4/8/2023 - tward Likes this wine:

Very Good+ I rarely buy "mystery" offers these days, but I'm not mad about this at $20 USD delivered. Drank on PnP and only over about an hour and a half, so limited air exposure. Bright and ripe blueberry and blackberry, at first a bit candied in the nose, zesty and fun to drink. Clean and bright, but some savory hints as it opens. A nice flexible food wine.

13% abv

5/7/2023 - thalver wrote:

This was far and away the best showing of nearly a case consumed, a couple bottles of which have gone down the drain. It was actually enjoyable . Somewhat. There is little fruit, and mostly herbal, forest floor tastes, and not the dominant funk some prior bottles have had. FWIW, I took the advice I had seen to stand these up for a while, and carefully decant off the fine sediment.

8/4/2013 - Chomsky wrote:

Twenty years young. In a perfect place right now, secondary fruit and leather, campfire, etc. Very mineral and still somewhat tannic. What a treat.

4/26/2023 - jpsam Does not like this wine:

Nothing remarkable and nothing noteworthy. A Tuesday night wine. I don’t drink wine on Tuesday. You can do better!

2/4/2022 - guribh wrote:

Solid Cru BoJo, as others have noted. At peak, and will hold here a few years.

One request: for the love of god, please drop the wax seal...! You'd be saving a few pennies per bottle and, more importantly, help your clients get to the product easier, with less opportunities to have wax in the wine or all over the counter, or a cut in the host's hand otherwise (of course, you may be skilled in some form of sword way of removing this red nuisance - so more power to you...).

4/2/2022 - Edclr Likes this wine:

Absolutely stunning. No signs of age yet. Very youthful with very long finish. Couldn’t believe how distinctive this is. I paid $15 a bottle for this at a grocery store in Atlanta in 1993. Last bottle of 7.

6/8/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote:

Crushed rocks, stones, smoked red fruits, herbs and flowers round out the perfume. On the palate the wine is medium-bodied, silky, fresh and vibrant, showing lift, energy, length and purity in the red pit fruit, cocoa and licorice filled finish. The wine was made from blending 70% Merlot with 30% Cabernet Franc, reaching 14.5% alcohol. 93-95 Pts

12/13/2022 - Trevallon Likes this wine:

No experience with Turkish wine to compare to. I would have called it a Côtés du Rhône or Languedoc wine. Mourvèdre and Syrah characteristics dominated. Enjoyable rustic and still has time.

3/28/2021 - tward wrote:

Good back yard BBQ wine. This was oversold in a long story email pitch. Solid wine, but not a lot of varietal character. Polished, a bit sweet in the domestic typical basic wine sense. Quality fruit, clean. 15% abv, which it holds together pretty well, but you can sense it's a bit boozy when drinking it. This should appeal to the domestic wine buyer as a top shelf supermarket effort. Good+

5/20/2020 - guribh wrote:

Subject to re-review. Right now, this is puzzling wine: nose reveals some quality underlying fruit. The delivery to the palate has a bit too much of the green components that may come from whole cluster fermentation. I have a case of both this one (first time tasting) and the 2014, which seemed to show better on its first bottle sampling a short while ago. Leads to to believe that this one may show better (or is it wishful
thinking?).

I understand giving up on the label (well, it's gone...) and the genre. I am tempted, given so many other options, but I am not there yet. Hoping for better integration down the road.

4/7/2022 - Winegangster Likes this wine:

Chateau d'Issan 1999 - My mom's best friend

Ok. Let anyone who has not watched porn throw the first stone at me... no pebble rain ? Sweet, we're between those in the know ! D'Issan 1999 has long been like Bree van der Kamp in Desperate Housewives's season I to me : un-tou-cha-ble. Too Margaux. Too arrogant. Too perfect. And yet, impossible not to imagine a world of kinkiness behind this strict appearance of the most classic Bordeaux blend : 65% of Cabernet felt like a skirt worn past the knee, a white button-up shirt, and a strict headband... but as always in Margaux, add 35% of ripe Merlot, and everything becomes possible. What if Mrs. van der Kamp was secretly wearing Honeybirdette's most daring lace ? It took me 22 years to dare staring at her, it took her 22 years to open her horizons... and here's the story.

D'Issan and I met around the 1999 en primeur campaign, and my first ever Bordeaux purchase was like the smile-blush-run sequence with my mom's best friend. She would never notice, I would have the moment tatooed in my fantasies eternally. Of course, I wish I had dared to make the first step, but hey... there are moment when you're just a teenager, and the case of D'Issan 1999 faded away in my basement and my desires up to that day when I decided to put some order im my cellar.

And here she was ! Marcia Cross in her prime who would have jumped from ABC to Pornhub : seductive, provocative, freed from codes and explict. Same strict outfit, but loose enough to reveal a shameless opulence and a sophisticated deep ruby lingerie. Eye contact. Politically incorrect. The wine swirls beautifully in the glass and reveals waves of smoky vanilla, ripe red fruits, warm pastry and a sensual hint of muskier aromas... it's prodigiously sensual. First kiss. No time for preliminaries. This wine imposes a sense of avid urgency to be drunk and Marcia and I have been waiting for too long : the embrace lives up to the promises but not beyond the long awaited scenario. It's full, it's round, it's mellow and D'Issan shows no restraint in this elegant debauchery, but no excessive efforts to call for a second round of cuddles either. Past a tsunami of torrefied coffee beans, pencil shavings, sweet plums marmelade, blackberries and fresh blackcurrant there remains an impression of soothing voluptuousness and bitter nostalgia. It's a classic aging Margaux, the best of MILF porn for sure... but post coïtum omne animal triste.

10/29/2021 - hsacks Likes this wine:

Medium red color. Aromas of red cherries ,leather and French oak spices. Ripe, nicely structured fruit in the mouth with very good depth and length. Firm with goof lift on the palate. While delicious now, this wine could improve wit another year or two of bottle age.

1/7/2022 - Eantnay wrote:

Second try with this wine and still a big disappointment for the price. Once again, the nose does not offer much of anything. I gave it 2 more points than last time because the mouthfeel was a bit richer. This time it was served with baked steelhead trout.

11/15/2021 - Rieslingfan wrote:

If ever there was a Sauvignon Blanc that had some Riesling sensibilities…

Seriously though, I am a dedicated Sauvignon Blanc skeptic. I have tried so many, from Vatan to Dageneau to Bevan to Cloudy Bay, and I just cannot find a way to love it. The Massican Sauvignon Blanc came close. The Bedrock Steaks of William Holden or whatever came close. This wine comes closer. The fruit is all about citrus and peach (sounds like Riesling), the acidity is front and center (sounds like Riesling). There is a simultaneously chalky and creamy note on the finish, and a hit of herbs that don’t seem like Riesling, but then the mouthwatering acidity kicks in again. Hmm…I could like this. Maybe. I’ll leave a couple of glasses in the bottle to see tomorrow night. Keeping an open mind.

2/24/2022 - J.Nimmo wrote:

I am so Happy about this and maybe the best CDP I've had. Thankful to have 4 of these. The first one was bad..... Thank God I opened #2..... It was so beautiful I almost fell off my Peloton.

Perfectly Enjoyed

9/21/2021 - guribh wrote:

Somewhat of an annual TN: quite disappointed. Not fleshing any, rather "green" still. While I appreciate the integrity of this style, this showing did not resonate with me.

7/22/2021 - dlu Likes this wine:

Relatively dark, concentrated, and high-ish ABV. Pleasant, but not that memorable. To be revisited, but also noted as a bit of hype from our source in Seattle.

8/30/2021 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

I’ll confess to not remembering the last time I drank a young Zinfandel (maybe Sky Zinfandel a few years ago?), but it’s been a minute. And despite having a few bottles of Bedrock Evangelho, I’ve been remiss in checking in on the Old Wine Zinfandel. But a wonderful bottle of 1987 Ravenswood enjoyed with a colleague and a chance sighting of the 2018 reminded me that I probably could use more dry-farmed California heritage wines at the table. Served at cellar temperature. The robe is a dark ruby, rather than inky purple and translucent to the meniscus. The nose is brambly and red-fruited, with notes of game, spice, and black raspberry seed. The palate is concentrated—but by no means over-extracted or roasted—with a fine thrust of plummy red fruit, wild hedge fruit, and despite it being “entry level,” there’s plenty of deep earth and soil tone to maintain interest. There’s fine acidity and certainly some tannins, which keep things ‘upright.’ And while there’s a bit of discernible wood here (nothing overt, dear reader), this carries itself with aplomb despite the ripeness of the vintage. Terrific with binchotan-grilled lamb loin chops from Dickson's and a sautée of corn and chanterelles; it certainly stood up to the grass-fed lamb, while not overwhelming the corn and wild mushroom. This is a lovely bottle and worth the tariff. And structurally, I can see this gaining complexity and interest with 7-12 years in the cellar. Re-buy? Sure, there’s a plenty of interest here, but I’d certainly advocate for serving at cellar temp and allowing the wine to open up. Also, it bears mentioning, this is a real bargain. Not “cheap,” but an excellent value. Well worth seeking out.

11/19/2020 - oakville72 Likes this wine:

At 4 years of age, this Julienas is still young. I am consistently amazed at the high quality of small-grower, old-vine, village-named Beaujolais. Add to that their ridiculously reasonable prices. The problem for the consumer? How to find them! Unfortunately, they're only available at quality wine shops in major metro areas and from some online sellers. A shame. More proof that quality wines are not consistent with their prices.

Initial tasting 10/20/2019 — Incredibly dark for a Juliénas. Subdued but obvious gamay nose. Rich flavors that one would not normally attribute to a Beaujolais, even one with a village appellation. A wine that is delicious now but, because of the tannin/acid balance, will improve with time. Village-named Beaujolais from top producers like Aufranc — Lucien Lardy comes to mind — are some of the best values in wine today. How these producers create and sell such exquisite wines for so fair a price … well, it's a treat for lowly consumers like me. Will only improve with time. Tasted twice.

6/29/2021 - Francophile Likes this wine:

This was liked by everyone

5/4/2021 - UpfromtheCellar wrote:

Maybe my last bottle was off/too young? IDK but this bottle seemed much more together and well knit than my last (tasted 4/20), perhaps it just needed to settle down. Ripe pinot fruit on the nose, raspberry pomegranate on the palate, secondary flavors beginning to emerge which adds interest and complexity. No cola cola but a hint of ripeness around the edges. Not as thin as I remember it. At the garagiste "mystery wine price" of almost nothing decent PQR but at the "list price" of $35+ I would take a pass.

5/7/2021 - PaulusLoZebra Likes this wine:

Another remarkable bottle of this great wine, which has evolved continually since release in a way that has brought tremendous joy. Decanted and served two hours later, the wine has big aromas of sweet dark fruits, with a spicy, sweet mid-palate full of mineral and stone-pit flavors. The tannins are more present than last time, as is the mid-palate sweetness. The wine has a very long, intense mineral and eau-de-vie finish. It is generally a bigger, sweeter and less aromatic wine than previous bottles. Because of that slightly diminshed aromatic complexity, I rate it one point less than the previous bottle. It is a remarkable wine with an outstanding QPR. Given its solid acid backbone and overall structure, it should drink well to 2030 ++

2/24/2021 - pmk wrote:

i've become a real fan of white Rhone and this one is a beauty. reasonably priced and characteristically well balanced, fruit, stones, minerals and acidity. Great on day 2 as well. Paired with chicken and artichokes.

4/20/2020 - UpfromtheCellar wrote:

I agree with @Epic Tale except for the final score. Certainly nice enough in its own way but at the end of the day a little thin and weak. Some might call this subtle and nuanced but compared to lots of other nicely balanced interesting stuff that can be found in O-noirs for about the same price, I think not. Sorry.

A Garigiste mystery wine that was purchased for a song (Thank You JR) but not worth more than a tune.

11/9/2020 - mousepup1 wrote:

Excellent and good bargain at $9

12/21/2019 - m251runner wrote:

I thought twice about opening this magnum bottle of 2016 Domaine du Grand Montmirail Gigondas Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. However, it was a special night with my family in town, and it sure felt like a good excuse to celebrate with a great wine. This wine is 60% Grenache and then 30% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre. A nice nose that suggests cut and half dried flowers, a good amount of clove, and plenty of stewed red berries—really a strikingly good nose. The taste profile includes excellent pomegranate flavor and plenty of very integrated smooth tannin. Honestly, this was delicious on the first taste and got better and better over an hour. This is a very elegant wine and understand from some professional reviews this 2016 vintage was the best ever for Domain du Grand Montmirail and the Cheron family who runs the vineyard. Truly a very impressive bottle of wine. Everyone at the table agreed this is a very elegant wine with a long mouthfeel and simply special. That made me feel good for sure. Some additional notes worth sharing is the fact that Gigondas is often considered the small-scale or cheaper version of the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape. I’d put this wine up with many of the bigger brothers any day. I saved a glass for the end of the evening and sipped it slowly by the fire. After such a great evening with family, I enjoyed the last glass quietly and could definitely taste the beautiful flavors of Provence—rosemary, sage, thyme, and lavender. I'm glad I opened this wine, and wholeheartedly recommend it.

7/25/2020 - stokeme wrote:

2 of 3 ... Initial impression w/o airing ... Smokey, slightly tarry, notes evident which blow off after several minutes. My barrel guess would be MT+ oak. The overall red fruit character is not as fresh but has broadened a bit. Cheery but lacking depth as it finishes. Still nice, especially with food, but does not approach the high bar set from the first half of the decade.

3/8/2020 - farinas Likes this wine:

Excellent Chianti with great nose of red fruits flowers and bay leaves great typicity. Palate has nice acidity great with food and excellent medium finish. Very good Chianti too bad you can’t find in the States.

11/9/2018 - Phil Loxera wrote:

A lovely table wine from the south Rhone, 50% each Grenache and Syrah, from the (what i’ve read) exemplary 2016 vintage. Tasted over 2 days, starting out at cellar temp and left to open up on the counter overnight. Fruit roll-up / Mezcal nose. Inky purple berries with a dash of secret herbs and spices. Very refreshing when chilled, transforms into a chew-worthy sipper at room temp. 13.5% alcohol is noticeable but not unpleasant. Slightly thin body and short finish, but what do you expect for ~$15. Excited to see this develop further, will revisit in a year. Paired well with Indian Food. Great QPR. Vive la France.

4/12/2020 - dptrevelyan Likes this wine:

Wine for Passover 5780 -- Not Kosher/Meshuval, but better than Morgan Davis, and selected for appropriateness since the virtual Seder was hosted from the Columbia Gorge. Pretty brilliant straw color. Slightly hot nose, with baking spices and fresh apple muted by dishwater. Lemony attack with a glycerin mouthfeel, and slight petrol fueling the saliva-induction engines. Broad, tongue coating, and long, but in the end, pleasant and refreshing more than cerebral. Serviceable.

3/21/2020 - MadPanda Does not like this wine:

Holy ACID Batman!!! I’ve had 3 of these bottles now and WOW- is it acidity.
Last bottle I let decanter for almost 3 days....
There’s a real oak taste to it, but can’t focus on anything because of how acidic it is....

Going to lay down for years.

Not sure how “YOU NEED TO HAVE THIS” and “ The 2018 Guion “Cuvee Domaine” bottling is one of my favorite wines of 2019 so far” could come over from a very reliable wine buyer...and advised to drink between ”2019 - 2028”....

Very very disappointed.....I bought 3 cases of this and regret it....

11/7/2019 - Boss of the Sauce Likes this wine:

Excellent. Slight oak and butter with a nice crispness

5/11/2017 - Christine Havens Likes this wine:

A blend of 60% Samsó, 25% Garnacha Negra, and 25% Syrah, Herencia Altés L’Estel has a dark undercurrent running through it—preserved meat, matchstick, flint, dried blood and spice swirl about this wine like a secret waiting to be told—a beguiling top note anchored in black cherries, blackberries, and juicy ripe plums. L’Estel is aged five month in new French oak, as such, it’s fresh and slightly wild, up-front tannins giving way to an earthy tempo. Bark, lichen, damp minerals. 14.5% ABV | Sample

2/1/2019 - AnytimeWineTime Likes this wine:

S: scents of forest floor and candied fruit
T: an amazing balance of dark ripe bing cherries, chocolate, and toast. Really good balance. Lots of structure. Tannins are strong but in a good way. May be one of the best Kirkland brand wines I’ve had to date. Would buy more.

12/3/2018 - guribh wrote:

I concur with @KLEZMAN note. On the savory side of American PN. On the positive side - I could mistake it for a Cru Beaujolais (which I love...). On the negative side - I could mistake it for a Cru Beaujolais (which it should NOT be, and MSRP is double). Nothing to re-stock on, unless magic happens and it emerges 3 years from now as a White swan. My search for stateside PN that could offer comparable QPR to a good $20-25 Burg will continue, with my usual pessimism (realism?)

9/7/2018 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine:

Amazing QPR for $40 Napa Juice. Blueberry, nice minerality, touch of earth and spice. Love it. Cali Cab has become such a rob shop lately, but this is stellar

10/5/2018 - timedborg Likes this wine:

butter. Onion. Smooth. Very nice. Got ripped off though. Looks like can buy around $52. I paid $65

8/2/2018 - Ahaight1 wrote:

Ok. Interested to see how this goes over the next five years. Candied plum, a little tart. Not thrilled but curious for more

10/23/2018 - Mattshank wrote:

Nose: Bright lemons and assorted citrus aromas. Palate: Bright and high toned with bracing acidity, lemon zest and a light to medium length finish.

10/30/2018 - Michael T. Zoppo Likes this wine:

I cannot improve upon Ian D’Agata’s tasting note (indeed, there are violets for days in this wine), but I will observe that this wine really challenged my belief of what Nero d’Avola is/can be. This is such a beautifully elegant mid weight wine that I think many of the classic leaning palates here would enjoy it.

At ~$15, this is a no brainer case buy.

12/2/2017 - studleytrey wrote:

I think Last Bottle used terms like "deep," "long," and "powerful" very liberally here for this syrah. It drinks like a lighter version of its southern cousin "Cotes du Rhône," or maybe like a lighter Chinon. The color is purplish ruby. Aromatically tight, with some dark red fruits and chalky minerality peeking through. Light to medium body with bright acidity, medium finish, and flavors of dark red and tart black fruits like black raspberry, along with lemon, a drying tea-like note, and notable minerality. It's a light, bright, and mineral expression of syrah that's more about food accompaniment than sipping (Portuguese BBQ chicken would be good), even though I'm currently doing the latter. I don't know, it's young, so maybe it fills out a bit with a little time, but it's not quite as "serious" as billed, and perhaps priced appropriately (rather than a steal) at $15. So not mad, but not exactly blown away either.

5/28/2015 - guribh wrote:

Pretty cross of Bdx and a hint of Tuscany type dried herbs and flowers. Somewhat drying, so I would be curious to see if it rounds up.

10/25/2016 - Bruce Duthie wrote:

Let breath before serving

12/15/2016 - Jamie Manley wrote:

Does this wine ever disappoint? Seriously, ever?! Sixth bottle out of a case and the consistency is downright remarkable. Oh man, this is why we sit on this expensive grape juice for so long. Just approaching its peak, this is a spectacular wine. Pauillac through and through, what a beauty. Soaring nose of pencil, briar patch, cassis, plum, earth, tobacco, and more pencil. The palate is even better, rich fruit and seamless from start to finish. I am partial to Lalande and this 89 is now my security blanket. Just when I am about fed up with the deep valleys that we sometimes experience with wine, I open one of these puppies and the wine gods are smiling again. Great stuff! 97 Pts

11/30/2016 - guribh wrote:

Just OK for me...Medium color, strawberries and some cherry notes. Not too syrupy. Rather plain. I do not have hopes of it turning into a swan, so no point in holding on to more bottles (let alone re-stock). Over-hyped by Last Bottle (my first purchase from this outfit, after many years of Wine Access and WTSO. I should have applied the same discounting factor to their excellent copy writing as i do with the creative writing of Wine Access and the point rating of JHN at WTSO...)

10/16/2016 - guribh Likes this wine:

Very classy. Would put against (really alongside...) big house champagne and it will hold its own. Fine, delicate nose of white flowers, apple and a hint of yeast. Bubbles are possibly a tiny bit larger, but overall very classy. Got as a gift so not sure where it falls on the price scale. Have not seen it online (not even on Gruet's own website), so would appreciate additional info..

2/6/2016 - Julian Marshall Does not like this wine:

A Savennières for 12€? I should have known better. Not premoxed exactly but a victim of malactic fermentation - nearly orange in colour, the taste bludgeoned into submission - sad, really, because you can sense the minerality struggling to emerge. Not undrinkable hence the score but rather akin to UHT milk.

7/12/2015 - Oechsle Likes this wine:

Syrah 80%
Grenache 20%

Excellent Value, Parker rated 93 this is not.
They must have given him the old vines, reserve cuvee, single vineyard, south facing slope, picked by Romanian virgins in its place.

Fresh, high tones, alcohol, black olive pits, hints of something deeper, earth, red fruit peeking through. On the palate, light medium bodied, goes down like water. Short finish, no noticeable tannins or grip, Balanced, fruit and acidity, fresh figs, green herbs, red apple skins. You’ll think me crazy but, Chill this wine down to 55-60 and serve, so much more enjoyable as this temp showcases the fruit. Drinking window now, no reason to wait on this one… Na zdrowie

10/13/2014 - S-E wrote:

I do not agree with the famous "WineAccess Travel Log".
This tasts more like an average Pinot Grigio, Like King Estate.