Matthew Cohen

9.5

Still one of the great alt whites in the world.

N: swirling white and yellow flowers. Almost an echo of tropical fruit.

P: delicious. Clean. Balanced. Juicy. Liquid yellow flowers. Some crunch. Mountain steam. Amazing elegance.

9.5-9.6. Sick value at this price.

Fass selections — 8 months ago

Ely Cohn

9.2

Ok, ok - quite good and by far my favorite from Thorle (the first non-Spatburgunder). It has that smokey quality on the nose. Wooly, vegetal, hint of whistle clean lemon counter cleaner. The mouth is vibrant with 2.5 times the acidity you're expecting. Hangs on the tip of your tongue for an extra dedicated couple of seconds. — 4 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Nose starts out a bit funky, but the horsiness blows off and you have cooling sour cherry, soil tones, mineral, moss, good aroma but it needs to open. Palate is gorgeous. Elegant, textured and so fine. Super juicy and clean, stunningly pure. Long. Lovely elegant structure. Good depth and lovey sappy fruit. Clean as a whistle and impressively pure. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.2

Very enjoyable Wednesday Wine Committee lunch today with @Weston Eidson & @Colby Siratt hosting. Same format as always...1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds and 1 dessert wine all tasted blind.

Lovely aromatics here. Mix of red and black fruit. Tar, pipe tobacco, graphite and black cherry cola. This picked up steam the longer it was open. I’d hold these. I called this left bank 2012 vintage. — 7 years ago

with Dan, Jeff and 3 others

Emma Forster

9.1

Earthy, oaky, notions of damp soil and mossy bark... what better wine to drink the first cold week of autumn? This wine is medium in color and body, but superlative in the sweet harmonies it whistles in your mouth as you trade off between sips and bites of humboldt fog. That whistle can feel a bit shrill, but all in all the structure is solid and the dark red fruit core is splendid. — 8 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

it’s like Grand Cru Chablis except it’s Chenin. Smells like super great Dauvissat initially. Green Apple and tons of mineral. One of those wines that smells stuffed to the gills just by the nose, but you know it is holding out. Almost some green pea as well. No wax. No almonds. Clean nuts if that makes sense. This is new wavey Chenin like Guiberteau. Palate is just electric but is more Chenin than the nose with its feral fruit energy and vibe but also it has a Rieslingesque cleanliness to it. Dirty Chenin is one of my pet peeves. This is clan as a whistle. Like a cross between Guiberteau and Dauvissat. Dense, chewy, structured and deep. So clean and pure and length that does not quit. What poise and structure. But a lovely finesse and breed as well. This is sappy and dense as can be and one can crunch through the structure. Stunning purity and what a wonderful new expression of Chenin. Saumur is the place. — 8 years ago

Tom Wood

9.2

Clean as a whistle, chuck it a decent if possible — 9 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.0

2019 vintage. Enjoying the simpler, 2018 vintage of this wine a bit more currently. The 2019 is pretty tight and very youthful. Laying off for a 5-spot might help but a 10-spot would be better. OTOH, if you wanted to pour this btg or drink throughout the course of 4 nights without the worries of it losing steam or going bad, you just might be onto something. 1.24.24. — 2 years ago

Melissa

9.0

Pleased to have this at the winery and enjoying another bottle at hime. — 4 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.1

Muted at first but put on weight with air. Mineral drenched, musky, ripe green tree fruit and spice, honey, some new wood influence which actually nicely refines and softens the intensity. Not losing steam and in fact still integrating — 5 years ago

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. — 6 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

This was a bit of a brute. Super ripe and a touch stewed on the pour. After about 30min of air the stewed character was gone and this fantastic. Dark fruits, wood and spice. Still fiercely tannic. Great with food or on its own. This really wasn’t showing any signs of losing steam. — 8 years ago

Peter Stern

9.1

Quite rich and flavorful for an everyday red! — 8 years ago

Shawn R

9.6

Flamboyant aromas of orange/honeysuckle and green drupe fruits. Light on the front of the palate yet gains steam from there. Warm shortbread with a side of macadamia nuts. Hint of tarragon and white pepper make for a minute plus finish. Decant for at least an hour. — 8 years ago

Wulf Losee

9.2

Leather and mint on the nose. Not much happening on the front, but there’s a lot going on starting mid palate. Interesting cool low notes balanced against some tart high notes. Very lonnnnng dusty finish that makes you want to wet your whistle again.
— 3 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Fantastic. Juicy and clean. Super aromas. The Petit Verdot comes through. Hoisin, incense and mineral. Floral. A profound nose. So elegant and juicy. Clean as a whistle with that Tuscan freshness and slight rusticity. A brilliant wine. — 4 years ago

Shay A

9.4

2014 Napa cabs are in a sweet spot for the “fruit forward” stage of wines without ripping the enamel off your teeth. TRB is a favorite winemaker of mine for his ability to pull the entire fruit spectrum (red, blue, black), when applicable, which is evident here.

This is a pop and pour for the big fruit loving Napa enthusiasts (which I can enjoy ever so often). It is uber ripe and high toned...not quite sporting levels of EA, but close. With this being Calistoga fruit, it undoubtedly shows that warm profile. There is a kiss of red fruit initially on the nose before it is dominated by freshly squeezed blackberries, creme de cassis, dark chocolate, mocha and dark mixed berry pie. It begins on the palate somewhat lighter than expected before picking up steam and really gaining heft/density on the mid palate. Just oozes fresh and ripe dark fruits, fondue dipped fruits, plenty of baking spices like vanilla and nutmeg, and a sweet finish that sails on for a good while. Completely smooth and soft tannin. Not failing off a cliff for a while, but this style has me thinking earlier consumption is best. — 5 years ago

TJ Maxwell

8.9

Nice little Pet Nat to whet the whistle — 7 years ago

David Kline

9.2

I know now this needs more time to integrate, but it’s down-soft in the background, so difficult to see a balanced future. Warm plum and black berry-currant, cranberry stuffing, rich chocolate, sherry trifle, all loosely sprinkled with fine graphite. Steamy jungle flora notes merge with hemp stem and black cherry skins. Hard chocolate entry bringing dried blackberry and even drier black cherry stripped naked in a sauna of chamomile and phantom eucalyptus outlines describing a swarthy shadow through steam. A recent denizen of the cedar benches, puffing sweet tobaccos? There is subtle power at play despite the fruit-forward leanings. I was initially on the fence with this. This one is enigmatic with a nod to Napa in the 1970s. #Napa #Walton #cab #cabernet #cabsauv4life #cabsav #california #egelhoff #EgelhoffWalton #Bobegelhoff #egelhoffwines #StHelena #sthelenacab — 8 years ago

with Courtney

Jim Jarosh

9.2

Really good. — 9 years ago