Ron Siegel

9.4

Always a treat to drink this with notes of dark cherry, berry, meat, iron, spice, licorice, graphite, tobacco & violets. — 5 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.8

Beautiful, whip-smart Northern Rhône Syrah with blackberry, violets, granite and, after air, a gorgeous olive note running through both the nose and palate. The texture is sleek and refined, with excellent freshness, fine tannins and a long, elegant finish. Not quite as complete or tightly composed as the monumental 2019, but still an exceptional Gonon and a brilliant expression of the vintage. — 19 days ago

Jim Powers

9.4

Classic Besucastel! I first visited this property in 1987, and the Brett character was unmistakeable. This 1990 is aging extremely well. Strong Brett aromas, but the fruit is also strong and in balance. If you are one that thinks Brett is an unforgivable flaw, you will hate this. Great Chateauneuf from a great vintage! Celebrating my son’s 33rd birthday tonight (1993 wasn’t a great vintage in CdP!) with a perfectly grilled NY steak. I am very pleased with this wine — 11 days ago

K Brooks

9.0

Quite nice with Shawarma chicken and with roasted leg of lamb. — 20 days ago

Jedidiah Abrams

9.4

Half-bottle — 15 days ago

Her Mir Tage

9.5

Rayas 08 exceeded my expectations — it was in great condition. We decanted it at 3 PM and started drinking at 7 PM. In the first phase, it showed sweet red fruit notes. In the second phase, herbal/vegetal notes emerged. In the third phase, a cooling mintiness appeared.

This bottle wasn't as explosively aromatic as the 07 I opened last time — that 07, after two hours of decanting, unleashed an incredibly rich and enchanting floral bouquet. It was like the scent of a garden transitioning from summer into autumn — grand and opulent, with a hint of fading beauty. Notes of black cherry, rose, and blood orange intertwined, and the aromas kept evolving over time — garrigue, incense — complex and alluring, with a grand structure and a rich, round palate.

The 08, on the other hand, feels more like a refined lady from a scholarly family — graceful, gentle, intellectual, with no aggressive edge. — a month ago

Conrad Green

9.6

Meat, deep herby fruit, iron and intense purity. Great structure, intensity and complexity. A feral, savory and engaging wine. Fantastic stuff. Still young — 7 days ago

with David

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2023 vintage. A worthy successor to the excellent 2022. Medium/medium-heavy body with some punch but more fruit intensity/purity. 8.5.26. — a day ago

Stephen Mathews

9.8

Happy birthday to my favorite mother in law! — 20 days ago

Jan A

9.0

Very advanced bottle — 12 days ago

Mike Obley

8.9

Surprisingly good for a waek vintage — 3 days ago

Todd Scurci

9.1

#rosé #napa — 11 days ago

with Annie

Ron Siegel

9.3

This needed lots of air to open. — 18 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2022 vintage. Medium-heavy body. Needs time/patience but shows pretty well currently if you're out of either/both. 6.3.26. — 2 months ago

Jeremiah Diaz

9.2

Clear, deep ruby to purple in color; on the nose, it's clean with pronounced intensity primary aromas of black currant jam, dried herbs, and plums; on the palate, it's dry with high acidity, high tannins, high alcohol, full body, and pronounced primary and secondary flavors of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, bkack olives, and clay pots with a long finish. This wine is complex and intense, but a little too bitter and tannic. Overall, I rate this wine as very good. Nellie didn't not like it with our food. — 11 days ago

with Nellie

Jay Kline

9.6

Presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine pours a deep garnet/purple with an opaque core and some moderate rim variation; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with beautiful notes of ripe and slightly dried black and blue fruits: dark brambles, plum, fig, purple flowers, leather ball glove, something spicy and green that has me debating between rotundone or pyrazines (but which?), rocky earth and fine baking warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Alcohol is medium. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. What a beautifully made wine.

Initial conclusions: this could be Cabernet Sauvignon (or a blend with associated Bordeaux varieties), Cabernet Franc, Merlot (blended with associated Bordeaux varieties) or Syrah from France, the US or Australia. This is older; probably 20+ years of age based on the secondary characteristics or dried fruit and old leather. While the fruit plays a starring role here, the alcohol seems almost modest so I can’t place this in Australia or the US. The problem I’m having, are there pyrazines or rotundone? I don’t get a lot of black pepper or animale, or olive for that matter…so I’m leaning towards this being Bordeaux. Final conclusion: this is a Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine with a blend of Bordeaux varieties, from France, Bordeaux, Pulliac, from a classified growth, 2004. Whoa!!! 2005 Clape?! What a treat! I feel like I should have nailed this wine. Alas…I still have to get better at differentiating between pyrazines and rotundone with age. Drink now with a decant, through 2045+ — a month ago

Kurt Winrich

9.2

At La Coin in Seattle — 21 days ago

Helen Patrikis

8.9

Delicate peach, and a hint of bubble gum and lightly herbaceous on the nose. Nice acidity. Fresh and lovely. — 19 days ago

Angela Sanks

9.3

Fantastico — a month ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.0

vintage 2015 | spicy, pepper, morelcherries, strict, good acidity — 2 months ago