Matt Waring

9.2

Star of Thanksgiving. 🦃 After a two hour decant, showed out with black cherry, rhubarb, clumps of dirt, and leggy tannins. Medium plus acid. Just delightful — 2 years ago

with Christine

Adriana Fabbro

9.3

Levet is always one of my favorites. unfortunately these wines are getting harder and harder to find.

Black pepper, pastille, “Australian licorice”, black currant, black cherry, dried thyme/sage. It’s showing more fruit than I remember (this vintage? The point in its development?), but the fruit is pretty and lifted and not overripe. Of course, this wine is still showing the dirt under its fingernails—just enough barnyard filth to make it a proper syrah. Ripe, silky tannins. So much finesse.

Cote Rotie was the perfect red to pair with everyone’s entrees: duck, pork chop, wagyu, roast chix. — 4 years ago

Brett Rogosin

9.1

Dark and thick. Age has done wonders for this wine. Over extracted years ago and mostly mellowed now with good fruit and some earth showing over time. Nose of dry dirt, black raspberry, blackberry, red currant, cherry, rainbow peppercorn. Good acidity with mellow tannins, oily, a bit tart on the tip of the tongue. On the palate more earth, a touch of mushroom, more black raspberry, very similar to the nose with maybe a touch of dark chocolate. — 5 years ago

barak heller hayun

9.1

a little funky loire Cabernet franc.
unoaked (concrete ageing)

13% abv

high acidity.
medium coarse but pleasant tannins.
medium body.

smoke, bits of dirt with small rock parts in it, black plum and some dried 🌶️.

medium 🎯

a great surprise but not for everyone.
if you dig funkadelic's 'free your mind and your ass will follow' buy a case... — 5 years ago

Eric

9.4

Smooth sweet black fruit and dirt. Great 👃 — 7 years ago

Ken Z

9.0

Nose of black fruit, oak, tar, earth, and some coffee, which emerges after some time in the glass, palate of black fruit, and dirt, with old leather, backed by dusty tannins. Black fruit on the dry, dusty finish.

4/21/7/4/4+50=90 pts. — 7 years ago

Brett Rogosin

9.4

It’s definitely drinking quite young right now with solid tannins and sharp acidity. Decanted for about 1.5 hrs before drinking and drank over the next 3.5 hrs. It opened up nicely. Really thick in color. Nose of black berry, dark fruit, dark chocolate, dry dirt dusting, umami, lavender. Chewy mouth feel. Forest floor leaves, dark berries, chocolate carries over, and a black toasted tea quality. This is a very well structured Merlot. Quality stuff. I can’t wait to see how it evolves. — 7 years ago

with Brooke and RB

Jason Williams

9.0

Nose: leather, horse blanket, black current
Taste: black current, blackberry, chocolate, black dirt, subtle mint on the finish, followed by cherry — 3 years ago

Vanessa

9.5

Dark, luscious, rich, and smooth with robust black fruit notes such as candied blackberry, plum sauce, creme de cassis, violet, also leather, dark chocolate, espresso, black tea, anise, fennel, black peppercorn and baking spice. A powerhouse. Layers of complexity. Some seriously delicious juice. — 4 years ago

with Deked1

Mike Saviage

9.5

Reddish tawny. Interesting nose. Notes of coffee and molasses, black fruit, earth and dirt, and some slate stone. Decent finish. Guessed "old Rhone" which was all I had at that point, which was better than other guesses given the smells and notes were complex. This had a heavier profile and was a little darker than the 83, but the 83 seemed to be the better bottle today. Still a great treat to try this (but drink up soon if you're sitting on bottles!)... — 5 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.1

N: Tobacco, gravel, tar, coffee, wet earth,
Black plums.
P: Black plum, dirt, tobacco,(maduro),mid weight but voluptuous,
Chewy. Really nice. — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

Tasted blind. Dark, regal reddish tawny. Notes of black fruit, roses, leather, steak blood, flowers, crushed nuts, some mint, some fresh cut cigar and some dirt. Young appearing and also seems young in the mouth. If we didn't know this was a 61 I would veer to a guess of maybe an 82. We all guessed this as 61 Mouton, although we're helped now by knowing there are only two first growths left that we haven't had yet tonight. Awesome juice that will be remembered as being young and seemingly immortal.(M's 60th bday 12th of 14) — 5 years ago

Chris McClellan

9.2

Big, super concentrated black fruit, earth/dirt and spice...could age easily 10 more years... — 7 years ago

Arden Barnett

9.2

Like all Piedrasassi wines, this guy is extremely complex and full of umami notes. Black pepper, lavender, dirt and dried cranberries on the nose. Hints of black olives, dried mushrooms, sage and graphite. Definitely not your typical Cali Syrah, but always a joy. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

I bought this for the winter months and finished the last of it over the weekend. This is a blended malt named in honour of Masataka Taketsuru, the father of Japanese Whisky. He was the first Japanese who mastered Whisky making in Scotland and brought this expertise back to Japan. It was an incredibly pure and rich Whisky with a certain smokiness. I don’t drink enough Whisky to know the difference but this could easily have been Scotch to my palate. 43% ABV. — 4 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.4

Rented vines, 1.5 hectare, limestone.fresh* grapes brought up for a year in 25*hl botte, once used.then a year in btl
N: The woods, loam, wet dirt, mushrooms, slight cherries, eucalyptus, herbaceous.
P: Currants, black peppercorns,pink as well, wonderfuly balanced acidity, med-long finish,juicy! That’s some beautiful wine. — 5 years ago

Willie Carter

9.0

It’s always fun trying a Coteaux Champenois still red wine from such an a wonderful house as Paul Bara. A clear ruby color with a wide brim and the smallest touch of purple. Blind, it would be easy to confuse with a nice good quality Burgundy.

The nose shows lingonberry, strawberries, and black cherries. Some really nice fresh soil and underbrush. With plenty of air and decanting time delicate perfumed flowers and olive pits.

A Bouzy Pinot Noir with a few years on it is a real treat. Light bodied with round tannins and enough depth. Generous and inviting throughout, this is never really closed off. The palate has a ton of herb goodness and cigar smoke. More red and black berries along with dirty dirt and a dash of vanilla. This is a fun, summery light Pinot. Drink chilled and sit back and enjoy. — 5 years ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.1

Very Earthy Tuscan Blend - Mostly Teroldego (normally found in Northern Italy) with some Syrah blended in. Beautifully aromatic. Cranberry, sour dark cherry and black currant fruit. Tobacco, sweet baking spices and black dirt notes. Reasonably low alcohol (12.5%) level and balanced acidity. Quite good. Outstanding QPR! Revisited in July 2021. Still outstanding! Revisited again in May 2025. Just excellent!
— 6 years ago

Eric

9.0

Ain’t bad for a hotel room wine. 85 Merlot/11 PV/4 CF. Nice black dirt and blackberries. Little acidic. Way better than expected. — 7 years ago

Neal Schaffer

8.9

Black cherry, raspberry, lilac, lavender, bell pepper, smashed herbs, and black dirt. Tannins are fine-grained and the palate is energetic. The blend of Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc does surprisingly well. This blend is meticulous and purposeful. Virginia keeps getting better and better in my book! — 7 years ago

with Dana