RustyR

9.6

Open. Dense beyond words. Blackberry balanced not at all typical CA cab — 16 days ago

Brian Hearty

9.1

2011. Penultimate bottle of the nine I purchased. I was making a bacon, spinach, and goat cheese frittata for dinner and wanted a red wine to go with it… I thought Loire Cabernet Franc would be great, but there were none in my cellar (need to fix that), so this mellowed out Grenache blend worked great! — 4 years ago

Rob Sternthal

9.6

The tear is mine as we finished this bottle. Bought a five pack on auction and this is the penultimate....oh well. Stupid pandemic! Great wine though. Amazing. — 6 years ago

with Daniel

Susan Taylor

8.9

Love the varietal just not sure about this wine is the penultimate expression. Takes some time to open up but once flowered it’s nice. A bit fruity but not overly so which is a plus for me. Smooth with a nice finish. — 6 years ago

LM Segal

9.6

Penultimate bottle from a case of 12, bottle variation is crazy. Where the last was quite mature, this seemed just bottled, almost parallel to the ‘07 open beside it. Dry and laden with dark chocolate, black currant and baking spice. Had a Bordeaux vibe the ‘07 didn’t. Beautiful. — 8 years ago

Marla Frederick

9.0

I really love this. Caramel, butterscotch, oak. This would be the penultimate winter white. Unfortunately, it is 97 degrees outside so I have to pretend I am sitting next to a roaring campfire in Ottawa in the middle of January. — 9 years ago

Juan Menendez

9.3

Consistent with my last bottle, only this was better! It's like a mythical Rioja + Napa or WA state Tempranillo blend. Beautiful. My penultimate bottle in the case :( — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Beautiful wine that showed great elegance & style. HBTM. — 4 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2017 vintage. Decanted, chilled down to upper-50's and tasted after one hour. Light-medium body. A small amount of barnyard funk that blew off quickly. Penultimate bottle. In a state of transition but showing well. Judicious fruit along with softening tannins. Silk pajamas. The Mongeard style runs a little lighter but results in plenty of delicate beauties. This one is no exception. 3.30.24. — 2 years ago

PS Michaels

9.2

Penultimate vintage from Stephane. RIP. — 6 years ago

Keith Ward

9.5

AAMMAAZZIINNGG!!! Rioja at its penultimate best! Not to be missed. GRAN RESERVA is worth every penny, not that you’ll break the back on a wine that rivals Barolo and Bordeaux! — 7 years ago

Jim Chen

9.0

Penultimate service of contigo. Alder! — 8 years ago

with Alder

Rob Moose

9.1

Penultimate bottle! With perennial thanks to D Beckwith for the tip. Owing to its age, it shows best from 30-90 minutes on opening. Thereafter it gets sorta wide without further revelations or complexity, but there’s a kind of mineral sweet spot with cool Japanese umami notes and I’m consistently impressed by the showing. — 8 years ago

with Alex

LM Segal

9.5

I didn't think a non-Astralis/HoG/Grange Oz could move my dials, but I was wrong. This Bogan - my penultimate from a half case - just blew me away. Powerful, concentrated nose of leather and lavender. Spice. On the palate more in common with aged Albans than Oz juice at $35 in '06. Dry, completely integrated and smooth as silk, layers of concentrated dark red fruit with notes of cocoa, bay leaves, baking spice. Remarkable secondary stuff on the long tail. Completely mature, drink 'em if you got 'em, find 'em if you don't. — 10 years ago

Laura Ashley

9.4

Really complex, flavorful, but smooth red. Bolder & stronger flavor than the Penultimate (which i personally preferred) — 2 years ago

Timothy Lynch

8.9

Last one in the cellar. Penultimate bottle was back in Nov ‘18. Gave that a 9.1. Fruit is at the early stage of decline so I’d suggest to Drink Up. Paired it with grilled Italian chicken sausages and a simple green salad. La vita è bella! — 5 years ago

Lars Fasel

9.3

Penultimate bottle of Bruno Clair Burg stash. Showing some maturity and fully about that floral rose Chambolle quality with that fungi, forest floor, crunchy fall leave action on top of ripe raspberries and cherries. Nice way to relax with an extra glass after almost burning down the house via flambéing mushrooms in cognac. — 5 years ago

Anthony Sanford

9.0

Penultimate bottle from a case and this has been the best so far. Open these up as they are perfect right now in my opinion. No need for a decant, just watch the deposit. Beautiful nose. Cherry and plums on the palate with good acidity and soft tannins at this point. Beautiful wine! — 7 years ago

Richard Portes

9.4

18.5. Deep and rich. Very long. Perfect with sea trout. Couldn’t refrain from drinking this penultimate bottle. — 8 years ago

Rob Moose

9.3

A little olive brine and pine needles with your cherry pie? High hopes as this sits in the decanter. Penultimate bottle. Smelling great at parents' house, to accompany lamb chops! Try again in 2020 I would say — 9 years ago