics and/air clothes I’m calling this day robe wine. Silky and comforting but with equal parts kick the keep you on your toes because the last thing you need is a day robe to put you to sleep. — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

@Delectable can you please add the 2003 vintage. I keep getting error message 2000.

It’s a very good night when you have an Allen Brothers Ribcap and an older Pichon Lalande. It is my favorite beef pairing. The 03 is just starting to move into its good phase. I would not open another 03 for at least 5 more years and has another 10 plus years of good drinking ahead.

I decanted it for about 2 1/2...could have used another half hour. Once it was fully open, the body was elegant and the tannins like velvet. The ripe black raspberries & raspberries led the rush onto the palate. Followed by; blackberries, dark cherries and a little strawberries on the long set. Gentle earth of; stones, clay & loamy dry soil, fresh tobacco, graphite, suede style leather, some dark spice, understated baking spices of; vanillin, cinnamon, nutmeg and just a dash of clove. Dark, red, purple & some blue florals. The acidity was excellent. The creamy, velvety, elegant, well balanced in fruit and earth was harmonious wire to wire.

The pairing causes my eyes to roll and let out an mmmmm.

Photos of; Chateau Pichon Lalande, stainless steel tanks, side garden area of the chateau and their barrel room. — 6 years ago

with James and Christina

Doug Powers

9.8

Initially this shows some sulphur notes, swirling causes it to blow off, so, so rich and complex flavors, intense stony and mineral notes show into the very long finish, just a fantastic Les Clos Chablis!! — 6 years ago

with Jim

Kaori B

8.9

55gbp @Saponara, Islington.
Nice full wine from Puglia. It’s a good wine starting strong but finishes at the same level without much change.
Like the girlfriend you love bc she has attitude when you meet but then it’s that same attitude that causes you to split. — 7 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

One of my last remaining 2010 CdP’s...from back when I was exploring the region. I’ve since only focused on a few specific producers but Marcoux is one that still has some of my attention...mostly because it’s hard to deny that it’s really good wine. This bottle seemed a touch reductive at first but that blew off with some time and what emerged was a bounty of brambles, sandalwood, garrigue, Twin Bing, some sediment...actually a lot of sediment. The tannins weren’t very obvious at first but after a couple of hours, the tannin monster showed up in full force. For whatever reason, this has happened to me on occasion with top wines from CdP and Gigondas. Not sure what causes that. Anyway, based off this experience, I would have to say that these still have quite a bit of life in them. In the same breath, however, I would exercise caution as I’ve witnessed too many Grenache based wines not age as gracefully. — 7 years ago

Lam S

9.2

Deep and intense. Smooth tannin 6/10, acidity 8/10, body 9/10. A bit too strong causes unbalance. Black fruit la nose like black current black berries and black chocolate . Not bad. — 7 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Every now and again, a wine comes into your life that causes you to rethink what you thought you knew about a type of wine. “Avvoltore” by Morisfarms is one of those wines for me.

The cork pulled perfectly. The wine pours a dark ruby color with an opaque core and some slight signs of sediment. Moderate staining of the tears. On the nose the wine is intense with bright, lush dark fruit: black currants, dark plums, blackberries, black cherry, tobacco, freshly tilled earth, cocoa, and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium++ tannins and medium+ acid. The texture is super grippy…like whoa. Confirming the fruits aforementioned on the nose and accompanied by notes of espresso, and trading the cocoa for dark chocolate. There’s a nice touch of baking spice too. The finish is very long. A super compelling wine that is still quite primary. I expect this vintage to be extremely long lived. My next bottle after 2032.

As an added note, the Super Tuscan genre has always given me mixed emotions. Many of the wines are usually very lovely and technically excellent yet, I often struggle with them because so many taste as if they could really come from anywhere. And that’s cool for a lot of people but I crave wines to tell me a story that give me a sense of where they’re from. “Avvoltore” does this with a style and grace that’s massively compelling. — 4 years ago

Hanibal

9.2

Every time i drink this i am in awe...a rosé that causes you to think...rarely happens to me before — 6 years ago

Jason Brater

9.2

Delicious wine for my bday. 😎Bramble nose. Black cures olives and Black raspberry w cherry and oregano and black pepper. Nice oak and then smooth tannins leave your mouth dry!
Delicious. — 6 years ago

with Heather

Bryan Hopkins

9.2

I am tasting the 2000 vintage. The first aroma I get is just oak, almost sterile, like an impeccably clean hardware store. Leaving the glass a few moments to give contact with air opens up softer aromas of nougat and plum. The taste is about exactly like that: oak in your face all at once to yield quickly to nougat candy, plum, and raisin, but letting the brandy sit in my mouth causes it to turn into lovely cigar tobacco flavors with milk chocolate. Slight hint of saffron-infused chocolate on the finish, but then it fades back into that really strong neutral wood as the finish lingers. Trying the 1998 vintage, less complex scent, clean spice and wood, much more mellow with the wood than the 2000. On the palette, honey and milk chocolate. Much more approachable and easy-drinking than the 2000. Trying the 1995, I get an explosion on the scent of molasses and perfectly balanced oak. There was also a fruitiness that took me a long time to identify, but it finally hit me. Have you ever had the mango custard that is served at some Indian restaurant lunch buffets? It’s like that. Rich, syrupy mouthfeel with taste of black molasses and maple syrup prevented from being cloying by the strong oak, which doesn’t overpower but gives exactly the structure and bite that it needs to do. The fruitiness in the palette is like canned fruit salad in syrup. This is really good! So much richer and more balanced than the 2000. The 1979 vintage is less interesting to me. The prominent note is maple syrup, with oak becoming apparent afterwards. There is a sweet, floral perfume note on the scent that to me gives this vintage what interest it has. — 7 years ago

John Hagood

9.0

Second bottle of 2017 from Domestique in May 2019, on 7/27/19. We bought to have with tagine, but we wanted something light gauzy yeasty zingy. Amber orange. Strong ginger then, light bandaid leap out, as strong fragrance right from bottle. Crunchy Bartlett pear, green apple, cantaloupe, honey, apricot, banana tastes on the palette. Strong lasting finish causes salivation. Cloudy at bottom of bottle! Better to swirl and decant? — 7 years ago

Bret Weingart

9.1

Very well done wine. Each sip causes me to want another! — 7 years ago