Decanted for a few hours and taken to Kochi in Hells Kitchen. Light straw color. Vibrant and viscous in the glass. Old Leflaive petrol and reductive nose. Notes of citrus fruit, lemon crème, wet stones, petrol, tan spice, hazelnut and white flowers. Good balance of rich fruit with still strong acidity. Long finish. Bottles this fresh easily have a decade or more of pleasure in front of them. At peak but still has plenty to give. — a year ago
One of the finest ipa’s available. Smelling it, you might think Seville Oranges, but this is no marmalade. It’s resinous, bitter, but not over the top. You always want more.
Paired with spicy coconut shrimp, ya!
Numerical ratings for beer vs. wine should be taken with a….. — 2 years ago
1998 vintage. Wow. — 2 months ago
Beautiful color! Vanilla and oak aroma. Balanced on palate. Herbal? So good! Would absolutely buy again. — 9 months ago
Taken to Ridge Vineyards to pair with their Library tasting. Deep scarlet color, almost opaque. Fragrant nose. Notes of blackberry, blueberry, tobacco, earth, saddle leather and some anise. Silky in the mouth like 70s valour. Awesome juice. Served a glass blind to a sr. staffer who guessed it as the 92. Well done sir. — 2 years ago
Wow. Dusty, sweet, such pure deep red ripe fruit. Cooked cranberries, granite, spice, lots of energy. Palate is thrilling, palate isn’t quite as complex. A pretty sweetness on the finish but this is so fresh and tart at the same sime. Mature but nowhere near fading.
Finally a cult Cali cab I can get behind! — 2 years ago
Very good! Has body. Smooth ending. Light and crisp — 4 months ago
Taken to The Pocket in Carmel. Nice dark murky tawny color, opaque. Black fruit nose including notes of blackberries and blueberries, gravel stone, mocha, some menthol and some wood. Tannins are resolved, leaving silky fruit. In a good drinking window. — a year ago
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Tasted from magnum, the 2013 Cristal Rosé is ravishing. Dense, creamy and powerful, the 2013 captures all the qualities of the vintage, specifically the interplay of rich fruit from the warm summer and cooler inflections from a year that started late and ended late with a rare October harvest. Today, the 2013 is deep and beautifully seamless, but it is also young – far too young to be at its best. Dosage is 6.5 grams per liter, a bit less than for the standard bottlings, a decision taken to balance longer aging on the lees and a bit more residual sugar that is always left in the magnums after fermentation. Readers who can find the 2013 in magnum will experience one of the greatest thrills in wine. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2024)
— a month ago