Miles Perry

9.2

The wine opens up nicely as it breathes. An enjoyable Cabernet, Merlot, Sangiovese blend. — 7 days ago

JKT

9.1

Very good Barolo with lean muscular strength that rippled through the evening — 2 months ago

Mike Miller

9.3

Smooth. Perfect barolo. Sorry but it was wonderful — 5 months ago

Tyler Felous

9.4

Took a flyer buying this from Benchmark. Bottle was in perfect condition, but sadly past its peak. Nose was outstanding - huge - chocolate, spice box. Had lost any acidity to balance the huge fruit. And at 17%, it kicked our ass. Would love to try a slightly younger rendition. — 6 months ago

Meredith Moody

9.7

Wow. Big fan. Lots of bright red fruits like cherries and raspberries in the beginning. Great acidity. It is more earthy than I expected, but not unwelcome. I really appreciated the almost floral/rosy note that contrasts the brightness off the bat. Still pretty tannic, I imagine this would only get better with age. Tasted expensive. I have no clue how much it costs. Only improved with time/air as we ate dinner. Super cool to taste how it “opened up” and how it changed. — 8 days ago

Joe DAscoli

9.1

Dusty tannins and some good fruit mixed with smoky flavors. — 4 months ago

Albert Phelps

9.0

Beautiful wine with a hint of spice. Will be even better tomorrow. — 5 months ago

Gilbert Van Hassel

9.4

Despite a 17 pct alcohol level this wine is perfectly in balance. Blood sausage, long afterburn rather sweet. — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Presented double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and no obvious signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of ripe and some dried fruits: bramble berries, slightly stewed black cherry, dried herbs, stony earth, baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. The alcohol is high.

Initial conclusions: this could be a Grenache-based blend, Corvina-based blend or Sangiovese-based blend from France or Italy. I felt the combination of slightly stewed cherry and spices ruled out what I would want from a Sangiovese blend. Which, left me to decide between Southern Rhône or Valpolicella. I liked this wine…the oak treatment was interesting. I was getting a French barrique. Hmmm…

So, for my final conclusion: I’m calling this a Grenache-based blend, from France, from Southern Rhône, from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 2017, from a more modern leaning producer using a good portion of barrique. I’ll be damned! I don’t hate my call but I gotta get better at distinguishing these wines from Southern Rhône. I probably just need to drink more of both, lol. Tasty stuff! Drink now through 2039. — 3 months ago

Chip Habegger

8.9

Structure is on point: high acidity, long finish, full mouthfeel. Flavors are a jumbled mess though. Bruised fruit is primary. Clean up some of that and this would be fire. — 7 months ago