David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I purchased this yesterday from an A+ wine storage facility that also sells its clients wine when requested. This has been stored there since its release. I bought this perfect bottle for $35 because it has sentimental value and for $35 bucks…come on!

In a former life, I only drank well made CA Chardonnay. I know it’s hard even for me to imagine, let alone remember & admit it. Now, I hardly drink CA Chardonnay.

My sisters were visiting and they like reds. So I stopped at the former “Wine Club” retail shop in Santa Clara. It was the 1999 Pine Ridge “Stag’s Leap Cabernet” (2x) I bought that started me down the red rabbit hole. The Andrus is as close to that as I’ll get to their Stag’s Leap bottling at this point. Close enough and one of their best. We enjoyed it with Chinese takeout! 😂

This 99 is just and I mean just the other side of its peak bell curve. Still has another 5 years of life left. It is its unbelievable storage that has kept this 99 fresh as it’s not from not an awful vintage, but certainly not a great one, not like 98. Yet, it still shines 25 years later.

The nose reveals dark currants & cassis. Hints of barrel toast. Brambly blackberries, black raspberries, stewy black plum, poached, dark cherries & strawberries, burnt cranberries, black tea, burnt brush, old tobacco w/ ash, old baking spices, baking soda and dark, red, withering florals.

The palate shows; ripe, juicy, brambly blackberries, black raspberries, stewy black plum, poached, dark cherries & strawberries, burnt cranberries, raspberries, blueberries, black tea, mid berry cola, burnt brush, touch of black pepper, softened, dark spice, old tobacco w/ ash, well used leather, baking spices-clove, cinnamon, nutmeg & vanillin, cooked caramel. Some dry sage, baking soda, limestone powder, dry top soil, grey volcanics and dark, red, slightly withering florals set in violets, rainfall acidity with an elegant, juicy, well balanced/structured & still showing nice tension on the finish that lasts two-minutes plus.

I had this corvined over two nights and at the halfway point threw some very chunky sediment.

What a great remembrance! — 4 months ago

Aaron Tan

8.9

Su. Na. Wi. = Super Natural Wines

The unmistakable philosophy aside, this comes from a little winery in Northern Italy that's owned by a friend in KL along with his Italian mates. So when the said friend describes this as an interesting red with heaps of balsamic notes, you can be sure he’s spot on. The Lampo was an oddly pleasant savoury red - made of 100% Gropello, it had tons of seaweed flavour with balsamic and soy sauce accents. Crunchy acidity made this flow down the wine hole way too easily. Could use more fruit, but it may just have needed more air to express itself. — 3 years ago

E & K G

9.1

I can’t remember the last time I had a German pinot. This spatburgunder from Mosel was a pleasant discovery.

The color suggest an austere wine that might not be too exciting, but boy was I wrong. Refreshing French picked red berries and more fruit forward than the color of the wine would indicate. Supple tannins that complemented some of the forest floor type notes. Charming bouquet of wild berries.

Time to go down the spatburgunder rabbit hole?!? Any recommendations welcome!! — 4 years ago

Austin Moberg

9.5

Rieslings from around the world tasting. Spätlese is absolutely delicious or atleast the two I had today really need to go down a rabbit hole with it. — 6 months ago

Rod Carril

9.1

Smooth, nice warmth — a year ago

Aaron Tan

9.5

What a surprise this was. I thought KP’s most burly vineyard from a very warm vintage would have been a hedonistic treat for science, but the drinkability on this did not warrant such contemplations. Expectedly baroque in presence, yet the saliva-inducing acidity and the intense mineral saturation made this go down the wine hole way too easily. A reminder to always trust the producer! A one on the binary scale. — 2 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.0

From Castilla Y Leon, & at 14.5% abv, not something that typically attracts me. But the importer Pastor brings in great sherries, so down the rabbit hole I went. Glad I went. Pours an inky black, with integrated blackberries & cassis on nose & on palate. Fills up the mouth but in balance- like Juan Gil, does not drink big or taste out of balance. If anything, tastes more like a black fruited Chinon, especially with a fine graininess to its texture. Had with harissa chicken & quinoa. — 3 years ago

with Owen

Charlie C

8.9

Per Bianca of PBB: The City Glou red is made of 100% Chambourcin from an organic vineyard in the the Outer Coastal Plain of New Jersey with sassafras sandy loam soils. Chambourcin is a tenturier grape, meaning both the skins and the flesh inside are red/dark, as opposed to regular red wine grapes have that have red/dark skins, but clear flesh. The grapes were hand harvested and spontaneously fermented in stainless steel, with 50% going through carbonic maceration. The wine was then aged in stainless steel for 10 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal SO2.

Tasting Notes:

I tasted this wine for the first time back in January during the ABV wine summit, and I remember how taken I was with it, especially because it was 100% Chambourcin. Chambourcin typically has notes of black fruit flavors like blackberry and kirsch, with low tannins and juicy acidity. I've had some Chambourcin sparkling wines that are super fun and make for a great Lambrusco substitute. There's a vibrancy with this wine that makes it super approachable and drinkable, and very versatile in terms of pairings. Notes of fig, raspberry, plum, fig, spices, and herbs are framed by bright acidity and soft tannins. Chill it down before drinking and pair it with mushroom dishes, red pasta sauces, and game dishes (think rabbit or lamb!) — a year ago

Deborah M

9.4

The wine that sent me down the rabbit hole. Not sure if it was the silky texture, boysenberry and licorice flavors, or the chocolate. In my mind the 2012 Altamura was brilliance in a glass and I needed to learn more.

Altamura Ranch is located in Wooden Valley. The valley is described as a small, almost round valley, approximately two miles wide at its widest point and located 9 miles northeast of the town of Napa within the Napa Valley appellation. It is is bordered by the Vaca Range to the east and “Napa Mountain” to the west.

I will always remember the first time I enjoyed this wine. Fairly confident I could pick this wine blind. The 2013 is just as good as the first time. — 2 years ago

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. — 4 years ago