Lauren Young

9.3

Delicious and earthy — 6 hours ago

John Tan

9.3

Sanshugong.

12% alc. Margalagua is a charismatic parcel of the Taganan vineyard comprising 100- to 300-year-old vines on a uniquely iron-rich seam of rocky volcanic soil. This treacherously steep vineyard site is planted with a mix of mostly indigenous red grapes, such as Negramoll and Listán Negro, with a small amount of Listán Blanco. This parcel is about elegance and depth rather than power: due to the silky character of the wines, it is vinified differently with a much longer (30- to 45-day) maceration and 100% stem-inclusion, yielding a darker, bolder, richer wine.
[Vintage 2018:] “This vineyard has been vinified and bottled separately since 2012 because it has a very strong personality, not surprisingly, because it's one of the most fascinating and exceptional vineyards I've ever seen in my life. . . This is a translucent bright ruby color, and it's aromatic, floral, spicy and mineral, expressive and super fresh, because of the year and because they have new cooler vineyards. It has lots of notes of violets and lilies. The flavors are pungent, precise, clean, symmetric and very elegant, with refined tannins and a tasty, somewhat salty finish. This is the best wine they have produced to date. Truly word-class.” WA 98 (Luis Gutiérrez) — 4 years ago

Ron R

9.4

Picture is from a great street vendor in NY. Focus is on flying rats. The wine is in a great spot. The nose displays kitsch and hints of tobacco. Palate is a power-play of pristine fruit, and slightly underripe tannins. Acidity acts as a counterweight to the tannins. It’s multi-layered with a seam of minerality. Leave this a little while longer if you have it, but it’s excellent now, if you like palate domination. — 7 years ago

with Anne-marie

Martin Mills

8.9

Cola, punchy, seam of acidity pairs nicely with chicken liver mousse — 8 years ago

Michael Winterbottom

9.7

Darker fruit driven, but has a seam of red fruit from the 25% Grenache. Leather riding jacket, gun stock/used shotgun casings. Sweet and sour sauce! Earthy but sweeter fruit character with bramble fruit, black berries fresh and crushed, strawberry jam, dried red roses and wilting violets. Slight oyster mushroom/Cremini mushrooms and oxidative barrel quality. Really drinking well and approachable now and cabbage for another 10-15 years. — 8 years ago

Martin Mills

9.1

The low scores for this great wine are surprising. While not the sexiest of the Otago pinots this is a brilliantly made wine with great aging potential. At five plus years, the 13 is still dark and brooding, dark fruit driven with a racy seam of that saline and Asian spice profile that distinguishes good NZ Pinot. On the fuller bodied side, red and black fruit on the nose, a bit of tannin to give it structure and a medium to long finish that reveals jasmine tea and more spice. Alas, my last bottle of three my good friend brought for me from Saskatchewan — 8 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Four-seam fastball down the middle of the plate. Very emblematic. — a year ago

with Dan, Douglas and 1 other

Bromento Mori

9.1

Solid two-seam FB nibbling at the edges of the plate: good control, decent oomph, and a good workhorse. The price is outrageously good, though, which I reckon makes it matter more than a standard nothing btl. — 5 years ago

Ron from VA

9.3

Quite a complete wine...while built for food, this has precision of a old world Soliloquy. Emotional as it is articulate, for a barely medium weight build. Not overly artsy, this balances floor Audi, mineralogy, herbal and dark red fruit tones… Without any edge or seam. This should go toe to toe with any East Coast top shelf Pinot Noir… Food pairing would be effortless!  — 6 years ago

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9.5

The 2015 Pape-Clément has a fragrant bouquet with quite plush, generous but well defined red berry
fruit mixed with rose petal and incense, smoke and cigar humidor following later. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannin, crisp and focused.
A seam of graphite emerges toward the finish. This is linear and correct at the moment. This should develop into a very fine Pessac-Léognan, one full of breed and sophistication. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, July 2019) — 7 years ago

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9.3

The 2012 Rauzan-Ségla has a similar colour to the 2015 although it has a hard time competing with the delineation, the crystalline nature of the 2015. Yet it compensates with the sheer aromatic flamboyance. This has really opened up in the last 18 months or so, quite lush and precocious black fruit, loam and iris, just a slight hint of bell pepper emanating from the small amount of Cabernet Franc. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin. There is a lovely seam of acidity here that lends the 2012 a sense of focus. It is not a deep or lavish Rauzan-Ségla, in some ways a little more conservative than I recall. There is fine grip on the saline finish, perhaps a Margaux that is just beginning to close up for a while? This still has great potential. Tasted at the Rauzan-Ségla vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2018) — 7 years ago

Martin Mills

9.3

The top wine from the now defunct producer of what I’d rank as the best wines yet made in Canada, making this perhaps the pinnnacle of Canadian winemaking. This one is mellowing in its dotage, but delivering superbly complex layers of Meursault-like popcorn/toast/smoke on top of a seam of minerality that traces from salinity through to lime citrus fruit. Lovely golden hue in the glass, I expect this to continue to evolve ever more finesse for at least five more years. Seemingly unavailable any more in Ontario, I found this at The Port NSLC in Halifax for $87 and a special occasion. — 8 years ago

Alex Hirst

9.0

Fig, Plum blueberry and black cherry fruit. Soft, satisfyingly grainy tannin and fine seam of acidity. Tobacco, cedar and cocoa on the finish. — 9 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.4

On the Gruner Meyers Briggs, a spectrum from smokey green to glowing yellow, this is a thriving golden extrovert through to the seam, loaded with fruit and zippy acid. And I'm shocked as this has 12 years on it.

Rich, opulent, complex, textured, outspoken. A very tropical wine with complexity and nuance. Sugar coated dried pineapple wedges. The thickest slowest seep of canned peach syrup. Papaya, Guava. Passion fruit. A touch oily but so much acid to go along with all that fruit.

It has that Gruner note. The peppery one - kind of barely there, for just a little seasoning. — 4 years ago

Ron from VA

8.9

A bit of rollercoaster ride…the aromatics throw you what looks like a fastball, however it’s a 2-seam splitter ;) still evaluating…. — 5 years ago

Martin Mills

8.9

A nice fine mousse, nose hints at some age though it’s not vintage dated. Good seam of acidity running through it, more fruity than yeasty. I’d buy it again for €12. Certified organic and from estate owned vineyards. — 7 years ago

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8.9

This 100% Furmint has a crisp, pure nose of honeysuckle and jasmine, and a suggestion of caramelized pear in the background. The waxy-textured palate is well balanced with a seam of acidity, offering pear and quince and a twist of sour lemon on the finish to urge you back for another sip. $22.00 (Neal Martin, Vinous, April 2019) — 7 years ago

Michael Winterbottom

9.6

A very powerful wine from a classic vineyard ands showing beautiful blue and black fruits with a seam of underripe strawberries to back it all up. Strong mint varietal character kind of wraps that fruit up with a touch of chocolate... Peppermint Patties but also with those Queen Anne cherry chocolates. Tasteful usage of oak helps mellow the power this wind has bound up. There are layers to this wine after some time in the decanter, showing graphite and framing the wine with a distinct sense of place. This wine has life in it still and is starting to just now start swinging well and probably for another 20 years. — 8 years ago

Martin Mills

9.1

Shows its age in the colour, it’s a lovely deep ruby with tawny edges. The nose is all raspberry but slightly stewed, again reflective of the time it’s had to unfold. Fragrant, with that distinctive New Zealand Pinot note of jasmine tea, and something like prosciutto (I mean that as a compliment). More jasmine tea on the palate, along with a seam of mineral/sea salt and lashings of fruit, both fresh and crunchy and cooked. Very fine indeed. Weighs in at 14.5 abv and there is a bit of heat to it, but nothing to worry about. Drinking superbly now and by all indications has a few more good years left. — 8 years ago

Martin Mills

9.2

Pale gold colour, still youthful. Chablis style with little evidence of oak; instead, a rich seam of minerality and tropical fruit with tooth licking acidity and a long finish that reveals many layers. Not what I expected from a premium new world Chardonnay but utterly delicious - fireworks. — 9 years ago