Mark Talbot

10

Perfect wine — 2 months ago

Dmitry Koutcherouk

8.9

Magnum! Very nice and enjoyable Shiraz, the way this grape should be like form the book. Serve it slightly chilled 17-18 degrees should do the trick. — 2 years ago

Romain Fitoussi

8.9

Simple, light, but full of charm. Clear purple dress, beautiful shine. Nose typical of the cabernets-francs de Loire. Raspberry, geranium, violet, blackwood, green pepper (but not too much). The mouth is fresh and tense, with a beautiful mineral weft reminiscent of rifle stone, slate or chalk. Served at 15 degrees, it’s a nice treat.

Saumur simple, léger, mais plein de charme. Robe pourpre limpide, bel éclat. Nez typique des cabernets-francs de Loire. Framboise, géranium, violette, bois de ronce, poivron vert (mais pas trop). La bouche est fraîche et tendue, avec une belle trame minérale évoquant la pierre à fusil, ardoise ou craie. Servi à 15 degrés c’est une belle gourmandise. — 3 years ago

with Peter

Stuart Pollack

9.4

Smooth and elegant, but a little sweet for my taste. Classic California Cabernet Sauvignon. Very strong blueberry and blackberry flavors. This wine has a number of years left to age but is ready to drink now. A well-made wine. An outstanding value at $42. — 5 months ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.2

Wasn’t expecting to like English sparkling nearly as much as I’m enjoying this bottle. A truly bizarre combination of ripe fruit and racy acidity (higher than the average for champagne) that can only come from somewhere this far north > 50 degrees latitude (long growing season + long days during growing season). Lemon curd, green apple danish, even notes of pear and passion fruit. Bond may have to trade out his Bollinger for this. — 3 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.0

Still interesting lol — 3 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.0

Brilliant straw-yellow. Fresh citrus and orchard fruit aromas, along with hints of toasty lees and honeysuckle. Chewy and focused on the palate, offering juicy pear and Meyer lemon flavors that slowly deepen through the midpalate. Finishes long and floral, with a lingering hint of spiciness. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, September 2020)
— 4 years ago

Jenna Whitrock

9.2

Very dark and deep flavors — 6 months ago

Austin Hohnke

9.1

From magnum on Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I broke the cork and had to decant through cheese cloth, which I was really trying to avoid with a twelve year old Crianza. Ended up drinking beautifully and was very well received. Layered with mature red fruit, dried berries, game, tobacco, and vanilla. Maybe a kiss of bret? Acid and tannin still very much intact though the sediment is significant and after several hours the wine becomes a victim of oxygen. Have had this in the cellar for several years and caught the right large format occasion. Pop ‘em if you’ve got ‘em. — 2 years ago

Ian Hamel

9.1

2020/12/22 with pan-roasted venison loin and tenderloin with sauce poivrade (after Richard Olney). This is a tricky one. I love Clape, and this wine was quite nice, in a brambly blackberry and funk vein. It did not, however, have any of the notes you’d expect from a mature Clape. It certainly didn’t feel old or faded - quite the opposite, it was still fleshy and fresh, if not terribly deep. Sometimes this happens, but sometimes I feel it happens a bit frequently with wines from my cellar. Perhaps it’s just too cold - I have heard some views that in cool, stable “benchmark” cellar conditions, wine can age much more slowly than is generally expected. One thing I can say is that my 2004 Clape and Allemand, stored with no cooling with family in the Bay Area, has already started to shown those delicious, gamy aromas. Should I raise my cellar temp a few degrees? As is, who knows how much longer this one could or should have gone, but as it’s my last bottle I guess I’ll never know. — 3 years ago