Peter van den Besselaar

9.2

Vintage 2014 | Sometimes I do not understand my winefriends, they think this wine is too old. I think it’s great in elegance, spicyness and flint in smell, even roses, beautiful balance. It must have been the light colour and roses why four tasters placed it in Piëmont. Let’s say, acquired taste. 😏 — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.6

Popped and poured; consumed over six day and best after day four. The 2016 Sottimano Barbaresco, Currá pours a garnet color with a translucent core. Medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, bright red cherry fruit, pomegranate, cranberry, cumin, spiced Middle Eastern meat, tar, roses, oiled leather baseball glove, gun powder (never pulled that before), dried earth, dry green herbs, and some tobacco. On the palate, the wine is dry with extremely high tannin (Day 1 was rip your face off distracting and the most I have experienced from Barbaresco) acid is medium+. Confirming the notes from the nose. Medium+ alcohol. Super duper long, savory mineral finish. A “legend” in the making. Drink from 2026 through 2066+. — 2 years ago

Matt Sterr

9.9

99 POINTS for @Alex Bacon ‘s Christmas 🎅 Beer.Cold brew coffee and honey Stout aged in ex-Barrel Project (Four Roses 7 Year) single Barrell bourbon cask. — 4 years ago

with Vance, Travis and 40 others

Jay Kline

9.4

From magnum. This is the 2016 Riserva from the “Le Coste” MGA, just south of the village of Barolo and merely a block away from the winery. Giacomo Grimaldi is one of only four producers with holdings in Le Coste and the only one currently producing a single cru expression. That being said, Giuseppe Rinaldi is largely responsible for Le Coste’s reputation and it shares many characteristics from a soil and exposure standpoint as Cannubi. The fruit for this wine comes from the very highest point in the vineyard (the lower section was recently replanted) and the Riserva is only made in the very best vintages (2019 will be the next Riserva).

The wine pours a deep garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe red fruits: Morello cherry, raspberry, red rope licorice, roses, tar, dried herbs, cigar box. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acidity. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long, silky and slightly savory. Far and away the loveliest wine I’ve ever enjoyed from Giacomo Grimaldi. Elegant, yes…but there is significant depth. Very impressive. Drink now, with patience through 2056. — 4 months ago

Kyle Turner

9.2

One of my faves! — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

The 2020 vintage presented many challenges for wine producers around the world but the fires in California added a layer of complexity that nobody needed. Many of the producers I enjoy didn’t even make red wine and if they did, it was never released. For some, the effects were more catastrophic. Unfortunately for McHenry Vineyard, the situation was the latter. Not only was the entire crop lost to smoke taint in the CZU Lighting Complex Fire but the winery and most of the structures on the property were destroyed. They even lost some of the majestic redwoods that have surrounded the vineyard for centuries. Despite the pandemic and the destruction, Brandon and Annelisa were resolved to rebuild. However, with the crop lost and nowhere to make wine for the foreseeable future, they had to enlist some help. In the near term, Brandon was able to purchase fruit from the Christie Vineyard in Corralitos (the longtime source for Storrs Winery & Vineyard) and John Benedetti of Sante Arcangeli came in the with the assist; just as he had in the production of the 2019 vintage. The fruit from Christie Vineyard is more Dijon heavy than McHenry’s estate vineyard but John did a great job of honoring the McHenry approach and style. The results were remarkable.

Popped and poured and enjoyed over a four hour period, the 2020 McHenry “Christie Vineyard” pours a bright, luminous ruby color with a transparent core. No obvious staining of the tears; medium+ viscosity. On the nose, bright ripened cherries, raspberries, roses, cloves and other spices. The wine is dry with medium tannins and medium+ acid. The finish is long. The overall impression is fresh, juicy and full of life. Like all vintages of McHenry, production is minuscule with only 150 cases produced.

As a sort of epilogue, Mother Earth giveth and taketh away. For all of the gifts that California’s climate brings to the production of wine, they are not immune to the whims of nature and these sorts of stories are becoming more and more common. With that being said, there have been at least two other occasions in McHenry’s past where they have been forced to purchase fruit or choose not release wine due to fire or pests. Unfortunately, this will probably not be their last but as long as they are determined to make beautifully balanced Pinot Noir way up on Bonny Doon Road, I will be drinking them. — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of four days. Best of Day 4. The 2020 Classico pours a beautiful garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of tart and ripe red fruits: strawberries, cherry lozenges, pink roses, tar, talcum powder and dry earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose though the fruit comes across more ripe than tart. The finish is long and saline. This is an elegant, sexy Barolo with sneaky power that’s only revealed with enormous exposure to air at this stage. Drink now with patience and through 2040. — 8 months ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Initially popped and poured and holy smokes, this is green! The nose is youthful but not without charm, with tart red and black fruit and fresh cut roses. On the palate however, this was simply too green; too tart. So I ended up decanting for a couple of hours before returning to the bottle and checked in on it over the following four days. Probably best on Day 4 but it remained pretty youthful.

After four days of being open, the 2017 “Vare Vineyard” pours a ruby color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is youthful with pretty notes of bright, underripe fruit: blackberries, raspberries, red currants, cranberries, fresh leaf tobacco, Anaheim pepper, roses, dried herbs and autumn forest floor. On the palate, the wine is dry with sneaky medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from nose. The finish is medium+. Overall, this is a very young wine that’s full of energy and needs many years to come into balance. Better after 2027 and drink through 2042. 12.3% ABV. Yes, you read that right. — 9 months ago

Chris Durall

9.4

New Belgium /Four Roses. Special Release Oakspire Bourbon Barrel Ale. 9% ABV — 3 years ago

Willem Booij

9.3

Tasting with Eddy Faller: more delicate nose, roses mixed with lychees. Sweet entry in the mouth (res sugar 30gr) it’s goes round and round, smoke comes in the back of the aftertaste. After the tasting my overall opinion is that the wines are pure, salty and silky. The fat around the backbone of all the wines make them quite approachable and less nervous then their opponents from Germany. It’s an other style and that’s good four the cellar 🤣🤔 — 4 years ago