Pass Wines

Bell Hill Vineyards

Old Weka Pass Road Pinot Noir 2016

A pale crimson with a tawny edge - almost transparent. A high quality Pinot Noir from Canterbury wizards Marcel Giesen and Sherwyn Veldhuizen. As I said last tasting note - pale but powerful. As good a new World Pinot Noir as you will find, and this is Bell Hill’s second wine. I can’t improve on the previous Delectable note from October 6 2023. These wines from Bell Hill aren’t cheap but are a lot cheaper than good Burgundy. — 2 months ago

Ming, David and 18 others liked this

King's Pass

El Camino Real Cabernet Sauvignon

Excellent with red meat. We loved it — 5 years ago

Le Clos du Caillou / Domaine du Caillou

Nature Côtes du Rhône Red Rhone Blend 2021

Bright light purple dress. Pure explosive nose on fruits (red and black) and flowers, typical of carbonic maceration. In mouth the first is light, airy, confirming the nose; carried by a beautiful necessary freshness balancing the little terroir extraction. A modern, "natural" wine, on the fruits at first fond that does not prevent a certain complexity from expressing itself on a peppery and mineral finish. A very beautiful juice to drink from the aperitif, which blindly could pass for a rosé.

Robe légère violine éclatante. Nez pure explosifs sur les fruits (rouge et noirs) et fleurs, typique des vins en macération carbonique. En bouche l’abord est léger, aérien, confirmant le nez; porté par une belle fraîcheur nécessaire équilibrant le peu de terroir extrait. Un vin moderne, “nature”, sur les fruits á l’abord friand n’empêchant pas une certaine complexité de s’exprimer sur une finale poivrée et minérale. Un très beau jus à boire des l’apéro, qui à l’aveugle c’est pourrait passer pour un rosé.
— 2 years ago

Daniel, Sharon and 14 others liked this

Château de la Commanderie

Lalande-de-Pomerol Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Decanted for about 1.5 hrs.
Colour: very dark ruby red with only a little light able to pass through
Smell: black fruits, chocolate, coffee, plums, cherries
Taste: slightly tannic,l with some fruits coming through. A lot of cacao in the back around and some cedar. Very smooth and long aftertaste in the mouth.
— 4 years ago

Cairong liked this

King's Pass

El Camino Real Chardonnay 2015

Great Chardonnay for the price. — 5 years ago

Beach Pass

California Rosé Blend 2020

Strawberry forward, but not overly fruity. Really like this one! #wsjwine — 2 years ago

Laura and Shawn liked this

Teutonic Wine Company

Borgo Pass Vineyard Pinot Meunier 2018

Lara H
9.3

First red wine from them. Wow. Light bodied with silky mouthfeel that’s liquid strawberries in the best way possible. — 3 years ago

Château Saint-Pierre

St. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1996

Bottle 1 turned. Bottle 2 was fine. I expected more complexity out of a Bordeaux with this age. I will happily drink the rest of my case but I’d pass on this vintage in the future. — 5 years ago

Château Gruaud Larose

Sarget de Gruaud Larose Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2000

Don't ever pass on the second labels, pricing is always attractive in comparison, especially in a great vintage!

Decanting now, notes forthcoming...
Initial nose has dark and dusty fruits as the wine entered the decanter, think a good night will lay ahead.

Getting into this finally, after ~3 hours in the decanter.

Nose has moist earth, tanned leather, ripe plum, cassis must, touch of eucalyptus and tobacco.
Palate has ripe plum, ripe black cherry, faint mulberry, fresh plum skin, eucalyptus and green+red peppers. Tannins are medium, but quite present.

Paired this along side a beautiful NY strip steak from one of our local farms in nearby Columbia County. We got a beautiful, medium rare, cook in the sous vide bath, then finished with a great, quick sear on the stove top. Delicious, I love cooking with science!

Drinking nicely this evening at ~18 years past vintage. Expect this bottle to hold strong until at least 2028-2032 in proper storage.
— 5 years ago

Hugh, Dawn and 26 others liked this
Aravind A

Aravind A Premium Badge

Agreed! I love Sarget!