Tom Garland

9.3

+1 hour decant(decent chunky/fine sediment). A splendid dark ruby red color. On the nose: Intoxicating/intense nose of black fruit, dark currants, worn leather, forest floor, coffee grounds, minty dark chocolate. Taste: smooth, satiny, structured, balanced wine with chocolate covered brambly blackberry, tobacco, earth, cedar, black pepper, and a herbal licorice long finish. A medium body old world style wine that shows well right now and should continue to provide more years of enjoyable sipping. — 3 months ago

with Brenda

Lyn Farmer

9.3

A lovely melding of Old World finesse and New World exuberance. Green apple, pear, white peach, ripe lemon oil, flint, acacia, and the barest hint of toasted brioche. Mouth watering acidity but not at the expense of texture. Long, beautifully ripe finish. Stunning. — 2 years ago

Matthew Williamson

8.9

True old vine depth in both texture and flavour. A nice departure from Tempranillo or garnacha while retaining all the bold characteristics of Spanish old world reds. — 3 years ago

Pooneet K

9.1

Nice to pull some relatively older Mathiasson wines from storage to check in. This is in a wonderful place. Great intensity and body and richness, with good riper white fruit and some nice flint on the finish. Quite old-world in style. Ready to go now if you’ve been saving any. — 3 years ago

Roberto Carli

9.7

what an outstanding experience and without question one of the best wines of the year for me. This is a world class business card of what American oak can do at its best. It starts with a powerful yet elegant knows of dusty cherry, old licorice but mostly gives way to inebriating feeling of grandma‘s old spice cabinet. Something in the nose already tells you that fine fine tans are waiting for you, but the palate is overwhelmingly silky smoothness, possibly the highest combination of intense-yet-silky tannins you can find anywhere, with bright acidity and medium to light body that makes the whole thing dance. I decided to check the producer website and they recommend pairing it with cod with sauce. Luck would have it that I randomly was eating pasta filled with salt cod and tomato sauce. The pairing works well as it further rejuvenates the wine, but I would say it shines at its brightest just by itself, letting those tannins tell the story without any need to curb them down. I’m drinking from Coravin meaning I cannot decant the wine, but even the sediment tastes good. Just like those people who brag about buying burgundy in the 70s, I feel like once the ebbs and flows of trends will shift I will be bragging about buying a 26-year-old monte real gran reserva, kept 24 years at the winery, for 60 bucks, which in San Francisco wouldn’t even pay for the cost of storage  — 5 months ago

Paul J

9.3

PnP’d. Lovely Pinot for someone who isn’t a huge Pinot fan. Earthy with varied fruit and lots of complexity. Medium plus depth. Old World style. Good cigar wine. — 3 years ago

Daniel Sullivan

9.8

Brilliant!
Napa fruit nose with old world style:)
Many years of life left,
Drinking beautifully now. — 3 years ago

Andy Hall

9.5

Always strong! Old world nose, robust fruit and balanced acid. — 4 years ago

Marc Melser

9.1

We had the 2006 Vintage on 7/27-28/24. A nice Old World, medium to full bodied wine with a long finish. Scents and a palate of blackberry, black cherry, plum, graphite and camphor. The tannins were fine and smoothed out with aeration. A very good wine. — 6 months ago

Ge Reid

9.0

Enderle & Moll Pinot Noir
Liaison 2021
Baden, Germany
12.5% ABV

German Pinot is supposed to be the next big thing, the best Pinot Noirs outside the Cote D'Or. And Enderle and Moll is reputedly its top producer , with a cult-like following in the German-speaking world. They make 3 versions, somewhat comparable to regional level , village level and grand cru, their top wine being the Buntsandstein. The Liaison is their mid-level offering from old vines up to 50 years old grown on limestone and sandstone soils. Needless to say , I've been dying to try one and see if it lives up to the hype.

On Day One , pop and pour. Very light, translucent ruby. Pretty red fruit and fresh mushroom aromas lead to a light yet intense entry on the palate with bracing , mouthwatering acidity dominating the wine at this stage. Showing more '21 Germany than Pinot character at this stage, so corked and revisited the next day.

On Day Two, this has completely transformed . The first thing noticed is that the color has become darker and deeper, and now looks like classic young burgundy. Aromas are also much more developed , with scents of Indian spices underneath the cherries , raspberries and forest floor. The tiniest hint of wood adds breadth and depth to a bouquet of classic pinosity, but with a character all its own.

On entry, this shows typical flavors of red fruit (currants , marasca cherries , cranberries ), brown spices , and sous bois in a light -bodied but incredibly intense package , with bracing acidity unlike any Pinot Noir I've ever tasted. Despite all the mid-palate energy , this has only moderate length and intensity on the finish. There's a bit of barely noticeable tannin. Built for medium term aging , it will be interesting to see if it remains balanced as it develops. Regardless , the acidity helped make it exceptionally good at the table , here paired with an herb and teriyaki roasted Salmon.

The Liaison can be found for around $30 here in the States , making it an excellent value, though California Pinot lovers might find the level of acidity shocking . While it's not going to make me think about pouring my Wilamette Valley Pinots down the drain , this is really good for the level, and really food friendly. A Pinot for Italian Wine lovers . — a year ago