"Odedi"

9.0

Pale lemon in color.

Nose of citrus, green apples, earth, herbs, river rocks, green vegetables and minerals.

Medium bodied with medium plus acidity. Crisp and refreshing.

Dry on the palate with green apples, light grapefruits, limes, earth, sea salt, bitter herbs and spices.

Tangy finish with limes and herbs.

This is an interesting Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley. Nicely balanced with nice complexity. Fresh and easy drinking.

Earthy nose and a bit fruitier on the palate. Feels more like one from the Loire Valley.

Much earthier and than the 2024 vintage that I had last year, which I loved.

Feels like it needs a few years in the bottle to mature properly. Would be nice to revisit it in a couple of years.

Good right out of the bottle and a good food wine.

100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes were hand picked and fermented in stainless steel vats.

14.1% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$25. — 4 months ago

Matthew Cohen

9.7

Man this is so young. 3-5 years at least from an early peak. But you can see the greatness. Man this is going to be a wine of a lifetime.

Nose is pungent cranberry flowers. An assault on the no trial. Nose petals peeking through. Some lilacs.

Palate is stunningly fresh. So delsignore. You get the amazing Nebbiolo fruit you’d expect from 16 but it’s as fresh as just picked grapes. Bright cherry. A bit of darker red cherry. A hint of licorice. Some cranberry fruit.

A beautiful wine.

On the swallow this is starting to show that “oh my god I can’t believe I’m drinking this” perfect balance of truly great wines.

As this opens piercingly intense. Pure pure pure. A hint of elegant brick like you get in old burgundy. Intense Dried rose petal extract.

Finish is so profound you leave it on the palate for like a minute sucking in air and mumbling “mmmph. Mmmph mmmph” it’s so good you do t want it to stop.

Bought from fass selections — 5 years ago

M. Christopher Roebuck

9.2

More and more I will be getting out of my comfort zone. This is a single vineyard Chenin Blanc from South Africa, Stellenbosch. Hand-picked whole bunches, kept on the skins for 12 hours after harvest before gentle pressing. 12 month fermentation and maturation in 225L French oak barrels. The skin contact produces a beautiful medium gold color that's as shiny as a wedding band on a honeymoon. Indeed, honeysuckle is among the aromas that also include pear, peach, apricot, marmalade, and a twist of lime. Everything gets confirmed on the palate, with a touch of brioche. Medium plus bodied, dry (with a hint of residual sugar on the tongue), medium acidity. A great wine.

92+ points — 6 years ago

sokiemhwat

9.2

In 1978 Louis Cheze started to transform his family farm into a vineyard. In the heart of the Northern Rhone he now produces high quality syrah, viognier and marsanne-roussanne wines. Hand picked viognier with alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, matured 8-10 months in small French oaken barrels with battonage sur lie. — 7 years ago

JJ Lumia

9.3

The 2016 is out - and it doesn’t disappoint!!!Medium-bodied but mouth filling showing freshly picked cherries, leather and bacon fat. A memorable finish. One of my favorite wines, one of the most reliable. Huge QPR and one you should always have on hand. A little pricey for an everyday house wine, but it’s always worth it. On the downside it went up $1 and is now $21...... — 8 years ago

Peg Hanssen

9.8

Preparing for our adventure to Portugal Surdyks’ Recommendation:
(Douro) Portugal is a prolific wine country, best known for its sweet dessert wine - Port. World famous in its many styles, Port is sweet and fortified, prized for its rich flavors and lush texture. Portugal also has fabulous dry red wine. Dow’s “Vale do Bomfim” is made with the same grapes and sourced from the same historic Douro Valley that produces Dow’s great Ports. Portugal’s indigenous grapes – Tinta Barroca, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and Tinto Cão – are names that should pique your interest and draw you to this imported discovery. Picked by hand and manually sorted with great care, the grapes are fermented in small vats. The resulting wine has complexity and style. Portugal’s Douro Valley has consistently good climate and growing conditions almost every year. The flavors are dynamic and the tannic structure is soft and silky. This is a really good wine for all occasions, with an affordable price and value.
$8.49 Spring 2017 ($14.49) — 8 years ago

nat

9.9

Hand picked, whole bunch pressed

80% shiraz l, 20% Riesling

Stainless steel barrels, on Riesling lees up to 6 months

Nose: citrus, red fruit, fresh

Taste: hint of sweetness, strong red fruit, acid at the end, beautiful — a year ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

A deep Ruby red - no hint of bricking. Coonawarra mint noticeable on the nose. Possibly drinking this a little young at 16 years of age - at least a 20 year old wine. From a warmer year showing cassis, blackcurrant, milk chocolate and a little bay leaf. Fine grained persistent tannins. Hand pruned and picked, natural yeast fermentation, matured in French oak. A gift to us from the owner and winemaker, Sue Bell. Drinking well, thanks Sue. I hope you don’t think we drank it too early. — 2 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.4

Founded at end of 1800 when Lavinio Franceschi, Florence land owner, visited the area. Over a century later, Tenuta covers an area of 530 hectares (140 planted with vines; 50 with olive trees). Aged in French oak for 36 months, 100% Sangiovese hand picked from 20-year old vines. A Gem! Deep Ruby. rich berry fruit aromas with complex spice. Palate has rich berry fruit flavors, baked cherry, with tobacco, cacao & subtle spice. Soft tannins, long finish ending with seductive earthy tones. Nice, aged well! — 5 years ago

Tania Vetluzhskikh

8.9

Tasted in 2020 — 6 years ago

George Hesse

9.3

This was crispy and fresh with a fairly acidic finish. — 7 years ago

with Jeff and Jennifer

Bob McDonald

9.4

Pale Lemon in colour. A little leaner than the lush Woodlands Chloe we had on the weekend from Margaret River. This was more citrus fruits and citric acid with judicious use of French Oak. More Chablis than Meursault. Technical Details: Grapes are all hand picked, whole bunch pressed, and fermented in French Oak Barriques of which one third were new. The wine spent 8 months in barrel with gentle stirring as required, then a further 2 months in tank on lees prior to bottling. Minimal malolactic fermentation. A good cellaring future well into the mid 2020s. — 7 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.1

Whoa Nellie-aside from fact that Roussanne is not part of my even yearly rotation, let alone white Languedoc wine, this bowled us over with its packed flavors, freshness, acidic backbone, & layers-guessing you could lay it down for 3-5 yrs if not longer. Hay, subtle lanolin ( think Chenin), white flowers. Modest viscosity, pale yellow hue. Very impressive. Hand Picked imports. — 8 years ago

with Owen

Jamie Lauder

9.1

2018 vintage.
100 % Riesling from Block 5. A 2 acre vineyard in size.
Pale straw yellow. Stoney lime juice, tangerine, kiwi and white flowers.
Crisp and dry with bracing acidity and minerality on the finish.
All hand picked fruit and whole bunch pressed.
Spends 4 months on the lees then aged 2 years in bottle before release.
This wine is built for long term aging.
7 to 10 years is no problem. — 2 years ago

Jamie Lauder

9.1

2022 vintage.
Produced in the Alsatian traditional style of Edelzwicker, an aromatic blend.
All hand picked and hand sorted fruit.
50 % Gewurztraminer, 27 % Riesling, 10 % Pinot Auxerrois, 8 % Pinot Gris and 5 % Pinot Blanc.
Bright, shiny straw gold.
Apples, white flowers, ginger and citrus on the nose.
Tangerine, lemon lime, pink grapefruit pith, and honeysuckle flavours.
On the back label of every bottle, they thank all the grape growers by name and location. — 3 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.5

Nose is so supple. Warming (not in an alcoholic sense) and comforting. Dried roses. Spices. As this opens, intense hand crushed rose petals. With some more time intense lilacs. I mean really intense like elite volnay intense. Wtf!?!

Palate is still so fresh. Moderately dense fruit. Bright cherries. So juicy. Terrific spice. Rose petal juice. Wow. Nice elegance. Only 13.5% alcohol. Not one of these ponderous post climate change monsters. As it opens very good deliciousness. A lovely Roundness. Spice. Wow.

Great fresh finish.

This is exactly why you want in an entry level Barolo. Not Uber dense and overly weighty. Stunningly drinkable. Wow.

I’m having it with cassouela. Yes I know I should have had valtellina wine to stay in Lombardy... bite me. All the ballers in Milan drink barolo.

Bought from fass selections. — 6 years ago

Pat Taylor

9.2

This is less jammy than most Amarone, and in a good way. Very balanced, very lovely. Great value. — 7 years ago

sokiemhwat

9.0

Hand picked Rías Baixas varietals, 70% albariño, blended with 20% caiño & 8% laureiro. Fleshy yet fresh wine, complex yet easy to drink. — 7 years ago

"Odedi"

9.0

Deep purple in color with a short purplish rim.

Fruity nose with blackberries, blueberries, sweet plums, light earth, vanilla, licorice, eucalyptus, spices, tobacco, peppercorn, milk chocolates, vegetables, herbs and black pepper.

Full bodied, smooth and creamy, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and fruity on the palate with blackberries, cherries, blueberries, wood, earth, vanilla, molasses, medium roast coffee, black pepper, spices, milk chocolates and cola.

Long finish with soft tannins, cherries and spices.

This is a delicious Petite Sirah from Lodi California. Well balanced and fruit forward with nice complexity. Showing a soft and smooth mouthfeel that I did not expect from a Petite Sirah at this age.

An easy drinking, bold and jammy red wine, with high alcohol, so watch out...

Better after 30 minutes in a decanter.

This is a good sipping wine, all by itself or with food. I paired it with Gouda cheese which went perfect together.

Grapes are hand-picked. Aged in American Oak barrels for 10 months.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$22. — 8 years ago

Martin Bergo

9.1

This wine is from NW Spain, just E of Rias Baixas, made predominantly of hand-picked mencia grapes of >50-year-old vines. The color is light purple with a brick tinge; nose is full and round with dark berries, a flinty salinity, mediterranean spices, and a hint of cabernet-like pyrazines; taste is also round with mild small tannins and medium alc. and acidity, dark fruits, no hint of new oak, and a pleasant elegant finish. Paired with spanish hams, dried pata negra filé, and French Beaufort ”gruyere-comté”-type cheese from the milk of high-altitude grazing cows. Yum! — 8 years ago