Ron Siegel

9.3

Needed some air showing red & black fruits, floral, meat, graphite, olive & violet — 25 days ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

On paper they say 08 wasn’t a good vintage but hey I love it. Old vine Reynard is excellent in 2008 showing all the Allemand sigs with dark fruit, olive tapenade and a liquid rock minerality. 08 is particularly Bordeaux like and not at all thin—that magical Reynard vineyard really ups the concentration of any vintage. Always a thrill to drink Allemand, my favorite Syrah. — 2 months ago

Robert Torretti

9.1

Great Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc. Library release 2015. Served with sea bass (branzino), potatoes and Brussel Sprouts with pancetta. Christmas Eve dinner. — 5 months ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.8

Basically a perfect wine. — 5 months ago

DelectableWino

9.1

Great wine. Elegant dark fruits. Rich. — 2 months ago

Tooty Frooty

9.2

Fortsätter neråt i Coutelouhålet.
”The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice” #caves — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

It’s been a couple of years since I last encountered the 2001 vintage of Chave’s Hermitage. That bottle was a library release from the domaine and so is this example. Splash decanted directly before service. The 2001 pours a garnet color with a translucent core; medium viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous and a total umami bomb: Koji beef broth, dried and baked brambles, dried purple flowers, black pepper, Kalamata olive, organic and inorganic earth along with fine warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Looking back on my notes from 2024, there’s a common theme: the 2001 is all about dat bass. Drink now with some patience and through 2041. — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.6

What a special treat to have an entire flight dedicated to the one and only Noël Verset. All three wines were opened prior to dinner and serially enjoyed over the course of a few hours. Stylistically, all three wines were similar and most importantly, sound! The 1999 pours a garnet color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with slightly desiccated, wild, mixed, mostly red brambles, some horse blanket, dried purple flowers, cracked black pepper, Kalamata olive tapenade, old leather bound books, inorganic earth and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Tonight, the 1999 seemed like a younger, bassier version of the 1992. It was a profoundly deep and guttural wine with the most substantial structure of the three. Drink now through 2039. — 2 months ago

"Odedi"

9.1

Dark ruby in color with a reddish rim.

Nose of plums, cherries, spices, light oak, dark chocolates, earth, tobacco leaf, herbs and black pepper.

Full-bodied with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with black currants, plums, cooked cherries, oak, licorice, spices, chocolates, tobacco, herbs and peppercorn.

This young Cabernet Sauvignon from Red Mountain is drinking very nicely now. Complex, elegant and smooth. Tangy and interesting.

Fruit forward, rich and feels like a Right Bank Bordeaux.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years.

A nice sipping wine, good by itself or with food.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were aged for 28 months in (45% new) mostly French oak barrels with some American oak. Organic and fermented with wild yeast. Unfiltered and unfined. Vegan.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$75. — 4 months ago

Shay A

9.5

Opened for a buddy’s birthday, alongside a 2005 Tatty Comtes, 2015 Cristal, 2018 Realm Falstaff and 2023 Kobayashi M/R.

I still remember my first Allemand seven years ago and how it immediately reeled me in and every bottle since has been the exact same. The rusticity and feral nature of Cornas is why for me, as a Syrah fanboy, it’s the best and most pure region for this wonderful grape.

Removed cork about an hour before pouring. Initial notes of olive, black pepper spice and herbs, some smoked meat and a brief blood-orange citrus aromatic. Deep red/black in the glass. There’s a layer of brett (low level, adds to the intrigue, doesn’t detract) and lavender bouquet before peppered strip, herbs, raspberries and blackberries, and a sanguine tang hit the palate. Not sure of whole cluster use here but seems there’s a little bit (which I love). Wild but civilized. Medium-plus bodied with beautiful acidity and plenty of tannin for this to cruise years. On the early side, but these are so hard to resist in every phase.

I wish I could drink this every day. I need to find a wine of similar style at a better price point. — 5 months ago