Jay Kline

9.2

Opened just prior to dinner and decanted. The 2010 “Reflet” pours a deep ruby/purple color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with heady notes of dark brambles, spiced cured meat, purple flowers, black pepper, Kalamata olive, dried green herbs, granitic earth, and a kiss of 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. This is squarely in the zone and fantastic stuff. Drink now through 2035+. — 6 months ago

Byron Hewett

9.2

Beautiful Villages St. Aubin. — 3 years ago

Brandon Thiessen

9.3

Creamy but super bright; amazing structure. Dill and acetic, cidery, chamomile, sweet hay, apple, yellow pear, preserved lemon, flan custard. Really super nice and continues to improve as it opens. — 5 years ago

Hillary & Dave

9.3

Savory and delicious. Mushroomy dirt nose to start that blew off pretty quickly. Dark fruits, tobacco, green pepper notes. Smooth sandpaper and a longer than expected finish. Excellent wine. — 6 years ago

Larissa Mara Thome

10

A farmer wearing a suit. Delicious. — 6 years ago

Jessy Manuel

9.1

High tannin, fruit forward, red fruit. Lasting flavors on the palate. — 7 years ago

Jan A

9.3

Note to self next bottle in two years. Near peak — 7 months ago

Pooneet K

9.1

Very nice St Joseph. Nice purple fruit and a bit of barnyard on the nose. Slightly unresolved, but still complete with good length. — 2 years ago

Joseph Lewinski

9.5

Bright this back from Paris 2018 and opened for Christmas 2022. Wasn’t sure how this was going to age but opened as funky and delicious as I had hoped. Notes of blue cheese and fermented blueberries. Bright notes of kombucha in the taste. Natty wines can age! — 3 years ago

with Ginny

Fredybeans

9.1

Nez fume grille viande grillée
Bouche basalmique fruit rouge fraîche belle usité mais assez courte
J adore cet équilibre — 5 years ago

Roxanne Fox Butler

9.0

Easy drinking, like a fruit-salad kombucha. Floral notes of hibiscus (and maybe violet?) picking up tart berry in the mouth. Easy finish. — 6 years ago

Hanibal

8.9

Morey saint denis village 2016 horizontal — 6 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

This recently caught my eye, mostly because it was a $75 bottle of rosé — it’s rare to come across any rosé more than $40 (aside from Champagne), but also because of its distinctive design (I should’ve trademarked the drip).

The origin of Château Minuty dates to the early 18th century. The Matton-Farnet family has owned the estate since 1936, with its third generation, brothers Jean-Etienne and François Matton currently at the helm.

The Château’s vineyards are situated on limestone and schist hills outside the Provençal village of Gassin and overlooking the bay and city of Saint-Tropez. They exclusively produce rosé.

For their cuveé 281, a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault, the Mattons enlisted Hubert de Malherbe to design the bottle, who worked on several Veuve Clicquot designs as well as Dior perfume bottles and stores. The blue is said to represent the Mediterranean Sea and sky, both of which have significant influence in shaping the wine’s character. The exact shade of blue is Pantone 281.

The wine opens with melon, citrus peel, and stone fruit, all of which translate through to the palate. That’s where the intensity ratchets up, with pungent, rocky minerality set against a backdrop of herbs and a generous seasoning of sea salt. Everything melds together before taking the long ride home on a bright beam of acid. Superb. — 8 years ago

John Van Trijp

9.6

Double Magnum — 9 months ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.5

2020 vintage. 75% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Owned by the Despagne family since 1812, and the current 7th generation (François Despagne) seems to be serious about quality. This 2020 displays impressive aromatics, concentration, depth, and precision, with fresh acidity balancing the 15% abv. — 2 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.1

Textbook Northern Rhone Syrah in a very affordable, drink now package. Bing cherry, currants, light and pleasantly integrated peppercorn and smoke notes, a touch of beef bouillon and soil. Medium bodied, pure textures of finely grained tannin and perfectly integrated acidity. Med+ on the finish. If you have been drinking new world syrah and are hesitant to buy in on a Cote-Rotie, Hermitage or even a Saint-Joseph, this is a nice entry point. — 4 years ago

Lexi Portrait

9.3

This is so good and fun to drink. V fruity and a nice dry finish — 5 years ago

Michael Mallon

8.9

Ripe red fruit, dried herbs and some characteristic blood and sweat. A bit hot. — 6 years ago

Joe Weinberger

8.9

Glou glou. Goes down fast and easy. — 7 years ago

Rick K

9.2

Broad almost viscous mouthfeel. Ripe but balanced. Great for drinking now. — 8 years ago