Jay Kline

9.2

Splash decanted and enjoyed over the course of two hours. The 2019 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of Morello cherry, red flowers, black tea, dried green herbs and gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and has that Ciacci Piccolomini silkiness. I felt the 2019 was a little reticent for the first 30min (not at all surprised) but opened beautifully after that and continued to build steam until the last glass. Very easy to enjoy and fabulous with bolognese. Drink now with a 30min decant and through 2044 — a month ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.0

2019 vintage. Enjoying the simpler, 2018 vintage of this wine a bit more currently. The 2019 is pretty tight and very youthful. Laying off for a 5-spot might help but a 10-spot would be better. OTOH, if you wanted to pour this btg or drink throughout the course of 4 nights without the worries of it losing steam or going bad, you just might be onto something. 1.24.24. — 2 years ago

Jake Hajer

9.3

Roses, dried lillies, fresh brewed chamomile steam, fermented butter, bruised yellow peaches, Marcona almond. Very good! — 5 years ago

Laith A

9.2

Losing some steam since I had it last .. starting to show less fruit and more leather, grilled meat juice and smoke! Still very good though! — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.2

Very enjoyable Wednesday Wine Committee lunch today with @Weston Eidson & @Colby Siratt hosting. Same format as always...1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds and 1 dessert wine all tasted blind.

Lovely aromatics here. Mix of red and black fruit. Tar, pipe tobacco, graphite and black cherry cola. This picked up steam the longer it was open. I’d hold these. I called this left bank 2012 vintage. — 7 years ago

with Dan, Jeff and 3 others

Daniel McGeough

9.1

Steam burger 🍔 wine!! — 8 years ago

Lindsey King

9.4

Raspberry compote, creme de violette, a handful of wet soil with crushed twigs and leaves. Balance and structure like the work of a romantic carpenter building his dream house. Like a semi-lucid dream where a warm, hazy sky is breaking like a glow stick into twilight hues and you’re on a beautiful old double decker steam train with a rooftop standing area. You’re whizzing by vibrant green fields of gigantic flowers, their petals flapping slowly in the wind like sheets drying on a line. Old oak trees growing fruits in colours that don’t exist yet. Glowing fireflies just above your head like painterly orange astronomy. In the dream it’s New Years Eve but in the dream everyday is New Years Eve and you could very well spend everyday alone with your dream power. — 8 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Love FBalthazar’s Chaillot Cornas but never had his SS offering. I’d rather catch most SS wines in their youth to not roll the dice and get them super fresh.

Splash decanted; followed over two days.

Deep purple in the glass with hallmark Cornas aromatics…smoked meat, charcoal, dark potpourri/florals, cassis, blackberries. On the palate, the typical Cornas rusticity is more elegant, with peppered black fruits, sweet smoke, mocha, savory spices. It undoubtedly has a very “pure” profile, showing Syrah without any sort of mask. Good acid and tannin. Day two showed the mid-palate lose steam a bit, which isn’t a big surprise. Lovely bottle. If I could guarantee its evolution, this seemed like it would cruise another 7-10yrs, but who knows with SS! — a month ago

Roberto Carli

9.1

Tasted between its sec and molleaux companions it loses steam, neither here nor there but still quite fine on its own — 3 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.1

Muted at first but put on weight with air. Mineral drenched, musky, ripe green tree fruit and spice, honey, some new wood influence which actually nicely refines and softens the intensity. Not losing steam and in fact still integrating — 5 years ago

Robert Torretti

9.2

Enjoyed this wine over Christmas Eve with a Kansas City Ribeye, a salad and some steakhouse bacon. The time really turned this into a very pleasant wine. The fruits were not as forward as is so many modern and young CdP’s, but you could still get some black fruits, along with some tar, leather and dirt. It began to lose some steam later in the evening, say 2.5-3.0 hours after opening. Mostly what I would want and expect from a 16 year old CdP in a vintage like 2004. — 6 years ago

Mark S.

9.2

Super good!!! Good aroma. This is really well mixed French and US. Elegant, but enough volume and concentration. Sweetness as the feature of CA CS. 2013 @2384, tatong - X Steam, 190310-190313 — 7 years ago

David Kline

9.2

I know now this needs more time to integrate, but it’s down-soft in the background, so difficult to see a balanced future. Warm plum and black berry-currant, cranberry stuffing, rich chocolate, sherry trifle, all loosely sprinkled with fine graphite. Steamy jungle flora notes merge with hemp stem and black cherry skins. Hard chocolate entry bringing dried blackberry and even drier black cherry stripped naked in a sauna of chamomile and phantom eucalyptus outlines describing a swarthy shadow through steam. A recent denizen of the cedar benches, puffing sweet tobaccos? There is subtle power at play despite the fruit-forward leanings. I was initially on the fence with this. This one is enigmatic with a nod to Napa in the 1970s. #Napa #Walton #cab #cabernet #cabsauv4life #cabsav #california #egelhoff #EgelhoffWalton #Bobegelhoff #egelhoffwines #StHelena #sthelenacab — 8 years ago

with Courtney

Shawn R

9.6

Flamboyant aromas of orange/honeysuckle and green drupe fruits. Light on the front of the palate yet gains steam from there. Warm shortbread with a side of macadamia nuts. Hint of tarragon and white pepper make for a minute plus finish. Decant for at least an hour. — 8 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.5

Still one of the great alt whites in the world.

N: swirling white and yellow flowers. Almost an echo of tropical fruit.

P: delicious. Clean. Balanced. Juicy. Liquid yellow flowers. Some crunch. Mountain steam. Amazing elegance.

9.5-9.6. Sick value at this price.

Fass selections — 8 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.1

Garnet core , wide terracotta rim . Quite aromatic with sous bois , floral hints , spiced dried cherry, iodine , earth and leather . On the palate this has high acidity , fine tannins , orange rind , wet earth, sous bois , dried cherry . Good length . Ready drink now and over the next 5 years , just starting to run out of steam after a couple of hours . Elegant and refined in style — a year ago

Delectable Wine

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9.4

The 2020 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a light, quite steely bouquet that gathers steam with aeration, one of the more marine-influenced wines from Les Clos this year. The palate is well balanced with a fine line of acidity, quite taut and focused with a touch of spice lending another dimension on the finish. Composed and classy. Tasted blind at the BIVB tasting in Chablis. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
— 4 years ago

Shay A

9.4

2014 Napa cabs are in a sweet spot for the “fruit forward” stage of wines without ripping the enamel off your teeth. TRB is a favorite winemaker of mine for his ability to pull the entire fruit spectrum (red, blue, black), when applicable, which is evident here.

This is a pop and pour for the big fruit loving Napa enthusiasts (which I can enjoy ever so often). It is uber ripe and high toned...not quite sporting levels of EA, but close. With this being Calistoga fruit, it undoubtedly shows that warm profile. There is a kiss of red fruit initially on the nose before it is dominated by freshly squeezed blackberries, creme de cassis, dark chocolate, mocha and dark mixed berry pie. It begins on the palate somewhat lighter than expected before picking up steam and really gaining heft/density on the mid palate. Just oozes fresh and ripe dark fruits, fondue dipped fruits, plenty of baking spices like vanilla and nutmeg, and a sweet finish that sails on for a good while. Completely smooth and soft tannin. Not failing off a cliff for a while, but this style has me thinking earlier consumption is best. — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

This was a bit of a brute. Super ripe and a touch stewed on the pour. After about 30min of air the stewed character was gone and this fantastic. Dark fruits, wood and spice. Still fiercely tannic. Great with food or on its own. This really wasn’t showing any signs of losing steam. — 8 years ago

Shay A

9.5

Impromptu meet up at Classic! Having a relaxing Friday afternoon with good friends and good wine makes for a perfect start to a weekend!

I was only able to enjoy this from pop and pour until about 30mins later when I needed to leave, but as I was leaving, this was full steam ahead drop dead gorgeous! Black cherry, muddled raspberries, cocoa dusted cherries. Clay and herbal complexities on the palate with a finish that brought about some bark/sandalwood. Wonderful! — 8 years ago

with Dan