Wulf Losee

9.2

Thyme and sage on the nose. Light red fruit on the front, dominated by pomegranate. A smooth tannic under-structure appears on the front of the tongue and continues until the finish. It’s not heavier than a Beaujolais Nouveau, but its tannins continue to make their presence known against the onslaught of mineral high notes at the middle and the finish. It would be easy to overlook the sophistication of this wine if we didn’t pause to appreciate its subtleties. — 8 months ago

Andrew Schirmer

9.0

A high-acid, mouth-puckering assault on the palate. Tightly wound even with a decant, I can’t imagine this on a pop n pour. Layers of mineral & tart fruit; hint of petrol comes almost as a respite from the onslaught. Ok maybe I’m slightly exaggerating. Cool wine. — 5 years ago

with Alsu

MaJ CappS

9.0

Smells a little of those candied cigarettes or the baseball card stick back in the day..

Starts of as a little lighter style of Grenache, until the grape skins kick in - then the onslaught of basil, hay, licorice, with a unripe raspberry and some bitter Eastern European plum.
A bold sipper, in that there is much to talk about, especially while chewing on the acidity.
Wine from Madrid., a city I hope to see again..

— 6 years ago

Jeff Venier

9.2

Love this ‘17 Sancerre. Almost has a honeyed note. More golden than I’d expect but just lovely wine. Far cry from figgy Napa SB or the grapefruit/passion fruit onslaught of NZ... — 7 years ago

David Lincoln

9.0

Same as the Ramonet: I need to retaste. This followed an onslaught of northern rhones, barolos, and brunellos. My palate was already fatigued. I did pick up on it’s expansive mineralality and acidity. Only complaint was it seemed closed off and the oak was poking through. — 8 years ago

Kirk Alexander

10

Wine of the Night for me. Up against an absolute onslaught of names. Levy and McClellan, harlan, DoNa, El Nido, Bryant, and on and on. Maximum delicious, tannins have softened after a decade, simply sublime. — 9 years ago

with Christine, Martin and 1 other

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.5

Thank you so much Santa @Martin G Rivard! Love it and cannot wait to try out the Velvet. Deep purplish red, really a tooth stainer. Classic Aussie Shiraz nose with caramel, vanilla, and other baking spices. Undertones of dark fruits and some savory herbs too. Moderate plus tannins (7.5/10) and full bodied for sure. Super rush and dark on the palate. Started off a little tight with a bit of dark fruits, light eucalyptus and anise. After a few hours this baby began to sing with an onslaught of dark berries and bramble berries. Love it! Pretty well rounded especially for having an alcohol content of 16.5%. Definitely built for a decade plus. Will be trying more MollyDooker in the future! Drink till 2032. — 10 years ago

with Sean and India

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2014 vintage. 9.3 rating on a red Bourgogne...okay? Attractively hot and fleshy initially before the concentrated power onslaught. Medium-heavy body (!?!?) with some slightly above-average terroir/pedigree as I understand it. Might barely qualify (with prejudice) as someone's "Reserve" offering somewhere. Should you come across in a resto or retail setting, take the plunge because you're unlikely to ever see it again. Haven't said that about a Bourgogne in a few days...Rating:9.3/93/A — a year ago

Willie Carter

8.9

A nice dark cherry red color with a wide brim. The nose opens up with some nice spice and green earth. Plenty of funk and fun on display here. Dense moss and forest woodland screams before the bright red fruits show up to play. The floral aromatics really set this one off.

45/30/25 of Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah, this is a Central Coast take on Chateauneuf du Pape and baby, it works. It’s a gentle onslaught of goodness. Mounds and mounds of bright, fresh fruits come in waves. Wild strawberry, red cherry, and raspberry. A hint of dark chocolate with menthol and more greenery. It seems like people don’t know how good these are and that’s a crying shame. Beautiful wine and so hard to beat. — 5 years ago

Lee Hill

9.0

Blackberry pie, jam, and dried on the nose. Very intense from both an onslaught of fruit flavors (mostly blackberry) and long finish from high alcohol. Very big wine but still with a vibrant acidity laying under the fruit and coaxing it all along. Fun and well executed but too much, and not my thing — 6 years ago

Evan Bienstock

9.4

This was amazing with a quiet Christmas lunch in the mountains before the onslaught of company comes tomorrow. I was blown away a bit, which is so fun! 🥂🎄🥂🎄 — 7 years ago

David Lincoln

9.1

I need to retaste. This followed an onslaught of northern rhones, barolos, and brunellos. My palate was already fatigued. I did pick up on it’s expansive mineralality and acidity. Only complaint was it seemed closed off and the oak was poking through. — 8 years ago

Joe Loughran

9.3

A lovely and gracefully aged Bandol. Earthy, herbal and dark-fruited. Nice way to begin the Passover onslaught! — 9 years ago

with Jesse

David E

9.2

After an onslaught of young Bordeaux this was like a hot shower for the palate. Soft but not at all weak, the concentrated black fruit and dried fig notes are harmoniously balanced by acid. Long finish. — 9 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2022 vintage. Some initial richness but that retreated quickly before the mineral onslaught that ended the palate war. This is the next step up ($45-$55) from the entry-level ($19-$24) Sancerre action. Did I (previously) mention that I loathe Sancerre? Toodles! 7.17.24. — 2 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.2

I may catch some flak here, but I feel Chardonnay always takes a backseat in the presence of Riesling. Sure they both produce vin de terrior, but the acid and minerality in Riesling completely numbs ones senses to Chardonnay’s, making the latter look flabby even. Such was the case here. The 09’ Lafon Perrières was very good, just a little fat after an onslaught of Rieslings. Buttery, nutty, concentrated, and ripe (stone fruits). An undeniably Baroque wine! But that’s not to say there wasn’t any elegance as it was quite mineral with an iodine-like quality infused in the nose and stoney backend on the palate. It also had an elegant register of minty aroma and to me, sufficient acidity especially considering the vintage. Really excellent quality and was exceptional with cheese, but not a wine I could drink much of during the night.

NB: Surprisingly, not an ounce of premox which SC noted as typical across all the 09’ Lafon’s he’s had this year. Interestingly, oxidative notes were quick to develop the day after. — 4 years ago

Joel Haith

9.1

What a fantastic representation of what this grape can be. The 2009 is absolutely singing right now. On the nose there is a wonderful onslaught of violet followed with amazing cranberry notes with a dirt note undertone, A hint of white pepper on the back. An insanely silky mouth feel with anise notes, dark fruit and a stone component. On the pallet this lasts for a while. — 6 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.0

Oh heavy and deep and it’s someone who gets into my head and body and soul. As Mourvèdre/monastrell/mataro does. It is in my body because it is balanced: alcohol acid and body seem to waltz whilst NOT waiting for the unbalanced part: the onslaught of flavor. Those parts are moshing(body): leather and funky high toned but aggro tobacco orange peel all sorts of sour red and black things and an umeboshi plum are the sharp acidic cinnamon veil over all so my soul is here thinking and... — 8 years ago

Shay A

9.4

As the onslaught of wine arrivals show up, Mark and I decided to open up a fantastic Alexander Valley Cab Franc while at Classic.

This is one of those wines that opens your eyes to what air can do to a wine. At pop and pour, it was very tannic and had a nose and finish of gravel. At 30mins, it started to show some dark fruit, like blackberries as well as currant. At the hour mark, it strutted beautifully! Nose became floral, mainly lavender and violet, and the olive notes left to reveal a very masculine fruit finish. At around $50, this is the best Alexander Valley Cab Franc I’ve ever had, bar none. — 8 years ago

with Mark

Ira Schwartz

9.4

I can not recall the last time I drank a '92 California Cabernet , additionally this is the most approachable Dunn HM I recall tasting. On the nose a potpourri of herbs, tobacco and leather. Full bodied in the mouth with smooth tannins buffering and onslaught of dark fruits.. A very nice extended finish is the icing on the cake for this terrific wine. — 9 years ago