David Peifer

8.9

Very fruit forward. On the verge of port. — 7 months ago

Leslie Matheson

9.9

Wonderful fruit for a 16 year old wine. Still lots of structure, flavour was smooth and fruit large. Colour just on the verge of brick with lots of red and purple still. Would still be good for another 5-10 years. Cork broke, had to decant but glad we did. — 2 years ago

Ivor

9.1

Good barolo on the verge of breaking into the tertiary territory. Concentrated lush fruits, sticky tar, asphalt and softening tannines. I prefer them a step further down the road so I’ll revisit in two years. — 4 years ago

web bond

9.5

I fondly recall selling this wine during 2009/2010. Properly stored bottles will drink extremely well through the decade.

“2001
Le Chiuse
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
95
Eric Guido
Drink: 2021 - 2030
Tasted: Mar 2021
The 2001 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is slightly darker in color yet just as vibrant as the Annata sitting beside it. The Riserva blossoms with autumnal spices, tobacco and florals, giving way to a display of bright strawberry with flowery undergrowth. It’s enveloping and soft upon entry, with stimulating acids and tart red fruits that create a push-and-pull of sweet and sour, coming across as zesty and full of energy. Fresh cherry pits, licorice and inner rose linger over a nuanced layer of tannin. This gorgeous wine of tension is on the verge of peaking, with many, many years of pleasurable drinking in store for us. I can sit with this for hours. Sampled from the winery cellar.” — 5 years ago

Michelle Connely

9.3

Consumed 03/2020. I was afraid that this one wouldn’t be any good. Many that I have been aging I have discovered are already on the verge of ruining. This being a 2012, that was my fear. The cork did crumble., but I was pleased overall. I miss my annual trips to Napa and the fabulous parties put on by the Gargiulo family at the release party. — 6 years ago

Kurt Schuster

8.9

Burst of green bell pepper at the start that’s fading to dusty ripe fruit on the verge of jammy, but not there yet. Baking spices to an almost berry pie without a crust flavor. Tannins form a firm backbone and has a sweet to spicy to round ripe finish. Delicious. — 7 years ago

with Frank and Deborah

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Alsace Gewurz is a wine I pop when I want to reward myself. Tonight it’s a reward for getting a lot of yard-work done on a ridiculously hot and humid day and not getting dehydrated.

The nose is Gewurtzy, of course, in that it shows lychee, apricot, and musky florals, but what really sets this apart from the run-of-the-mill G-Dog is its minerality. Takes it from the verge of cloying, with which Gewurz can flirt, to something special. Soft and full in the mouth, slightly sweet. Very long finish. — 8 years ago

Jeremiah Diaz

9.2

Deep ruby in color; cassis, blackberries, and graphite on the nose; high acidity; medium tannins; tastes like black cherries, berry jam, eucalyptus, and wet slate with a long finish. Nellie likes it with a steak. I love it. — 2 years ago

with Nellie

Lev Lavrichtchev

9.2

Jan 2022: too much fruit and oak, on the verge of being off balance. 8.9 at this point. Dec 2023, another bottle, PnP: this one just awesome, very strong, nice balance, lots of fruit and oak, which is now fully integrated. Still a lot of potential for further aging. The rate is updated to well deserved 9.2 — 4 years ago

James Mosman

8.9

Very sweet. On the verge of too sweet. — 5 years ago

Alex Chang

9.3

RP 90 14.5% abv. HKD 598 Medium-dark ruby, moderately exp After some time open, the wine relaxed and more layers came out; a bit of loaminess, a touch herbal, a hint of gravelly minerality, some cocoa powder, and dense purple and black fruits. The quality of that fruit on the palate remained somewhat confected and perhaps on the verge of being syrupy, but the acidity is good and it’s not flabby or extracted. I can’t say I loved this, but saved enough to see if it improves on day 2. As is, hold, hold, hold.
ressive aromas. Ripe plum, a little black pepper, sage ... enjoyable, I'll try to be more patient with my next one. After some time open, the wine relaxed and more layers came out; a bit of loaminess, a touch herbal, a hint of gravelly minerality, some cocoa powder, and dense purple and black fruits. The quality of that fruit on the palate remained somewhat confected and perhaps on the verge of being syrupy, but the acidity is good and it’s not flabby or extracted.
— 6 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.4

Nose has some smoke ... on the verge of old Riesling nose. Palate has that dense restrained Riesling thing. All in a bed of classy rocks and pure pure Lemon. Finish is a mountain stream if a million sweet lemons were juiced on the top of a mountain.

Finish is this crazy succulence. Just a balance of mineral citrus dense opulence. Makes me so happy.

Bought from fass selections. — 7 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.6

Nose is nutty. Palate is a bit more meursaulty than the 15 which was hermitage blanc/ top st peray blanc. Some stone fruits with rocking minerals. Great salinity. Finish is like licking the rocks in a mountain stream. So intense. Wow. Serious serious serious wine. This guy is rewriting the book for Italian white wine. Fass selections import. ... floral internal aromatics coming out after 45 minutes. Almost this ethereal quality. Holy crap. And it’s still holding back a bit. On the verge of magic. ... after an hour The nuttiness becomes more pronounced. More sherry like but still bright. I prefer this at 30-45 minutes at this point. Wow! What a ride ! — 8 years ago

with Lyle

Tom Casagrande

9.1

Delicious and very Saint-Joseph! Fragrant nose is redolent of crushed granite, savory notes that verge into iodine, and bloody dark little mountain berries. Lean and chiseled in the mouth, with clingy savory flavors and nice acidity. There’s a fair amount of tannin but it’s medium soft and well integrated. Great value, as always with this producer. — 2 years ago

Spencer Fox

9.3

Always superb. Ripe, juicy cherries on the verge of jammy but still fantastic freshness. Pink flowers and some minerality buzzing around the mid palate as well. Began to fall apart after an hour or two but still, hits every single time. — 3 years ago

Marc L.

8.9

Probably held onto this bad boy a little long, as could tell it was just on the verge of turning… but still impressive. Earthy, dark cherry, plum dominated. — 5 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.1

The NV Bollinger Rose Champagne is comprised of 62% Pinot Noir, 24% Chardonnay with 14% Pinot Meunier, which was almost entirely sourced from a combination of premier and grand cru vineyards. Right away the mouthfeel really entices, as this shows wonderful verge and tension once on the attack. Layers of sour red fruits parade with shades of kumquat zest, wild mushroom and peat moss tones on the palate. The length here is excellent as this great new NV Rose will drink nicely over the next decade. Drink 2020-2028- 91 — 6 years ago

LM Segal

9.5

Dark and smoky but fading cassis powers a medium-bodied rainbow of red flowers and fruit. So much going on, completely knit and on the verge of its descent. Class on steroids. — 6 years ago

Mark Juckeland

9.5

It took awhile to open up.. after about an hour it got a little funk on the nose. Smelled like a damp barn.. the palate seems like it’s one verge of moving from fruit to a mineral earthy flavors. — 7 years ago

Camille Offenbach

8.9

Not too sweet, and nicely tart. Balanced. Also, my Portuguese-speaking friend corrected my pronunciation-- it's pronounced "verge". Trader Joe's. — 8 years ago

with Giuseppe