Mark Chandler

9.1

Deep bramble fruits. Really high quality Bordeaux for under £20 especially with 7 years in bottle. Bought another as a gift , it was so good! — 2 months ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.0

2019 vintage. An estate owned by the Cazes family (Lynch Bages, Haut Batailley). A blend of Merlot (50%), Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), Cabernet Franc (7%) and Petit Verdot (3%). Less flashy compared to the Capbern 2019 tasted yesterday, give it some time to open up. Even with the high Merlot percentage, it has more of a dark Cabernet Sauvignon personality with black fruit and a serious, slightly severe tannic backbone. Abv. 14,5 %. — 2 years ago

Brendan Baker

9.0

Cranberries, mineral, gunflint, high acid, best with a chill 👍 — 3 years ago

Lawrence Bernstein

9.2

7/21 With Kurt. Flawless beauty. Soft resolved tanins with a medium to strong body and a smooth finish. High marks. 92. — 3 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Quite deep golden amber colour , copper rim . On the nose gives the impression of some botrytis , candied peel , beeswax , honey , lychee. On the palate this is less sweet than expected with quite high balancing acidity , more tropical based fruits , pineapple and passion fruit along with the honey and lychee and a touch of lime and caramel on the refreshing finish. This is medium bodied , very elegant and gives that lovely balance between acidity and sweetness. This is lovely now , though I get the impression there is no rush. Now and over the next 7-10 years . — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Opened nearly 7 hours prior to Tasting Group and slow-ox'd. Even though this wouldn’t be considered testable, I figured it would be fun to taste with the group, you know, to keep them on their toes! Presented double-blind.

The 2013 Merlot “Passata” pours a deep ruby color with medium viscosity. Moderate intensity; developing vinosity. The nose is redolent of raspberries, cranberries, jasmine, a mix of dried and fresh purple flowers, smoke, some spice, dried herbs, and stone. There are some pyrazines lurking underneath as well which , if nothing else, should have been some clue to others. On the palate, the wine is dry and generous with ripe red fruit mixed with some dark fruit, smoke and spices, leather, and tobacco. Acid is high with medium++ tannin…grippy, juicy tannins. High alcohol. Long finish.

Calls were all over the place, from Dry Creek Zinfandel to Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Truthfully, I didn’t expect anyone to call Langhe Merlot. That being said, there is an underlying Italian sensibility to this wine. The structure is all Italy and even though the alcohol was high, it’s not terribly unusual to see balanced wines from Langhe bumping up close to 15%. Anyway, this was outstanding and universally adored by the group. As far as age-ability, this is drinking quite nicely with a hefty amount of air. That being said, taking the structure into account, this should easily drink well over the next ten years. — 2 years ago

Will Stanley

9.5

Good God, what a sensational wine is this 2016 Geyserville field blend from Ridge Vineyards, a predominant Zinfandel cuvée with 17% Carignane, 7% Petite Sirah, and 3% Alicante Bouschet.

Totally hedonistic, with perfectly ripe blackberry, cassis, rich dark chocolate and steeped plum, intertwined with crunchy gravel, toasted spices and a delightful sweet tobacco note. The palate is full bodied but elegant, powerful yet perfectly poised, replete with youthful vigour, with a lingering - and totally unapologetic - sweet vanilla perfume that completes what is an exceptionally harmonious mouthfeel. It’s the sort of wine you can’t stop sipping.

Ridge’s Geyserville holds a very special place in my heart. The 2000 was one of the first experiences that really sparked my love for wine as a young waiter around a decade ago. At ten or eleven years of age, that wine was truly memorable. I’ve been hooked on Zinfandel since, though I don’t drink nearly enough of it. This 2016 is the first Geyserville I’ve had for many years, and it has exceeded my high expectations. I cannot wait to try this in ten or fifteen years’ time. — 3 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.0

had a long visit at the mayacamus touring up and down the vineyards and tasted in the new-ish tasting room after renovation since the old one got burnt down :( 2011 was a cool vintage (like 2006, 2010, 1998)- the transition vintage and 2012 was the first vintage of the new team. 17 was a fine vintage. 13 - limited quantities due to high demand. higher up here in elevation affords more flexible harvest timing. early ripening clone 7 (site dependent) is used for its loose clusters thus stem inclusion (wat??) We tasted through 2007, 2010, and Chardonnays and Cab Sauvs. The 2010 tastes like a fruit basket - red blue fruit pomegranite, blueberry pie, botanical garden, eucalyptus, high acidity, tight tannins, bright acidity with a lift (acid tone...or VA). The 2007 is singing. Red black currants, cassis, tobacco, pencil shavings, black pepper, leather, high acidity, long finish, med+ body, elevated/high fine integrated tannins. — 2 years ago

KRISTIE

9.3

Rooftop 7 with Amanda and Sandy. — 2 years ago

Shay A

9.4

For planning purposes of something in the future, I tasted 2014 central coast Syrahs from high end producers blind. Along with the Lillian (my bottle), there was SQN, Andremily, Torrin Akasha, Booker Fracture, Alban Reva and Alban Lorraine.

First off, I love these wines. The price in comparison to the others is impressive, and it always delivers. I double decanted this about two hours prior to the blind tasting. Dark purple in the glass, with aromatics of both sweet oak as well as whole cluster stem inclusion. Loads of dark floral notes, ripe blackberries, cherry jerky and that kiss of sweet oak. The palate remained the same from opening through the end of the blind tasting…a distinctly fuzzy profile on the palate with gorgeous mid palate depth and richness of blue and black fruits with plenty of herbal flair and spice. It toes the line between cool climate Syrah with their signature black peppercorn and iron, as well as big central coast Rhône style with its rich and textural palate. No rush on opening, but it sure is great now.

Out of the 7 in the lineup, this was the “cheapest”, and tied for 3rd place (with the Andremily being the runaway favorite, Alban Lorraine taking second, and this tying the SQN). — 3 years ago