Ray Vanderhoff

9.1

Dark ruby color with purple highlights. Aromas of blackberry, tar, forest floor and black licorice. Flavors of dark plum, blackberry, dark chocolate, baking spices and black cherry. Long velvety finish, balanced acidity and smooth tannins. Fruit forward and bombastic, but also nicely textured and somewhat savory. Excellent value. — 4 months ago

David Leiman

9.4

1984, surprisingly tanic, acidic, and Heavy dried fruit, prunes and dried figs. over oxidized tasting at first but interesting. From producer to cellar at breakers in palm beach. Small leak out the bottle on one side of the cork. Over time it settles and the dried fruit subsides and then the lighter acidic flavors of fresh berries comes forward. — 3 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2018 vintage. Forest floor, mushrooms and überripe plums in a peek-a-boo nose. Tremendous, consistent drive from intro palate to and thru the finish. Verry polished and ripe. Medium+ bod. If blind tasting this, would have guessed Napa with a small % of mountain fruit. Some tannins afoot but they’re not currently prominent-more fruit forward. First go-round with this producer. An auspicious first impression. It would be difficult to find a decent Bordeaux smoother than this. I ain’t signifying a 30 year lifespan-or even a 20 spot-but it’s ready to party now. Only had a handful of 2018 Bordeaux and they’ve all been fruit forward…detecting a trend there. — 4 years ago

Boris Mathiszik

9.0

Nice Paso cab. Fruit forward with grippy tannins. A quality wine. First time I have encountered this producer. — a year ago

Brent Young

9.3

Served this beauty on 2 occasions with Vinloq Preservation

DAY 1
👃Precocious yellow fruit (grapefruit and lemon) and green apples, flinty minerals, white pepper, and grassy herbals
👅Lemon oil with white pepper and spirited minerality. The fruit is more round and more restrained than on the nose.
Salty. Great acidity. The oak treatment is spot on. Long dry, mineral laced finish. So good

The remaining wine was Slow Decanted in my refrigerator and finished a week later

DAY 7
Such a glorious nose on this burgundy. Really delightful. White flowers and peach and even some tropical fruit notes. Flinty and expressive. Totally lovely on both occasions

I knew this was likely young but I was curious to try my first bottle. It's clearly drinking well now but it's going to be stellar with more bottle age.
I am looking forward to revisiting another bottle in time🥂
— 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

One of the few producers that I purchase each and every vintage. I find that Laurence Feraud’s wines are consistently some of the more interesting and enjoyable wines made in all of Chateauneuf du Pape; particularly when value comes into play. This bottle is my first experience with her 2018 vintage and the first bottle of a small tranche that I swooped up upon release. Popped and poured; consumed over 5 hours. The color is deep ruby with a near opaque core; glossy and gorgeous to behold. Medium+ viscosity. On the nose, this is classic Pegaü with loads of dark cherry and bramble fruit, a veritable hillside full of garrigue, lavender, black pepper, and something that reminds me of old books. On that palate, the fruit is equally generous, brambles and cherries, exotic spices, Herbs de Provence and a somewhat sanguine-like character to it. Substantial structure, though it seems to be a notch lower than the previous three vintages at this point in its young life. The tannins are very sneaky. Almost imperceptible for the first hour and yet, by hour four, they were very much making themselves known (in the Medium+ range). Acid is also Medium+ indicating these have an exciting life ahead. The finish lasts for well over a minute. All in all, another lovely Pegaü that will likely live in the shadow of some of the more heralded vintages in the last ten years however, that doesn’t mean this isn’t a stunner. Absolutely lovely stuff and I very much look forward to enjoying these well into the 2030’s. — 4 years ago

Jammer

9.4

Really nice wine for wide range of dishes at our table — from seared scallops to veal parm to a high end steak. Bold with a fruit forward and smooth finish. First time I had a Frank Family wine and I’m a fan! — a year ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tasted blind. Light gold color. Fruit forward nose, almost tropical. Notes of green apple and orchard fruits, wet river stone, apricot, white flowers. Notably younger in its evolution than the first two bottles today, with a slightly lower heaviness and depth. I go with a guess of 2000 Leflaive Pucelles. Nice to see a young 02 Leflaive sans premox, with a lot of upside in front of it. 94+ — 2 years ago

Nathan Renfro

9.4

First time trying Realm’s merlot driven blend. Dark ruby. Black cherry, chalky tannins. Chocolate, plum. Fantastic structure. A big bold merlot. I’ll look forward to trying the 18s and 19s for comparison. — 3 years ago

C. Cole

8.9

First of five...notably fruit forward wine. Strawberries and rhubarb most prominent. Tight flavors needs time to open. — 4 years ago