Will Stanley

9.1

This needs more time to knit together, but does show promise, even if I feel a shade less impressed than the first time trying a couple of years back. It’s initially very herbaceous, with tomato leaf and green pepper, eventually giving way to a svelte personality with plush oak and sweet fruit. Not perfect now, but should be great in four years’ time. — 2 years ago

Willie Carter

9.5

Everytime I taste this wine, I’m reminded of just how much I love Merlot. When done right.

A medium purple hue with pretty lavender edges. The nose is expressive and inviting and just plain marvelous. Blackberry jam with a dollop of chocolate mousse. Dried herbs with smoke and earth. Floral notes just for good measure.

We all know and mostly love Merlot but we’re all used to big clunky examples. This is not that. Suave, svelte, and sensational. That Coombsville fruit is shining. Rich without cumbersome heft, deep without unnecessary heat. Cherries and plums on the palate with a welcome touch of earthiness. The finish is long and lusty. My favorite Merlot. — 3 years ago

Andrew Liguori

9.2

Beautifully perfumed with bing cherry, plum, crushed red roses. Long finish with svelte tannins. Round and balanced with acid that cuts through Sarah’s homemade spaghetti pie. — 4 years ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.2

Great mineral red made by the pope of the whites in Burgundy. All the pinot stuff you might want with transparency and balance. Svelte and elegant and truly recommended. — 5 years ago

with Matt and Adriana

Chris MacLean

9.2

Less of the svelte toasted thing than 2018 but just as lovely — 6 years ago

with Sarah

Michael Meyer

9.6

Just amazingly svelte and delicious — 7 years ago

Fraser McKinley

9.3

Like a firm handshake from an old friend. So comforting and cuddly yet svelte and floral. Classy Syrah from magnum - 2015 — 8 years ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.6

The 2016 La Conseillante is a benchmark wine for the estate, perhaps the first where winemaker Marielle Cazaux really made her mark. It has a divine bouquet that halts you in your tracks with its purity. Almost Burgundian in style, black fruit intermixes with blue, just a background scent of incense - less vanillary than before. The palate is marked by svelte tannins, cashmere in texture with just a trace of white pepper. The finish has a welcome sense of edginess with hints of graphite on the aftertaste. It's just the opening chapter in what will be an awesome Pomerol. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Icons of Bordeaux dinner at Legacy Records in New York. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2024)
— 2 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.3

Bloody, iron rich Grenache nose, sous-bois, heading for the grave but there’s still life in the old* bottle. Perfect cork,
I wonder if they were ever redone. Came from a collector, no way to tell. (Well, I could contact the winery) I digress.
Coffee and bark around the edges, a bit of heat on the palate but not distracting.
The acidity is on point. There’s some of deep orange as well.
Svelte for a CdP. Terrific juice
Thanks@ Uncle Phil — 3 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.2

2nd time tried & consistent w previous notes: sweet barnyard, lots of cherry life saver notes & white pepper, pleasantly juicy mouthfeel w fine tannins. A svelte but not light body. Some grip with the tannins on the back end. Drank w a selection of Sausage, ham, Manchego, olives/anchovies etc. — 4 years ago

Alex Spoto

9.4

I love this vintage of pithos bianco! To me, the COS pithos wines take many twists and turns as they age; at present, the 2019 is quite lively and complex. A scrubby, humid, savory aroma like a wet mangrove that seems distinct to vittoria grecanico & inzolia based wines. The palate is gracefully long with svelte tannin... wet hot black sand beach, black olive brine, oolong, and perhaps an echo of spicy stonefruit or candied ginger. Begging to slice through a buttery lemon spritzed blackened shrimp and a crusty bread for sopping! — 6 years ago

Joe Weinberger

9.2

100% Syrah from flatter vineyards at the bottom of the slope (between the Route Nationale and the Rhône) and young-vine fruit from hillside vineyards. I believe that there is still upside if this gets a few more years of bottle age, but this vintage is very nice right now if you have one and want to open it up. Classic Syrah nose and palate (olives, violets, smoked meat). Raspberry and dried herb aromatics as well. This isn’t as “rustic” as some other Northern Rhone Syrahs I’ve had lately. This is svelte and polished. Quality of the fruit and winemaking is very high. — 6 years ago

Robert McCall

9.5

Last evening in Vegas with my son. Just he and I enjoying some QT together at Mon Ami Gabi. Wow. This delivered big time with an amazing steak frites. Earthy funk, dark red/blue fruit, flowers. Airtime opened it up to a full bodied dark red fruited beaut with svelte tannin grip, fantastic mouthfeel and length. A stunner and one of the better Bordeaux’s I’ve had in quite some time. And I didn’t have to share with anyone tonite! — 8 years ago

John Skupny - Lang & Reed Wine Company

9.2

Pretty tender - giving up its fund to a glorious aroma - wax, dried fruits potpourri - svelte and very long flavors. Great with aged cheeses — 8 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.3

Not as feral & gamey as the ‘16s in my memory, but still vibrant old school Chianti: nose of cracked leather, cassis, & ripe black cherries; loads of underbrush, kirsch, beets, black cherries on palate. Quite svelte in body, perhaps leaner than past vintages. One of my go to Chianti producers year in year out. — 3 years ago

with Owen

Peter Sultan

9.2

Decanted less than an hour but still strutted its stuff during a sloppy Knicks first playoff win: rose petals, ripe red cherries, autumnal leaves, all folded into an elegant fine tannin & medium bodied, svelte charmer. — 3 years ago

with Owen

Andrew Liguori

8.9

Young and too bold, needs another year or two. Dark inky purple with concentrated black fruits and black currant aromas. Hints of mocha and Applewood bacon. Medium acid, full body, svelte tannins. Blazing 15% soaked up by some oak infusion. — 4 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.2

At 7% alcohol it’s a subtle Auslese yet enticing. Underripe mango, white blossoms, canned pineapple, on the palate and on the nose but all in a svelte body.Glass cap which I wish I would see more of. a perfect match w family take out of sushi & fried pork dumplings. — 6 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.2

I had to do a double take as previous vintage very different. 2018 seems the flavor profile has fit the rather svelte body. I typically recoil when I hear Burgundian to describe most wines but this has such a nice mix of fresh fruit and earthiness I am using it! A darker profile of red fruits and forest floor, can’t wait to taste in five years. Can drink now or hold. One of my fave regions in Argentina — 7 years ago

Peter Wassam

9.0

Red currant, raspberry, etc etc. satiny smooth with some herbal accents and like an orange pith thing. A hint of paprika which is wild crazy. Highly toned and svelte — 9 years ago