Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Referred to as the “Baby Grange,” blend of 53/47 Cab Sauv & Shiraz, aged for 12 months in American oak, partly in previous-vintage Grange casks. Dark Ruby with aromas of fresh black fruits, complex with sweet spice. On the palate flavors of juicy black cherry and blackberry flavors with notes of cacao, oak and toasty spices, from cooler vintage. Well balanced with acidity, full ripe tannins, long ending with smoky spice, fruit well integrated with oak, drink over next 10 years+, will only get better. Nice! — 5 months ago

Jen

9.2

Pleasant surprise for 53 years old! — 3 years ago

Heather Robinson

8.9

HWT - $53 on sale for $47. Delicious and bold, unexpected for a French wine — 4 years ago

"Odedi"

9.1

#kosherwineSunday

This is a very tasty Cabernet Sauvignon from Israel. Feels like a Napa Cabernet.

Showing black fruits with cedar, vanilla, coffee, cola, spices, earth, chocolates and peppercorn.

Dry on the palate and fruit forward.

Full-bodied and bold with a nice mouthfeel.

Still young and needs a few years in the bottle to mature properly. Would Age nicely in the next five to seven years. Has good potential to become a 94+ wine.

Entertaining and engaging. Smooth and elegant.

Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. Unfiltered. Kosher and Mevushal.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$53. — 4 years ago

Rob Brobst III

9.6

Silky, smooth Right bank style blend of 53 Merlot, 29 Cabernet Franc 13 Cabernet Sauvignon, 4 Malbec and 1 Petite Verdot from the Stillwater creek Vineyard Blueberries, Vanilla, blackberry jam and fine tannins.p95 points Wine SpectatorbrThis has great presence, offering a dense cloud of blackberry, cherry and spice flavors that hover over a sleek frame of fine tannins, with just enough acidity to keep it fresh. The finish sails on beutifully. Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petite Verdot. Winemaker Lance Baer founded Baer Winery in 2000 with a single passionato bring something unique to Woodinville. After years of working with some of the most prestigious wineries in the area, Lance wanted to take his winemaking skills in his own, creative, direction. Lance succeeded in handcrafting blends distinctly his own, and in April 2003 the wineryas signature blend, Ursa, was released. Ursa, a feminine expression of red wine, predominantly Merlot and Cabernet — 5 years ago

Peg Hanssen

10

An elegant rich and well-structured red blend from Chile. Wonderful, inexpensive bottle. 53% Cab Sauv 20% Merlot 15% Syrah 7% Petit Verdot and 5% Carmenere. Splash Wines — 6 years ago

"Odedi"

9.2

Dark ruby/ Inky in color with a short reddish rim.

Great nose of blueberries, blackberries, black currants, cooked cherries, dried fruits, cedar, vanilla, licorice, spices, chocolates, cola and black pepper.

Full bodied and elegant with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, oak, vanilla, licorice, cloves, herbs, spices, dark chocolates, earth, coffee, light vegetables, pencil lead and peppercorn.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a great Cabernet Sauvignon based blend from Napa Valley. Showing nice complexity with a great mouthfeel.

Good by itself or with food. Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up ( 30 minutes).

Still young and needs a few years in the bottle to mature properly, but already delicious. I would love to revisit this in 5 years.

A great sipping wine to have all by itself. Tasty, tangy and delicious. powerful, yet elegant.

A blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Cabernet Franc and 4% Syrah. Fermented in (50%) New French Oak barrels. A small production of only 45 cases.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$59. — 7 years ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.3

2015 vintage. 53% Cabernet Sauvignon and 47% Merlot. A strong effort from a vintage that was a mixed bag in the Northern Médoc. Very ripe, more open than the 2016 now. — a year ago

Jeffrey Woo

9.3

Inky hue. Notes of blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry. Medium-plus tannins and acidity. Grippy tannins. Earthy on the palate. Fantastic nose. 53 Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 Merlot, 7 Petit Verdot, and 5 Cabernet Franc. — 3 years ago

"Odedi"

9.0

#kosherwineSunday

This is a nice Grenache blend from Israel.

Full bodied with medium acidity.

Showing black currants, plums, cherries, oak, light vanilla, spices, dark chocolates, coffee, peppercorn, black tea, barnyard, earth, vegetables and tobacco leaf.

Tangy finish with fine grained tannins.

Good right out of the bottle, and better after an hour of airtime.

I had it a year ago and it was a different wine. Showed mainly red fruits, and now it feels like a new world Syrah blend. Interesting stuff.

Would be nice to revisit it in 3 years.

A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot. Aged for 16 months in mostly used French oak barrels. Kosher and unfiltered.

14% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$53. — 3 years ago

Deborah Lyman

9.3

So good. Smooth, cherries, hint of smokiness. Definitely dark fruits are present. — 5 years ago

Luis Arguero (@winefromAtoZ)

8.9

Orin Swift ‘Eight Years In The Desert’ 2018: Consisting of 53% Zinfandel, 23% Syrah, 20% Petite Sirah & 4% Grenache, this dark wine explodes on your palate with lots of body and bold tastes. Rich & juicy flavors such as plum, dark fruits, vanilla & light oak. Moderate tannins and a soft, dry finish. Make it a great week! Cheers🍷 — 5 years ago

Al Shikoh

9.2

Roasted coffee beans, dark fruit, leather, and spice are all evident. It’s a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petite Verdot. This lovely second wine from Peter Michael is drinking well right now. 15.3% ABV. $110. — 6 years ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.1

Our 2nd wine of the evening Christmas-Eve was the 2003 Château Rauzan-Segla from Margaux. The blend that makes up this wine is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.

On the nose there was black cherry, black raspberry, black currant, toasty oak, tobacco and earth.

On the palate I find bbn lack cherry, black raspberry, black currant, vanilla, mint, graphite and earth.

This wine is full bodied with medium + acidity and medium + mouth coating sandpaper tannins that lead into a long dark fruit finish. For the 2nd wine of the evening this was a very nice Left Bank Bordeaux. Stay safe and continue to enjoy the Holidays. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 7 years ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.5

2022 vintage. A blend of 53% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Petit Verdot. As Siran is consistently of Cru Classé quality, I've put the bar high, tasting it next to the 2022 La Lagune. While it doesn't have the depth and quality of tannins of the latter, Siran 2022 is an impressive effort, a classic Margaux in the same league as the magnificent 2019 Siran. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

When a bottle of wine is this old, one can never have too high of expectations. There are far too many variables to consider when it comes to whether it will even be drinkable, let alone enjoyable. Particularly when it’s a wine from an unheralded vintage like 1953. As someone who has been fortunate enough to have tried many old bottles over the last ten or so years, I have had my share of duds; even bottles from a good vintage with strong provenance. However, every now and again, a bottle will surprise and this 1953 Barolo from Pio Cesare went way beyond my expectations. It had many stories to tell.

There was a tremendous amount of sediment but I had allowed that to settle to the bottom by leaving it upright for a couple of days. We pulled the cork few hours before service and decanted. The cork was very typical of wines from the region at the time; short and stubby. With the help of a Durand, we were able to extract in one piece and, to my astonishment, the cork was only 1/3 saturated. And then, whoa…what a lovely perfume. It was alive! The ’53 pours a light copper color and has a largely transparent core. On the nose, the fruit is still playing a major role however it was almost completly desiccated now: cherry, apricot, prune, tar, dried roses, dried leather, and mushrooms. On the palate the tannins are almost imperceptible and completely resolved. The acid is lovely; the preserver of life. The notes from the nose were confirmed and there was a long, satisfying finish. There was substance and a real energy about it. Old…and yet so full of life! I want to be absolutely clear, this wasn’t just a novel experience. This was a practical one as well as it paired perfectly with tajarin tossed with shiitake mushrooms as well as a bit of bone-in Wagyu New York Strip from Morgan Ranch. Everyone at the table was smitten by this septuagenarian of a Barolo; even those who had no prior experience with old wines. Drink now.

For what it’s worth, I’ve had this bottle in my cellar for a little over a year, when I was fortunate to have come across one with decent provenance. This is a wine I will very likely never see again but it was so wonderful to have had the experience and I’ll cherish this memory forever. — 3 years ago

Mary Lahr Cain

9.0

We keep looking for a Syrah that wows us like the Shiraz found in Australia. Getting closer! Very earthy and dry. — 5 years ago

Michael B

9.1

53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 5% petit Verdot. Decanted for 2.5 hours. Earthy, graphite, hints of vanilla, cocoa, and a a good amount of herbaceousness. Springy and fresh acidity. Very tannic, lingers on the palate. Well structured. Absolutely delicious. — 6 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.7

Post steak 🥩, nice with a cool breeze in the backyard.
Wine Advocate: 98 points

The Tesseron family (currently the proprietors of St.-Estèphe’s Lafon-Rochet and Pauillac’s Pontet-Canet) made its fortune in the Cognac business, and it is one of the few families to possess ancient stocks of great vintages that have not been diluted with water or manipulated in any manner. They released small quantities of Lot 29 (1929), which remains the most ethereal Cognac I have ever tasted. I’m no expert, but their newest release, the 1953, seems close in quality to the 1929. Slightly darker than the 1929, the 1953 is pure silk, which at this alcohol level is very dangerous indeed. The complex aromatics can fill a room.

— 6 years ago

"Odedi"

9.2

This is a delicious Cabernet from Napa Valley. Showing black currants, blackberries, chocolates vanilla, cedar, light earth, light alcohol and espresso.

Tangy finish with nice tannins.

Full bodied and smooth with medium acidity.

Still young and needs a few years in the bottle to mature, but already very yummy. Still hot on the long finish.

15.1% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$53. — 7 years ago