Dan Higginson

9.0

Hits the throat a bit with the first sip, but then slips down nicely thereafter. Tastes of a light cherry with a hint of blackberry. — 18 days ago

with Julie

Angus Powles

9.3

With Camerons. One bottle duff. The other opening up nicely between hour 3 and 4 of opening, thereafter wonderful. — 4 years ago

Will Stanley

9.2

First bottle of a case of this 2016 Ch. Marquis d’Alesme, a modern Margaux property run by the Perrodo family with an all-female team in charge. I’ve been excited to try it.

Safe to say, it’s young. Quite austere at the moment, but incredibly promising. There are intense and angular aromas of cedar, sandalwood, tomato leaf, blackberry, blackcurrant, with the palate showing a similarly hunkered-down profile. All the fruit seems to be kept in reserve for now, behind a convincing body of coarse tannin, a graphite edge and a gorgeous vanilla note through the finish.

Very promising stuff, this should be left for at least another 2/3 years and keep for many more thereafter. A gorgeous wine in the making. — 5 years ago

Erik Longabardi

9.0

Integrated VA. Joe was like “Do you like VA?” I responded “Sure, if it’s integrated..” (I dont like that in my own wines but it’s like going to dinner at someone’s house). Naturally i taste shortly thereafter. It’s good. A light bodied PN that is beautiful with a little ugly. I can’t like a perfect all the time but this has soul. — 6 years ago

Andy Hall

9.3

Starts with an unbelievable nose and does not disappoint thereafter. — 7 years ago

Naomi P.R.

9.4

A rather dry, lightweight, yet fully-flavored zin. I detected green pepper at the end of my first sip, but none thereafter. I had no idea zin could be this easy to drink! The lovely Doug at Farm Bloomington tended this for me. — 8 years ago

Rob Moose

9.1

Penultimate bottle! With perennial thanks to D Beckwith for the tip. Owing to its age, it shows best from 30-90 minutes on opening. Thereafter it gets sorta wide without further revelations or complexity, but there’s a kind of mineral sweet spot with cool Japanese umami notes and I’m consistently impressed by the showing. — 8 years ago

with Alex

Jan de Weerd

9.4

Intense. Like conversation show stopper! This wine needs all your attention to figure out what is going on. Dark, aged, dry fruit, edgy tannins and black pepper spice… I think. So much going on. Needless to say. I loved it. We made the track again 11 years from the first time we drove up to De Trafford winery and vineyards. This time the road was paved, quite a change from the two track rutted dirt road we took 11 years ago bottoming out our little rental car. Had a great vineyard tour. They first and foremost believe that the wine is made in the vineyard and minimal processing thereafter. They had to deal with a huge wild fire earlier this winter and might have lost their 45 year old top award winning Shiraz vineyard …. Great people who know how to make a great wine. — 4 years ago

with Tammy

Brett Rogosin

8.9

This needs time. Plenty of time. I decanted 3 hours, then drank it over days and still quite tannic and lots of acidity. Closed at first, but the nose is opening with inky ripe blackberry, black currants, little bit of vanilla, and a touch of menthol. The palate is more tart currant and blackberry pits with menthol and tree bark. For the price I’d buy a few, start drinking in 3-5 years+, then have each year thereafter. — 5 years ago

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10

In my last sighted review of the 2016 Cos d’Estournel, I wrote: "I suspect it will close down for a period in its youth." Perhaps it is already beginning to shut down, because though this wine was deeply impressive, it fell just a notch short of ethereal previous bottles, despite its "pixelated black fruit" on the nose and "sublime balance" on the palate. I tasted the wine twice thereafter, though this time with a 4-6 hour decant, and this revealed the Cos d'Estournel that has amazed since I first tasted it out of barrel. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
— 6 years ago

Erik Longabardi

9.0

So good after five days. Enjoyed initially with pizza and then compost salads thereafter. Not my favorite cuvée; Terriors is but this is good — 6 years ago

Brian Nickerson

9.1

Took its time to open up but shined thereafter. Beautiful Merlot — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.5

A nice Grande Cuvee by Krug. I didn't get to have much of this at all. I do remember that this one had a hair pin trigger on it! I let it breathe for a bit. This one had a nice straw colored hue. Lots of lemon and some nutty characters. Was going to come back to it. It was set down when greeting a guest, and gone very soon thereafter. I remember great fruit but thinking this one probably is still too young. — 8 years ago

with Dan, Benjamin and 2 others

Brandon T

9.0

Started strong out of the gate, but fell flat shortly thereafter. Nothing spectacular here, IMO. — 9 years ago

with Sam

Vin d’Ottawa

9.0

This One’s heavy even after a decant. The tannins are in the forefront with purple plum, black cherry and cassis thereafter.

Would love to have this after its mellowed for a bunch of years. — 4 years ago

with Gillian

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2003 vintage. Decanted for approx 3 hours. The usual LB nose. A little pickled mushroom/forest floor flavor profile off the bat, then settled into dark plum and cocoa powder shortly thereafter. Light-medium body and slightly “bigger” than expected at this point. Lots of stuffing still. It’s in the sweet spot/top of the bell curve currently…seems like it could sustain that momentum for at least another 4-5 years. — 5 years ago

Trevor Brown

9.0

Great, bolder flavor that is great on the tongue. The finish begins rich, but mellows quickly thereafter to a poignantly sugary syrup finish.

Unfortunately, the finish ends up being a little too sweet. This said, it does little to detract from the excellent aroma and complexity on-the-tongue. — 6 years ago

Palmer Emmitt

Owner/Winemaker Judge Palmer

9.4

Absolutely stunning example of Pinot Bianco, an underrated variety in my opinion. The nose shows yellow apple, orange blossom, some creamy custardy character and a slight hint of sweet spice. In the mouth this wine is lush and lively with loads of texture from the barrel ferment and sur-lie aging. Quince jam, pineapple upside-down cake, and chamomile resonate on the intense finish. Had this for the first time at Single Thread a year and a half ago and bought a few bottles shortly thereafter. Worth it. — 6 years ago

Nicholas Cothros

9.0

Toffee and maple aromas stand out in this Colheita. Flavours of biscuit and toasted pecan emerge thereafter. The finish is vaguely like vanilla. — 7 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

Coche to kick of the long weekend! Lots of tension, exceptional purity. Opened slowly but blossomed thereafter. — 8 years ago

with David and Shawn