Andrew Cullimore

9.4

Tasted blind . Slightly more mature colour than 1 . Ruby with some garnet and a more garnet tinged rim . Cooler more mineral on the nose , touches of grafite and wet rocks , sea spray , with some dark spicy cassis . On the palate this is more dark cassis , spicy grafite , cedar , touch of iron filings . Good roundness on the palate , with dusty tannins and balanced acidity, intense and saline . Long cedar tinged grafite length . Quite intense and stlight sterner overall , a little more aloof , more Cabernet , darker in style. Better in 5-10 years and will last well a further 10-20. Had this as Margaux . My 5th placed wine . — 8 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

This was rich and delicious. It was fair enough for Suckling to pose the question “Is this the best NZ Pinot so far”? Ticks all the requisite boxes - ripe red and black fruits, a creamy texture, a nice garrigue herbal note. This Pinot lives up to the gorgeous site - one of the most awesome views you will see from the top of the vineyard over Lake Wanaka. Most impressive. — 4 months ago

Ron R

9.6

Not the best of vintage in Bdx, but the winemaker clearly pulled off some acrobatics here.
Nose displays the usual Cos spice-box signature, along with notes of forest floor, sage and mushrooms. Palate is rich and dense showing no signs of age. Nice mature casis profile links up with brambles and sandalwood. Tannins continue to prop up this outstanding example. — 5 months ago

with Andrew and Rick

Andrew Cullimore

8.9

Quite light ruby garnet , wide garnet rim . On the nose this shows red currant , wild strawberry , dry spice , dried rose , herbal touches and tangerine peel . The palate is quite elegant with wild strawberry , red currant and those fresh herbal hints , with just a touch of bitterness . Fresh acidity , and slightly gritty tannins . Quite refreshing with good length and balance, that touch of bitterness doesn’t detract from the rest of wine. This is quite linear and focused, perhaps slightly strict , uncompromising in style , but probably has a few years left in the cellar and might improve over the next 2-3 years and last well a further 5 or so. — 6 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

1988 vintage. Medium body. Lighter Sauternes color. Plenty of golden/ripe notes along with exquisite caramel influence but it was the acidity that stole the show. Didn’t even have to cross the fingers, hold my breath or “pretend” it was still alive. Fully mature and raring to go. Not improving but not declining either. So much life ahead. I think “Woof!” accurately sums it all up. 3.20.26. — a month ago

Scott Kahn

9.2

This was a generous gift from a friend who visited the winery and raved about out the wine - I can see why! Very fresh presentations of red fruit that is ripe and not jammy - perfect timing of the harvest! The brightness of the fruit suggests some whole cluster but there are additional layers to this wine. Definite floral hints on the palate, minerality and M tannins that will soften with age. All in all a wonderful representation of Pinot and of central otago. — 3 months ago

Doug Powers

9.5

Cork broke in half (actually 6-7 pieces), initially some “old cork” flavors show through, yet after 5 minutes in the glass those dissipate and we’re left with a lovely aged Raveneau with mature fruit, some lemon and mineral notes as well, very nice complexity and length, I’ve always been very lucky aging my Raveneau, this is clearly a success (shaky cork notwithstanding)! — 4 months ago

with Jim

Jay Kline

9.1

This bottle of the 1984 Insignia was opened about 30min before service and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The wine pours a deep garnet with a slightly browning rim and an opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and plenty of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of desiccated black fruits: blackberries, black cherry, Chunky beef stew, mushroom, eucalyptus, leather, organic earth and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. A mature wine what’s still lovely; full of secondary and tertiary notes. Drink now. — 2 months ago

Doug Powers

9.3

This wine seems finally mature, with tannins fully resolved, but still showing a firm backbone and structure, fresh acidity, very good balance, lingering finish, always a good wine for me. Funny anecdote about Sociando-Mallet, at least in the 1980s they used the worst “glue” on their labels, so about 1/3 of them fall off — as long as the bottles are in OWCs, not a big deal, but this is one where the label did fall off. 🤔🤷 — 4 months ago

with Jim

Doug Powers

9.3

Lovely, sweet mature fruit (dried redfruits), there might be a touch of Brett (but less than the 1995 Beaucastel I posted last week), suave and complex on the palate, lingering finish, excellent Chateauneuf-du-Pape at its peak!! — 6 months ago

with Jim