Mark S.

9.0

It took a time to wake it up. Later, getting balanced. Elegant type. Forest floor, oak, clove, nutmeg. Mentor. Boyd Cantnac 92 @, , 250910 — 10 months ago

Ellen Clifford

9.3

A wine complex both in flavor and personality, keeps me guessing keeps me going. Salmon pink fun to the eye then smell…earth. This is more than frilly fun. Sip, amd whoa! This is neither a partier nor someone tied to the earth. It’s a sophisticate. A sophisticate who dabs Rosé water behind their ears. A sophisticate who sips mineral water and pomegranate juice. A sophisticate who also maybe picked those roses and likes a strawberry jolly rancher at the end of the day, taking it all back to frilly fun. What a time to drink rosado. I want this rosado as a mentor. — 5 years ago

Nancy Pan

8.9

It shows complexity on the nose, savory and gamey, but still full of dark fruits, herbs and spices. Silky tannins, hard to tell it is a 8 years wine. Lack of complexity on the palate, juicy and attractive. May develop complexity after further aging. Barossa Cab is under evaluated comparing to its Shiraz — 6 years ago

Alec Jeffery

8.9

A full weighted Barossa wine, lacks structure to be top draw Cabernet. — 6 years ago

Severn G

9.1

Nose has cold raspberry and sliced strawberry.

Palate has strawberry mousse and raspberry grated into limestone slabs.

Simple notes, yes, but a very nice bottle. A sparkling wine (Brut) from Provence, or the more wider Méditérranée IGP. This IGP shares its land with AOC appellations as varied as Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Bandol and Côtes de Provence. Information as shared by my dear wine mentor friend, David T.

First time I've ever had a sparkling wine from Provence, neat stuff here. — 7 years ago

Ali

9.5

Gracias mentor!!!!! — 8 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.0

Curiosity got the best of me. Steve Mnuchin and Jared Kushner bro’d out over a bottle of this 2015 Arbalest on Sunday. Apparently it’s newsworthy when a wealthy politician brings a ‘cheap’ ($22) bottle of wine to a bro out. I wonder what price gets the ‘politician drinks expensive bottle’ story (see Paul Ryan at Bistro Bis in 2011). No matter, it’s brilliant product placement — I’m surprised Trump didn’t tweet about it... “Did everyone see Poor Stevie’s wine? So Sad. My 2015 Meritage is So Much Better.”

The wine is made by Benoit Touquette. Here’s his background courtesy of critic Jeb Dunnuck, “Born in Lyon France and gaining his education from the University of Bordeaux, Benoit worked at numerous French wineries before getting a job (with the help of his friend and mentor Michel Rolland) in Napa Valley with Andy Erickson. He consulted for the likes of Screaming Eagle, Ovid and Arietta. Today, Benoit is the winemaker for Realm Cellars, Hartwell, and Kata, as well as numerous other labels, including his own project Fait-Main.” Who wouldn’t want to try a $22 bottle of wine from a winemaker with that kind of resume??

Dunnuck also scored the wine 91 points, calling it “Full-bodied, ripe and rounded, with a sexy, opulent style, lots of mid-palate depth, and a great finish, it's well worth your time and money and is a smoking deal at 20 bucks.”

The blend is 82% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. It needed about an hour to fully open up... one of my fellow tasters called it soapy... which I think was because of its noticeable herbaceousness. Focused black cherry, pipe tobacco, clove. Juicy, but dry, with lots of grip. I’m not doing backflips over it, but you could do much worse at $22. 90+ — 8 years ago

Jose Lorenzo

9.5

Last night with my mentor in life and business. Thx Wally. — 2 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

Brief notes. I’ve never rated Cabernet from the Barossa as high as Cab from other SA areas like Coonawarra or McLaren Vale but this Mentor was very good. Very dark in colour with leafy black currant notes. Matured for 18 months in French oak hogsheads the influence from which has been totally absorbed/resolved. Perfect balance. See previous note from February 2020. — 3 years ago

Ross Bathgate

9.0

A nice surprise. A gift for my 50th from a good friend and mentor. Typical ripe fruit and exotic spice of Zinfandel but restrained and fresh. Really enjoyed it. 👍 — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.3

WNH Morgado Virtual Wine Tasting with winemaker Kimberley Hatcher and mentor Russell Bevan.

Coming from Steiner Vineyard in Bennett Valley (not familiar with the vineyard at all), this 2016 is, for me, in the same vein as a Kongsgaard or Hudson Chardonnay. When poured in the glass, it was golden and appeared oxidized. I anticipated it to be heavy and overly rich, but it wasn’t. Aromatically it showed honey roasted nuts, touch of orange marmalade, and herb crusted yellow fruits. On the palate, there is really nice acidity followed by more herbal yellow fruits, lemon cream pie crust and a finish showing a mix of cotton candy and lanolin. This goes through a similar “death and resurrection” type winemaking process (if I’m not mistaken), a process that John Kongsgaard made famous. It has a very Hudson/Carneros feel to it. Very enjoyable now. — 6 years ago

with Carl, Eric and 6 others

Steve Anderson

9.3

Fifth and last bottle of the 1992 over the past seven years, and all have shown well. Red fruits, spice, earth and still relatively fresh. Thought this wine fit the loose theme of Scythian/Nomadic wines since it was an Oregon Pinot made by a Santa Barbara winemaker (Jim Clendenen). Had the privilege of pouring this for @Rajat Parr at the event, not knowing that Jim was his winemaking mentor. A fun, entertaining and educational evening last week! — 7 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.9

Tribute to Romain. In one word, transcendent. For the most part because of the wine, but I can't deny that the occasion and company was also a major factor. A blind among people I hold dear to and one I consider my mentor.

I admit that there isn't much on my tasting notes. I remember how intoxicating the nose was on the 96' and how fast the bottle went from full to nil. A true succees! Notably, the 96' is in that drinking window where the fruit and terrior shone brightly, while the 95' was still blocky and dense. — 8 years ago

Thien Bui

9.2

My mentor Chef Emile lead me to this lovely wine thank chef , — 2 years ago

Robert Murray

9.1

Excellent - liked it immediately. Not too dry , not too sweet. Mentor showed us a thing or two about Portuguese wine. — 5 years ago

Jeanne gills

9.3

From my mentor Sharon. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.3

WNH Morgado Virtual Wine Tasting with winemaker Kimberley Hatcher and mentor Russell Bevan.

When I saw this as an option to try for the tasting, I immediately jumped at the opportunity to try Sugarloaf mountain cab franc and merlot fruit. I love these types of blends. In the glass, it sports my favorite color of wine...deep red and black, and a hint of purple. At this point, I noticed a Jekyl & Hyde with this wine when it came to temperature. Right at pop and at cellar temp, the cab franc was very expressive with notes of violets, potpourri, herbs de Provence and a brambly character. When it warmed in the decanter following a few hours, the merlot dominates and sports fondue dipped black cherries, underripe blackberries and high percentage dark chocolate. It gets a bit clumsy as it warms, so I suggest keeping this cool. The palate shows added notes of tobacco leaves, black currant, juicy dark fruits and a youthful finish. Powerful, but sexy. I think this improves with another few years in bottle. — 6 years ago

with Mike, Shawn and 5 others

Hum

8.9

Trying not to be partial because I love the grape, Descombes is approaching his old mentor in Lapierre here, but a little more focus on Brouilly’s vinous and herbal qualities. Fruit still is fresh. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Day 2 of Napa in the books!

Quick lunch with my friend Jason Moore of Modus Operandi Cellars. He was Weston’s (of Montagu Wines) mentor and is a fellow Texan! He submitted his wines for review for the very first time last year after 10+yrs, and received multiple 92-97pt wines. This SB is so much better than expected...tropical and explosive. Not quite on Arkenstone or Aesthete SB level, but the richness and round texture are very similar. Kiwi, stone fruit, nectarine and a melon/cantaloupe finish. If you enjoy big style SB, not sure there is a better Napa Valley one at $40. — 7 years ago

Harry Pratt

9.6

Shared this bottle with Lisa, Claire and her mentor Robin. — 8 years ago