Stuart Pollack

9.4

Leave this open at least one hour before consuming and consume with steak. Paradigmatic California Cabernet Sauvignon. After one hour, this wine reminds me of a quality Pauillac. Elegant and sophisticated, it accompanies steak perfectly. This wine likely cannot be consumed without steak. The attack is a complex leathery mix of fruit and earth, while the finish is a tannic chewy leather and tobacco mix. Top notch. When first opened overpowering and then too acidic, so you need to wait that hour if you can. Or at least 30 minutes. — 3 years ago

Adriana Fabbro

8.9

I am solidly in the “don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it” school of thought, so I very much violated my own rules when I compared this wine negatively to the Bedrock Evanghelo Zin earlier this year without ever having tried it. I knew I had to right this wrong ASAP and brought this to my group’s blind tasting. The verdict: guilty pleasure wine.

At $9.99 a bottle (the Whole Foods down the street had a special), this wine was a steal (even if priced 2-4x, I would drink this wine over the Prisoner any day).

If you are like me, you don’t believe Snoop would put his name on anything subpar and rest assured, this wine is solid. At first sniff and sip, you get aromas of bruised black plum and blueberry syrup. It’s verging on Port in ripeness and alc (14.1%) and there’s probably some RS but it’s still seductive and pretty. On the palate, the wine is balanced, with a shocking lightness on the initial attack followed by a sweet cigar note, discrete tannins and a pleasant bitterness (a friend suggested later press factions maybe) on the finish to cut the sweetness perfectly.

Not the wine you want every night with dinner (you’ll wake up with a raging headache), but the wine you want with a blue cheese burger or saucy barbecue. And you’ll gladly pour yourself another glass. Mostly Petit Sirah and Zin.

If this is the bar, I look forward to trying Martha’s Chard. — 4 years ago

MICHAEL COOPER DipWSET

Owner TomeVinos wine shops, WSET Level 3, Blogger www.spanishwinesandmore.com, blog.tomevinos.com

8.9

When I first tasted this with Coravin we were sure it had TCA, but it wasn’t excessively bitter or astringent and it had plenty of rich ripe black fruit...so I uncorked it today and the cork definitely smells of old winery, old church and almost pine trees but I wouldn’t call it corked cork. Even with the cork issue the wine has a smooth oily attack and firm fine-grained tannins. I am thoroughly enjoying it. #bolgheri #tuscany #italy #supertuscan The winery should definitely look into their cork provider. — 5 years ago

with Rosario

Denise Longeill

9.2

When I read that this was a blend and had Malbec added I was extremely excited. Didn’t disappoint, very smooth. You can taste the love that goes into this. — 7 years ago

Hanibal

9.0

Nose was very reductive when first opened I was about to give up on it but gave it some time in the glass...after 15min the reduction blew off and what was left was raspberry and pyrazines, very typical cab franc smell from the Loire Valley that I like so much but many I understand dislike. In the mouth acidity is pretty high alcohol is medium low and tannins are medium. Color is magenta. The taste in the mouth is of a great sweet attack followed by some drying tannins and a finale with good lenght. Given the price certainly worth holding on a few for 5 years to develop some complexity. — 7 years ago

Jinda Cui

9.5

A very special wine. So ripe the fruit and preserved so well in the bottle. It’s a raisin attack. So much grape, white flower and white fruit aroma. More aromatic when it’s in the mouth. Hints of dried apricot and jujube fruit on the palate. These characteristics usually come with a desert wine. But this one is nectar without excessive sweetness. Still mouth coating. May become more rounded after several years though. — 8 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.2

Night six on the Allure of the Seas and wine number seven from the wine crate. This night we are at Samba Grill Brazilian Steakhouse.

Deep ruby red. Attack on the nose was soft with notes of dark spices, anise and iron. Seems to need a little bit of time but the 2011 characteristics keep poking through with notes of twigs, herbal and greenery. With a bit more time came some cinnamon and dark red berries. Medium tannins (6/10) with solid acidity. Seems younger than the nose when you get to the palate with black currants, cassis, bramble red berries and a touch of heat. Medium to medium plus bodied with a little bit of earthiness in the medium plus to full finish. Drink till 2026. — 9 years ago

with Sean and India

Randy Fuller

9.3

This medium dark wine is plenty aromatic. There is big fruit first - blueberry, blackberry, black cherry - met with cinnamon, nutmeg, forest floor, a whiff of smoke and a splash of tar. The palate is robust, to say the least. That dark fruit is there to lead the way, with spices in tow and a strong tannin profile that is more than ready to attack a hunk of beef. This wine is demanding on its own, but at its best when paired with a meaty dish. — 3 years ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.2

Drinks more like old BDX than aged Napa. Soft as silk with an ample but not unpleasant helping of bret.
Pair with getting into a heated discussion with your right wing nut of a father who, when asked him to back up his assertion about “absurdly high public sector salaries” 🙄 with facts, responds with a personal attack. — 4 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.4

64% Cab 30% Merlot 3 % cab franc 3 % Petit Verdot 90 points across the board on release, time heals all wounds!
K&L notes as follows.
Another $45.00 Steal

I often imagine the vine as a family tree, stretching back centuries, in this case, to 1550 or so, when La Louvière acquired its name from the many hungry wolves (louves) that roamed the deep forests of the Graves, well before the construction of the elegant 18th century chateau that adorns the label of this flagship wine. This brief history lesson makes me appreciate even more the imposing qualities of the 2005 La Louvière, a wine with a lot of time on its hands. Firm and taut as a young wolf, with the strong heart to endure and improve for a decade or more, gracefully maturing into a benchmark Pessac-Léognan, stylish and fleshier, more supple and savoury as the willful tannins are further seduced by the dark and persuasive fruit. If you really can't wait, then bite the cork, figuratively, and decant for an hour before enjoying with gently-braised lamb shanks. — 5 years ago

Hanibal

9.1

Allot of whole cluster shows off right away when opening this wine. The nice is full of herbs, spices and red fruits. The attack is lifted with nice acidity, silky with notes of cherries, herbs, some reduction and saltiness. The finally was a tad short to give it that final wow factor....all in a very nice wine. — 6 years ago

barak heller hayun

9.0

second wine from the same winery in st chinian which is a part of Languedoc-Roussillon wine region.
the first one was newer (2016) and felt too oaky.

60% mourvedre
20% grenache
20% syrah

14% ABV

dense brownish red 👀

wet soil, leather, tobbaco, oak related spices and hinted blackberies. and some 🍄👃

medium plus body.
high acidity.

tart attack first.
then a chewy spicy candy with hints of fruit👄

long 🎯 with the dirt taste lingering and then switched by firm but light tannins drying things up in a pleasent way.

excelent vfm (75 nis but in france)

had it for three days.

first day it shined with heavily umamied vegan 'bolognese' and pasta (based on mushroom variety and black lentils).

second day it got fruitier with not 100% traditionly made arancini.

third day had it on it's own.

it stayed the same wine throughout those days.
was always better when poured with an aerator pourer.

I'm wondering if it was a better wine than the other newer wine, or if it is time that balanced it.

the conclusion is clear:
i need to visit my friend in 🇫🇷 and drink some more. — 7 years ago

barak heller hayun

9.0

Dense grey-ish red with significant legs 👁️
Petrol, some leather and dried red fruit with hints of smoked paprika and a variety of peppers 👃
Red fruit attack followed with assorted peppers buffet with some smoke on the background 👄
Medium acidity which helped for taste variation when paired with different things.
Light and pleasantly dry 🎯
Paired with a way too rich brunch it was excellent.
The more spiced food made it dull.
Camembert cheese made it sweet tasty cherry juice.
A balanced and pleasent highly recommended malbec
Very good vfm(80 nis).
24hr later the wine was terrible. So drink up! — 8 years ago

Willie Carter

9.1

Pure joy in the bottle. A fun summer afternoon back in the day spent with that girl that you still think about when that song comes on. Clear lemon in the glass with faint green flecks. Big floral aromatics initially with herbs and mint. Ripe pears and lemon curd with a dash of honeydew. Apple juice and fresh cut grass.

Richer and more full bodied than you were expecting with high acidity. Really, really nice texture and mouthfeel going on here. Vivacious and lively throughout. The attack is dominated by memories of her before things fell apart. When life was good and the sun shined a little more brightly. An exciting and lovely wine. — 3 years ago

Aaron Tan

8.9

A very umami wine. While I'm sure this can be attributed to a higher-than-normal level of free glutamic acid, I felt that it was the complex interplay of mouth-coating texture, acidity, savoury and acetic flavours that drove home the sensation. Delicious in its own way, but in typical Delienne-fashion, this all ended in a volatile mess by day three. The wine showed best in day two when the reductive manure-like aromas melded in with the high-toned red fruits, anise and meaty notes, appearing mostly as a savoury olive character. Led with a salty attack in the mouth that gave the impression of having preserved plums. The mid-palate was surprisingly juicy and fruity, considering how savoury the finish was, which left me salivating with the notes of cured meat and chinese olive vegetable condiment. Certainly an interesting wine this Christmas season. — 5 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Superb value white burg. I love it when you can put the glass to your nose and you know it’s Côte de Beaune fruit. Lemon oil drizzle on wet, limestoney gravel, a bit of apple/slightly-underripe peach. Intense attack, with loads of unadorned fruit, really good flavor concentration, and intense, lip-smacking acids. Clean, bracing finish. Nicely done. — 5 years ago

John Kroft

9.3

This wine is outstanding. So soft and slight, but full of delicate nuance and depth. On the nose there’s that lovely petrol or rubber note that opens you up to the sweetness of the wine, but when you taste the attack is so gentle and the acidity so perfectly balances the rounder fruit notes that you end up with this magically cleansing lively mouthfeel. Ideal for Asian cuisine. This wine is perfect for adventurous curious drinkers to bring to their friends who swear they only like Sauv. Blanc. Dry and crisp enough that they’ll like it, but different enough that they’ll experience something new. — 6 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.6

Just when you thought the oldest wine of the night was the 38' FKA Schmitt Pettenthal TBA, this pops up. Again I'll let SC describe the wine again:

Chateau La Mission Haut Brion 1923 was the oldest wine of the pre-auction dinner. Still so fresh with a lovely complex attack, a bit hollow [on the] mid-palate that shows an average vintage, and a long finish with a surprisingly good tannic structure. Stunning!

To add to this, I'd like to say WeinArt did an amazing job sourcing and cellaring this impeccable bottle. Kudos to them! — 7 years ago

Mike Godwin

9.1

After complete destemming and gentle crushing, it was macerated and fermented, reassembled in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature of 26ºC for about 8 days. When the desired organoleptic equilibrium was reached, the must was softly pressed.
Grape Varieties:
Aragonez, Syrah, Touriga Nacional
Tasting Notes:
Bright ruby red/violet colour. In the nose the intense aroma of red fruits stands out and there are hints of wood: a result of its ageing in oak barrels On the palate it has a smooth attack, with some elegant tannins present. It has a balanced acidity and a long finish.
Store and Serve Advices:
The wine should be served at a temperature of between 15ºC- 17ºC.
Food Pairing:
Salpico is ideal as an accompaniment to everyday meals and snacks and pairs very well with various meat dishes, certain fish, and cheeses.
Reviews and Awards:
. 15,5 points in Revista de Vinhos;
. 15,5 points in Vinho Grandes Escolhas. — 7 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.5

The cruise continues! Night eight aboard the Allure of the Seas and since the Special Selection has already been finished and the Opus is too young we ran downstairs to grab this beauty out of the suitcase.

Deep and dark ruby red. Deep and layered nose with tobacco, spices, vanilla, dark floral notes, black currants, cassis and a touch of scorched earth. Heavy tannins (7.5/10) with a full body. Smooth attack on the palate but very powerful with solid acidity and strong backbone. Layered with vanilla, cinnamon and dark spices with a strong dark black cherry undertone throughout. Long finish. Big powerful wine with a decade or more left in it and will only get even better with time. Drink till 2030. (95+)

We decided we needed to celebrate this vacation with my parents so we brought along the first high-end bottle of wine we purchased back in 2014 when we went into Total Wine and met Victoria. So glad we did! — 9 years ago

with Sean and India