Hirpinian Cluster

Willamette Valley Vineyards

Whole Cluster Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023

Great value. Definitely my go to $25 bottle — 6 months ago

Dave, Neil and 5 others liked this

Domaine du Pegau

Cuvée Réservé Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 2021

Ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Nose of red and black fruits with light wood, tobacco and chocolate notes.

Dry on the palate with sweet raspberries, cherries, light oak, licorice, chocolates, spices and earth.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This young Grenache blend is starting to drink very nicely now, with nice complexity and a soft mouthfeel.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 15 years.

Elegant and rich. Interesting and engaging. A very traditional Châteauneuf-du-Pape in style.

Well balanced and good by itself as a sipping wine. Will also pair nicely with food.

A blend of all 13 allowed grapes in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but mostly Grenache. Hand picked and whole cluster. Aged for 2 years in large French oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$110.
— 10 months ago

Dave, Jay and 14 others liked this

Domaine Bizot

Vosne-Romanée Pinot Noir 2018

Bizot tasting & lunch. Flight 1
Very rare with tiny production. Whole cluster with 100% new oak. When you taste these wines you can see why they have such high demand almost impossible to find & pricing is sky high. The 18’s were open & seemed ready showing beautiful red cherry, berry fruits showing purity & transparency with Leroy like spice & floral notes. Everything is in perfect balance. The 2020 will also be a great vintage
— 3 years ago

Juan, Lyle and 6 others liked this

Failla

Occidental Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013

Whole cluster stamped on label. Savory and spicy with vg length — 4 years ago

Ira and Billy liked this

Gramercy Cellars

Lagniappe Red Willow Syrah 2020

Purple in color with medium intensity and a wide purplish rim.

Fruit forward on the nose with earth and chocolate notes.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing red and black fruits with light wood, spices, coffee, earth, dark chocolates, light vegetables and black pepper.

Nice length on the finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This Single Vineyard Syrah feels more like a Grenache than a Syrah. Showing nice balance between the fruits and earth notes.

Would be nice to revisit it in 3 years and see how it evolves.

Easy drinking and good by itself or with food.

100% whole Cluster Syrah grapes were aged in (8% New) French oak barrels for 21 months.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$65.
— 7 months ago

Tom, Dave and 6 others liked this

Rhys Vineyards

Skyline Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012

Could there be a better thanksgiving pairing? Not planned, but this became the grand slam of the evening. So much ripe fruit - cherry, red plum, strawberry, pomegranate - but in the best way. Evergreen notes. Amazing orange marmalade 3/4 of the way through that carries through on the finish. Cola notes on the finish. Concentrated California Grand Cru shit.

100% whole cluster, high elevation & low yielding vineyard. 50%ish new oak.
— 3 years ago

Josh, Romain and 9 others liked this
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego Premium Badge

SCM a little inconsistent in the CA Pinot world but when it hits, nowhere else matters.

Willamette Valley Vineyards

Whole Cluster Willamette Valley Rosé of Pinot Noir 2021

Still great, everything you want in a Pinot Noir rose. — 4 years ago

Familia Zuccardi

Concreto Mendoza Malbec 2021

Exceptional concentration via whole cluster extraction. A richness that rivals that of California cabs 😳 — 9 months ago

Domaine de la Côte

La Côte Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2021

“La Côte” of Domaine de la Côte is a DREAMY Pinot Noir from the Santa Rita Hills AVA of California’s Central Coast region.

Here pacific coastal breezes stretch inland and cool the sun-soaked vineyards. Domaine de la Côte has a collection of 6 vineyards on the western edge of Santa Rita Hills. On the back label you see a map of several of their vineyard blocks, including “La Côte” which is organically-farmed and nestled on a steep southeast-facing slope, where it absorbs the radiant sun during the growing season.

The grapes that went into this wine were harvested by hand, cluster-by-cluster, affording a gentler handling of the fruit with reduced risk of oxidation and microbial spoilage.

This wine was then fermented in a concrete vessel using 100% whole clusters (stems and all) thanks to the process of wild, ambient yeasts in the vineyard, winery, and on the skin of the berries…

The result is a positively perfumed and pristine berry-fruited profile with concentrated notes of black cherry, strawberry, raspberry, boysenberry, hibiscus, rosewater, cherry blossom, and anise balanced by a firm backbone of acidity and reserved alcoholic profile (13.1% ABV).

Following fermentation, this wine matured for 10 months in oak (30% new oak), lending delicate secondary notes of vanilla, clove, and cardamom.

The Domaine de la Côte “Bloom’s Field” was among the wines featured in the Somm 3 movie; it was blind tasted next to other French and California wines in a 2018 retake of the 1976 Judgement of Paris that culminated in a tasting of wines by a panel of luminaries of the wine world: Fred Dame, Jancis Robinson, and the late, great Steven Spurrier, who organized the Judgment of Paris back in 1976.

It is a captivating wine and has the structure to age, though we are loving it in its current state. It’s a delicious pairing with the herb-crusted salmon, roasted asparagus, and crème fraiche / chive mashed potatoes.

Cheers!

— 2 years ago

Deked1
with Deked1
Deked1, Jay and 15 others liked this

Pearce Predhomme

Whole Cluster Wild Ferment Syrah Cinsault 2020

Soft and juicy. Actually goes really well with seafood, especially shellfish. — 4 years ago