Tom Casagrande

9.2

Youthfully delicious! Pop ‘n poured. 55% Carignane, 26% Zin, 19% Mataro. 100% really old vines. Zingy nose features all manner of crisp, ripe berries, as well as a whiff of American oak and iodiney minerals. Deep fruit but focused and balanced (really nice acidity) in the mouth. Drinking great now, this will certainly last and possibly improve for the next five years. (Bandol the dog is glad I’m enjoying it but remains skeptical of new world wines.)

UPDATE: Even better on night 2. Deeper and showing amplified saline stoniness. — a year ago

Amy Wundersitz

8.9

With mum, dad and Chris. All enjoyed — 4 years ago

Will Stanley

9.4

What a joy to drink this 9 year old Marlborough Chardonnay in a near perfect spot with little sign of age. This is so bright, fresh, vibrant but carries a depth that I didn’t expect from this region.

Complex palate with white peony, pepper, lemon, grapefruit and mouth watering acidity. The finish is so, so long and couldn’t be more buttery. Like, minutes later buttery. Could this be barrel age, could it be malo fermentation - not sure. But I love it. — 6 years ago

Lindsey King

9.3

In a newsletter I wrote: ‘Margalagua’ roughly translates to ‘Mother of Water’ and I think it is obvious that the Mother of Water is wine. This is a wine for all weather, the weather forever thirsty, you always in need. The grapes are a busy blend of Listan Negro, Listan Prieto, Baboso, Negramoll and Malvasia Negra. The vines are at least 100 years old and untrained like an old dog that can’t learn new tricks but aren’t his old tricks still so good? He can’t differentiate a formal paw shake and a casual high five but he knows raising a paw to yours results in a mouthful of flavour and you too can expect a mouthful of flavour from the Margalagua. Fermented in old 500 liter barrels with the whole grape clusters included, and then raised in neutral 500 liter French oak barrels for 11 months. A tantalizing mixture of pepper and stones, pungent aromatics, with wonderful deep umami notes, high-toned citrus, spice and flowers. Float in this current, dream in the stream. — 7 years ago

Danny Martinez

9.1

Staycation 2018 @CAA ; Josie is upstairs FREAKING OUT and we enjoyed ridiculously good mussels in a lobster curry broth, caesar salad, pork + halibut. Solid night for romance, per Danny. As for the wine, not as dry as AUS SBs, though light fruit with a quick finish. Easy to drink and would have again. Now to finish so we can eat affogato and return to Josie before she dies of a heart attack (that old dog does *not* like change) — 8 years ago

Connor McMahon

9.3

Needs a bit more air but this is showing nice! Always a crapshoot with old French wine on how much Brett will be present. None on this old dog — 8 years ago

Sarah C

9.0

2013. Bright, vibrant and fresh at 4 years old. Classic Bing cherry, strawberry, cranberry and spice with hints of mineral and savoriness. Medium plus acidity and fine, integrated tannin. Lovely. — 9 years ago

Brad Jensen

9.3

Very rustic and musty, from what I hear this amount of time must have really softened its rough edges because this has some refinement to it. Amber red color, with slight coppery hints, the nose is musty like an old felt book binding, or some velvet church pews, with prominent fruit as it’s allowed to open up, and even some hints of dusty bubble gum and deep floral notes towards the edges. Looong legs on a medium body, the tannins are well integrated and grippy, with a strong foundation, but melt after a little while. There’s serious graphite and minerality here, but that opens into some savory notes, black currant and olive, as well as some balsamic, but after the tannin let go you get some serious cacao or dark chocolate notes, even some tobacco smoke, with fig and blood orange at the finish. I don’t know why people dog on this wine, it just needs time to mature, more than folks realize. Paired with spek, sheep’s milk cheese, and the film “A Prophet”. — a year ago

with Tiva

Ali H

9.5

Bought Dec 2022, $20 Wise Old Dog in West Hartford
Stored in 1st floor bedroom closet ~64F
Nose- Freshly opened: Clean, floral, apples & pares, sage??
Palette- Freshly opened, sweet w/ slight acidity, may have been a touch warm, light-medium body — 4 years ago

Adam Zell

9.1

Moving day, why not drink a 15 year old Pinot? — 7 years ago

Aaron Rankin

9.0

Was sad to find this old dog is tired. It’s lost all its texture and nice savory elements. What remains is smooth stewed fruit. Drink up. — 7 years ago

Diane Withrow

9.0

Dark ripe red cherry nose. Slightly bloody color, full smooth body. Plum, pepper, old leather, chewy. Cherries coming through tannins. Deliciously drinkable. Mushroom and sausage marinara on the stove- simmering- yes to this and a late lazy afternoon..... old and new Jazz and the fire my happy dog curled next to it. — 8 years ago

Ted

9.8

Even at almost 17 years old this is still very much on the young side. Very dark in color with still tons of tannins. Black licorice, chocolate and cigar. Fantastic bottle only got better. I enjoyed this fine bottle with a 32 ounce dry aged Tomahawk Ribeye steak then shared the bone with my dog. She looked at me like a Greek God as I handed over the remains. Woohoo it’s the weekend!! — 8 years ago

with Jeni

Liz O'Neal

9.0

Not overly acidic, not too tart. It’s just perfectly balanced. Citrus blossom - like an orange tree when it’s not blooming. A good neutral white wine - middle ground for sauv b and chard drinkers to share

Lovely with the foie gras & cherry parfait 😍 and lobster on brown butter toast

“As a 33 year old man, this is what I’d put in a water bottle to take the dog for a walk in the evening” - Jeff — 8 years ago

Andrew Belzer

9.6

Love to target those “bad” vintages the critics dog on, it really forces winemakers to make an old school style wine that hold up over time! This was still fresh, with plum, cassis, leather, spice, soft tannins with great acidity on the finish — 2 years ago

Kirsten Spalding

9.9

So excited to drink this. Leathery, pipe tobacco on the nose. Forrest floor, old attic mildew, dusty, decomposing musty leaves. Stringent. Tastes like a old leather bound book you found at your grandparents and were like, “what’s that?” and pulled it from its shelf and instead got a face full of dust. But you love it. I love this. It’s everything I love about an old Bordeaux— pure decomposed earth. I would love to pet a lovely, giant Scottish Deerhound while drinking this— a dog as regal and mythical as this wine. — 3 years ago

Hugh O'Riordan

9.5

This 19 year old is lovely.aged very well. Bought at winery . Even meet 3 legged dog. Fruit has dropped back. Lots of earth, some funk.. just a delicious wine — 6 years ago

Connor Smith

9.5

#Nebbiolo is a surprisingly rare grape. Even in its native Piedmont, it accounts for only 8% of vineyard land. There are fewer than 100 hectares planted in the United States. 🕵️‍♂️🍇
Over 80% of prewar Italian immigrants came from Sicily and Southern Italy. Piedmont was the wealthiest and most politically dominant region. But if fortunes were reversed, could Nebbiolo have taken Primitivo/Zinfandel’s place as a grape relatively uncommon on the boot but dominant in California? 🤔🇮🇹🇺🇸
Probably not. The Nebbiolo vine is *not* for beginners. It flowers early and ripens late, making it susceptible to both spring and autumn frosts. It loves the occasional fog bath (some say the name is derived from ‘nebbia’, Italian for fog ☁️☁️☁️) but is prone to the mildew that may result from such humid conditions. Its fussiness would make Pinot Noir blush: it demands southwesterly exposure, a proper gradient, constant sun above, and fog licking at its toes. #diva
Sound anything like California’s Central Coast? 🌅
In the Santa Maria Valley, where the East-West Transverse Range bends back into the North-South Coastal Range, it’s possible. Vineyard selection still requires extreme discretion - an eye like @JimClendenen’s, perhaps.
Jim began the Nebbiolo program at the legendary #BienNacido vineyard in 1994. Production is small, but if you track down his “The Pip” Nebbiolo, it will only run you about $30. You’ll believe anything is possible when you have real California Nebbiolo of this quality come wafting out of the glass at you! 🙌🙌
🏞.“The Pip” is named after Jim’s old cellar dog Pip, a border collie. So it only seemed right to include one of our own pips! 🐈 — 7 years ago

Anthony Pro

8.9

Tastes old world. Good Pinot Noir. Long dog? #NameOfMySexTape — 8 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.3

Move over Lopez, this has attained top dog of old school rioja. More leathery & plump. — 8 years ago

with Paul and Owen