Doug Powers

9.2

This wine was so named because they had a terrible hailstorm in 2015 (late 2014?) that they described as catastrophic, leaving little Riesling fruit left at harvest. Off-dry, some petrol/diesel notes, great acidity, balanced and texturally very nice, long finish, very fine! — 5 months ago

with Jim

Rob Wilder

9.3

Extra points for Freddy for this light pure beauty in a tough cool wet hailstorm vintage. With roast chicken etc was a huge hit — 8 years ago

DuMezs

9.2

The hailstorm vintage..great story. Purchased on Ilé St. Louis in Paris at a wonderful small wine shop — 9 years ago

Brandyn Pryce

9.1

Such an intense and spicy varietal. Great to touch on our trip from three months ago where we witnessed a random hailstorm knock down some Nebbiolo from the Vietti tasting room! — 4 years ago

with Erin

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9.2

The 2012 Alter Ego is unusually dark in this vintage, the result of abnormally low yields and very ripe Merlot. An exuberant, voluptuous wine, the 2012 hits the palate with a mélange of black cherry, plum, smoke, licorice, tobacco and grilled herbs. There is more than enough tannin and acidity to support a good decade-plus of very fine drinking. This is a superb second wine that should be on consumers' radar screens, as it over delivers, big time. The 2012s at Palmer are made from unusually low yields of around 28 hectoliters per hectare. One of the effects of the 2011 hailstorm that hit the estate was a lowering of the following year's crop, which has resulted in rich, tannic wines. Estate Manager Thomas Duroux opted to give the 2012s more time in barrel than is customary and the wines were bottled in September 2014. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous) — 7 years ago

Brian Kelly

9.5

Vanilla, dark chocolate, roasted malt. The Bourbon barrel aging is excellent. At 14.1%, the heat is well balanced and hidden. — 6 years ago

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9.2

Wine is a product of nature. This fact was all too real for Ormes de Pez in 2014 as the estate suffered through a brutal hailstorm in May that took with it a third of the potential crop. Yet, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining and the positive result here was that the reduced yield resulted in an unusually deep, powerful vintage for this St. Estèphe property that belongs to the Cazes family, owners of Lynch-Bages. A dark, sumptuous beauty, the 2014 Ormes de Pez offers up a compelling mélange of purplish and black fruit, smoke, grilled herbs and graphite, with quite a bit of density. Rich and voluptuous, the 2014 is a gorgeous Ormes de Pez that will drink well relatively early. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, Feb 2017) — 7 years ago

Holly Oaks

9.3

Medium tannins and acidity. Lovely vanilla and chocolate aromas as well as some dried fruits. Well worth the $30 from this newer okanagan winery. They recently lost about 85% of their vineyard due to a bad hailstorm. But I'm sure they will make it through because they have some fantastic wines. This one is a Bordeaux blend dominated by Merlot. Love it. — 11 years ago