Jay Kline

9.5

Popped and poured, consumed over several hours. Initially served chilled and then allowed to come up to room temperature. It should be noted that this was lovely from the first pour but improved with air and as it warmed. The 2009 Domaine du Collier Saumer Blanc pours a bright golden color, with no signs of sediment or gas. High viscosity. On the nose, this is extremely floral…like being in a grove of magnolia trees in full bloom. The flowers are accompanied by bright citrus fruit, lanolin, alfalfa and honey. On the palate, the wine is dry with high acid. The notes from the bouquet are confirmed and accompanied by the most lovely, almost oily texture. This is oh so woolly! The finish goes long. This is my first experience with Antoine’s wine and I’m now absolutely smitten (thanks Tim). A simply gorgeous example of Chenin from a warm vintage and an alternative to Joly if you crave a natural touch…but not too natural. This is a banger now and will continue to be so for some time. Wow.
— 2 years 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. — 4 years ago

Peg Hanssen

10

2018 Vintage. Decadent, bold and delicious. A rich, rowdy red is full-up on flavors Cab Franc drinkers crave. This red is loud and complex, with incredibly juicy fruit flavors and a rich plummy finish. Suggested pairing is a pizza with plenty of basil and parmesan - and a drizzle of olive oil on top. From Naked Wines. — 4 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. — 3 years ago

Meg Herring

9.2

Black cherries, bitter dark chocolate, pencil shavings, and white smoke, plus dusty cocoa-like tannins. Crave-worthy! — 4 years ago

Austin Hohnke

8.9

Nice fruitiness and bit of residual sugar here at 9% Alc. Juicy with ripe citrus and stone fruit.
Just lacking some of the acidic tension and verve I crave. But for $12?!? What’s not to love about the undervaluation of German Riesling? — 5 years ago

Adam Beasley

9.0

Sometimes I crave that pyramids bell pepper thing, and this was good for such an occasion. — 3 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.5

Killer wine with an explosive nose needs more time but had to have to satisfy my Allemand crave. Lots of meat, iron, graphite, olive, pepper & violet. Always an amazing experience! — 3 years ago

Andrea Wilson @farmforthesoul

9.1

Hourglass Blueline Merlot is just spectacular to me! It is not fruit forward- it has a smoke/tobacco flavor to it where you don’t have to sit it down for years to get the advance palette you crave. — 4 years ago

with Jeremy

S.S. Mandani

9.4

Bergamot, cranberries, lavender, subtle earl grey tea.

Wow. Perfect balance. Hits all of my favorite taste profile notes.

Uppercut punch to the jawline with the welcome acidity, tart blueberry jam pie, and even some spice notes that I can’t really pinpoint.

I just know this would pair exceptionally well with some bake lamb. When a wine makes you crave a specific food, they did something right. And also I just went for an 8 mile run and I’m hungry.

This wine just makes me happy. And it’s kind of hard to explain why. And that only happens about 1/10 bottles. — 5 years ago