Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Established in 1997 by the partners of Far Niente. Medium lemon color with aromas of tropical and stone fruit with citrus and toasty oak notes. On the palate flavors of apple, pear and peach, lemon zest, vanilla oak and wet stone notes. Nice balance with tangy acidity on long finish ending with fruit, oak and rich minerality. Classic, very nice! — 2 months ago

Michael Malpiedi

9.3

Cold climate burgundy from far north Irancy. Quiet but very fresh on first taste, strong roses and violets. Day two acid mellowed and gave way to amarena cherries. Great value if you’ve got the time to let her breathe! — 3 years ago

Jim McCusker

9.4

Reached pretty far back in the cellar for this one. Pax Mahl was making some terrific wines out of his eponymous winery (Obsidian and Griffin’s Lair were my favorites), until some sort of flare-up between him and Joe Donelan eventually resulted in them splitting the vineyard accesses between them and shutting down the winery. After 15 years, this wine is still going strong. Great example of a cooler climate north coast syrah. — 4 years ago

with Vanessa

Bob Colman

8.9

Guess what it’s Chardonnay! If you couldn’t get that then maybe switch to spirits. Very sulphitic in character both on the nose and palate. When you only really drink natural wines this old school wine isn’t what you want any more. The decanter still had a glass in it at the end of the night. — 7 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

The first of my small tranche of 2019 Cuvée Reservée’s and I figured it would be fun to share with the Tasting Group. Popped and poured and presented double-blind. The wine pours a translucent, deep ruby with magenta rim, near opaque core, medium+ viscosity. On the nose, the wine was clean with macerated raspberry, cranberry, and pomegranate fruits. There were purple flowers, some black pepper and rocky minerality along with a slightly gamey note which was quite charming. Both the fruit and non-fruit characteristics were confirmed on the palate. The wine finishes dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. There’s a compelling sense of power and energy in this wine. Everyone was in the Rhône but most were in the North; from Saint Joseph to Cornas, citing that they believed this was Syrah. However, two in the group called Châteauneuf du Pape and one actually called producer (!!) but missed on vintage (2016). Universally, the wine was fawned over and the dude who called Pagaü thought he actually favored the 2019 over the 2016 he had a while back. While I’m not sure I would go that far, the 2019 is truly quite stunning already and seems to have the guts to see a very long and wonderful life ahead. These are currently enjoying their customary early drinking window however, that window will likely close within a year or so and then I could see this shutting down pretty hard until 2025 — 3 years ago

Will Stanley

9.4

Still quite austere, this Latour-Mattillac from the superstar 2010 vintage is a dark, brooding and full-blooded wine from Pessac-Léognan that will be far greater in 5/10+ years’ time. Better on the second day than the first (despite a two hour decant), it showed the traditional medley of dark fruit, cassis, wet gravel and grip, but with a profile more similar to its neighbours further north than what one may consider ‘typical’ Graves. But make no mistake: this is an exceptional Bordeaux worthy of long-term cellaring, and one with a hence attractive price tag. — 5 years ago

Abbas Zand

9.2

Floral nose. Medium to full body.
Bright acidity. Tropical notes melon/pineapple. Toasted barrel oakiness.
$40 — 9 months ago

Peter Sultan

9.0

When in Argentina drink…..rose? Syrah based rose from the extreme North of Argentina, in Juyjuy, just south of Bolivia & Paraguay. At 15.1% abv a “ light” red. Fresh cut wild strawberries soaked in rum, & sure, runs a bit hot but who’s counting when drinking rose in BA. Apparently some young, brave guns making wine this far north & it’s delicious. Enough balance to keep things lip smacking. — 2 years ago

Romain Fitoussi

9.1

SyrahSession#2Wine#4
Garnet-tiled, murky, deep dress.Clos de Gat is an area of Judea in Israel. With two hours of aeration, the primary notes, generous very ripe and animal fruits mix well with the notes of aging and spices. We are not far from a Cornas or other wine from the North Rhône with the intensity of the Israeli sun. The notes of evolution go perfectly with the bouquet.

Robe Grenat-tuilé, trouble, profonde.
Clos de Gat est un domaine de Judée en Israël. Avec deux heures d’aération, les notes primaires, généreuses fruits très mûrs et animales se mêlent bien aux notes d’élevage et d’épices. On est pas loin d’un Cornas ou autre vin du Rhône Nord avec l’intensité du soleil d’Israel. Les notes d’évolution se marient à merveille au bouquet.
— 3 years ago

Jaymin Kim

9.5

The best white wine I've had so far — 5 years ago