Josh Morgenthau

9.3

Punchy, pungent kiwi, grapefruit, green pea and honeydew melon. Almost ethereal yet biting. Seems like this is on the brink of drinking extremely well, but my plan is to wait 3-5 years on the next bottle. — 4 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.5

Thanks for opening this, GL! What a compelling drop. Botrytised Chardonnay from Macon. Not as rich as a Sauternes, nor as precise as a TBA - I felt like it lay somewhere in between. All your typical botrytis aromas of honey, dried apricot, caramel, hay, chrysanthemum, mushroom, and a whiff of vinegar on the nose. For me, the palate's where it really shone - rich and sugary, as one might expect, but with juicy fruit notes and good acidity to keep it at the brink of being cloying. The acidity suprisingly held a pretty straight line across the palate, rounding off a little in the rear. My first Bongran and I can see now why the name often appears in conversations on the world's great sweet wines. — 4 years ago

Brian Armenio

8.9

Tasty and rare wine on the brink of extinction. A great value. — 7 years ago

Michael Meyer

9.1

Would prefer this was categorized as Schiopettino by @Delectable Wine. This is the poster child for grape varietals rescued from the brink of extinction, and I’m glad it was. Loved the purity of bright red/blue fruit, savory herb and peppercorn notes, violet nose, and earthen leather finish. Tannins are mellow and velvety, acidity is fresh and lively. Close your eyes and you might think it was a young Cote-Rotie in the traditional style. — 9 years ago

Andy Mc Nees

9.3

Varietals Wine sticker on the bottle. Wish that shop was still around. This bottle is right at the edge. Almost over the hill. I'm left with thrilling brink of overripe kitsch port and black cherry fruit. Overly vanilla extracted chocolate moose. White knuckle cause it's about to plummet off the cliff into syrup mush alcohol drain pour. — 10 years ago

Robert Torretti

9.1

2008. Solid Burgundy: deep red brink color, light to medium bodied, good red fruit and some mushroom on the nose. Palate has some black and red cherry, a bit higher in alcohol (13%) noticeable as well. — 10 years ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.0

Traditional method sparkling rosé made from the mighty Mollard grape native to the Haut Alpes region. Domaine Allemand is responsible for bringing this variety back from the brink of extinction 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Still Mollard is a wonderful thing — natural low in alcohol and light to medium bodied, a cross between Mondeuse and Gamay.

This sparkling is light, dry (0 dosage) and refreshing. Raspberry, red and even some black currant, lavender, and a light touch of pastry. A delight.
— 4 years ago

Ian Hamel

9.2

2021/11. This bottle started off a bit more herbal and austere, perhaps suggesting that it might be closing - but with a bit of air over a few hours, the savory, sweet and sour red fruit blossomed again, if anything suggesting it’s on the brink of its second phase — 5 years ago

JKT

9.0

On Latham trip for Marie. Afraid this bottle pulled from front basemen stash may be just at the brink of decline. Nice deep golden color and that beautiful Riesling from VL nose except just a tinge of oxidative notes. This bottle perhaps suffered a bit from subpar storage plus age. Better fine the remaining bottles to check out. — 6 years ago

James Forsyth

9.7

Tasted blind. Explosive fruit and extreme sumptuousness. Quite irresistible. It's a massive wine but slight sense that it's on the brink of a decline. Drink it up and enjoy the hedonism now. — 8 years ago

Doctor No

9.1

A beautiful cab, rich but not overripe. Classic notes of pencil shavings, cassis and green pepper with good lift and verve. This was one of my first picks from a Macarthur's Napa Barrel Tasting and seemed a splurge at the time. Both my wife and I loved it at the time too. It has come around in a great way and is very drinkable now. When I drink wines like this, which are non-vanilla-soaked, moderately extracted Napa wines not pushed to the brink, it just underscores that my palate is not built for Napa Massive Cabs. — 9 years ago

TheSkip

9.2

Again, quite pleasant. This wine takes us just up to the brink of jammyness without having to cross the border. Trite as it might be, the nose gives fairly profound grape. The palate is that of prune and savory herb. Tannins are soft to moderate. The finish is also moderate. A very good wine. A top contender for WOTY under $25. Great QPR. — 10 years ago

Paul Egglestone

8.9

The Viogner in this blend really punches through - in a good way. It drags the bottle back from the brink of being potentially bland and dull to being a bit of a stand out wine. I'd possibly still plump for a cracking Viogner but this is only just 2nd best. — 12 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.7

The 2019 Hosanna is a Pomerol that demands, and deserves, attention. It sprints out of the blocks with intense blackberry, raspberry, incense and blood orange scents, lavish and luxuriant while retaining superb delineation. The palate is medium-bodied, multilayered and mouth-filling, delivering saturated tannins and pure black fruit; just a very faint suggestion of fresh prune and fig appears toward the finish. This Hosanna takes it to the brink of overripeness. A Pomerol blessed with what you might call "optimal hedonism." (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2022)
— 4 years ago

Rob Brobst III

9.3

Bing cherry and boysenberry on the brink of ripeness bounce off the surface, layering with forest floor; a rich finish of carob chip, vanilla and cinnamon provide a satiating finish. — 5 years ago

Martinez

9.3

Blend of Tempranillo (97%) with some Mazuelo and Malvasía Blanca from a tiny 0.24 hectare plot in Villamediana de Iregua, about 6 kilometers south of Logroño. Planted in 1986 and rooted in shallow sandy soils, the vineyard had been abandoned and was on the brink of being pulled out when Sínodo found it. After years of meticulous work on the vineyard, Los Tollos was recently designated as viñedo singular, the top-tier in Rioja’s new classification system, roughly equivalent to grand cru. Dark fruit, earthy and smoky notes and hints of chocolate on the nose. Elegant, serious, concentrated. One of my favorite Rioja producers. — 5 years ago

Marie Keep

Director of Fine Wines Skinner

9.3

Beautiful plummy color. At the brink, a piney almost retsina-like flash, as it opens up to violet and licorice pastille overlaying a deep savoury flinty cap gun/strike anywhere match chemistry. In balance with smooth polished tannins. Scrubby mountain herbaceousness with Iodine minerality finish. Quite luscious. — 9 years ago

MICHAEL COOPER DipWSET

Owner TomeVinos wine shops, WSET Level 3, Blogger www.spanishwinesandmore.com, blog.tomevinos.com

9.3

I like it for it's rarity and for the fact that they're recovering almost #extinctvarieties and making #mistelas which are also on the brink of extinction in #spainwines #gonzalezbyass — 10 years ago

Kimberly Davis

9.4

Yum! I am not a big rosé fan but this isn't disgustingly sweet — 10 years ago

Jamil C Williams

General Manager at Silverlake Wine

10

The cork fought me, tooth and nail, until the very brink. It would not be breached with out a fight. The Unicorn wine was brought to its knees. — 11 years ago