Michael Amoruso

9.0

Medium oak. Great orchard fruit. Always top notch. — a month ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.3

Vintage 1999 | Top notch, luscious Sauternes | paired with Foie Gras | at restaurant Hofmeisterei Hirtzberger — 3 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1995 vintage. Great fill, foil and label. Perfect cork. From a top-notch cellar. Decanted and tasted over the course of two hours. Volcanic ash-styled sed vs chunky-style. Big funk on the nose that resolved after 7-8 minutes. Wine was showing decently (in the 69-72 degree range) but lacking any tannic structure. Placed the decanter atop an ice bucket bath to drop the temp down to 60 degrees or so. Took about 20 minutes but the tannins kicked in the door to say hello. Fruit components stayed constant. Pauillac tendencies were all there. As is the case often with older BDX, the decaying matter/leaves at the onset transitioned to graphite/lead pencil and espresso flavors. This was a superior bottle in great shape. Top of this wine’s specific bell curve. Comparable bottles would look to be drinking this well for the next 5-7 years without dropoff. Out of larger format…could possibly push this into 9.4 status. 2.5.24. — a year ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.5

No doubt the finest Coteaux in all of Champagne, it’s particularly special to find this wine with some bottle age. From south facing 60+ year old vines in Ambonnay, 2012 is showing beautifully, drinking like a top notch red burg, perfumed, silky and pure with soft tannins and saline-mineral inflicted finale. Special wine. — a month ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.3

Vintage 2018 | René Pöckl is one of thise magician vintners. Top notch from Burgeland. Tasted blind next to Le Boscq 2018. Easy win for Pöckl. — 3 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2004 vintage. Decanted and tasted after two hours. Used a Durand but cork was great. Top-notch fill. Super chunky sed..like vintage port. Nose good, not great, but biggie structure and balance all there. Medium body. Not a personal fave but may hafta pick up a few more of these for those inclined to partake. There will be 2004 Insignia going steady for quite some time. 12.22.23. — 2 years ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.4

Very dark robe bricking on the rim. Looks at least 20 years younger. Nose of steak tartare, flint, cedar, blackcurrant and crushed flowers. Very complex and elegant in the mouth, medium light bodied and mostly melted tannins. This is top notch. And has plenty of life left. — 3 years ago

with Jose and Adriana

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

2013 vintage. Medium-medium heavy body. Sage and anise on the nose. In that perfect spot between youth and maturity where the spring is partially unwound, yet still measurably coiled. Dropped the baby fat and aggressive fruit overtures but toned. Ain't no rush to crush. What I would do to roll through a vertical tasting of Araujo Eisele Vineyard Syrah might end up on the police blotter. There are more demonstrative Syrahs in California such as SQN, Saxum and Kongsgaard (and they are all top-notch phenomenal in their own way) but this deserves to be in the conversation amongst the best the region has to offer. 05.05.25. — 2 months ago

Vino Joe

9.8

Holy wow! This wine was a unique and memorable experience. It was zinging out from the first glass over the next few hours it only deepened and became more substantial. Very ripe fruit but not aged. It retained vibrancy with complex earthy notes. Absolutely fantastic vintage. Top notch. — 4 months ago

Teresa DiMarco

9.2

Delicious, amazing, top notch Pinot! — 3 years ago