"Odedi"

9.4

#AgedWineTuesday

Dark ruby in color with a reddish rim.

Beautiful nose and very complex.

Full-bodied and elegant with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate and fruit forward with nice complexity.

Showing blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, dark chocolates, toast, cedar, light vanilla, spices, coffee, licorice, light earth, black tea and black pepper.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This 18 year old Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley is drinking beautifully now. Elegant and rich. Complex and fruit forward.

Drinking at its peak, and will continue to do so in the next 5 to 7 years. The high alcohol is well integrated by now.

Needed 2 hours to open up properly, and it's worth the wait, so be patient.

This Single Vineyard Cabernet is a wonderful sipping wine, that will also pair nicely with food.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were aged in all new French oak barrels for 24 months. A tiny production of 1,000 bottles.

14.8% alcohol by volume.

94 points.

$100. — 18 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Best on Day 2. The 2017 Caravina pours a deep ruby/purple with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of cassis, blackberries, plum, tobacco, violets, cocoa, well-oiled leather baseball glove, Poblano pepper, and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose, the finish is long and ashy. It’s been almost 5 years since my last 2017 and I’m just as excited about it today as I was back then. Drink now with some patience through 2037. — 7 months ago

Delectable Wine

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9.4

The 2014 Vieux Château Certan comes from two bottles, the first out of condition. The second has a potent Cabernet Franc-driven nose, which is no surprise, as it comprises 30% of the blend: bell pepper and black pepper infusing the black fruit. There is almost a Loire-like scent. The palate is medium-bodied with granular tannins, fine acidity and grip with truffle and raspberry. It's earthy with just a touch of dark chocolate on the finish. This Pomerol is surfeit with character and is just about to enter its drinking window. Tasted at the VCC vertical in Etikhove, Belgium. (Neal Martin, Vinous, July 2024)
— 2 years ago

Tom Garland

9.4

45 min decant(decent chunky/fine sediment). A remarkable medium garnet color with bricking. On the nose: beautiful perfumed notes burst from the glass with sour cherry, mint, dusty earth, currants, wet cedar, green bell pepper....could sniff all night! Taste: soft and round, smooth, elegant wine with raspberry, cedar, currants, musky earth, and a nice dark chocolate cherry finish. YUM! A wine that has hit its stride over the past few years with time to go. — 4 years ago

with Brenda

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

This estate owes its name to Connetable Talbot, the English general & governor of the province of Guyenne who was defeated at the famous Battle of Castillon in 1453. Aromas of sweet black fruits with floral and earthy notes. On the palate flavors of blackberry & blueberry with cacao and tobacco spice, on a well balanced frame. Fine rustic tannins, long savory ending with fruit, spice and cedar character. — 5 years ago

Mike Evans

9.2

I can’t overstate my love for the Cordier stable in the 1980s and this reinforces that passion. From a 375 ml bottle in a Gabriel Glas Gold, savory leather and a streak of mint play off brooding dark currant to deliver fine depth. It initially seemed a little dilute, but 30 minutes of air brought out the fine tannin and acidic structure it needed to frame the flavors. While fine on its own, it really took off when paired with a prime ribeye. A terrific final red for this challenging year. — 6 years ago

Pooneet K

8.9

Very nice Rosso. Certainly needs time or a lot of air - better on day 2. A touch unresolved on the finish. But great red cherry fruit. Mouth filling with good acid. Tannins are quite present - excellent with some grilled skirt steak, but slightly difficult on its own. — 6 years ago

"Odedi"

9.3

#AgedWineTuesday

Dark ruby in color with a short reddish rim.

Nose of blueberries, black plums, cooked cherries, oak, licorice, earth, tobacco leaf, herbs, peppercorn and mediterranean spices.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with black currants, black plums, blackberries, light cedar, earth, herbs, dark chocolates, tobacco leaf, light forest floor and black pepper.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This 21 year old 4th growth Bordeaux is drinking beautifully now. Still showing enough fruits to balance the earth notes. Rich, elegant and very complex and engaging.

This iconic 2005 vintage is drinking very nicely now, and drinking at its peak. Will continue to drink nicely in the next 10 years. Nicely balanced with a soft mouthfeel.

I had this vintage 2 years ago, and it is drinking much better now, and very approachable right out of the bottle.

Wine Enthusiasts 93 points. Wine Advocate 93 points.

Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food.

A blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot.

13% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$200. — 2 months ago

Doug Boatman

9.6

Still in its prime. Great fruit. Body. Finish. All the elements of a mature fine wine. — 9 months ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.5

Pnp beauty, completely open and giving wafting a distinctive Roumier raspberry and rose petal laced whole cluster perfume with a seductive and seamless palate with fine grained tannins and a long mineral inflicted finish. So much more accessible than 21’s right now which are far more closed and reductive. Last glass a couple hours open was just perfect Burgundy. Village at its finest. — 2 years ago

Alessandro Dalle Carbonare

9.8

So elegant Montrose. It builds up an epic journey in the aftertaste. Rich and opulent as usual but with a fine touch of incredible level.
Softer extraction resulted on a fruitier, more sapid and rounder wine than usual. It feels it’s going to be approachable in its youth. — 2 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

Of course this is young and primary but 2015 is just so juicy and giving and offered plenty to justify an early pop, especially from a list at a good price. Previous Roumier experiences with surrounding vintages like 12, 13, 14 and 16 across the line always seem to be shut down and just simply not ready to drink. But 2015 Les Cras wafts from the glass with gorgeous floral and juicy dark fruit aromatics. The palate is pure silk with an incredible purity and focus to its ripe fruit expression and underlying mineral backbone. It saturates and wraps around the palate with stunning length, fine grained tannins and vibrant lift. Lovely at this stage, but in 10 years it’ll be a true stunner. — 5 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Est., in the early 1950s, producing and selling only grapes and just a few years ago Giampaolo Pira began aging and bottling its own wines. Ruby with aromas of dark berry fruit and earthy spices, 100% Nebbiolo. On the palate flavors of ripe cherry and plum with earthy pepper spice, well balanced. Fine tannins, vivid acidity, long finish ending with earthy mineral notes, drink now. — 5 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.5

Just in from Jersey, $22.00 no tax free shipping. Buy it by the case all day long. Skip the Bevan & buy this
Retail notes,

There’s a sweet-spot for domestic Sauvignon Blanc found in a special part of Bennett Valley that experiences a strong maritime influence as it flows through the Petaluma Gap to Sonoma Mountain. Within that funnel of cooling coastal air, the Dry Stack Vineyard is in a prime location at 550 feet elevation at the base of Mt. Taylor. I’m continually drawn to Sauvignon Blanc from Dry Stack and the vineyard produces fruit with detailed notes of fresh guava, rocky minerals, ripe tangerine and mineral infused citrus. You might be familiar with Russell Bevan’s version from Dry Stack, and Grey Stack has been a pillar on our tasting list in Yountville.

With Grey Stack, everything begins in the Vineyard with exceptional quality fruit, but from there, the wine is given a voice by winemaker Patrick Sullivan, whose experience includes making wine at Peter Michael, Paul Hobbs, Lewis Cellars and Rudd. This is absolutely one of the finest examples of California Sauvignon Blanc with its superior focus and incredibly vivid, distinctive flavors. If you love Sauvignon Blanc, or better yet, even if you don’t… Try this one and you’ll probably never look back. — 6 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

5th wine . medium deep ruby , touch more garnet . Slightly wider rim . Quite cool and mineral again , more grafite with some cool cassis , blackberry. On the palate this is slightly lighter in body , leaner perhaps but very elegant , fresh and quite saline, tobacco , grafite and herbal tinges on the finish . Reasonable saline length. Fine lightly grippy tannins , good acidity . This is showing quite well though would perhaps benefit from a few more years . Better in 3-5 years and drink well a further 7- 10 . The next day this actually shows a little better , elegant and refined, nothing showy , very Lafite , so I’m glad I guessed this correctly ! Overall this was a very interesting tasting , there is nothing showy or remarkable about the 2006 1st growths , they are quite classic and also showing quite a lot of structure still , with good freshness though they perhaps lack a little stuffing and intensity . They were quite even quality wise, with the high points being the Mouton (though the Lafite improved the following day to upgrade its score and draw level ) and the low point being a relatively disappointing Margaux . The vintage will continue to improve over the next 5 perhaps 10 years in general , though they may always just lack a little density and excitement . — 5 months ago

Todd Anderson

9.3

A fine, mature claret drinking in its prime. Enjoy! — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Best on Day 2. The 2013 “Les Pavots” pours a deep ruby with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and signs of light sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with wild brambles, Korean bulgogi, some purple flowers, tobacco, cedar box, some VA, and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and zippy. To my palate, a lot more interesting than the “Au Paradis” from the same vintage. There’s just a lot more going on. Drink now with patience and through 2040. — 2 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Terre di San Leonardo is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (50%), Merlot (40%), and Carmenere (10%), run by the Gonzaga family since its inception in 1724. Wine is fermented with ambient yeasts in concrete tanks and 20% is aged in French oak barrels. Ruby with aromas ripe red fruits and floral notes. On the palate flavors of rich plum and blackberry with herb, light spice and slight earthy notes. Medium+ finish, fine soft tannins, ending with fruit, floral and earthy mineral character. Tremendous value! — 4 years ago

Tom Garland

9.7

A happy Father's Day....this wine should do

1.5 hour decant (fine/cloudy sediment). A fantastic inky dark purplish garnet color. On the nose: very aromatic nose with dark cherry, crushed stone, that sweet aged cab perfume, smoke, forest floor, little blackberry, minty pine, and slight funky earth. Taste: a creamy, soft, juicy full body wine with blackberry, cedar, smoke, dark cherry, black licorice, and a chocolate tar long finish complimented by the silky fine tannins. YUM!

What more can I say except as the farmer says at the end of the movie Babe......"That'll do pig. That'll do." — 5 years ago

with Brenda

Fredrik Finn

9.0

GD Vajra Barolo Albe, my first wine-aha moment, the white rabbit which I followed down the rabbit hole into the wonderland of wine. The 2016 vintage does of course not awake the same tingling experience as back then, nevertheless it is a very solid perforermer and a well representative of its provenance, probably one of the better Barolos of Systembolagets standard assortment.
Primary red fruit with fresh raspberries, red cherries, rose hip and cherry liqueur followed by a perfumed lift of rose water and bitter orange with a vague, but nonetheless present savoury meat stock character that is luring in the background. A mouth watering acidity and a strong grip from the high but approachable and fine grained tannins directs the palate and surrounds the red, slightly tart (cranberries) but pleasant fruit character through a good finish. Give it a couple of hours in the decanter and a nice spin in your glass and its will drink beautifully today. Falls a bit short on the length to qualify for the higher division but it can walk out the ring with its head held high. — 6 years ago