4/22/2024 - BenBlu Likes this wine:

Oh boy is this good. 12.5 pct alcohol, so bloody elegant and then again so archetypical N Rhone with beef blood, iodine, game notes but zero Brett. If there was a role model for great aged Cote Rotie this would be it. Going strong and improving with time in glass so neither a hurry to drink nor a crime to pull the cork. Beautiful.

3/1/2024 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Wow, the first whiff is already captivating. Incredibly beautiful and complex on the nose with blossoms, lemon, orange, citrus zest, a hint of smoke, and a bit of mint and other herbs. New flavors emerge every time you smell the wine. Lovely acidity with more lemon notes, apple, lime zest, minerals, and a bit of reduction on the palate. Extremely long finish. Holy moly, what a wine! Deeply emotional and satisfying.

12/7/2023 - glou.sf wrote:

Corked

11/19/2023 - glou.sf Does not like this wine:

Similar to an earlier bottle. This seemed to have been stored wrong. Stewed fruit on the nose, palate is mostly acidic with little substance. Weird because all the wine can from the same source and two bottles have been completely off.

10/29/2023 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Lovely although slightly restrained nose with notes of white flowers, lemon, minerals, honeysuckle, and a hint of peach. Great acidity with more lemon and citrus zest, green apple, tart peach, and more minerals on the palate. Nice finish. This is really delicious and quite interesting and demands food.

9/17/2023 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Really nice on the nose with lemon, citrus notes, and minerals. Reminds very quite a bit of a young Ganevat in style. Good acidity with quite a bit of weight and richness on the palate, more lemon notes, apple, and a hint of peach. Long finish. This was decanted for about 2 hours and really needed it. Great wine with a promising future. 94++

7/7/2023 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Nice nose with tart fruit flavors, forest notes, red cherries, spices, and pepper. Lovely mouthfeel with darker toned fruit notes, olives, cherries, and pepper notes. Nice finish. Really good wine with lots of power and weight but remains very balanced.

6/2/2023 - RichEB1 Likes this wine:

Everytime I pop one of these I literally think the same exact thing. 'Man, I freaking love Huet'. Super fresh bottle with no signs of oxidation and a beautiful light straw color. Just classic Huet chenin on the nose and palate with ripe orchard fruits dipped in honey and lightly rolled in wool. I'm pretty sure it would be physically impossible not to love this wine. 3 bottles left and I'm in no hurry based on this one.

5/6/2023 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Ganevat Dinner (San Francisco): Pretty and very mineral driven nose with just a hint of apples, lemon, and slight honey note that emerged with air. The palate shows slightly riper notes but still has that mineralilty in the forefront and a interesting lemon/orange zest note. Good acidity and nice finish. Lovely wine and some preferred this over the other Marnes Bleues (especially on the palate), but for me the 09 was just a bit more complete.

4/14/2023 - nzinkgraf wrote:

Vintus Trip preceeded by 2 days in Paris; 4/14/2023-4/20/2023: w/ JB @ Le Mermoz in Paris (120Euro)
This is what I was going to go for, but also what the Somm recommended, so that’s that.
WOW, very Kalamata olive, with a toasty meat driven edge. A little citronella note behind that and Red Raspberry fruit starts to come more to the front with more time in the glass and the decanter.

There’s discussion of Ammanit de Cesar Mushrooms which JB said Alain Ducasse called the King of Mushrooms. Time to search these out….

3/19/2023 - JamesSanders wrote:

Checking in early on a case of twelve. Score is for now. Future potential is higher. Beautiful, translucent red. Nose is typical Rabaja. Red fruits, bit of tar and menthol. Where it comes up short is in the drinking. Just a wall of drying tannins. Give it a lonnnnnggggg decant if drinking now. The rest of mine are going to be left alone for at least 5 years.

11/17/2022 - forceberry wrote:

A naturalist "ouillé" Savagnin made from biodynamically grown grapes harvested from a vineyard planted in 1930. Vinified with a strict hands-off philosophy. Although Ganevat has a strong preference of "ouillé" wines over the traditional oxidative wines of Jura, this wine more or less transcends boundaries: it is aged for 130 months (more than 10 years!) in old 600-liter demi-muids, topped off periodically. The wine loses up to 50% of its total volume during the aging. No added sulfites. 13,5% alcohol.

Quite noticeably evolved, deep and somewhat hazy golden yellow color. The nose feels rather evolved, somewhat oxidative and quite Vin Jaune-like with very complex aromas of sorrel and green almonds, some bruised apple tones, a little bit of stony minerality, light smoky nuances, a hint of creamy oak, a touch of dried stone fruits and a whiff of pine resin. The wine is powerful, exceptionally concentrated and somewhat viscous on the palate with a medium body and ridiculously intense flavors of steely minerality and sharp Granny Smith apples, some grapefruit notes, a little bit of stony minerality, light aldehydic notes of sorrel and green almonds, an oxidative hint of chopped hazelnuts and a smoky touch of toasty character. The wine is taut and incredibly focused with its bracing acidity, yet it doesn't come across as aggressive or austere due to its concentrated overall feel. The finish is very crisp, lively and electric with a remarkably lengthy aftertaste of saline minerality and lemony citrus fruits, some aldehydic notes of sorrel and green almonds, light oxidative nuances of caramel and bruised apple, a little bit of creamy oak and a hint of evolved smoky toast.

A ridiculously complex, concentrated and exceptionally structured Savagnin. The wine shows such power, depth and length that very few wines in the world can come even close to. However, I was quite surprised by how oxidative this vintage was - 2006 Les Vignes de Mon Père was so extraordinary by being an obviously ouillé Savagnin of enormous power and concentration, with somewhat oxidative overtones from the prolonged barrel aging, making it so striking and unique. This vintage, however, is noticeably aldehydic in character (as opposed to the non-aldehydic 2006 vintage), making it feel more like an exceptional Château-Chalon or Vin Jaune, packed with more power and concentration these wines normally attain. I do love vins jaunes and this wine is truly in a class of its own, but I still feel the aldehydic qualities slightly overwhelmed some of the finer nuances here and I would've loved the wine even more had it shown a bit more fruit and slightly less acetaldehyde. Nevertheless, this is still one of the most remarkable wines in the world and at 99€ it offers an experience very few wines can give even at a price twice or thrice as big.

2/19/2023 - llink wrote:

Chablis Tasting at a collector's home (San Mateo, CA): Decanted for 3 hours, served blind in a flight of 08/12 Les Clos, Wine J. My 6th rank, groups 6th rank. Deep yellow. Advanced nose, not pre-moxed by darn close. Apple and orchard fruits on the nose. Rich and flabby palate, minimal acidity and structure. Drink up.

1/27/2023 - jviz wrote:

Holy wow, this is as good as it gets. If you are able to go along with the idea that Vatan is the benchmark for sauv Blanc, I would argue this is the benchmark for Chenin. It is better than Richard Leroy. By far. It has this minty, ethereal just delicious freshness with a top note of micro greens and exotic citrus. Lots and lots of honey. Pure as a mountain spring. Hard to describe, but in a very good way this gets at the essence of truly great Chenin Blanc.

9/9/2022 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Pretty nose with tons of red berries and fruit. Strawberries, red cherries, raspberries, cranberries, licorice, a hint of leather, and violets. Nice acidity with tart red fruit, raspberry notes, blood orange, and spices on the palate. Nice finish. This is really lovely and very fruit forward at the moment, although all the components are there to develop further with age. 93++

10/8/2022 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

No formal notes. This had a classic Littorai / CA Pinot nose and taste. Very good, but not really exciting.

10/7/2022 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Classic Cabernet nose of cassis, dark cherry, blackberry, and leather. The palate is really lovely with good balance and nice acidity along with sweet dark fruit, dark cherries, forest floor, and more leather notes. Long finish. Very good wine. Compared to the 97 Spottswoode from a few days ago, this was a bit prettier and more elegant, but maybe not quite as complex and powerful.

9/19/2021 - Gregory Dal Piaz wrote:

Closed on the nose, dusty, earthy, some sweet caramel, lots of jammy cherry fruits lurking here. Licorice and a hint of iron. Hint of cinnamon and cardamom spice. Fresh on entry, bright quite vivid with reticent fruit, incipient velvetines, fine tannins drive a long, mineral soaked finish. Not bad even with the cloudy tannins of the dregs of the decanted bottle. Looks promising for tonight. Delicious, right at the cusp of youthful maturity. 93

After 4 hours

Still not there on the nose, a bit on the modest side revealing dusty clay, crushed raspberry, peppery green spice and incipient notes of tobacco and leather. Opening up in the mouth, lively, lovely red fruit, long and driven, dusty white earth laced throughout, Delicate and refined, such a lovely wine with super fine grained tannins lending grip from start to finish. I should have headed my own note and kept my hands off for at least another year, but today I would say another 3 are in order.

1/19/2022 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Gorgeous, red fruit driven nose with some pepper and blood orange notes. Very complex with lots of depth. The palate has great acidity with good tannic structure, more red fruit, and then a bit more darker and savory leaning notes. Very long and lingering finish. Drinking really well already, so no harm in opening a bottle now. Outstanding wine! 96+

1/12/2022 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Lovely fruit driven nose with notes of red plums, cassis, cherries, and thyme. It's well balanced although quite light with nice acidity and good structure. Very juicy with lots of fruit and tart berries. Nice finish. Delicious wine that drinks well right now, but also has a very promising future ahead. Distinctively old school, I wish more producers would make Napa wines like this. 93++

1/12/2022 - glou.sf wrote:

This wine was in a very weird spot. A little closed on the nose with some red fruit, smoke, roasted red peppers, and herbaceous notes. The palate felt a bit disjointed at first with peppery notes and strawberries. Medium finish. I hope we just caught this in a bad time and the wine will resolve in the cellar. This bottle was quite disappointing.

3/29/2020 - jmw17 Likes this wine:

A “wow” wine but unconventional and perhaps not for everyone. Radiant gold color. Shy nose; a hint of florals. Intense concentration and texture on the palate fro lm entry to finish. All the notes of fresh dekopon (“sumo” orange), including intense orange/orange oil, intense acidity, a strong sense of sweetness (though the wine may be dry), and some hints of overripeness. Moderate oxidative characteristics. No wood signature evident. This would seem to have a very long life ahead. I found the wine fascinating and unique; even stunning. My wife dumped her glass into mine and moved on.

11/8/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Super complex nose with notes of almonds, cheese, nuts, herbs, and lemon zest. There's so much going on and the wine kept changing throughout the evening. Great acidity on the palate with again complex notes of minerals, rocks, almonds, and a hint of apple. Very long finish. Outstanding wine by any means, but it actually felt quite young. I'm sure this will be even more amazing in a few decades...

10/8/2021 - 560 B&W Likes this wine:

Definitely better. 13%

8/28/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Quite dark on the nose with black cassis, tobacco, and a smoky note. Good acidity with integrated tannins and flavors of red and dark berries, tobacco, a hint of smoke, and some leathery notes towards the back of the palate. Long finish. Excellent wine with lovely complexity. Tastes at least 10-15 years younger than it actually is.

9/19/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Quite delicate and refined nose, but not super fragrant and powerful. It has flavors of red cherries, rose petal and tobacco with a sweet red fruited undertone. The tannins are soft yet drying and structural and the palate has more red cherries and berries as well as blood orange notes. Long finish. Lovely Barolo that opens up beautifully in the glass. It wasn’t giving that much at first, but a bit of air woke it up. Promising and quite tasty already. I bet this is even better in 5-10 years. 94++

9/15/2021 - AdrianBonilla Likes this wine:

Initial: this held up well with a pale ruby color with garnet on the rim and hints of red fruits and obvious american oaking on the nose and red fruits leather and earth with dusty tannins on the palate

Sight: a very pale ruby with garnet on the rim, medium legs, and delicate staining

Nose: cranberries, cherries, and blackcurrant with hints of licorice. American oaking was obvious with the amounts of vanilla and coffee I got on the nose. Hints of leather and minerality.

Palate: this translated very well from the nose being very red fruit centric with vanilla and leather being the defining qualities. Dusty yet smooth tannins made for easy drinking

Overall: blinded this and it was so clearly a cool climate rioja with some age to me based on its particularly defining characteristics (color, oaking, fruit quality, and acidity).

6/7/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Tasted blind. Pretty nose of apples, minerals, lime, and a hint of soap. Great acidity and excellent balance on the palate with notes of crushed rocks, and green apples. There's a noticeable richness, but the acidity keeps it in check. Quite long on the finish. Very good New World Chardonnay. 92-93+

5/27/2021 - 560 B&W Likes this wine:

Not declining. At all.

4/17/2021 - Tony Ling Likes this wine:

Slow-oxed for 24 hours upon serving into Zalto Burgundy glass (“Root” day): very pale ruby to the eyes.

Leafy and earthy notes driven. Good petite cherry fruits. Very interesting and unique “sweet” oak notes on nose. Some very faint hint of VA on nose too that does not bother.

Highly acidic indeed with a ton of exuberant red cherry fruits. Good bit of saline minerality. Very fresh and nicely energetic. Quite a lean structure though also quite a bit of silky tannins towards the back palate.

93-94 points.

Second round about 1/2 of the bottle left: more red prunes and leafy notes, lots of white spices.

4/18/2021 - buster14 Likes this wine:

Strong minerality, citrus bite

3/7/2021 - jpwines Does not like this wine:

this bottle was corked---disappointed

11/22/2020 - rand wise wrote:

More expensive and not as good as most of the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo I have tried over the years. It was OK, but nothing special.

10/17/2020 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Oranges, melon, citrus, and minerals on the nose. Nice acidity with orange zest, more melon, strawberries, and lime notes on the palate. Nice finish. Great wine every year!

6/13/2020 - glou.sf wrote:

Still quite fruity, but somewhat linear. Very very soft tannins and mostly red/blue fruit on the palate. I have yet to find an aged Zinfandel I like other than the 94 Jimsomare...

6/9/2020 - glou.sf Does not like this wine:

Tasted blind. Fragrant nose with red fruit and pepper notes. Very ripe with mostly red fruit profile on the palate. Medium finish.

6/8/2020 - Poll86 wrote:

Opens up nicely on the nose with fresh citrus, toast and yeast. Lacks significantly on the palate with too little acidity for too much dosage. Unbalanced which ruins otherwise good grape material

6/1/2020 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Tasted blind. White flowers, some orchard fruit, almonds, and citrus on the nose. Medium acidity and slightly viscous on the palate with flavors of meyer lemon and apples. There is a richness on the palate, but I didn't find it to be sweet. Nice, long finish.

Generally, this wine was a bit weird and changed a bunch in the glass... At first it reminded me of a Terlan Vorberg Pinot Bianco and others also didn't get much Chardonnay character. With lots of air, this changed, but I wouldn't have thought Chablis. The warm vintage is clearly showing, but there is very good quality underneath. I wonder how this will taste in 5+ years. 92+

4/22/2020 - forsythes Likes this wine:

Probably corked. Too bad!

4/6/2020 - glou.sf wrote:

Horribly flawed, smelled corked and musty and mushroomy. What a shame.

9/30/2017 - Markus IWC wrote:

wrong bottle in TN

9/23/2019 - glou.sf wrote:

I thought this started out quite nice with mushrooms, violets, and blood oranges on the rustic nose. Good structure with red berries, underwood, and mushrooms on the palate. Long finish. However, over the course of the night, this was pretty clearly corked, which I didn't notice at first, but it got worse and worse over time. Too bad, the first impression was great.

6/30/2019 - CelebrateLife! Does not like this wine:

Hot on the nose. Cherries and raspberries underneath but disjointed now. Not as good as I remember. Bad bottle or has this wine fallen apart now? Will try another bottle soon

7/1/2019 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

No formal notes, but this was a delicious entry level Northern Rhone that's drinking quite well right now and has easily 5-10 years to go.

10/6/2018 - freek wrote:

Corked

6/16/2019 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Had to open one after somehow getting a case to see what the fuzz is about. Cherries, peach, salt, and a bunch of oxidative flavors that remind me a bit of sherry on the nose. Great acidity with tart red berries, lemon, and orange zest on the palate. Good finish. This is very unique, interesting, and weird. I loved it! Paid $35, it’s probably worth quite a bit more, but not what this goes for right now at auction...

5/23/2019 - AJ72 wrote:

So bad it's not funny. Horribly affected by Brettanomyces and a dead duck. Undrinkable and it was unanimous.

Edit: Looking at the other comments I'm in the minority (again). Oh well..

4/3/2019 - Bellbx Likes this wine:

Olives. Wet rocks. Black fruits. Indian spice. Hints of oak, cedar, plum and licorice. Excellent Syrah for the price point. Maybe drank too early. Will invest in a few more bottles to see how this changes.

3/8/2019 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine:

Coravin #1. Dark fruit, cherries and raspberries. Really high acid. Great with cheese. If Barbera gets better, let me know where. Only thing in the same league is Conterno Barbera.

5/12/2017 - glou.sf Likes this wine:

Earthy notes of dark fruit, cassis, dried plums, and leather on the complex nose. Phenomenal balance on the palate with good acidity, dark berries, menthol, and herbs on the palate. Very long finish. Absolutely outstanding, what a wine!!