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Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments Comment Date Community Score More...
White - Off-dry

1990 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel

 Mosel Saar Ruwer more
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12/1/2017 - salil wrote: 98 points

F'n amazing. This is damn near perfect Riesling. Just an amazing scent, combining pretty much every aspect of great Riesling imaginable; ripe fruit, fresh florality, honey, herbs, minerality, and that touch of faint blue cheese-like funkiness I get from old Prüm. The palate is just as incredible - powerful yet incredibly light, with the powerful '90 acids cutting through the richness and sweetness and giving it a remarkably racy and delicate palate presence. Absolutely stunning wine, and I need to find more of these.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    12/3/2017 8:06:00 PM - Salil, did you drink this on its own or with food? If the latter, what food? I have a tough time pairing Auslesen (even when they're not BA masquerading) with food, so just curious
Red

2013 Colombera & Garella Bramaterra Cascina Cottignano

 Nebbiolo Blend, Nebbiolo more
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10/25/2018 - vulgar little monkey wrote: 93 points

Haven't had a bottle of this in a while and it is really in a zone. Maybe it was the comparison with the leanness of the Canonica nebbiolo but this felt really broad and deep. There is a distinct ferrous edge to the fruit which I guess is part terroir but maybe part vespolina and croatina in the blend. It is less shy and lifted on the nose than in the past and the structure has softened a bit without losing shape. This has been a house favorite for a while and we are getting down to our last few bottles. The question at this stage is do we hold on to a couple and see what happens with age, or do we drink up while they're showing well.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    12/7/2019 8:08:00 PM - Welp, I just took receipt of two bottles from Envoyer, so I guess I'll do the experiment for you :)
Red

2012 Descendientes de José Palacios Bierzo Pétalos

 Mencía more
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2/14/2015 - grenache lover Likes this wine: 90 points

This is a well made Mencía in a lighter style. It has not a great depth or complexity. Fresh fruit in the nose, with some spice and a tad of licorice, and perhaps some rusticity in the mouth. It keeps changing in the glass. Easy to drink, well made and affordable. However, it did not get to my heart and wanted me to purchase more.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    3/16/2015 8:59:00 PM - Was there any new oak evident? I've had mixed experiences with the Pétalos: when it's unoaky, it can be a fresh expression of Mencía; when it's oaky and overly extracted, it's boring. My benchmark for Mencía is the D. Ventura Ribeira Sacra.
Red

2014 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 30

 Syrah more
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11/28/2020 - Thomas123 wrote: 89 points

Way too young. Mega tight and doesn’t give anything away. But there is plenty of classic cornas material behind the wall. Will undoubtedly be a very good wine in 5 years time.
Day 2: left in open bottle over the night. This evening much more “gentle”. Not the tannic wall of yesterday but still nowhere near the smoothness and complexity of the 2009 Granit 30 I drank a few weeks ago. Don’t go near these wines before at least 8-10 years!

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    11/8/2021 3:00:00 PM - Traditional Cornas took a dog's years to soften enough to be approachable. Even though Paris' 30 is intended as a more "consumer friendly" cuvee, he still adheres to many traditional practices. Thanks for the warning: I'll sit on mine as long as I can stand waiting.
Red

2019 Ridge Geyserville

 Alexander Valley Zinfandel Blend, Zinfandel more
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6/19/2023 - Sagan99 Likes this wine: 88 points

TBD

When I first found Jon Bonne's "Drink The Rainbow" caption in one of his books, this Ridge blend was in my thoughts.
I'd become less enamored with Zinfandel. Disliked Carignane. And who knows what Alicante Bouschet really does? (Must boost acid?) Petit syrah, has been around forever in Bordeaux and more, so it's purpose is still known.

Thus, I bought 6 bottles of this, which will last through 2034 at least.
Ridge, on the back label says " it will develop greater complexity within 15 years- 2034).
We're gonna find out. One every 2 years after quaffing this bottle.

I had low expectations for this blend. After the first glass, I was right. After the 2nd, I was wrong... Time will tell, with the first chance, tomorrow morning. I saved a little.
***
Decanted only 1 hour before drinking.
Should be several hours!

Deep purple (big surprise, I know!)
Red and Dark berries
Earth

Tannic, structure increase, after bottle opened 3.5 hrs.

Dry
High alcohol
Medium acid


Will this continue on Ridge's path of continued improvement. When I first opened the bottle, and sipped the first glass, I would have said not a chance
However, and this is the reason to age wine, is it got better, in ways that cellaring will enhance the wine.

With that overnight glass, let's see if it truly has the aging potential, and more importantly, what it takes to improve and get better then it is today.



72% Zinfandel
19% Carignane
3%Petit Syrah
3% Alicante Bouschet
14.5% abv

PS- Drink The Rainbow!

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    6/20/2023 9:40:00 AM - Inferring your tastes from your note, I'd say that you'd want to give this wine a full 10-15 years before opening another. Young Ridge Geyserville has never been my thing, but with bottle age they can become spectacular. Be aware, though, that is coming from one of the AFWE ("anti-flavor wine elite" as Robert M Parker dubbed us, way back when) so YMMV.
Red

2009 Dashe Cellars Zinfandel Old Vines Todd Brothers Ranch

 Alexander Valley more
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3/3/2014 - mazik Does not like this wine: 83 points

It's not flawed, it's not temporarily odd tasting from travel in a truck, and decanting doesn't do anything whatever for it. It tastes musty, dusty and drab. To me it seems utterly incredible that anyone ever said of this wine "Explosively perfumed scents of dark berry preserves, violet and spicecake, with a peppery topnote. Pliant and broad on the palate, offering intense blackberry and cherry compote flavors that show impressive depth and focus." The wine I received from LastBottle was not that wine.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    3/7/2014 8:20:00 PM - Your bottle was almost certainly corked, so indeed it most likely was flawed. Mustiness and a lack of fruit are both signs of TCA contamination (cork taint)
Red

2016 Eric Texier Côtes du Rhône-Brézème

 Syrah more
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6/18/2019 - Blair Curtis wrote: 83 points

Did not enjoy this nearly as much as I had hoped. For reference, I am a big fan of traditional Northern Rhone reds. Levet is a fave, along with Gonon and older Clape. This wine, bottled at 12%, is so lean that it is skinny on flavour. The good news is that it has none of the flavours of surmaturity...no jamminess or heavy sweet fruit. The bad news is that it also lacks the good flavours you want in a wine like this...there is no pepper, no meat, no smoke. Just a high-acid lean and tart wine. It was acceptable with grilled steak, but this is not a wine I would purchase again.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    6/18/2019 3:35:00 PM - Drinking a Texier wine at age 3 is not a recipe for success. Very likely it's shut down and regardless it will be years before it comes into its own. I don't know if you drink Levet or Gonon at this age, but I subscribe to the "rule of 15" for N Rhone Syrah and generally try to open them at age 15 or so.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    6/20/2019 12:30:00 PM - Blair, I was not meaning to imply that one shouldn't open them at all until age 15. As you suggest, following the wine over time by periodic sampling is indeed a good strategy. I'd just caution about drawing too many inferences from such a young showing. Stylistically, Eric Texier's wines tend to be very backwards and need a lot of time to show well. Giving a young Texier wine a hard decant and long aeration might ameliorate that backwardness to an extent but occasionally a wine that's shut down hard won't come out of its shell no matter how much we coax it. Since you like other traditionalists such as Levet and Gonon, I'd suspect that you'll like the Brezeme later in its development. FWIW, I find his St Julien en Alban to be more approachable young.
Red

2005 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard

 Willamette Valley more
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3/2/2014 - MLipton wrote: NR

Quite lovely and understated. Bright, red cherry fruit is overlaid with some smokiness. Fairly dense for a St. Innocent Pinot, it maintained balance and avoided any sense of overextraction. Nicely balanced acidity.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    9/12/2014 10:02:00 PM - "Neecies" - how was it? Up to your expectations?
White

2010 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Clisson

 Melon de Bourgogne more
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12/1/2015 - MLipton wrote: NR

Really in a fine place right now, showing typical Melon character of stones, citrus and freshness with a depth and richness that is characteristic of this bottling. Maybe it'll get better, but it's great for my tastes right now.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    12/15/2015 1:59:00 PM - Cliff, I really don't think so. It was as good as it was going to get straight out of the bottle. Keep in mind that our passively cooled cellar may age things faster than your own storage conditions.
Red

1986 Château Meyney

 St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend more
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1/29/2016 - DaleW wrote: NR

A bit of funk, cedar, quiet but clean cassis fruit. B+

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    1/30/2016 7:29:00 PM - That was a great rendition of Meyney, clearly among my favorites. Good to hear that it's still going.
Red

2007 Domaine Camus-Bruchon & Fils Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Narbantons

 Pinot Noir more
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2/7/2016 - MLipton wrote: NR

Opened tonight with Boeuf Bourgignon. Even with a hard decant, it was a bit reticent at first, but opened up to reveal a deep, somewhat darkly fruited, example of a Savigny. A bit overwhelmed by the food at first, it came into its own with time. Clearly, this wine has a long lifetime ahead of it.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    2/8/2016 1:11:00 PM - Yeah, I saw your note and thought that maybe the intervening 2 years had done the trick, but no. Gilman, FWIW, has its drinking window until 2040, but he's a noted oenogerontophile. I'm holding onto my other bottle for a few more years.
White

2014 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Choisilles

 Chenin Blanc more
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10/15/2017 - Dale M wrote: flawed

Advanced color and a nose not unlike Single Malt Scotch. This is shot to hell and very disappointing.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    10/15/2017 7:59:00 PM - Not good at all, Dale. I hope that this was the result of a bad cork, but the other comments have me doubly concerned
Red

2005 Edmunds St. John Syrah Wylie-Fenaughty

 El Dorado County more
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11/5/2017 - slanum wrote: NR

The contents of this bottle expired a few years ago; what's left is porty and pruny to a fault. Don't know whether it's a flawed bottle or a wine that can't hang around for 12 years.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    11/6/2017 11:52:00 AM - I hope to hell that it's a faulty cork. Steve E's Syrahs will normally go 20+ years without breaking a sweat.
Red

2011 Holger Koch Bickensohler Herrenstück Spätburgunder

 Baden more
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5/17/2013 - 5laton wrote: NR

Attractive nose with notes of black cherry, evergreen, rose petal. Fine-textured with stony minerality and good acid snap, but flavors are very tight and compressed on the palate. This is quite young and if I had more I would not open these for at least another year or two. Quite attractive, reminds me a little of a good Produttori nebbiolo, with seriousness and tannin somewhere between the unclassified nebbiolo and the Barbaresco.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    4/15/2022 11:35:00 AM - That evergreen note is something I've found quite frequently in NZ PN. I've come to attribute that quality to young vines. I wonder how old his vines are?
Red

2011 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette

 Gamay more
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4/24/2022 - MLipton wrote: NR

Perhaps I caught this at a bad time, or perhaps it was a heat-damaged bottle, but this wine was utterly charmless, all structure and no fruit. I have a few more to try before writing this wine off.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    12/2/2022 9:54:00 AM - Nope, haven't yet opened another. Some friends and I have a plan for a Coudert vertical as we're all a bit confused about when, if ever, these wines open up and become ready to drink.
Red

2014 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée

 Red Rhone Blend more
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9/18/2023 - MLipton wrote: NR

Yowza!!! Now, I will readily admit to being a Pegau fanboi, but even so this wine is hitting on all cylinders right now. The nose is classic CdP: earthy, kirschwasser, black licorice. It's medium-bodied, perfectly balanced and has a lightness on the palate that is most welcome in these days of warming conditions. This is why I drink CdP. No hurry to drink but also no reason to wait on this as I don't see it getting any better than it is today.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    9/18/2023 12:54:00 PM - Neecies, AFAIK the Ferauds have never employed Cambie as a consultant. They are regarded as one of the last old school producers, along with a few others (Bois de Boursan, Grand Tinel, Marcoux and maybe Charvin). This wine certainly shows no signs of overextraction and weighed in at a relatively restrained 14% ABV.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    9/19/2023 8:47:00 AM - Ah, yes, Le Vieux Donjon went to the dark side, along with Clos des Papes. Truly sad. If you've got a vinegar crock, there's a candidate for sure :)

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    9/25/2023 8:00:00 AM - Well, Cambie died in Dec 2021, so I don't think he's consulting for anyone any more :) but that's sad news about Grand Tinel. It's an open question whether any of the other Cambie clients now dial back the extraction and oak treatment, but climate change is likely just as big a factor today.
Red

2010 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph

 Syrah more
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11/14/2023 - MLipton wrote: NR

Opened tonight with rack of lamb. Absolutely gorgeous: silky texture, lush red-berry Syrah fruit, generous acidity and an animale character that added to its overall complexity. I would put this wine in league with the Verset Cornas wines I've had in the past, just simply beautiful. It no doubt will continue to evolve, but depending on your tastes it may not get much better than it is right now.

  • Comment posted by MLipton:

    12/19/2023 1:51:00 PM - In the case of our bottle, no aeration was required. It came from our passively cooled cellar so may be more advanced than bottles kept at a constant 10C or 55F. It was stood upright for 24 hours before serving and was served at a cool temperature (65F or so). I doubt that several hours of aeration would hurt it at all, though, and possibly help if you like your wine to show more tertiary character.

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