Evan Karp

9.2

3rd bottle from a rare auction purchase. Deeply earthy, loads of red and blue fruit. Lavender, white pepper. Delicious. — 21 hours ago

Kim Tobin

9.1

The new rose at BFC- great — 2 months ago

Gladys Xiques

9.3

Wow. So balanced. Ethereal. Paired with osso bucco and risotto. Wow. — 3 months ago

Pooneet K

9.0

Forgot to take detailed notes, but this was nice. Not really any carbonic / natural / “new agey”notes, just a solid classically made gamay. Definitely has some structure, opened 4 hours before serving which was good. Didn’t sing on any one dimension of fruit / earth / acid / length / texture but was nice overall. — 3 months ago

Her Mir Tage

9.4

Gros Frère et Sœur Richebourg 2014

This is my second time trying a Richebourg from the Gros family-previously, I’d tasted one from AF (Anne-Françoise Gros), and the first Frère et Sœur was a 2020 brought to a blind tasting. None of my friends guessed it correctly!

The 2020 showed ultra-fine tannins, bursting with floral aromas (violets and roses) after just an hour, and the perfume lingered for over four hours. If not for the blind bag, many would’ve mistaken it for a rising-star winemaker’s work.It had layers of plum, cherry, and a hint of Indian spices, with a subtle mineral note—something I didn’t find in this 2014.

Now, the 2014:
- Upon opening: Notes of cooked meat and blackcurrant (I wondered if temperature fluctuations during storage had affected it).
- After 2 hours of decanting: Secondary and tertiary aromas emerged—cinnamon, smoke, cedar, and cigar box, with only faint fruitiness. A stark contrast to the floral-dominated 2020, which I personally preferred.

I re-corked it and waited until dinner. At the 4-hour mark:
- The tannins turned silky-smooth.
- Flavors of red fruit, black pepper, and a touch of umami (mushroom and savory notes).
- Acidity:Well-balanced. The wine was cleanly made, though the aromatics faded slightly by then.

Overall, a very solid bottle, but next time, I’d love to compare it with a 1990s vintage to see how it ages! — a month ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2012 pours a hazy garnet color with a translucent core; medium viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of tart and ripe mixed fruits: raspberry, pomegranate, strawberry, Bing cherry, licorice, horse blanket, forest floor and rocky minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. This finish is long. A wild wine; literally and figuratively. Teeters on the edge of being too careless but it doesn’t cross over into the realm of gerbil cage. Drink now. — 3 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Quite pale lemon , straw colour . On the nose this shows good freshness with some white peach , lemon pith , white flowers and light seabreeze notes . On the palate this has a creamy texture with white peach , lemon notes , with a saline seaside tinge . Good freshness and decent length . I can imagine this going really well with bouillabaisse. Drinking well and probably continue to so over the next 3-4 years — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2010 pours a hazy garnet/purple color with a translucent core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of tart, ripe and desiccated fruits: blackberries, black licorice, horse blanket, some animale, mushrooms, forest floor, rocky earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. It has been eight years since I last enjoyed this vintage of the VV and it continues to age with a lot of grace. Drink now through 2030+. — 2 months ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.2

2017 vintage. — 2 months ago

Scott E. Becker

9.2

[Tasted on May 25, 2025 at The Optimist in Nashville with Jay]

Wine is from Pisoni Vineyard in Santa Lucia Highlands. Cherry, blackberry and red plum fruit, with baking spices, caramel and violets. — 3 months ago