Ira Schwartz

10

Wine stimulates our sense of smell and taste but in this case it also created a tidal wave of emotion. Through a tremendous act of generosity a dear friend shared this special bottle when he heard me lament I was not able to secure a bottle of wine to celebrate my mother’s 100 birthday. My friend stood the bottle up for several days. We decided it made sense to PnP. As you can see the cork was intact and the color of the wine defied its age. The excitement to take that first sniff was overwhelming for me. Old but alive scents wowed me. Lots of tobacco, leaves, leather and dried fruit. In the mouth those same scents were transferred to my palate thanks to a tsunami of acid. At about the one hour mark the wine quickly entered a death spiral. I cannot imagine another bottle of wine that will ever conjure up that amount of emotion and happiness. When I described my experience to my mom, a very broad smile came over her face. A blessing to share this experience with my mom and a privilege to taste a wine like this. — 6 days ago

with Richard

Alder Yarrow

Wine Blogger Vinography

8.9

Kubota Manjyu - “10,000 Happiness” from Niigata. Because why not? We all need more happiness right now. 10k sounds about right. This is an older bottle I have had in the cellar for a while so it has lost some of the delicate floral notes and had them replaced with some more herbal tones - lemongrass instead of jasmine. Still clean as a whistle and oh-so-smooth. — 5 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

This wine honors long-time Shafer Winemaker Elias Fernandez and his relentless pursuit of quality. Sourced from a single ridgetop vineyard adjacent to the southern border of Stags Leap District, gravelly clay loam, sourced from a rugged and remote part of the estate, the grapes for Relentless are a blend of 90% Syrah and 10% Petite Sirah, which is a more bucolic grape than Syrah, providing for a blend that becomes an extraordinarily lush and rich wine. Aged for 30 months on 100% new French oak, deep Ruby with aromas of concentrated dark berry fruit and a hint of smoky pepper spice. Layered meaty flavors of blackberry, cherry and blueberry explode on your palate and subtle tannins relax to a nice long finish, great mouthfeel. This is certainly one of the best Syrah’s I have tasted. Will age well! — 5 years ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.1

Dark ruby color. Plush aromas of black cherry/blackberry/plum with a distinct presence of baking spices. The palate is loaded with both red and black fruit, graphite, tobacco and dark chocolate. Hint of those sweet baking spices on the very smooth and lengthy finish. Full bodied but with very soft tannins. Medium-minus acidity and nice texture. Excellent QPR. Thanks for securing this bottle for me, Petey! — 9 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2020 vintage. So so elegant and beautiful. One of the lightest California Pinots I’ve had in three decades in pursuit of the holy grail. That strawberry/raspberry finish just keeps going. — 3 years ago

Dan Schwartzstein

8.9

The bold, tacky of a can with the full body of a merlot. Heavy fruit. — 4 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

Champagne is for celebrating, not that I need a celebratory reason to open a bottle as I am hooked on champagne. 💉

However, after installing 27 solar panels and waiting an additional seven weeks for my Tesla, I/we have almost erased our carbon footprint. Finally picked it up today. I believe we all need to do our part to save the glorious vines that bring so much happiness to our lives. 🍷🥂👍

As for the Baron Fuentes, the is a very good Champange and is perhaps the best QPR out of Champagne at $24.99.

Bright lemon, lime, grapefruit w/ sugar, bruised red apple & pear, touch of ginger & cider, bread dough, baguette crust, sea spray, white spice with some palate heat, sea fossils, grey volcanic minerals, spring flowers, lilacs and yellow lilies. The acidity is bright, crisp and lively. The finish is smartly polished, well balanced and persistent for minutes.

Whoo hoo! So close to carbon free! 🍾🥂 — 5 years ago

Brad Jensen

9.1

Had a lot of bad Lambrusco’s lately in the pursuit of something decent. This one has good effervescence, big fruit, with prominent blueberry, pine sap, cooked orange, green pepper and tannin. The palate is pure fruit with light tannin, with some smokeiness around the edges, like brisket or braised short rip, but the finish is dry, with a slight acid zing. One of the better Lambrusco. — a year ago

brando cox

8.9

2016 drinking in Venice in 2022. A bit early but we let this sit...and wow, it will open up a new world of cherry fruit happiness. Oak silky leather with a touch of earthy smoke. If enjoyed too soon it will come off a bit thin, so wait. — 2 years ago

Gaurav Tiwari

9.3

Such a pleasure to drink a classic Brunello di Montalcino after a long time. Decanted for 2 hours. Garnet center with a hint of orange hue showing the age . Medium viscosity. I could see through the garnet center. On the nose I got ripe strawberries, blueberries , raspberries, licorice, and soils/earthiness. Aromatic happiness!!confirmed on the palate. Remarkable tannins - soft and velvet like! Persistent and juicy finish. Wine was dry, medium acidity, medium tannins, medium plus body, medium plus alcohol. A lovely balance of finesse and power in this bottle! My wife and I were having a homemade pizza on the patio, watching the sunset and chit chatting and didn’t realize we went through the bottle so easily! Time to bring in more good Sangiovese Grosso juice in the line up! — 4 years ago