Severn Goodwin

8.9

Nose has yellow apple peel, pear slice, straw and beach sand.

Palate has tangerine zest, ripe pear, under-ripe yellow peach, cold clementine orange with medium acidity and slightly dry finish.
A nice bottle; not sure if this wants more time, or a couple years past prime...

On the sold out (18K+ patrons) Lawn at Tanglewood this evening with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Our guest Conductor Ken-David Masur is leading a 90th birthday celebration of John Williams. BSO soloists tonight are J. Williams Hudgins (vibraphone) & Jessica Zhou (harp), joined by Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Branford Marsalis (saxophone), Eric Revis (bass) and James Taylor (vocals/guitar). A truly wonderful night lay ahead, and my money is certainly on hearing at least one or two Star Wars movements this evening... — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

The first audible of the night was this stunning 2015 Hubert Lignier M-S-D 1er VV that John pulled out in between the Rabbit and Beef courses. Full disclosure, I get twitterpated when a bottle of H. Lignier gets opened. There’s just something in the style that’s mesmerizing across the range, from the Passetoutgrain to the Clos de la Roche. These are wines of power and grace. Well fruited but with layers of complexity. John considers this to be the best value of H. Lignier’s offerings. Hard to argue. — 5 years ago

Bill Bishop

9.7

Perfect prohibition era port wine. Shared with 90 year old John Taylor. — 6 years ago

John Pizza

9.1

Gavin Meg Taylor nock john at noble riot — 2 years ago

David Walser

8.9

Bought this in St. John. Put in freezer too long to chill it down as wine heats up fast in the St. Thomas summer. Might have been better if it wasn’t so cold. — 4 years ago

Alvaro Bustillos

9.3

Maximo bistrot
Lic romero
Fede Barrio
Javier gomez ito
Ale d vega
Gonzalo Diaz — 5 years ago

B

10

1985 Sassicaia. Dinner J&D B at Best. Did not decant. Drank before the ‘82 Haut Brion. Excellent. John says it is the best Sassicaia he’s had. Tons of fruit- dark berries. Really rich and round and plush. — 6 years ago

23media girl

8.9

With John D 🍷 ordered a bottle at The Finery and Blacksmith, St. Charles, IL — 6 years ago

Sally Peterson

9.1

Tom brought for thanksgiving. Sally likes more than John. Bit if a splurge. — 3 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

With BBQ Chicken & Roasted, Rosemary Potatoes on opening night of the D&S Lounge.

John Alban’s wines remind me most of all the California producers/versions of North Rhone or Côte-Rôtie wines. Côte-Rôtie translates into for us as “Roasted Slope.” I assume that’s why his craft was dubbed as the “Original Rhône Ranger.”

Although this has the roasted characterizations of those wines, this certainly has more ripe, ruby style fruits. Also, more purple & blue fruits.

John’s higher end wines, Reva & Pondora remind me of the a French producer, Rostaing. Those two vineyard productions more closely mimic the Rostaing style.

The Patrina is a good intro into Alban wines. You can tell it is a direct descendant but, for far less money. The others are better but, this carries the best wine value in their line up.

The nose reveals; roasted & candied fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, poached strawberries, black raspberries, black plum, black cherries, creamy raspberries & blue fruits. Used, French expresso roast grounds, anise to black licorice, purple fruit cola, coarse, ground, black pepper, dark spices, fresh tobacco leaf, cigar smoke, dry stems, dry crushed rocks, limestone & volcanic minerals, bay leaf, some sage, black tea, black olives, bandaid notes, saddle-wood to cedar, graphite notes with dark, fresh & withering, red, blue & purple candied florals, violets framed in a field of candied lavender.

The body is; lush, ruby, big and like velvet. The tannins are round but, still pack, chewy, tarry, meaty tannins that are 45-50% resolved. The structure, tension, length and balance are in a good place but, will hit a peak in five to seven years. The 2010 Patrina still has room for improvement and will last another 10-15 years. It is simply wine candy. Roasted & candied fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, poached strawberries, black raspberries, black plum, black cherries, creamy raspberries & blue fruits. Used, French expresso roast grounds, anise to black licorice, purple fruit cola, coarse, ground, black pepper, dark spices with just the right amount of palate heat, grilled meats, chestnuts, fresh tobacco leaf, cigar smoke, dry stems, dry crushed rocks, moist clay, limestone & gritty volcanic minerals, dry stone, bay leaf, some sage, black tea, black olives, Steeped black tea, bandaid notes, saddle-wood to cedar, graphite notes with dark, fresh & withering, red, blue & purple candied florals, violets framed in a field of candied lavender. The acidity is phat & round. It holds the slightly elevated alcohol level nicely. The finish is excellent & consistent wire to wire. It’s long, ruby, candied fruits with just the right balance of earth that persists endlessly.

Just misses 9.4.

Photos of; the best room in our house for 6+ months of the year, our backyard. Aka, the D&S Lounge on Memorial Day Weekend 2020. — 4 years ago