Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Nice evolution and well integrated. 92 that pushes 93.

The other wine from the great Napa producer, Philip Togni.

The mouthfeel is supple, round, soft, yet meaty and tarry tannins. Ripe, juicy, rich; blackberries, baked plum for days, dark cherries, black raspberries, hues of raspberries & boysenberries. Black licorice, berry cola, muddy, volcanic clay, herbaceous notes, soft baking spices, slightly, melted chocolate, dark spice with a touch of heat, coffee, dry crushed, rocks, dry stem, dry tobacco, new leather, oak to cedar shavings, volcanic ash, dark, slightly withering, red, blue flowers framed in a field of endless violets, rainfall acidity, great balance, nice tension/structure and a smartly polished finish that last a full minute.

If you own, I would drink over the next 3-4 years before it starts to slide.

Photos of; Philip Togni vineyard, barrel room, vineyard soil & Philip Togni and his daughter Lisa. — 2 years ago

Al Shikoh

9.1

pale translucent ruby, watery rim; raspberry, dried mushroom, crunchy leaves, green olive; raspberry, tart red berries; light bodied, crunchy acidity, 12.8% ABV, savory/peppery finish of medium length; made from organically farmed Pinot Noir blended from Memorious, Bloom’s Field, and La Côte, 100% whole cluster fermented in concrete, aged 14 months in 20% new French oak; would love to see how this develops over the next 3-5 years as the stem elements integrate — 4 years ago

Shay A

9.4

For planning purposes of something in the future, I tasted 2014 central coast Syrahs from high end producers blind. Along with the Lillian (my bottle), there was SQN, Andremily, Torrin Akasha, Booker Fracture, Alban Reva and Alban Lorraine.

First off, I love these wines. The price in comparison to the others is impressive, and it always delivers. I double decanted this about two hours prior to the blind tasting. Dark purple in the glass, with aromatics of both sweet oak as well as whole cluster stem inclusion. Loads of dark floral notes, ripe blackberries, cherry jerky and that kiss of sweet oak. The palate remained the same from opening through the end of the blind tasting…a distinctly fuzzy profile on the palate with gorgeous mid palate depth and richness of blue and black fruits with plenty of herbal flair and spice. It toes the line between cool climate Syrah with their signature black peppercorn and iron, as well as big central coast Rhône style with its rich and textural palate. No rush on opening, but it sure is great now.

Out of the 7 in the lineup, this was the “cheapest”, and tied for 3rd place (with the Andremily being the runaway favorite, Alban Lorraine taking second, and this tying the SQN). — 5 years ago

Jeremy Noye

CEO Morrell & Company

9.3

Talk about stem. Dark. Intense and full of crunch. Still a baby. — 7 years ago

Scott Taddeo

9.1

Slightly muted nose with accents of decaying rose petal, tart red fruits, wirh cherry stem and ginger indicative of whole bunch use here. Sappy tannins. Decent length. Good village wine for sure. — 7 years ago

Jon Preece

9.5

Well structured with dark cherry, licorice and a lucious mouthfeel. The soft grip from the stem inclusion is a welcome addition and a strong acid lift ties everything together. It is a beautiful wine. Not fussy and utterly drinkable. — 7 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.2

Oh man. This is so good. So pure. Dileneated pears and chrysanthemum. Great acidity and lovely sweetness. Just so fresh and did I mention... pure. Hot damn! Just plain yummy. Eric Bordelet and Jacques Perritaz (Ciderie du Vulcain) are the true kings of ciders for me. They changed the way I think of the beverage. — 8 years ago

Byron Hewett

9.1

Cherry liqueur, mineral spine. Vibrant acidity. You can smell the stem inclusion here. Quite nice. The cork smelled of TCA, but the wine was sound. Whew! Got lucky! — 3 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.5

The 2020 Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills) is fabulous. In fact, the appellation wine is my favorite Pinot in this range. The combination of the sites, and a bit less stem influence than the vineyard designates, works so well. There's a bit more fruit, more mid-palate sweetness and better balance overall, in my view. All the elements are so well put together. All of this fruit is from Machado and Hapgood. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, August 2022)
— 4 years ago

Shay A

9.4

A producer I’ve had a handful of times, and really find myself wondering why I’m not putting more focus/attention on Paul Lato wines.

Gorgeous translucent ruby color in the glass sporting 13.9ABV. I followed this out of the bottle over the course of a few hours and it showed well from pop all the way to the end. Profile here is restrained richness. I didn’t pick up any whole cluster/stem inclusion spice or greenness. Aromatically it is filled with cranberries, black raspberries, bright floral tones, and cracked peppercorns. Beautifully balanced on the palate with vibrant acidity. A back and forth between dark red spiced fruits and herbal/crunchy flair. Black tea and even some savory iron notes too. Still young and will improve, but this is already excellent. — 5 years ago

Justin Hansohn

9.0

Very well made. Aromatics and structure very present and buzzing. Calling whole bunch fermentation on this which showed prominently after a few days, not in a bad way, but definitely perceiving in this tasting the stark difference between de stemmed and some amount of stem inclusion. — 6 years ago

David Shaw

9.2

I drink so much local cider in the Pacific Northwest, but it’s good to benchmark occasionally versus the Old World standards. More head on the initial pour than cider in the glass; the head looks more like a malt syrup ale than a clean cider. After dampening down, the cider shows moderate carbonation with steady flow of pinpoint bubbles through ultra clear golden brown. Funk and maybe butter, but a dense apple profile on the nose. Frothy but lightly flavored in the mouth, rich, tending semi dry with a frothy finish. Buttery, malic and slightly perfumed aftertaste. Mild pulp astringency and flavor emerges with repeated tasting. Product is 5.5% alc/vol, unfiltered, unpasteurized. Subtly textured mouthfeel overall and lightly flavored, nuanced and totally delightful, unexpected excellence as it tastes so good in characteristics I did not anticipate it would display. It’s just not crafted as most New World ciders are, in all the best ways. Calling it rustic misses most of the positives, at least of this vintage; there’s much more complexity going on here. Great value and a delightful companion on a chilly early fall evening. — 7 years ago

Al Shikoh

9.4

Pale ruby color. Expressive nose of rose petals, potpourri, leather, cherries, spices, and herbs from stem inclusion. Beautiful balance evident on the palate which cranberry and bitter cherry accompanied by dusty tannins and only 12.5% ABV. Made from a lot planted to Calera and Mt. Eden cloneswith 90% whole cluster inclusion. $80. — 7 years ago

Brent Young

9.3

DAY 1
Served this with the Vinloq System
👃Cranberry/cherry, spicy, cedar, earth and tar. This is expressive. Florals and touch of mint
👅Cedar notes with red fruit and florals. Clearly stem inclusion was used. Asian spice/licorice.
The tannins are soft and well integrated. Med body with med + acidity. Drinking well

The remaining wine was Slow Decanted ™ in my fridge

DAY 8
Lovely fruit, spices, purple florals, soft integrated tannins. Really beautiful. Expressive but stays refined and elegant
Good complexity with some secondary development. Stays light throughout. Still youthful and vibrant. This will stay interesting for some time👍🍷 — 4 years ago

David Kline

9.3

2016, so, young and wound up. Nose of live cypress, fresh dug hole along a wood, pine one, cherrywood, pressed raspberry; barely broken. Raisin rolls, chanterelle, rose stem. Rocky, with a silken red liquid rose petal moment that turned chewy round tannin and lush burst of plum. A solid nod to graphite immersed in raspberry tartness, red currant and slightest cinnamon and slighter peppercorn. Green in spots but there architecturally.



#margaux #bordeaux #leftbank #chsteaudetricot #tricot #tricotmargaux #grandvindebordeaux #misenbouteilleauchateau #appellationmargauxcontrolée — 4 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.2

Neal rosenthal does it again....medium gold in the glass..12%...aromas of cut green grass, ripe plum, savory herbs. Round, vibrant acid-forward, bringing in a touch of green bitter stem on the finish. Perfect with simple lemon/fennel halibut, Roman artichoke, and fluffy gnocchi with lamb sugo. Long, lingering finish... so many great Italian high acid white varietals. — 5 years ago

Jay Eagan

9.3

Because of 70% stem inclusion you get a little forrest floor with blueberry - tannins are still persistent. — 6 years ago

with Kristine

David Kline

9.3

Atop heady iodine, wet mossy and pine bio, green apple sliced thin, melon, lemon and lime peel, smoky glazed ham with pineapple, igneous grind, dried sunflower blossom, jasmine, fall maple leaves, roasted corn with sweet chillies, cinnamon, and the faintest matchstick sail memory scents. Instantly warm and welcoming ginger candy, caramel, leather, graphite, cinnamon oil, hazelnut, pine sap, mint, calvados, cherry stem, eucalyptus, tangerine oil, lime, and jalapeño. Intense and lingering, filling the mouth beyond its capacity to taste. Really lovely Talisker manifestation conjuring metal and stone textures like some dark tale of briny ghosts! #Talisker #scotch #scotchwhisky #scotchwhiskey #whiskey #whisky #TaliskerStorm #singlemalt #Isleofskye #Scotland #madebythesea #classicmaltsselection #Islay — 7 years ago

with Courtney

Graham Jenkins

8.9

Imagine Magners, but good and dry and not so damn sweet — 8 years ago

with Jasmine

Gabby

10

Really good apple cider! — 8 years ago