Jess Ica Orona

9.1

Baking spices out the gate. Cinnamon. Sour cherry jam. Fresh rain soaked soil in the back. Maybe I should have decanted it but I’m getting a fair bit of heat. Granted after pregnancy and newfound mom life I’m very out of practice. Maybe some strawberry jam. On the palate we have a medium light body juicy, bright red fruit and spice at the end. Slightly sticky tannins. Nice way to celebrate the holidays. An affordable splurge to pair with a cheese board or a lean cut of beef like a fillet. Beef Wellington would be perfect. I festive pork roast would also go well. — 15 days ago

Alice

10

Favorite rose? — 6 months ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.2

Strong. Why isn’t there more Grenache in Napa. — 2 years ago

Alaina

9.0

Good alternative to Chatenuef du Pape — 3 months ago

Mary H

9.1

Like a medium dry Sauternes. Tropical fruit, dulce de leche, delightful. — 6 months ago

Aaron Tan

9.3

If I were Nicolas, with my newfound cult status and without some of Burgundy’s more hallowed sites at hand, I’d be tempted to push my wines to all sorts of extremities. Perhaps extract a little more, or sprinkle a little more oak, or reduce yields radically in some way. The goal here would be to make it ‘loud’, that is to have enough volume to imprint my wines into the minds of drinkers who will likely ever taste them once per vintage (the wine in focus had just 866 bottles produced - talk about being a unicorn). Maybe I’d even go so far to challenge the status quo and make a Grand Cru-slaying Bourgogne!

I’m not saying Nicolas isn’t planning or already doing any of this, but drinking the 17’ Aloxe Corton certainly didn’t feel like it, and for that I loved it. There was a certain rawness to the wine which I adored. It felt like a wine he wanted to make - not one made for the collectors or critics, but one made for good times with his mates. It felt genuine.

On day one, the wine was such great fun. A tinge of reduction mingled with the aromatic galore of pitch-perfect whole cluster vinification, followed by pure, juicy red fruits wrapped in particularly fine, lacy texture. It was very ‘glou glou’ in short, and if not for an undeniable inner density that begged to be unpacked, it would not have seen the light of the second day. I’m glad it did though, because on day two it was a truly a wine to ponder. The whole vibe seemed to darken with a myriad of flavours - fresh flowers now melded in with smoky incense, red fruits with plums, and earthy notes and warm spices arised. The intensity too seemed seemed to have increased, yet the appearance of a new vein of minerality kept the wine so digestible. It was just such a pleasure to drink that by the end of it, I was left feeling a little sad that I do not have any bottles of this left in the cellar. Bravo, Nicolas! Don’t change. — 2 years ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.2

Absolutely delicious, juicy Cali Mourvèdre. Carbonic with notes of mission dig, raspberry, wild herbs. — 4 months ago

Erik Longabardi

9.4

Beautiful wine — 6 months ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.3

What a delight… 11.5 ABV Pinot Noir with Granor Farms marinated duck breast and oven roasted baby butternuts and griddled potatoes. Ripe, blackberry and black cherry notes… medium weight, bright acid/fruit balance. Growing complexity as it warms…. Long, loving finish. A surprise with this label. — 2 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.2

Nice medium dark purple… amazing aroma of crushed strawberries, ripe blackberries, and a touch of savory rosemary. Medium weight, round, ripe, not jammy…nice hit of forest floor, crushed stone, and ‘shrooms. I’m not a huge Grenache-geek but this one works well primarily due to its restraint. I love everything I’ve tried from these guys. Nice to see Mendocino producing something remarkable apart from weed. — 2 years ago