Freddy R. Troya

8.9

A hidden gem straight out of Bel-Air, a sophisticated Sauv Blanc vinified to age. Floral and tropical fruit notes on the nose, on the palate it welcomes you with some hint of dried peach and moderate citrus. It has some texture and a bit weight, yet it remains crisp on the mid range of the palate and has some distant but palatable candied white fruits. Drink not or cellar it for a later stage as this can easily age. — 9 days ago

Matt Austin

Owner/Winemaker, Grosgrain Vineyards, Walla Walla, WA

9.3

From a 16 acre vineyard in the hills of Bel Air. Probably the most expensive vineyard property in the US. It’s currently owned by Rupert Murdoch, but this is from before his purchase in 2013. This is legit good. Much better than any Malibu wines I’ve had. 13.8 listed alcohol and fairly restrained style. Let’s rip down all of those mansions and plant some grapes! — 3 years ago

Vanessa

9.1

Cheers to the wines of South Africa 🇿🇦

This Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir is unique in that the grapes used to produce it primarily came, not from Hamilton Russell vineyards, but rather from neighboring vignerons.

Hamilton Russell made this unprecedented decision in the aftermath of devastating wild fires that imparted smoke taint to its estate-grown grapes. Unwilling to compromise on quality, I applaud Hamilton Russell for its tenacity and willingness to forge ahead to create this delicious Pinot Noir for its customers. 👏👏👏

This wine is comprised of fruit hailing from three different Hemel-en-Aarde (aptly meaning “heaven and earth”) Wards within the Walker Bay District, in the Cape South Coast Region of South Africa’s Western Cape.

This wine is a reflection of community, camaraderie, and commitment to excellence.❤️

👁 It is medium ruby with pale fuchsia rim variation.

👃 On the nose this wine has a medium(+) intensity of youthful aromas. The aromas include candied cherry, strawberry rhubarb preserves, violet, dried orange peel, white pepper, star anise, clove, and nutmeg.

👄 On the palate this wine is dry. It has medium(+) acidity, a medium body, medium alcohol, medium tannins, and medium intensity of flavors consistent with the nose. This wine has a medium finish.

Hamilton Russell, Pinot Noir, Walker Bay, ABV 13.5%. Vintage 2019. — 4 years ago

with Deked1

Bruce Leboff

8.9

A little long in the tooth. Colour a deeper yellow than a younger example. Nose is subtle ( read limited) interesting on the palate. Pleasant with a medium long finish. — 2 months ago

with David

Rhonely Boy

9.0

Nice chillable Red, unfined & unflitered. Light and pleasant.

@Whole Foods - Irvine — a year ago

Luis Arguero (@winefromAtoZ)

8.9

Los Pilares San Diego County Red Blend 2013: Fresh. Natural. Extraordinary. Consisting of 50% Grenache & 50% Carignan, this was a light-bodied, extremely unique wine. Red fruits (cranberry & cherry). Plum. Earth. Short finish. For me, the wine was a bit thin on structure but very clean & natural tasting. This was my first San Diego County wine and it left me quite intrigued & impressed. Hoping to explore other San Diego wines in the near future. Cheers🍷 — 3 years ago

Shay A

9.3

I had a disappointing experience with the 2017 a few months back (I think it was in a dumb phase, because these are normally delicious), and wanted to see how the 2016 fared. I also wanted to compare my GlasVin aromatic burg glass with my new Grassl Cru burg glass.

Classic RM SE wine here. At five years, it’s still voluptuous and rich enough to play to those who enjoy the bigger style but has plenty of acidity and snap on the palate to cater to those who prefer more restraint. It does have some signature blood orange both aromatically and on the palate, along with spice, dark floral tones/potpourri and rich black cherry. Whereas the 2017 showed more cola and menthol, I don’t get that at all here. Bright and lifted overall profile. Quite delicious and will be easily for another 5+yrs.

As an aside, the Grassl Cru glass has a much more narrow rim and makes the aromatics more concentrated than the GlasVin. They both drank similarly. Maybe Grassl for more lean/true burgundy pinots that may need concentration and GlasVin for new world/bigger style pinots since they don’t need as much help in the aromatic department. — 4 years ago

Marcel van Hemert

9.0

Lemon-grapefruit aroma and flavor with a smooth finish, nice introduction to a sparkling rosé from a part of CA not as famous for wine — 8 months ago

Matt Perlman

9.5

Strawberry, rhubarb, blood orange, and exotic spice. Mind blowing — a year ago

Shay A

9.4

Drinking really well at the moment. I popped and poured this, and while it could have used a 30min-1hr decant, it really came alive out of the bottle after the first glass.

My main thought here is how elegant this is. Not overpowering with fruit but certainly not thin in structure. Black cherries, plum, spiced rhubarb and some chamomile on the nose. The palate is open for business with a vein of acidity down the middle alongside underripe red and black fruits, herbal spice, black tea and some mint. I didn’t necessarily find some of that RM signature orange zest, but blood orange had its profile all over this in a restrained way. The way this bottle is trending, I could see this maybe showing a slight uptick in integration, but I’m hard pressed to say this will get better…just different. The only other 2016 RM Pinot I’ve had was Silver Eagle (darker, more rich than this Summa), so I wonder how the other Pinots are drinking… — 3 years ago