Shay A

9.6

A bottle I contributed during a trip to Napa’s Premiere Napa Valley week. This was opened at Torc, alongside a ‘97 Leflaive Les Pucelles, ‘11 Leroy Blagny, ‘89 La Chappelle and two young Napa cabs from Simon Estate. La Mouline is always my favorite due to the amount of co-ferment with Viognier.

Deserving of a 1-2hr decant, this got about an hour open in bottle by the time we got to it. I opened the ‘04 La Turque just a few weeks prior, so I had a reference point to work with. Heady aromatics, as expected…dark potpurri, spice, mesquite and mocha. On the palate, the youthful bacon-fat of Cote Rotie was gone and had channeled the classical tangy barbecue profile alongside black olive, peppered red and black berry fruit, and smoked meat at the finish. Whereas the LaTurque was almost Burgundian in profile (elegant, light), this was somewhere in-between the “bigger” LaLandonne and LaTurque…big, but balanced, likely due to vintage. Aromatics and finish here were standouts. Open now with a quick decant or hold another few years. — 2 months ago

Brenda Lambert

9.1

Light but good — 7 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

M. Chiarlo’s Moscato d’Asti is also available in a 375ml which is a nice size to pop open after a nice meal. A slight effervescence wine with a light golden color. Aromas of sweet fresh stone fruits and citrus layered with a bit of floral spice. On the palate flavors of peaches and apricots with a grape-like character. Medium finish ending with citrus, sweet spice and honey notes. A favorite, great value! Grab a 750ml for a larger crowd! — 3 years ago

Shay A

9.5

Opened as part of a 2-day tasting with Alex Macdonald while he was in town. Day two was a small group of us with killer wines (2010 Chave Hermitage, mag of ‘02 Krug, Selosse Substance, 1996 Latour, 2003 Mouton, 1992 Dominus).

Quick one hour double decant to prep this beauty. While La Mouline is my favorite, La Turque still incorporates the co-ferment with Viognier. 93 Syrah/7 Viognier.

Beautiful translucent ruby in the glass. As I get with certain Cote Rotie wines (especially Guigal), barbecue and bacon fat can be overwhelming when young, but this has channeled a really balanced profile. Aromatic notes of smoked meat, cherry liqueur, and espresso. Beautifully rich yet elegant on the palate. Great nerve of acidity with a finish sporting plenty of tannin to carry this a while. Black peppered raspberries, black fruit on the palate with a little bacon and a hint of sweet/tangy barbecue sauce note (delicious). Enjoy now with a short decant or hold another 5yrs. — 3 months ago

John Schlechter

9.6

Amazing wine especially with food cuts right through any fat, sexy, tannins long finish bright fruit, light and traditional not bad for 48 years old at the drinking time  — 6 months ago

Guillermo Gonzalez

9.3

Superb. Needed something to stand up to a bone in rib eye as well as an unruly 1 year old. Deep garnet color. Lot of berries on the nose with hints of smoke and bacon fat. Beautiful long tannic finish. — 3 years ago

Matt

9.5

Drinking beautifully with a Northern appellation feel to it, more Brune and schistous to me. Would love to know all the lieu dits that contribute and their proportion in the final blend. Its darken fruit profile, meaty/smokey and forest notes make the argument that it’s of northern origin. Its opening up for now there’s a rich stream of dark black fruits reminiscent of Black raspberry liquor, soaked plums, almost prune, and overripe black berry/cherry. There’s still freshness to the fruit however, nothing ox’d or decaying. Singed cedar, leather, ash, roasted meat and animal come next, followed by the garrigue and bacon fat. Threads of eastern spices and of course pepper. It elusive now, the aromas coming and going. Palate has some lovely richness and bones to accompany it well, never pushy, always with restraint and nerve. Reminds me of Barolo. Great “basic” cuvée for Rostaing this vintage. Day 2 this really got going, much more harmony and focus on the nose. Loads of bitter root and pastille notes developing among its dark content. Very delicious — 4 years ago

Dan K

9.1

Maybe the grape juice thing is gone too far..this was pretty good. — 3 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

A new tasting experience on several levels. Had never heard of or tasted this grape varietal, Schioppettino. I was looking for a lighter red off the menu at Settimo, Guy Grossi’s new Brisbane venture. Chosen purely because of its location in Friuli ie. cooler climate. The Somm was in the dark but the wine ended up being a revelation. Red cherry and cranberry - intense white pepper on nose and palate. Dried red florals. Love this style. Will be on the lookout for this Cuvée in the future. — 5 months ago

with Hugh and Georgina

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Las Alturas' Spanish for 'the heights', a fitting name, this vineyard located on one of the highest grape-growing benches in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. 4th gen Winemaker Joseph J. Wagner from a family with farming and winemaking roots in Napa since 1906. Met Joe several times. Deep Ruby (darkest Pinot I have come across, almost looks like a Cab). Rich berry flavors with cedar, spice and vanilla. Lingering ending with sweet oak notes. Consistent quality Nice! A Fav! — 4 years ago