Lisanne Nijenhuis

9.0

South African tasting — 9 months ago

Eric Urbani

9.2

Graham Tatomer makes one of the best domestic Rieslings I’ve ever had. Santa Barbara County, 120 cases produced. ABV 13.5%. — 3 years ago

Jeff

9.0

Strawberry and raspberry flavors melding with a sliver of minerality and the right touch of acidity bringing on a nice finish. 66% pink and 34% chardonnay — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.2

Wednesday Wine Committee. Great hosting by Gavin. 1 sparkler, 4 whites, 4 reds and 2 dessert wines. All served blind as usual.

Roasted chestnuts, cinnamon, old raspberry fig and a surprising amount of heat on the nose and palate. Shocked the alcohol is that prevalent at this age! Mellowed a bit slightly in the glass, and the added notes of graham cracker and potpourri became noticeable. I called this 40yr port. — 7 years ago

with Benjamin, Dan and 2 others

Rick Baraff

9.5

Yaaaaaz. Bonny Doon, nuff said. Winemaker and mad genius Randall Graham concocts truly unique stuff from his whacky warehouse In Santa Cruz, CA. Git some. — 7 years ago

Awe Some

8.9

Aging really well (as of May 2018). Smells a little hot and ripe, but mellower than expected fruit. Cherry and apple crisp, without too much jammy mouthfeel. A lot more finesse than expected. Like watching a linesman who can dance the tango. — 8 years ago

John Jaye

9.2

Excellent. — 10 months ago

Nina Lee

9.8

Absolutely gorgeous taste. Smooth, robust, complex. — 4 years ago

Brie eloise

9.5

Beautiful wine — 5 years ago

Clayton R Strong

9.2

Value! $30 for this is great! — 6 years ago

with Tiffany

Shay A

9.4

Lots of fun bottles were popped at Al’s hosting this past weekend for his birthday celebration. All were served blind. 1 sparkler, 2 whites, 6 reds and 1 dessert wine.

Out of all the wines from the night, this one changed the most. At first, it was very reminiscent of South African blends with a smoky rubbery like note. Odd. After about two hours, it shed that and was showing a lot of sweet cassis, baking spices, ripe red and black fruits. Balanced and smooth on the palate with graham cracker, dates, dark cocoa and mixed berries. I called this Napa cab but couldn’t pin point a producer. Props to Weston for calling this Shafer HSS! — 7 years ago

with joe, Dan and 2 others

Andy Thomson

8.9

I liked it. Cheryl said it repeated on her — 8 years ago

with Cheryl

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.5

Well what can I say. Probably the best Riesling made in the US today. And sadly gone - vines ripped out. 24 cases made in 2015 and pretty much gone at the vinery. Dark yellow already some petrol. 13.3%. The wine holds up for days. Notes are from a wine 24h+++. Mandarin. Peach pits, bitter almonds, gooseberries, very deep and pronounced apricot flavor. This is really special but give it time hours or days to open up!🌈🌈🌈. California history in a bottle. Graham put his heart and soul into this wine. — 8 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

Nose has lots of sweet cherry juice, graham cracker, moist soil, and a thing reminiscent of raw beef tenderloin. In the mouth, it’s supremely soft-textured, with soft acidity. Flavors begin with ripe cherry ooze and moist loamy notes, but get more minerally and savory on the finish. Very elegant and nice. Maybe a little too tame? — 3 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.0

A lineup of 10 August West and Roar Pinots, 2007-2011, all made by wine maker Ed Kurtzman, who attended our tasting. I found this to be elegant and delicious. — 5 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.0

Tasted three Loring Pinots, all from the 2008 vintage. — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.4

Last week was a combo of 4th Friday and Open That Bottle Night on back to back nights. Needless to say, the lineup between both days was full of heavy hitters, so I’m only posting standout bottles.

Yes, that is a 3L of ‘87 Dunn Howell in a gorgeous etched bottle. I think the bottle may have outshone the wine, and that was no easy feat! Compared to the ‘88 I opened a year and a half ago, the vintage and larger format here have kept time hostage as this has aged beautifully. Dusty aromatics of brambly fruits, cassis, currant, graphite, fig, leather and even some baking spices remained. The profile on the palate is warm and soft...ripe baked blackberries, peppercorn, old graham cracker and cedar shavings. Integrated at this stage, but this powered through 5+hrs in bottle and in decanter with zero drop off. Still sporting Dunn’s classic Howell power. — 6 years ago

with Jid, joe and 2 others

Alex Moura

9.4

💫 Hell yeah. Get well Graham. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.2

Monthly WTF wine group. Special event this month as Ben provided all ‘80s Napa cabs. A few of us chipped in and provided some whites/bubbly.

Toasted Graham cracker, cassis, and even some old cedar wood. Structure was still in tact and young tasting. — 8 years ago

with Andrew, Will and 4 others

Jonathan Salky

9.0

The bubbly we had at our wedding (in 2005). Always a treat to taste it again. — 8 years ago