Alexandre Pagliano

9.2

Very dark rubi robe, nose of dark berries, spices and blackcurrant. Great freshness in a low octane for 2015 and extremely well done. Might develop more complexity but great right now. — 5 months ago

with Jose, veronique and 1 other

Ericsson

9.0

Value Bordeaux without a doubt from one of the best places to find value wine. Good vintage. — 2 years ago

Sharon B

9.3

On a girls trip enjoying all the wine places. Very nice bubbly to match the cute place! The Bubble Bar St. Simon Island — 3 years ago

with Julie

Andrew Schirmer

9.6

Mineral and no flab. Fabulous texture. Going places. — 4 years ago

with Lyle and Alsu

David Kline

9.6

2005. Portobello, loamy soil, blackberry, black cherry, violets, oyster shell, black peppercorn, grilled beef on the nose. Black and red currant, slight grapiness, cedar bark, pencil, black olive, wheat toast, fine tabac, clove, red cherry. Pointy in places, but really holding together in terms of age.


#2005bordeaux #léovillelascases #grandvindebordeaux #grandvindeléovilledemarquisdelascases #stjulien #stjulienmedoc #medoc #domainesdelon #appellationsaintjuliencontrolée #deuxièmecrus #leftbankbordeaux — 4 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2018 vintage. Last had two months ago. Fattened up on the finish a bit; not nearly as lean as it was even in December 2021. Fleshy in all the right places and smoother than previously noted. Still a 9.4, just a different 9.4. — 4 years ago

Keith Crump

9.0

2005 in the best of places — 6 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Wow. I needed something profound and I got it. Yes this is 10-15 years too young but wow. Nose is just stunning. Deep berry fruit that is so clear and vivid along with huge florals and a rocky component under. Terrific spice and some game. Palate so elegant with massive power and concentration but all wrapped in finesse. Really not a hard edge in sight. Wow. Spectacular. Showing a hint of wood right now but really well integrated. Finish is a mile long. Sappy and stunningly fresh and linear. — 6 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1999 vintage. This review a bit of a mixed bag. “Inherited” this bottle and had been looking sideways at it for the better part of three years. Fill decent but both the front and back labels pretty trashed. The foil up top a tad crimped in places. Ugly duckling syndrome. See a ton of this at work and occasionally able to resuscitate what appears to be an abused bottle. Cut off the foil and there was some seepage at the top trapped between the cork and the foil. Not good. Extracted the cork in three passes (3!!!) with the Durand. Cork was half saturated and dunzo. Did not decant. Color was on point at least. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. 14.1% ABV. Less than expected sed. Poured out a fifth of a glass and let sit for 2-3 mins. Nose was big white pepper, roasted cashews and white sage…three notes that I don’t come across often over the years with Napa cabbage and flavors were hidden beneath for a spell. Gave it 15 minutes. That initial nose dissipated and a bit of magic unfolded. Light-medium body, cocoa powder, graphite, feminine, sumptuous milk chocolate, a little sweaty, dried legumes, spearmint, supremely resolved tannins. Echoes of Haut-Brion/La Mission Haut-Brion. This old-school, Stags Leap District Napa cab came through in the clutch. Seemed to gather strength the longer it was open. Given that this particular bottle was not exactly mint, more than a bit curious as to how a decently stored example of this wine would perform. Van the Man was right. Wild night is calling. Come on out and dance. 05.16.25. @Shay A — a year ago

David Kline

9.4

Soft, lovely, bread-y nose of black currant fur, licorice, light mint forcing upward, sprouting through potting soil. Cinnamon and blueberry warmly embraced by dark bread and small specks of black pepper. Fruit tannins thickly house-painted across your front teeth in a real sense. Muscle. Licorice-charcoal, bitters, blackberry, black currant, graphite-smoke halo, black cherry, oak and cedar, wound up and closed in places, but powerhouse lurking in the shadows.



#lajota #lajotavineyardco #lajotahowellmountainestate
#howellmountain #oakville #napa #napavalley #cab #cabernetsaugvinon — 3 years ago

with Courtney

Rebecca Burgess

8.9

Oh, Paco y Lola, how I have missed you. Moving from SF to PDX, I could not find you in any of the usual places and believed that, perhaps, Oregon didn’t permit you to be imported. But SURPRISE, here you are in rainbow Pride colors. You don’t quite live up to my memories (2020 wasn’t a good year for any of us) with a bit too much grapefruit pith, but still, you are lovely. Purchased at Zupans — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

This was presented to me at Tasting Group; double-blind. The wine appears a bright straw, nearing light golden color with a silvery, watery rim; medium+ viscosity. No signs of gas. On the nose, it reminds me of the lime tree we used to have in our backyard in Southern California. There’s also some lemon verbena, citrus blossom, and minerals…though hard to pinpoint what kind. On the palate, more of the same with lemon/lime citrus and minerals which are more chalky now. Acid is medium++. Long finish. I thought this leaned more towards its structure so I was in the Old World. Possible varieties being Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay with possibly places of origin being Germany or France. I was leaning towards Rielsing but then I smelled my empty glass and there it was, the slightest touch of French oak. So I called 2018 Chablis 1er Cru, “Vaillons”. I’m not beating myself up too much for missing the vineyard 😜 — 4 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

8.9

Cute and classy label. Darker color than a lotta pinot noir out there. Aroma is nice. Ripe berries from cool places (say coastlines and mountain tops). That classic cherry cola of Pinot. Flavors are nice and bright. Tincture of medicinal plants (echinacea and\or elderberry), iron in red meat served rare, pie cherry, or even choke cherry. Nice long finish with some of that woods after a forest fire or peat bogs in the sun. It’s a very nice, dry and balanced Pinot with elegance. — 6 years ago

Donald Williams

9.0

Remarkable, a Gewürz from Italy, of all places. Oxidized a bit after this many years, and sweeter than expected, but very nice with our traditional Easter Eve kielbasa, pierogis, and wildly assorted veggies. — 6 years ago

with Bonnie

Ron R

9.5

I beg to differ on my prior rating. With some airtime, this comes into its own. Places merlot on a different level. The cab franc gives this structure and presence. No rush to consume. Nice acidity and cherry compote on the mid palate. Finished luscious and moderately sweet. — a year ago

with Anne-marie

Severn G

9.1

NV | Champagne
(100% Pinot Noir)
Marie Demets; Tradition
Extra Brut-Blanc de Noirs
Côte des Bar; Gyé-sur-Seine, France
Tirage 5 March 2022 / Disgorged 7 June 2023
Lot No. T-22/2
(90-92; Drink 2024-30)

On the Lawn at Tanglewood this afternoon with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra (the overly talented youth!). Our conductor Andris Nelsons is leading IVES (Three Places in New England, Orchestral Set No. 1), BEETHOVEN (Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Opus 37) and STRAUSS (Also sprach Zarathustra, Opus 30...aka 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick❤️).

One of our local treasures, Emanuel Ax on piano for the Beethoven Concerto! — 2 years ago

Shay A

9.2

I debated giving this a NR for its rating as this tastes like a wine that is made to taste a certain way rather than a wine made to express its region, but there is a tasty factor in play. Bordeaux blend. Michel Rolland consulted on the winemaking. 2nd vintage.

This is real suave and sexy in style, but I could see this being from a multitude of places. Ripe and decadent fruit that seems to just now be calming down 13yrs later. Mostly red and black fruits (black cherry compote), and cherry vanilla pipe tobacco both aromatically and on the palate. Stops short of being hedonistic, but the mid palate is dense. Finish brings some currant and herbal flair to tie back to Italy. Tannic but not a monster.

Decanted an hour and finished the next day, it didn’t experience much change. I’d consume these in the next 3-5yrs. — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

This was presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine appeared deep ruby with a nearly opaque core. There’s slight staining of the tears and the viscosity appears medium+. On the nose the wine is intense. It’s slightly funky with an almost cheese rind sort of thing going on. There’s a combination of red and dark fruits with some purple flowers, dried tobacco leaf, something that sort of resembled pyrazines and a little bit of baking spices which suggests there’s some French barrique being used. On the palate, the wine is bone dry and fiercely tannic. Acid is medium ++. It’s definitely on the darker fruit side with some black berries and blue berries, black pepper and baking spices which all but confirms French barrique at this point. Long finish. I’m scratching my head with this one. It’s wild. Clean and fresh…but wild.

I could see this in a few places: Moulin-à-Vent is one possibility considering all the darker fruit and firm structure. However, I find some real Italian sensibilities to this wine. Despite the monumental structure, I cannot place this in northern Italy. Given the presence of French barrique, I could see this being a Cabernet Sauvignon-based Super Tuscan with a little Syrah and Sangiovese for good measure. So that was my call: 2015 Super Tuscan.

Wow…what a lovely surprise. I mistook the Rotundone for pyrazines (a recurring issue for me) which had me thinking Bordeaux varieties instead of Syrah. And to be fair, we don’t see a lot of Côte Rôtie at Tasting Group. This was my first time tasting the 2016 “La Chavaroche” and while it was a real treat (big thanks to the generous member of the group), it was also a reminder as to why I cellar my bottles of “La Chavaroche” for so long. This is a wee babe and frankly, pretty tough for me to love right now. That being said, the quality and character is unquestionable. I say give it until 2030+ and these will light up your right prefrontal cortex like a supernova.
— 4 years ago

Joachim Modlich

9.8

Just one of the best Tuscan wines. Cherry flower at ots best. Elegance and deep taste. From relatively young wine grape-wines. In an ideal scenario, drink it “on site” at the Castello. One of the nicest places to stay - restaurant as well as 5 rooms hotel. — 6 years ago

Paul H

9.1

So I was lucky enough to go to Cuba recently. Such an amazing place with the most wonderful people you ever want to meet. With that being said wine was not abundant in most places. Our travels found us in an out of the way place well outside the the old town area. Out of the couple of bottles they offered we went with this one. It was a lucky guess. It had a very pleasant nose of light red fruit. If I had to pick cherry would be the most dominate. It drank very well with subtle red fruits, licorice and to me a bit of earth notes and leather. I will be honest that depending on the company and location sometimes my ratings are higher and this may be one of those times. But overall I really enjoyed this wine. I don’t think I am too far off on this one. Hope you try it and like it as well. — 7 years ago