Neil Valenzuela

9.1

VML Holmes Ranch, Anderson Valley, Pinot Noir 2024.

Medium ruby color. Aromas of cranberry, candied cherry, cola and baking spices. Dark cherry flavors with a black tea finish. — 19 days ago

Diane Gold

9.0

2/20/23: 35B
T: deep and soft. A well structured wine. More tannic than I expected.
D: tobacco leaves, bricks, great depth of flavors, Leather with underlying dark berries. T agrees.
Very good. — 3 years ago

Nicole Ruiz Hudson

9.0

N: dried cherries, warm bricks, mixed herbs, and a smidge of tomato paste
P: + sour cherries, as well a black, raspberry, but overall impression is savory. Lots of acidity. Good balance of fruit, acidity, and minerality. Yum! — 5 years ago

K L

9.2

Balanced and earthy. Not overly fruity. Would get again. — 5 years ago

with Matt

Charlene Hoit

9.8

Loved this wine! Smooth, velvety, slightly peppery. — 6 years ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.4

So good! Red fruit, strawberry, hot bricks, cheese rind, herbs, red florals, ash, almost umami. Will buy some more soon. — 6 years ago

Linda Marshall

9.2

Winehaus Riddle
🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 7 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.1

Not bad at all. Great acidity. Big fruit, some tannin and rocks. Very drinkable and not boozy. — 4 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Medium ruby garnet core , garnet rim . More dusty cassis , spicy blackberry , tobacco , sea spray, hot bricks. On the palate refreshing acidity and more gritty tannin , cassis , blackberry, mineral and tobacco notes . Slightly more linear on the mid palate with good balance and excellent length with mineral tobacco hints . This is drinking well now with time in the decanter , but will continue to improve over the next 5-10 years and last well a further 10-15 years. Really benefited from time in the decanter . — 2 years ago

Randy Fuller

9.7

This Barolo shows its garnet color turning to that of bricks. The nose is soft and savory, with an earthy presence to frame the cherry and floral flavors. The palate shows red fruit and licorice with a hefty dose of citrus minerality. Oak spice plays a role, as does the wine’s great tannic structure. The finish is long lasting and centered on the savory side. — 5 years ago

Ryan Haus

9.2

On the nose, bricks and clay, oak and leather. Taste is tobacco, oak, soft tannins, silky. Blackberries, allspice, slight clove.
This is a 2016 we're drinking in 2020 and it's delicious. Cellar until 2022 or 2024 and it will be amazing. — 6 years ago

Al Shikoh

9.2

medium straw color, pale watery rim; lemon, green apple, hints of white flowers; citrus, wet stone; medium body, good acidity, 14.1% ABV; the fruit comes mostly from Riddle Vineyard located on a ridge in Green Valley near the town of Occidental with small amounts from the vineyards represented in their single vineyard program; whole cluster pressed, barrel fermented, no less stirring, no new oak; very good value at $30 — 6 years ago

Kevin Fay

9.1

Medium garnet. Lots of red fruit on the nose and in particular strawberries hit you like a ton of bricks. There is some residual sugar. Low tannin, but these are underripe. The bottle could use another few years before it hits its full potential. — 6 years ago

with Maisy

Chris B.

8.9

A massive wine, collapsing on the tongue like a ton of bricks. Alcohol, tannins, acid galore but impossible to deny the luscious dark cherries at the core. Simple, big flavors, with something approaching a sweet, smoky barbecue flavor at the end. — 8 years ago

Lauren Golanty

9.0

Really tasty. Bowled us over like a ton of bricks on booze, but no complaints. Bricks, kirsch cherries, just lovely. — 9 months ago

M Y

9.7

Ah, the 2010 vintage of Ricardo Santos Malbec, a transcendental libation that beckons the soul into the labyrinthine depths of vinicultural exuberance. As I imbibed this elixir, my palate embarked on an odyssey through an enigmatic symphony of hedonistic flavors. The terroir speaks with the eloquence of a thousand poets, invoking an avant-garde pas de deux between dark fruit and enigmatic earthiness.

The tannins, oh, the tannins! Like philosophers engaged in a Socratic dialogue with one's senses, they debate their existence before yielding to a seductive silkiness that borders on a Vinous epiphany. Its finish lingers, not unlike the sermons of a zealous street preacher, echoing in the inner sanctum of one's mind.

In conclusion, Ricardo Santos' 2010 Malbec is a vinous riddle wrapped in an enigmatic enigma, destined to provoke laughter, tears, and existential contemplation. A masterpiece of humorous absurdity in a glass! — 3 years ago

Daniel Schniepp

8.9

On the nose, rose pedal, wet bricks and leather. Some orange peel and gravel as well. Super delicate, good acidity, soft velvet tannin. I drank the 16’ langhe the other week and wow is this so much softer and more Burgundian. Super interesting and finessed. Lovely Barolo. Even for a lesser year. — 5 years ago

Perry Riddle

9.0

Freisa is just everything the Covid world needs. Granny’s red strawberry candies, cloves, bing cherries, and sun baked bricks. — 6 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.1

The 2017 Gloria was cropped at 48hl/ha and the Grand Vin comprises 65% of the total production. It has a generous bouquet with red berry fruit, warm bricks and light tobacco aromas that gently unfold in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, a pretty and understated Gloria. A classic tobacco and bay leaf finish does not quite kick on like other recent vintages. Nevertheless, this is a delicious Saint-Julien that will give 20 years of drinking pleasure. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2020)
— 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

If you see my posts, you know all too well that I am addicted to Rosé Champange. Also, I love to pair food & wine.

Everyone has a passion and or gift(s). One of the other things I do well is make the best fruit tart I’ve had anywhere. I’m not bragging, just relaying something that has played out through my experiences. I make it twice a summer season and have been waiting to pair with the Ruinart Rosé this season. I simply knew these two would be perfect together and it didn’t disappoint. Even over the Billecart Rosé which, on its own, I enjoy more over the Ruinart Rosé.

The fruits in each marry perfectly. The crust of the tart picked up and extenuated the dough/baguette crust in the Champagne. There is a perfectly even tug of war between the dessert and the Champagne which, is the primary essential building block of any good food & wine pairing. The wine and dish should not dominate one over the other. The flavors of each should complement each other in some fashion and there are normally many paths to choose from in getting there. This happened perfectly tonight with this Cuvée and my tart.

The Ruinart shows rich, deep and ripe fruits. Black cherry, strawberries, citrus blend, raspberries, soft, delicate chalkiness, mid intensity volcanic minerals, bread dough/Baguette crust, excellent acidity and beautifully, delicious, rich, elegant polished finish that persists minutes. 9.2 on its own and 9.4 with the fruit tart.

Photos of; the House of Ruinart, famous painting of Ruinart’s founder-Dom Thierry Ruinart, my fruit tart and the walk down to their chalky caves. So chalky, its seeped through the bricks they laid to support the ceiling and walls. — 7 years ago