Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2022 vintage. From a 375ml bottle. The St. Estèphe exception that proves the rule. Super-delicate cocoa powder with sumptuous richness throughout. Light-medium body. Cos is an outlier on the right. This is on the left. Nearly everything else is in between, hammer and nail 3D BDX...dry, dirty and distinctive. Excellent quality BDX to woo initiates with. 6.26.26. — 4 days ago

Deborah M

9.0

Vacations that involve both cycling and wine are the absolute best. Already thinking of where to go in 2023.

Last night my neighbors shared this gem that they brought back from a recent Bordeaux wine and bike holiday. (Note to self to spend more time with the fun neighbors 😁).

The 2014 Château Destieux was super approachable after a short decant. Very ripe concentrated fruit, but not in a bad way. Complex with soft tannins. 14.5% ABV. Really a lovely bottle.

Rule #64 Remember to bring back a bottle (or bottles) while traveling. The subsequent stories about the adventure will pair perfectly with that wine. — 4 years ago

Steven Lee

9.8

Lucky can have a group gathering on nye 2020. They change the rule last min. Decided to open this not ready bottle to celebrate.
Really really good nose. Can really smell perfume and very floral. Oyster shell and mineral. Very good. Bubble gum and stony. Only know what a perfume wine smell like after smelling this one. Wotn and wot year — 6 years ago

Chris Holinger

9.6

2014 is a standout and Arm-in-Arm with 2013. Dark, red fruit, cherry and well balanced. — 6 years ago

with Ashley

Douglas Braun

9.0

61%-Paderewski Vineyard 31%-Catapult Vineyard - then Varietal wise 53% -Syrah 26%-Mouvedre 13 - Grenache 5%-Tempranillo 3% - Zinfandel (whew)on the nose seems like the Syrah and Mouvedre rule -very new World- black fruit ,spice, big tannins little higher on Alcohol (15.1%) — 7 years ago

Michael Meyer

9.6

Broke my rule about drinking under-10 Cornas, yet somehow I won the lottery. Incredible showing for such a young Reynard. Concentration, aromatics, minerality, body, finish...everything in spades. This bottle went quickly once it emerged from its hiding place. — 8 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2014 vintage. Excellent cork and fill. Decanted with minimal sed and tasted after 1.5 hours. One of the few outlier exceptions (Haut-Bages-Libéral, Pichon-Lalande, et al) that proves the general, big and bold, Pauillac rule. Delicate impressions from start to finish with impeccable balance. Medium body. Plenty of flavors and sensations without big, overt commitments to any of them. Playing the field and we are all the better for it. Drinking beautifully now without any perceived or obvious Scylla/Charybdis pitfalls in the next decade. 01.16.26. — 5 months ago

Randy Fuller

9.6

This Sauvignon is tinted a very light gold, almost clear. The nose gives aromas more common to New World Sauvignon Blancs - grass, herbs, salinity. The grassiness is not, however, on par with, say, a New Zealand SB. It’s a little more restrained than that. On the palate, citrus minerality is the rule, with an extremely fresh acidity. The lemon-lime flavor comes back on the lengthy finish. Fish is a great pairing for this wine, something along the lines of a tuna salad or nicoise would be ideal.
— 5 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

One Bourgogne Rouge to rule them all. — 6 years ago

Katie Cramp

9.1

Dry and bold. WTSO — 6 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.2

Tete d’Ange is about as good Chenin as I can find for under $25. It’s intense at 13.5%, but wonderfully balanced and full of peaches, apricots, and baked apples. I break my rule with this wine and buy it repeatedly, or as often as I can find it - so it goes with all the good value Chenin I can get my hands on. I adore this grape. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.2

@Benjamin Keator had his hosting at the CC tonight and it was absolutely incredible. What a night of gorgeous wines! All wines are guessed blind.

My guess here was ‘04-06 French champagne. I couldn’t guess a house, but I was able to rule out what it wasn’t (PH, Dom, Krug). This wasn’t reductive enough to be west coast. Balanced sweetness and yeastiness well. — 8 years ago

with Benjamin, Weston and 1 other

Alessandro Dalle Carbonare

9.2

To be a Priorat I found it quite fresh and elegant. Vintage seemed to be cool ripening... The last glass was really good, toward 93pts for sure. It may have been better with a longer oxygen contact. Unfortunately this is restaurant rule..
— 9 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2014 vintage. Heavy bod. Darker than the liquid that pours out during your thrice postponed, oil change. Easy to slip into with some back-end, palate boxing kerfuffle. If decade-old, $$ Napa Malbec moved the needle, this would rule the roost. 03.19.25. — a year ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

1998 not the best Napa Cabernet vintage. However, good producers still find their way through difficult vintages. Joseph Phelps is the rule rather than the exception.

This was poured out of magnum and drinking beautifully by their Hospitality Manger.

Nicely ripe, lush juicy fruits of blackberries, blackberries, both plums, some purple & blue fruits. Dash of spice & lead pencil, anise-black licorice, soft baking spices, caramel notes, some dark chocolate, fresh dark flowers, round acidity and a well balanced, softened structure & tension, elegant, nicely evolved finish that lasted a full minute. — 2 years ago

Oliver Seaman

10

The rule is that you end 2020 with a wine of inverse quality to the year itself. — 5 years ago

Alyssa Berger

9.6

A wine I can never forget. Rosés are so-so for me and I really don't like sparkling as a rule, but this one defies expectation. The flavor of ripe strawberry but a smooth bubbly that gives a creamy rich texture. Strawberry and cream all the way and such a pleasure to drink. — 6 years ago

David Shaw

8.9

Arizona GSM, 40/20/40 blend, 14% alc/vol. Purple-red, moderate pigment extraction. Butter floral and red fruit aromas. Cherry, berry, cola and black currant flavors, slight seed bitterness and skin astringency on finish. A solid interpretation, not overly ripe vs other similar wines from the same origin. — 7 years ago

Duilio Ramallo

9.3

ground rule double — 8 years ago

Amy Baker

9.1

The cab franc really stands out. It is deep and smokey. Pairs well with turmeric ginger chocolate. — 8 years ago