Tom Garland

9.2

Pop and pour. A brilliant medium gold color. On the nose: lemon, grilled pear, crushed stone, apricot, caramel, and honey. Taste: chalky, lean acid driven style with pear, steely minerality, green apple, saline, orange/lemon rind, and a medium plus finish. YUM! My favorite Napa chardonnay. — 13 days ago

with Brenda

Ed Tostanoski

8.9

Lovely light red fruits and good acid, but ultimately not that interesting or complex. Maybe would have been better with some air time as this was a quick pop and pour — 3 years ago

Ericsson

9.5

On the eye it’s definitely showing some age and sediment. The nose is dusty, leathery, and smokey with blueberry and plum. The pallet is earthy and well integrated upfront. No outliers just beautiful flow: mushroom, game, dark fruit, some vanilla, still bold, low alcohol, medium tannic and round finish.

This bottle and I have history; after ten years of carrying it, babying it, and nurturing it. I decided to pop it open for my forty second nameday. Could have gone several more years, easy, but it was perfect timing for me, and this is why I love wine. Cheers. — 4 years ago

Sanford Collins

9.0

Had this wine at Penny’s Wine Shop in Richmond, VA 9/3/2025 with Lisa. — a month ago

Mark Farrell

9.5

Deep ruby in color with slight brick color on the rim. Nose is quite pleasing with berry compote, lavender, and dark chocolate. Also a bit of earthiness. Wow. A great mouthfeel on this wine. Well balanced with tannins still a bit heavy. That said, I like my wines with a bit more tannic backbone. These notes are from pop and pour taste. Will let it open up a bit and will update if it changes significantly. — 9 months ago

Aravind A

9.2

Pop and pour, notes from 1 hr open. Better than I remember my last btl being, but still not up to the level of that first '11. On the nose: lavender, incense, loads of garrigue, and soft red raspberry..very pure grenache. On the palate: serious acidity, hi-toned red raspberry, more herbal notes, with some salinity, almost olive brine/game, though I believe this is 100% grenache, and attenuated tannin on the finish. This has taken a very savory turn, and the tannin on the finish is slightly attenuated. Yum! — 4 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.5

Blackberry, black cherry, black licorice, seem to be the fruit notes here in order from greatest to least. But, I'd never guess that this one was 8 years post-vintage as it really had a nice sweet toasted oak and vanilla character on the nose, entry, and finish. I was drinking this with some pepper jack cheese and it's amazing how much pepper and spice seemed to come out of this wine. After eating some brie, it was much more subdued. A very rounded, full bodied wine and didn't even take a lot of coaxing to get it going so I think these are probably close to being right in the wheelhouse for a pop and pour. With proper cellaring, this one still has 10 years or so left in it. Enjoyed on our last night at the beach. — 5 years ago

Tom Garland

9.4

Pop and pour 375ml. A brilliant medium gold color. On the nose: lemon, floral, oyster shells, saline. Taste: bright, chalky wine with apple, lemon, floral, caramel and a nice never-ending finish. YUM! young and will improve. — a month ago

with Brenda

Shay A

9.2

92-93 for me.

Consumed half bottle at pop, then corked for another 4hrs before consuming the rest. No change.

What a beautifully elegant and refined ‘09. The highest compliment I can give this is that it was a simplistic joy. Some wines make it easy to get nerdy and command your attention…some wines are underwhelming and not worth your time. This was squarely in the middle. It was a joy to not feel the need to overthink…it’s exactly what it should be. No bricking at almost 15yrs. Decidedly black fruit heavy (black currant, cassis, underripe blackberries) with a sprinkling of raspberries and black cherries. Aromas of sweet pipe tobacco, dark florals. Integrated on the palate with good structure and acidity…not a massive wine, but it put on a bit of weight/length the longer it was open. Still sporting a fair bit of tannin at the finish, but it’s balanced. Drink or hold. — 2 years ago

Veronique Gendron

9.0

Ni trop sec ni trop fruité. Très honnête — 4 years ago