Daniel Bloom

9.2

From the insane clearance sales of the @plcb, comes this wine for $25. Often you have to tell them what they have in stock, or say…” could you please check in the back?”. Then out comes a sealed wooden, 6 btl case. ( in one instance.). If you’re lucky to hear of the clearance sales, and there’s some things you care for near you it can be great. One just 🤞then prays that the provenance was good.
The 2020 vintage in Priorat was a challenge from what I understand. Wet, with fungus and rot, etc.
The ordinarily Garnacha heavy blend was swapped for 55% Syrah, 34% Garnacha, some Cab. and others. A quite unusual winemaking regiment ensues with large tronchons, cement, and glass demijohns included.
So…this upside down year produced a very lithe, liquorice and mineral wine. Dusky dark fruit on the nose more reminiscent of St. Emillion. Grippy tannins but in harmony. Easy going for Priorat. If you’re lucky to have them, drink or hold ‘em. I feel lucky to have played my part and relieved the @plcb of their burden.
With Randy — 2 months ago

Jamie Lauder

9.0

Okunomatsu kura was founded in Fukushima in 1716 and is now led by its 19th president Joji Yusa. This sake won the International Wine Challenge (IWC) Gold medal award in 2018 beating out 1,639 other sake labels.
Lychee, orange blossom and white flowers on the nose.
Bright, silky and a bit viscous with honey dew melon, white chocolate and minerality.
Ya ya karakuchi describes a sake as a nice balance between acidity and sweetness. We had soba with duck, shiitake mushrooms and grilled leeks. — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

A very good modern Chardonnay from the Margaret River. Smoky Leesy Flinty Mealy , struck match aromas. Lean to medium weight palate with mainly citrus and ripe grapefruit flavours. Barb thought nectarine notes as well. Still quite delicate but with great length and persistence. This Chardonnay won the James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge in 2014 from 680 entries and 98 points from James. — 5 years ago

garry post

9.1

Regrettably a foul smelling wine and a challenge to drink as well. — 6 years ago

Larry Benowski

9.4

Beautiful, taste soft tannin, nice acid , fruit is unripe pear and apricot, citrus taste that goes on, paired with digby scallops done with Bombay gin and lemon zest — 6 years ago

Justin Hansohn

9.1

This is a wine geek’s wine. All the complexity and funk and mineral and challenge you could ask for from semillon and Chenin and really true to the terroir but man I really only want like a glass or two of this. Kinda tough stuff but definitely has some charm. Serious for sure. Needs lots of other wines at the table to stay in balance and pleasure. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Very pale lemon in colour. Funky solids aromas / intoxicating. Lots of winemaking on show here. Great intensity - taut and lean almost quivering with pentup energy. On palate grapefruit, lime and touch of pineapple. Lots of citric acid. Certainly a different animal to Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay which is full luscious peaches and cream. This wine from Penfolds won the 2016 James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge from 630 entries. Penfolds Winemakers for years have been concentrating on making their top white wines to the same standards as their famous reds and with this Chardonnay it is clear they are on the way to achieving this. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

The colour is a quite pale Ruby. Red fruited (cherry) aromatics with Sous Bois. Light to medium bodied but with M plus intensity. As Bob Campbell MW said this wine has good vinosity (or Pinosity if you prefer). Pinots like this and Ata Rangi, both from Martinborough , challenge the Pinot dominance of Central Otago and Canterbury in New Zealand. — 2 years ago

Barberry Garden

9.0

Tasted blind while knowing the list of wines. Guessed the wine. And I found it beautiful and refreshing, especially in contrast with the previous atrocity. A charming bouquet of cherry, white pepper, mushrooms, dill and pickled tomato. Relatively funky, fresh and elevated. Not simple, rather a challenge, but a pleasant one.

Tasted on 2023-07-21 — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Over the last few years, I’ve grown quite fond of Raul Pérez’s wines. The challenge is, some of them can be rather elusive. “La Penitencia” is one of those wines. So I was pretty excited to try this. Popped and poured; consumed over three days. Wine pours deep ruby bordering purple and slightly turbid with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity. There does appear to be a small amount of fine sediment clinging to the side of the glass. On the nose, the wine is intense. There’s obvious presence of VA and overall, comes across natty; more than any other Raul Pérez wine I’ve had before. That being said, it is remarkably fresh with notes of cherry and blackberry; the pits, seeds, stems and all. There’s also spices, cinder block, and un-excavated basement. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+, bordering on high acid. Again, bright red and dark fruits along with pomegranate, grapefruit, and basil. The finish is a touch mousey with a biscuity sort of thing happening but it’s tolerable and I’m pretty sensitive. This would be too wild for many. Reminds me a bit of Fabio Gea’s “Onde Gravitational”. Plenty of life ahead for these. As it stands, I have another bottle and I won’t be in any particular rush to drink it. Lovely stuff. — 5 years ago

Ron R

9.3

At $22 per bottle, I challenge you peeps to better this in terms of quality, and sheer enjoyment. Prior notes apply. — 6 years ago

with Anne-marie

Andy Mc Nees

9.2

Interesting profile. Round fat tannins. Took hours to open up. Unfamiliar with the vineyard or winemaker. Enjoyed it. Challenge to describe — 7 years ago

John Van Trijp

9.8

Yes! Finally my first Meursault of Boisson Vadot and it was love at first sight! Not easy to find in Europe. It can challenge Coche Dury any time. Bravo! 🍾👊🏻🙏 — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.7

At my 2015 Chardonnay Challenge the Giaconda was a consensus 3rd. Easily the most smoky, sulphidic, struck match of the 6 wines. I loved it. On the palate a powerful wine. Opulent. This wine is becoming difficult to source and sells out in a flash upon release. I drank my last bottle of the 2015 on 3rd May 2026 with consistent notes. Very smoky and sulphidic still at 11 years. Totally enjoyable. Giaconda Chardonnay Is almost impossible to obtain these days as is its neighbour Savaterre. — 2 years ago

Vittorio Veronelli

9.2

drinking a 2011 Dogliani in August 2022 could be a challenge for most of dolcetto’s, but not for this! — 4 years ago

Patricia Schnitzer

9.0

Dec 14, 2020. W/ Caitlin. Wine Folly tasting challenge, Bordeaux. C got this at Last Bottle. Definitely needs more time but should be beautiful in a couple years. Cedar, cherry, black fruit. Complex and well balanced. — 6 years ago

J. Kim

9.0

The aroma is similar to Azelia, authentic and pure, but missing some bass components. It even shows some natural wine tendencies, slightly volatile and gassy, which settles down quickly. The structure lacks the authority and the weight but it scores high in transparency and dynamics. It will not challenge the supremacy of Conternos, Mascarellos and Odderos because its aroma is less complex and powerful, but its structure is built on radically different geometry, which makes it very exciting. There is also a Burgundian sense of mastery of texture, and distinctiveness of aroma that separates it from more pedestrian Barolo’s. Also worth noting that while it shows the authentic character of Barolo it does not forego a strong individuality of the winemaker. — 6 years ago

Mike Lee

Beverage Manager/Sommelier Catch Miami

9.2

Rainier cherry, wild strawberry, red plum and apple fruits, a bit of nectarine and orange peel too.
Sage and savory herbs, rose petal, gravelly, saline tinged minerals, good acid, and a creamy note throughout.
This wine serves all purposes!
Beautiful wine! — 6 years ago

Tom Dare

9.3

2011 is about the most solid Blaufrankish you can drink, excellent offering by Velich and Schuster under Moric. Their motto is “Fruit ferments. People ferment fruit. It’s a challenge.” 2011 is fresh black cherry, a funky acid core, with an after taste that lasts a weekend. Buy it all, it will last a decade and provide solid street cred with your wine snob friends. — 7 years ago

Ned Gray Creed

9.3

That was a challenge at the start. Took a while to wake. But it woke, and played well for a 10+ year Chassagne rouge. — 7 years ago

with Mark