Scott E. Becker

9.2

[Tasted on October 25, 2025 with Tom and Kathy at their house]

Raspberry and dark cherry fruit, with black tea and mineral notes. Beautiful wine with nice acidity. — 8 months ago

John Bratincevic

9.7

My favorite brandy house, but I’ve never tried this expression.


Nose: tropical fruits - papaya? Banana? Nuts - almonds, peanuts, peanut brittle. Intense baking spices - allspice, cinnamon, clove, black pepper. Salted caramel, toffee. Light roast coffee. Bitter chocolate. Boozy vanilla extract. Yum.

Taste: marvelous. A little lighter bodied than the 25 year (from what I recall), but all the same bitter chocolate and salty caramel and old varnished wood - and tobacco. And hot spices. And charred, caramelized orange? Yowzah. Top tier. I’ll have to directly compare to my 25 year and 30 years…but this is remarkable. 97. — 4 years ago

Roger Ray

9.4

This is the best TX Hill Country vineyard available wine I have had. Quote from their back label "The fruit for their 2015 basket press Shiraz was all sourced from the Stonewell region of the Western Barrosa in Australia. 16 parcels were individually selected in the vineyard & small batch fermented. Each ferment was hand plunged thrice daily, in the traditional French method before being rested on skins for a total of 25 days. Hand plunging and extended skin contact can only be followed by using a basket press to extract every precious drop of wine without a compromise in quality. The final blend spent a total of 27 months maturing in new and seasoned French oak barrels. A delicious traditional Barossa Shiraz, that while drinking excellently now, will reward 5 to 10 years careful cellaring." — 6 years ago

Roberto Morales

9.1

9/25/16: Amazing wine! Had with Ray, Alice, Tom and Debbi at our house. — 6 years ago

Diana Cristina Patiño

8.9

A Brut Prestige from @champagneaspasie 🇫🇷 It is a non-vintage bottle consisting of 50% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Meunier, and 25% Pinot Noir.

This Champagne House is located in the region of Montagne de Reims in Champagne, France. Pinot Noir is the most planted grape in this area. It is a solid Champagne! 🥂 Cheers!

#champagneday — 6 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

This wine hit 18 on top 100 list in 2017. Best known for Sparkling Wines, served at White House since 1985. Pale salmon color, a blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay & aged 3 years prior to release, showing aromas of red fruit with citrus and biscuit notes. On the palate apple, strawberry and cherry flavors with orange zest, earthy yeasty spice and tiny bubbles. The wine is well balanced, good acidity, some yeast and minerality on the long finish. — 6 years ago

Ron R

9.3

Vinous nailed this in terms of description and rating. At $25, this is a low rent proposition. For their entry-level chard, this is very impressive. The shorthand that defines this wine is burgundy. This has become our house white. — 8 years ago

with Anne-marie

Scott E. Becker

9.1

[Tasted on September 25, 2023 at Jay’s house with Jay]

Red plum, red currant and sour cherry, with notes of leather, meat and forest floor. Well balanced wine with silky body. — 3 years ago

"Odedi"

9.0

This is a very nice and easy drinking Pinot Noir from Carneros.

Showing red and black fruits with oak, licorice, light vanilla, tobacco, chocolates, coffee and peppercorn.

Medium bodied with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate, soft and smooth. Fruit forward and fresh.

Good right out of the bottle and good by itself or with food. I gave it a light chill and paired it with light appetizers.

13.8% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$25. — 5 years ago

Willie Carter

9.0

Pale pinkish orange with delicate vivacious bubbles. Smells of summer. Aromas of raspberries and orange peel initially with more floral notes. Bruised strawberries, smoke, and crushed herbs. Energetic is the word of the day here. This packs much power and liveliness into the glass. The vinous nature is striking and the 12% of still red wine certainly has its say.

Predominantly Pinot Noir with 25% of Chardonnay from Grand Cru terroir in Aÿ. Graceful, yet intense there’s a sense of heft and substance here. Also a sense of freshness. The palate follows the nose with more pronounced red berries and soft floral notes. Spices, mint, and toasted bread. A beautiful rosé perfect for this time of year from an excellent grower house. — 5 years ago

Roberto Morales

9.1

9/25/16: Excellent wine! Had with Ray, Alice, Tom and Debbi at our house. Concrete aged. — 6 years ago

Trevor Maskell

9.4

25 years and holding very strong. Amarone style and kicking alcohol for its day. Still rich and balanced. Dried fruit, earth and oily engine aromas. Great tannins from the Cab. Length, depth and structure is fantastic. Scary how much age this still has. — 6 years ago

Severn G

9.3

50/50 Syrah & Petite Syrah blend.

Color, it's so purple and dark! Reminds me of Heitz 'Ink Grade' Port.

Nose has ripe, crushed blueberry and blackberry, light creamy oak, cut plum, prune and just a touch of baking spice.

Palate has blueberry juice with acidity subdued by mellow oak, crushed blackberry, black currant, faint cedar plank, moist-tanned leather and light black pepper.

After ~3hr decant we still had trailing heat from the alcohol (15.2% ABV), but it disapated in another hour or so. A great paring with some local Delmonico steaks on the grill, cooked to a beautiful 130°F.
When good protein is served at our house eight paws will be in waiting on our dining table. My wife and I only take two of our six chairs, others will have one hungry 🐈 each. We all enjoyed a great meal tonight, some albeit some with much smaller portions.

This is the youngest version of this bottle in our cellar, the 2010 can easily reach 2023-25. — 7 years ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.1

Champagne blend made from Pinot Noir (40%), Meunier (35%) and Chardonnay (25%). Straw gold color with green highlights. Aromas and flavors of green apple, pear, peach, citrus and white flowers. Hints of brioche and toasted nuts. Generous and long on the pallet. Fine bubbles and a creamy mousse. Fresh and vibrant! Revisited in June 2023 for Father’s Day at Kasey’s house! Thanks Guys! — 3 years ago

Vanessa

9.0

This wine has a pale lemon hue with a delicate mousse. 🥂 🍾

👃 On the nose, this wine has a medium intensity of bright and youthful aromas including primary notes of white peach, yellow apple, pear tart, lemon zest, white blossom, and wet stone; also secondary notes of yeast, pastry, brioche, and marcona almonds.

👄 On the palate this wine is dry (Brut), with crisp, medium(+) acidity, a light body, medium alcohol, and medium intensity of flavors consistent with the nose, but with a stronger citric focus. The finish is medium.

🤔 This wine has a high proportion of Chardonnay (40%) for a non-vintage (NV) Champagne; it also has Pinot Noir (35%) and Pinot Meunier (25%) 🍇 . It is delicate and light. This wine spent 3-4 years "on the lees." Aging "on the lees" or "sur lie" is a wine-making practice (legally mandated in Champagne!) leaving the wine in contact with dead yeast cells, a.k.a. yeast particles that were used up in the fermentation process. In Champagne, an NV wine must undergo a minimum of 15 months aging with at least 12 months "sur lie". Taittinger has exceeded these minimums, which undoubtedly contributed to the presence of yeasty, bready, doughy, toasty, pastry notes that typify Champagne. 😍😍

I love that this Champagne House remains owned and operated by the founding family (who also owns the beloved Domaine Carneros in California). 💕💕 Having a glass and you get a sense for the love and attention to quality, carrying on the family tradition of excellence, elegance, and finesse.

Did I mention @champagnetaittinger is now planting vines in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧, near a village (Chilham) in Kent? This English sparkling is expected to be on the market in 2023/2024.

Cheers to always innovating, but also staying true to your roots 🙌🙌 — 5 years ago

with Deked1

John Gallo

9.0

This Gruner Veltliner was Excellent. Clear, crisp, clean. $15 for the glass and $60 for the bottle. The house white. An Austrian wine from Wachau. Only $12.99 a bottle at Costco on 1/16/2021!!!! On 1/25/2021, found at Wegmans for $14 a bottle. — 6 years ago

Ken Z

8.9

Drank 5/25/20. Very nice with lasagne.

Nose of earth, black cherry, and cranberry opens to flavors of black cherry, leather, and earth. Very nice balance. Medium finish dominated by black cherry , earth and medium plus tannins. Give this one a 30 + minute decant and a bit of a chill.

3/21/8/4/3 +50 =89 pts.
Unbelievable value Would highly recommend as a "house italian". — 6 years ago

Sam Hyun

10

Goes well with spiced foods like curry. Sweeter side. Had it at Jiyi’s & Sam’s house for Christmas steak dinner. 12/25/19 — 7 years ago

Kirk F

9.0

I had pretty modest expectations and this one frankly shocked me at how good it turned out to be. Right off the bat, luscious blackberry, smooth tannins and surprising complexity and length for a $25 Cab, and for which I paid less. This could easily become a house wine. Lucy approves! — 7 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.8

A Great night to say the least:
Magnum of Gargiulo money ranch road,
2000 Bryant, 25 year Macalllan. Totally forgot to post this pick from a few weeks back!
The Bryant drank as good as any French Bordeaux that I’ve ever had. The money ranch toad was mediocre in comparison and the 25 year Macallan was 2nd only to the amazing company we had in our house that night!!
Great times to say the least!
— 8 years ago

with Christine