Daniel M

9.2

We are celebrating my daughter's entering teenage years (tomorrow) and this Château Pape Clément 2012 is a year older than she is. I bought 2 bottles of it at a foire aux vins in 2014 back in Paris, have kept it since then, it went through a bunch of moves, including one from Paris to Warsaw and it came back in the trunk of our car this summer for the occasion. The carbon imprint of this (very heavy, on top of it) bottle is not great...
It was served along 2 massive beef tomahawk steaks cooked to medium-rare perfection by my dad.
Cassis, tar, tobacco, cedar, oak, a touch of red bell pepper which turned into menthol and black pepper as the wine warmed up in the glass (I had it chilled to 16°c and opened to shoulders).
The palate is full bodied, broad, layered, with cassis, black cherry, tar and oaky notes all along. It rolls on the tongue. The mouthfeel is soft and delicate but mutes into a grainy, gravely tannic wall that disrupts the finish and creates an additional layer of complexity. The finish is long, complex, evolving a tiny bitter note in the very end. The vintage is what it is and it can be felt in the way the wine is broad without being the broadest and in the mouthfeel which is a bit soft and lacking a tad of thickness. It's nevertheless a great wine which went super well with the steak. Happy Birthday Amelia! — 19 days ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I attended a luncheon-tasting recently with the Chef of Roy Estate & several other wineries participating in the tasting. Roy tasted their 2016 & 2007. I bought both. The 16 better than the 2007. Both very different & quite good. This 07 on its own is not as good as it is with steak. Moves between 93 & 94 with the Ribcap.

The nose is lush & brooding. It shows; blackberries, black raspberries, extremely dark cherries, both plums, poached strawberries, blueberries, boysenberries, dark chocolate cake, dark spices, steeped fruit tea, mid berry cola, black & red licorice, nicely, gently, layered baking spices, sweet tarriness-forest floor, leather, dry tobacco, some graphite, caramel-mocha, light black pepper, soft charcoal ash, limestone, dry crushed rocks.-top soil, candied-withering dark, red flowers.

The palate is ripe, round, lush/plush with M-M+ velvety tannins. Nothing that speaks astringent.Blackberries, black raspberries, extremely dark cherry kirsch liqueur, both plums into pudding, poached strawberries, blueberries, boysenberries, some pomegranate, dark spices with mid penetrating heat, steeped fruit tea, mid berry cola, black & red licorice, nicely, gently, layered baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanillin in that order, herbaceous, savory notes, understated mint-spearmint, sweet tarriness-forest floor, leather, dry tobacco, some graphite, melted dark chocolate, caramel-mocha, light black pepper, soft charcoal ash, limestone, dry crushed rocks-top soil, candied-withering dark, red flowers, excellent round acidity with good tension/structure, well balanced, long length and elegant finish for minutes that long sets on spice & earth.

From their terrace, they have the best hillside rolling vineyards in Napa I have seen. — 3 months ago

Alvaro Bustillos

9.5

Benito y c murgia joes dc — 4 months ago

Dave

9.2

Dynamite. Cork broke, but not to worry. The wine is so good. Deep, expressive fruit and bitter leaves. Earthy. Improving considerably as it breathes. And the bottle weighs 37 pounds.
Listening to Amy Winehouse — 5 months ago

Rusty Beall

9.5

1966 that we had with foie gras. It was excellent! — 8 months ago

Ed Chin

9.0

Really good balance with soft tannins. The issue is that it was too ripe for me, but if you enjoy fruit have at it. — 5 days ago

Brian Messineo

9.4

This is the 60th Anniversary Cuvée — 2 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Lean, serious, rich and ripe, with purity, elegance, finesse and depth. Very structured and sappy, silky, with some wood tannin. Needs 10+ years. Wonderful tiny-berry fruit intensity, long, juicy and clear, angular and architectural. Pure and classic. — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

8.9

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2022 “Le Domaine” pours a deep purple/ruby with an opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart, dark fruits: cassis, blackberries, purple flowers, Poblano pepper, horse blanket and a mix of organic and inorganic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. I always find this expression to be charming, albeit a bit rustic, and easy to love young while the single vineyard expressions are often backward for many years. Drink now through 2032. — 3 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Killer. Granite, red fruits, smoke, leather, so so aromatic. Just filthy. Palate is teeming with energy. It is insane that this regular cuvée from Gripa is so overlooked. A shanda. — 4 months ago

Bethany Welch

9.9

Peppery cherry. Mineral with bite. Slightly effervescent. Everything I love in a gamay. — 6 months ago

David Waddell

9.2

Clean, full bodied Montrachet with almondy body, hint of lemon and in excellent condition. — 3 years ago

Vino Joe

9.3

Nice minerality and some oily complexity but a bit more limited. Light flowery touches. — 9 months ago

christina a love

9.5

Barnyard yeast excellent 1+1=4 w strong cheese — 25 days ago

romo

9.3

1er nose and attack. A satisfying broad mouth-coating acid bomb. - at Laurelhurst — a month ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Stunning. A total textural bomb, still very young but surprisingly accessible and open, which is the nature of 2020. Complex dark berry fruit, the sweetest, most velvety tannins, and that granitic edge only elite Hermitage gets. Powerful, deep and gorgeous. — 2 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

At dinner at Le Cabotte. Entering a gorgeous drinking window. The nose is classic Chinon, loaded with red currant, crushed herbs, mineral dust, and hints of cassis. Beautiful Cabernet Franc herbaceousness, not green or vegetal, but alive. Red currants, crushed herbs, a little tobacco leaf, iron, stone, and that unmistakable Loire freshness. The fruit has enough generosity from the vintage to give a subtle fleshiness underneath the structure. The palate is all tension and energy. Incredible freshness, mouthwatering acidity, and a long mineral spine carry the wine across the palate. Unlike Baudry’s larger, more powerful bottlings, this is about movement. The fruit feels suspended in the acidity, and every sip seems to pull the next sip forward. After forty minutes of air, the wine became even more expressive. The red currant and herbaceous notes moved to the forefront, joined by gorgeous minerality and tremendous freshness. It is not thick or heavy like Cabernet Sauvignon, nor does it possess the density of Baudry’s biggest cuvées. Instead, it is all acid, tension, energy, and precision. Juicy, vibrant, and effortlessly drinkable, with the kind of electric persistence that makes great Cabernet Franc impossible to put down. — 3 months ago

Billy L.

9.5

Stunning Wine! Kudos to Loic Dugat & Family! Fabulous Cheers 🍇🍷👍🏻👏🏻 — 5 months ago

Garen Staglin

9.4

Excellent. Bright cherry flavors. Long finish. Many years to go — 8 months ago

Jonathan Warren

9.7

Loved this in a magnum. Tart cherry, earth, and red fruit galore. This is everything Pinot should be. Damn near perfection — 9 months ago