Jenks

9.2

One of these days I’ll give this wine the proper cellaring it needs. Bigger style, good guts, imagine it would age beautifully. Nonetheless, it was delicious as always. — 5 months ago

Shay A

9.4

This was served during my annual WWC hosting. Typical format of sparkler, three whites, four reds, one dessert, all served blind.

Poured alongside the 2003 Mondavi VHR as a comparison. 60 cab/40 merlot.

Decanted an hour. The similarities between this and the ‘03 Mondavi VHR the first hour was shocking…even as the host, I wondered if I switched the wines. Slight hint of brett but certainly not overpowering. Leather, herbs de Provence, sweet vanilla pipe tobacco, graphite up front aromatically. Dark roast mocha, red and black berry fruit, cassis, really nice vein of acidity and tannin. This remained unchanged during the lunch. Seems like it’s in a peak window (maybe close to the top?) where I imagine it will hold another 5-7yrs easily before turning more tertiary. — a year ago

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9.2

The 2020 d'Armailhac has all the fruit of the en primeur wine, and all the tannin too, almost like a barrel sample. I imagine the 2020 is going to need at least a few years to shed some of that tannic clout. Dark red cherry, red plum, pomegranate, blood orange, iron, white pepper and mint literally saturate the palate. The 2020 is a dense, plush d'Armailhac. It's a real head-turner. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, February 2023) — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

A buddy brought out this bottle of 2010 Clos de la Coulée de Serrant to help toast a great achievement this past weekend. One can probably imagine my excitement as I’m a massive fan of these wines by Nicolas Joly. However, I feel compelled to admit that these wines are not for everyone. They vary wildly from one vintage to the next and there can often be quite a bit of bottle variation to boot. None of this has swayed me from my position; that these are amongst the most exciting, singular expressions of a place that I have ever experienced.

Popped and poured. The 2010 pours a deep golden color with medium+ viscosity and no signs of particles or gas. On the nose, the wine is redolent of white tree flowers, desiccated apples and apricots with orange marmalade, honey, lanolin, marzipan and light clove. On the palate, the wine is dry with borderline high acid that is somewhat masked by the equally high alcohol (15%). Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and remarkably rich with wooly, unctuous texture. The high alcohol only becomes apparent as the finish lingers but there is so many other more fascinating things for me than to get distracted by it. Is it oxidative or not? That’s an argument that other people can have. I’m content to simply appreciate these wines for what they are. You can drink these now but knowing how these react favorably to air, it’s probably best to open it well in advance and probably even better to decant. Otherwise, I would expect sound, well-stored examples to live through 2040. — 7 months ago

james kresge

9.3

I can only imagine that the expert reviews are lower because they don’t like the big jammy fruit bombs. But if you do this is an amazing wine. Huge and beautiful. — 3 years ago

Kevin Ortzman

9.7

Imagine the aroma when you walk into a bakery, the fresh baked bread. 100 PT wine! Refreshing, elegant and the perfect starter for an amazing lunch with friends! — 4 years ago

with Joe

Shay A

9.3

My last of a three pack, and this shockingly drinks almost identical to my last bottle over four years ago.

Lovely deep red in the glass with bricking around the rim. Fig bar, sweet black cherries and tobacco aromatics. Ripe red and black fruits on the palate...not over ripe, but definitely sweet. Channeling more of a cherry liqueur and concentrated mid-palate as it ages. Close to fully integrated. Quite smooth and still a lot of fruit playing a primary role, but it’s not getting any better. More sexy than intellectual (nothing wrong with either).

I’d imagine this will hold in this window for another couple years and then decline, but I didn’t expect it to hold in this same window for almost five years. Drink up. — 10 months ago

Greg Koslosky

9.5

Lower level bottle but still alive and kicking . So elegant and refined with dried red flowers , mulberry , graphite , liquid minerals , burnt sugar blood orange . The palate is elegant yet powerful with tons of dry extract and a little tannins still. I imagine a perfect bottle would be truly incredible but this bottle was pretty darn good . — 2 years ago

JKT

8.9

Well made New world style wood infused dark red fruited balanced wine of half half Grenache and Syrah. Didn’t pair so well with Amah meat balls, kalbi but would have been good with steak. AA value 5! — 4 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.7

Very well balanced. This reminds me of Sierra Nevada celebration mixed with a tropical/citrus hazy of the moment. I can only imagine having this 10 years ago and being shocked with flavor similar to pliny. What makes this great for me is the excellent malt backbone that isn’t sweet or boozy. — 5 years ago