Andrew Cullimore

9.1

From half bottle . Medium light garnet . This is quite closed at first , cool sous bois , touch of dry spice and some dried cherry, a bit difficult to read. Touch smoke , black tea , grafite and earthy notes after a while . On the palate this is better with fresh dark cherry , raspberry , blackberry , touch of liquorice and some earthy , grafite notes . Quite serious with quite grippy tannins still , touch of bitterness but balanced fresh acidity . Quite good sweetness on the mid palate and decent length , earthy finish . Gains in intensity and complexity with time in the glass . Still pretty young and tannic , like a lot of 2005s . Needs a bit of time to open, but should last well a further 5-8 years maybe longer , though this may never completely integrate those tannins. — 7 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Popped and poured; no formal notes. This was poured alongside the 2013 Gravner Ribolla and they we remarkably similar. The Arboreus was more dried peach than apricot (Gravner). Super complex. Looking back on my previous notes, they still apply. That being said, drink now as I don’t have a good read on what happens next with this wine and it’s delivering the good so well right now. Bottle No. 5864 — 3 years ago

Ceccherini Cristiano

9.2

Still looking for balance
Explosion of freshness and flavour
Long and elegant
I reckon it needs time, but honestly this one is a guess.
I find the evolution of the wines from Northern Rhone still hard to read sometimes especially when they are at this stage.
I would love to taste this wine in 10 years and see where it goes — 5 years ago

Kai Wright

9.2

This is weird, but if you read NK Jemisen’s Broken Earth series, and you think about the all-powerful onyx obelisk—that’s what it feels like I’m drinking. Overwhelming in every way—Big, bold, ripe, boozy. But balanced and smooth and soft like velvet glove. I just fall deep into the glass and wanna stay there. The dark, juicy fruit — a blackberry/blueberry cobbler comes to mind—lingers forever. — 5 years ago

Ned Gray Creed

9.3

If there is a better Cab Franc from Saumur at this price point, it would be found in a fairy tale story read to young budding wine geeks. It just doesn’t exist, so buy this one. — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.4

Pronounced “Es-peck-tuckle dell Mont-sunt.” Located in so-called armpit of Spain’s prestigious wine country principally because of its rustic quality. I read the wine is called “Spectacle” because it showed the wine world its natural potential was detracted by lack of literacy & operating capital. Intense fruit nose with sweet spice. Palate is somewhat tight & heavy with black fruits, sweet cacao & pepper spice. Big tannins, well balanced with lingering finesse, ending with a jolt of spice. Tasting Sample. Needs time or decanting! — 8 years ago

Michael Moore

9.1

Cracked the 2010. Still young but really good. Not shut down or reticent like other reviews I read. Epic Sangiovese. — 9 years ago

Pooneet K

9.4

A knockout left bank Bordeaux. I’ve read that the 2005s may go longer than the potentially even more vaunted 2000s and I might agree based on this bottle. Decanted 5 hours. Cork in perfect shape. Amazing depth of fruit and a ton of Bordeaux earth. Nose goes on and on as does the finish. Was an excellent pairing but a very good but simple roast chicken. — 8 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Tasted from 1/2 bottle. They come in handy for dinner for two in many cases, but especially at a restaurant that allows corkage. Most do in California. It is even harder to find vintage champagne in 375ml’s.

The 2018 vintage was good to very good. You need to taste and or read up for its best offerings.

A note, I tasted at the Billecart-Salmon property in later October 2022 with Mathieu Roland-Billecart. As insightful as that was, he was asked other than Billecart Salmon champagnes, what was one of his favorite champagnes? His reply was surprisingly an older vintage Paul Bara he had recently. That’s a producer question that gets asked often. Normally generates a pause with some minor angst to answer.

The nose shows; lemon chiffon/meringue, bruised apple to slightly cider, bruised pear, yellow & white stone fruits, just ripe pineapple, orange citrus blend, lime pulp, tropical melons, whipped, white cream, white spice-ginger, yeasty bread dough, saline, crushed limestone pulp, crumbled chalk, sea fossils, white spring flowers set in yellow lilies.

The palate is round & soft. The mousse is delicate w/ micro oxidation. Ripe; lemon chiffon/meringue, white & yellow stone fruit, slightly bruised apple & Bosc pear, lime pulp, orange citrus rind, some tropical melons, cream, ginger white spice, yeasty bread dough, sea spray, saline, sea fossils, dry crumbled chalkiness, caramel notes, heather honey, warm perfectly toasted toast, graham cracker, nougat w/ nuts, yellow flowers set in a field of white spring flowers, excellent acidity with a nicely; balanced, structured, tensioned, polished finish that lasts a minute and falls on limestone laced with soft, dry, powdery chalkiness.

Photos of; the house of Paul Bara, chalky caves w/ riddling racks, old wood basket press & a vineyard picking party. — a year ago

Sir Maxwell Hastings, III

9.2

Nice acid. Decent tannins. Stays on the tongue for a little while. Rounder for a chianti. Not super complex. Somewhat lush. Not super dry. Salty aroma. Minerally for a read. (& Taste - 4.2 - Would buy again) — 5 years ago

Stephen Sasaki-Perez

9.5

remind of muscadet or lees-aged koshu (it is sur-lie; koshu is Japanese grape) or like a really solid pinot grigio. but enjoyable in its delicacy. I had read it was "like Oregon Cali" chard - so a less fruit butteroak thing - so was impressed with its subtlety
Day2 melded new world flavors and hit all my style points. It aged 4years overnight in a good way! Jumped from 9.1 to 9.5! Yay auction gems. Looking for more — 6 years ago

Mikey T

9.2

Read Icculusly clean and fresh for an ‘82. This is worthy of WW2 and I’m sorry California, your Cabs will never come close to this complexity and smoothness and deliciousness. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I bought my first vintage from this producer & terroir beginning with the 2010 vintage and what a vintage to start. I bought four bottles for right around $50 or a little less. They were so amazing, I drank through them in no time at all. For those of you that read my posts, that’s not normally what I do. I like to drink one & age the rest. Since then, I have looked & looked for more. I’d finally given up hopes of finding more until recently I struck gold. I should have bought all nine bottles but a calmer head prevailed. It’s definitely changed since having it fresh. On the nose, the fruits are slightly macerated. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, glazed nuts, soft, delicate, chalky minerals, a touch of jasmine & yellow lilies. The body is much rounder & thicker than when it was young. Waxy. So, beautifully layered across the palate. Much of the palate matches the nose. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, apricots, peach, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, slight molasses character & glazed nuts with citrus blossoms, yellow lilies & jasmine. The minerals are much more grippy & bold as they cut across and set on the palate. The acidity round & phat. The texture is amazing as is the length, balance & beautiful, rich, long finish that lasts two-minutes plus. So glad I found more of this wine! Hubert Lamy seriously over deliver the terroir & the price point by a country mile. If you are not buying this wine on pre-arrival, you are missing great wine and excellent value. Can’t say enough good things about it. Especially, the 2010. I expect the 15 to hold similar quality. Photos of; Olivier Lamy, Olivier working in this vineyard, barrel room and their Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Vineyard. Producer notes and history...There have been Lamy’ s growing vines in St-Aubin since 1640, today it is run by Olivier Lamy. Olivier is a new breed of Burgundian grower keen to progress. He trained Méo-Camuzet & made a number of vintages before taking over in 1996 from his father Hubert. Hubert Lamy used to sell fruit to négociants, but that stopped in 1997. He grubbed up and sold off peripheral vines, keeping only the best and oldest sites. Currently he is experimenting with different planting densities in a quest to capture even greater expression of terroir. The Domaine produces both reds and whites and now has 16.5 hectares of vineyards, mostly in St-Aubin but also own a few parcels in Chassagne-Montrachet and a tiny plot in the Grand Cru Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Yields are kept low and recent innovations have been introduced with selection tables in the cuverie to ensure that only the healthiest and ripest grapes are used. His more recent move to reduce the amount of new oak with the introduction of demi-muids 300-600 liter barrels have also helped to improve the wines. Vinification is traditional and the wines are matured with only 20-30% new oak for 12 months before minimal filtration and then bottling. The quality is very high and is often superior to many wines from much more prominent villages that sell at twice the price or more. — 8 years ago

Jenn Ingle

9.5

Nose - forest floor, wood, tobacco, moss. Main flavors - stewed plum and light baking spices. A bit of tannic structure but overall smooth and earthy. Like no Pinot noir I’ve ever had. Tremendous! Read the James Suckling review and he has it right it’s moody. But I think moody in the best possible way. — a year ago

with Jay

Karyn Fricke

9.0

Well balanced, was good on its own and good with a steak. Read about this winery recently then saw one of their wines at a local restaurant. Had to try am glad I did. Will get again. — 2 years ago

Stas Medvedev

8.9

🏅 Rating 88+/100 (3,85⭐)

Effortless drinking unpretentious red for anyone. Sold in minimagnums (1L) at a bargain price (€16). Purple colour, medium-light body. Cool blend of Pinot Noir, Blaufrankisch, and aromatic St.Laurent. Might become your favourite table wine.

---
Read my wine writing at http://stasmedvedev.lv/wine
and follow me on https://instagram.com/wine_talks_club — 5 years ago

Chad Ingram

9.0

Can’t read the label but delish — 5 years ago

Sarah O'Kelley

10

This was a wine that I have been holding onto for years and finally deemed my belated birthday dinner to be the perfect or imperfect time to enjoy it. Le ragnaie is for me the very best that Brunello can be especially with this type of age on it: all dried red fruit and dried herbs and leather and all perfectly in balance! Plus Ricardo The man behind the line is just a super nice person! You can read more about it on my blog if that’s the sort of thing you do 🥰 — 6 years ago

Jeffrey Lew

9.1

This was showing thinner than I expected. Light read with noticeable bricking on the rim. Bottle and cork were in perfect shape. Expected more. Not a bad bottle just didn’t have the depth of fruit and secondary’s I was expecting. Good not great. — 8 years ago

Gregory Knaps

9.0

2015. So much material here it's hard to get a read on, but the future is bright. In 2015, showing a little more Maconnais than d'Or. — 9 years ago