Tree Kilpatrick

9.2

Eye catching label. Heavy, dense bottle. Lots of medals and awards. This has a lot of style before you even open the cork. Pretty color of under-ripe black cherries. Aroma is strange. Not much fruit. Bit of dust or ground rocks. Also like a plaster of Paris or freshly painted room smell (but not in a bad way). Quite floral. Tea Roses. Flavor is very Spanish. Dry and woody. Cedar? Plenty of minerality. Just a touch of cherry juice. Plenty of biting bittersweetness. It’s a nice Granacha example to show the unique flavors of this French grape that rocks in Spain. Great bottle of wine. — 2 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.1

Nose has juiced red cherries in stainless steel tank, dried grape vine, ripe black cherry, ripe blackberry, dry potting soil with trailing alcohol (13% ABV, seems more to us).

Palate has tannic cherry, ripe black currant, dried blackberry and steely notes. Still showing somewhat aggressive tannins, likely looking for another 10+Y in bottle or more extensive decanting time. We have noticed some mellowing of the more outlier traits in the past hour.

Decanted 4H. — 4 years ago

Ericsson

9.5

Modern take on Ribera del Duero from select vineyards. The color is deep purple, indicative of the 60+ year old vine grape selection. An expressive nose with scents of black fruits, tobacco and leather. The mouthfeel is equally expressive with cherry, blackberry, oak, vanilla, and licorice. The tannings are soft for such a young Tempranillo, and it is not slander but quite the contrary, it allows for the elegant finish with finesse and length. Very exiting wine!
…
PS The mastermind/winemaker behind Aalto made his mark at Vega Sicilia for over 30 years. It is no surprise the wine is excellent; it will be exciting to see how the wine evolves over the next decade and how it will challenge some of the greatest wines produced in the region.
— 4 years ago

Lydia Barnett

9.3

Love love love this light yet hearty red from the Friuli. Funk, sparkle, berry fruit. Made with an old vine grape I’ve never heard of that miraculously survived the phylloxera epidemic. — 2 years ago

Gene Buonviri

8.9

As you open this wine you begin a trip to the arch of Italy’s boot. Although this southern, mountainous region has a few small vineyards under vine. The big red grape Aglianico is limited to the slopes of an extinct volcano Mount Vulture. Notes of blackberry, black cherry and wild herbs. Well-balanced and tamed. On hold for 5 years and it’s sensational. — 3 years ago

Marshall Todd Herron DPM

9.8

Sineann old vine Zinfandel, 2016. This is Columbia Valley Oregon. Zinfandel is a pretty difficult wine to make but these guys have it down!!!!!!! This is perhaps the best Zinn I’ve tasted in a long time. You can actually taste the pepper in the spice right from the get go. You can also taste the flavor of the Zinfandel grape as well right on the front of the pallet. It’s almost sweet but it’s nowhere near sugar sweet. There’s blueberry boysenberry blackberry even some raspberry in there. Loads of black pepper white pepper cigarbox graphite. The finish gives my palate a wonderful tingle. And I will definitely buy a lot more of this while it’s this good!!!! You should too! — 4 years ago

Anthony Lombardi

9.0

Pear & quince paste aromatics and through the palate. This was made on the lees, so it shows an almost creamy texture. Great acidity and shows a balance of fresh finesse along with powerful fruit. Lots of Chenin has been torn out of the ground in Washington, but the grape is making a comeback. Old vine bottlings like this one keep that story alive. — 5 years ago

Vanessa

9.1

Cheers to old-vine Chenin Blanc from South Africa! 🇿🇦 In South Africa, Chenin Blanc also goes by the name “Steen.”

It’s such a versatile grape and wine, capable of producing beautiful sweet, dry, still, and sparkling wines.

This wine is still and dry. We’ve paired it with sushi and it’s a delightful duet.

The grapes for this wine were grown organically in the Citrusdal Mountain district, north of Cape Town, west of the Olifants River, on the Western Cape. The bush vines were originally planted in 1957 (old!!), contributing to an intensity and a concentration of primary aromas and flavors in the grapes.

Indeed, the nose and palate offer medium(+) aromas and flavors of ripe pear, yellow apple, white peach, vegetal, boxwood, white blossom, crushed stone, and aged cheese rind notes. Lively acidity gives it lift and balances the high alcohol and intensity of fruit.

This wine was produced by Ginny Povall, American-born proprietor and self-taught winemaker of Botanica Wines. I love the botanical images on her labels, each an homage to the flower farm on which she began her wine production journey in South Africa.   

Botanica Wines, Chenin Blanc (Mary Delany Collection), 2019, ABV 14%. — 2 years ago

with Deked1

Devin Bostick

9.0

Blueberry, musty leather, currant, opaque purple magenta, acid, tannins, some sugar but light and fads away, slight butterscotch, grape vine flavor — 4 years ago

Brian R

9.7

Wow. A tight beam of pure fresh fruit in the form of grape jolly rancher followed by blue velvet tannins. — 4 years ago