Matthew Cohen

9.0

Vineyard destroyed

N: unusual. Cocoa. Pink roses. Lovely.

P: young. Somewhat closed. Cherry pit. Structured. Closed.

Mercer 45 — 4 months ago

Delectable Wine

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9.5

The 2008 Cheval Blanc is one of the go-to wines of the vintage. Now at 15 years old, it has retained the energy and focus it displayed from the outset: black fruit, crushed stone, wilted violet petals and touches of forest floor cohere wonderfully in the glass. The Cabernet here is more expressive. The palate has a slight chewiness on the entry, but it "relaxes" in the glass. It shows off its delicate lattice of tannins and perhaps a bit more backbone than I have observed on previous bottles. It's very intense on the finish where, as before, the Cabernet Franc takes charge. Superb. Keep it another three to four years if you can. Tasted at the Lia's Wings/book dinner at Medlar restaurant. (Neal Martin, Vinous, December 2023)
— 2 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

See previous note from 96 weeks ago where I said that I would drink the last one when my son Hugh was home from NY (born 1987) which came to pass last night. Overall not as impressive as the previous tasting but retains its silky tannin structure. Very dark in colour - opaque. Notes of cassis and pipe tobacco - overall dusty without the depth of fruit of the previous tasting. Just medium bodied. Tasting Book recommend a drinking window till 2035 which I would not agree with. Leads me to think I will be drinking my bottles of 86 Mouton sooner rather than later. — 4 years ago

M. Christopher Roebuck

9.5

Deep purple. Green bell pepper and eucalyptus nose. Muddled blackberry, anise, and white pepper. All of that carries over beautifully to the palate. Dry, medium minus acid, medium plus alcohol, tannins are medium and supple. After some time, I am also getting rare meat on the nose. This is a top 10 of 2020 for me. MELKA is one of the best in my book.

95 points — 6 years ago

Inseon Hwang

9.5

Hint of blueberry, very ripe red fruit. Old leather book. Satin finish. — 6 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

The nose is full of text book Cabernet descriptors like Bay Leaf, Geranium and Blackcurrant which follow through on the medium bodied palate with spicy berry flavours. Very very good QPR at $17.95 AUD per bottle. One of the 1001 wines surprisingly but I guess it’s a good thing that all the wines in that book don’t have to be expensive. — 7 years ago

Robert McCall

9.2

Well scented bouquet of cedar, dark cherry/berry, anise. Mouth coating powdery tannin grip followed by dark cherry, licorice. I would give another 2-3 years and revisit. Could be a stunner when it levels out. Solid merlot that delivers as usual. — 8 years ago

Joaquin Martinez

9.0

Phenomenal. Given its 21 years of age (tasted in 2026) so alive and vibrant. Tannic and structured but I will say it gave me that blackcurrant and old book smell immediately but the palate was a live and "young" as it opened it up via decanting, the tar, cedar, and rich red fruit began to open up with touches of earth and mushrooms. Great wine. Honestly, towards the last tasting, I got hints of sweet and sour tamarind. — 4 months ago

Delectable Wine

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9.0

The 2021 Riesling displays spring flowers, crushed green apples and ginger spice. Soft textures and ripe tropical citrus tones appear on the palate, while kiwi and candied lime nuances linger. At 1.27 grams of residual sugar per liter, it maintains a lovely balance of sweetness and energy. $14.00 (Eric Guido, Vinous, March 2023) — 3 years ago

Jan de Weerd

9.4

Starting to fall in love with these Montepulciano reserves. This is a great one. Dark penetrating extracts of prune and dark tart cherry that unfold in your mouth like a 500 page book. Subtle, fine grained tannins carry the wine for a 3 minute lingering finish. Montepulciano wines are made from a special Sangiovese selection called Prugnolo gentile, a smaller berry with thinner skin than the larger berries from the Sangiovese grosso selection used in Brunello wines from Montalcino. Destiny flavor, needs a bit of an acquired taste , but once adapted they become addictive. — 4 years ago

with Tammy

Mark Farrell

9.0

This was an evening out in Raleigh while in town for a wedding. We had a glass of the Nine Hats Red Blend. Medium purple with a nose of blackberry jam, strawberries, vanilla, and a slight hint of sweet tobacco. Very much a fruit forward wine on the palate. Full bodied, this is a crowd pleaser. We had this by the glass at Vita Vite in Raleigh, NC. At $20 a bottle this is a great value. — 5 years ago

Aravind A

9.7

Pop and pour. Easy to like. On the nose: peach, lemon oil, lemon custard, citrus blossom, rounded out by lovely wet stone. On the palate, very elegant...amazing dry extract, with loads of lemon oil, great salinity, wet stone, but at the same time, I wouldn't call this weighty at all..it has wonderful elegance, very silky texture, and a very long finish. This is perhaps my favorite among the 2018 GGs from Wittmann, with perhaps only the Brunnenhauschen as competition. In my book, this is spectacular riesling. — 6 years ago

Bernard Mangold

9.1

Milk chocolate strawberries and cherries. Well rounded, smooth tannins, easy drinking with a side of lasagna. — 7 years ago

with Sarah

Doug Powers

9.3

[Half bottle] This lovely 17-year-old Banyuls has finally knitted together into a very fine example of Dr. Parce Banyuls (old vine Grenache made in the same way as Port), earlier bottles were terribly disjointed and lacking balance and sweetness). Served with Viennese Sacher Torte my wife made for dessert!

Our first Dr. Parce was the 1967 “Vielles Vignes” which was fantastic and is still my reference point. We had that in 1987 at Pierre Gagnaire’s restaurant in St. Etienne, before he moved on to Paris, his staff was kind enough to comp us a bottle — blind — while my brother and I embarrassed ourselves trying to identify the wine!! That bottle was tried with Pierre’s famous “chocolate soup” dessert, the recipe for which was in Patricia Wells’ “Food and Wine Lovers of France” book from the mid-1980s — memorable combination!!! — 2 years ago

with Jim

Sharon B

9.3

One of my favorites! Enjoying some cloudy weather this afternoon with a good book — 4 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.2

Color of dark purple. Nose of dark fruits, like blackberry and ripe blueberries, minty, sweet vanilla, and nose is plenty. Taste is quite dry, mouthful with bitter graphite, mature and still bold tannins, oak and cedar wood, some more vanilla and hint of dark fruits. Aftertaste shows a bit peppery, oak, and some more bittersweet note. I think she has peaked. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Similar notes from April 2020 when I last had it. A red fruited nose giving a lovely earthy perfume with Sous Bois influences. Loam, compost heap nose. Same red fruits on the medium weight palate with strawberry and a touch of raspberry. As Jasper Morris said in his book, Lavaux St Jacques is one of the cooler sites in Gevrey Chambertin. This is always the last Rousseau wine to be picked and enjoying a longer hang time. After a couple of hours, just a gorgeous nose. — 5 years ago

Scott C

Founder / Co-director SR Wine imports

9.1

Stunning , from an Urban winery . Beautifully made . Whole bunch straight to Burgundian barrels for 7 months . Long citrus finish acid !! — 6 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

9.0

A fun way to meet Jean Charles and his new book Alchemy of the Senses. Bright and bubbly. — 7 years ago

Joe Roth

8.9

Nice dry Riesling. Aromas of pear. Easy drinking — 8 years ago

with Jeff and Michael