Victor Hsu

9.1

This IS Santa Barbara County Pinot! First taste was a big burst of fruit. Not too sweet, not simple and unsophisticated, not a jammy Zin bomb, mind you. Instead, more like a zing of bright, pure, winey fruit. Remarkable and memorable. We had the 2022 vintage in a magnum bottle so perhaps that helped preserve its freshness and purity. We enjoyed this Big Mama at the Palm Restaurant in downtown LA, celebrating my daughter Rachel’s graduation from UCLA Law School. Congratulations, Rachel! — 8 months ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Smoky, winey cherry fruit in the nose, with minerally gravel and a little balsamic note. Medium bodied and nicely balanced, with little tannin and nice acids. Great pasta wine. — 3 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Performs way above its DOC. Complex nose of intense, winey cherries, loads of crushed rock-infused gravel, brambly notes, and roasted green herbs. Mouthfilling, soft, zingy with acids and minerality. Really fun. Will last and even improve over the next few years, which is kind of unusual for a Rosso D. — 3 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

9.0

Dark with a slightest of rusty-brown edge on the deep maroon center. Hint of funk. Cooked plum fruits and fresh herbal stuff. Flavors are very ‘winey’. Apple- black berry baked dessert with a hint of chocolate mint. Tannins are tongue dry. This has some character. Fleshy. Rustic. Fun. Not sure what the standard for Negrette is, but this is an interesting bottle of unfamiliar wine. — 10 months ago

Romain Fitoussi

9.1

A vintage, dry, winey, elegant, lively and nuanced champagne. Fine but intense bubbles. Deep aromatic bouquet of nuts, almonds, dried fruits, apricot, brioche, butter. Persistent finish with sweet bitters, consistent with the nose. Perfectly accompaniment to a meal.

Un champagne millésimé, sec, vineux, élégant, vif et nuancé. Bulles fines mais intenses. Bouquet aromatique profond de noix, amandes, fruits secs, abricot, brioche, beurre. Finale persistante aux doux amers, en cohérence avec le nez. Accompagne parfaitement un repas. — 2 years ago

AHF

9.3

Probably at peak. Refreshing, with mature winey palate. Great with food. Tasted July 2021. — 3 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

8.9

‘Cool castle bro’ label. Deep red color. Smells like old books, dry cherries and unsweetened chocolate nibs. Flavors are strange with gun-smoke tea, fancy tonic water and berry pies. Plenty dry. Chewy. Complex. Winey, like a Winesap apple. It’s not raisin-y. It could have more depth and bite perhaps, but overall it’s very enjoyable. — 5 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.2

Pours like its all about the oxidation - salty, sour winey with sherry and whiskey nods, cheeses and nuts. It is for a second, but that fog burns off after a couple hours and it brightens to something different, primary, and more elegant.

Spiced ginger ale and cola, peaches, greasy leather, butterscotch candy and violets. Slippery texture.

Be generous with time and air, be very rewarded. — 2 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Very “winey” nose reminds me of Spannas from the 70s and 80s. Macerated ripe cherry, turned soil, a floral note. Round and fruity on entry, it’s got nice, transparent, earthy cherry fruit, turning nicely bitterish as the lean, lingering finish progresses. Like this a lot. — 3 years ago

with Rebecca and Angelo

Mary Hemphill

9.3

Ordered this at Arcadian Moon Winey imagine my surprise when it was St. James. — 5 years ago