Jay Kline

9.5

Poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. On the nose, the wine is developing with fabulous notes of ripe and tart, mixed brambles, blueberries, figs, lavender, a touch of animale, black pepper, rocky earth and fine, warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium(?) tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This seemed to get younger the longer it was exposed to air. The Benjamin Button of wine, lol. Might even rate it higher down the road. Lovely with kofta on a Thursday. Drink now through 2045+. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 12 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Equally enjoyable on both nights however, the nose was most powerful on Day 1. “Ampodium” (formerly Classique) is 100% Syrah sourced from a dozen or so vineyards and made in a largely traditional style; plenty of whole cluster and a very judicious use of new French oak. The 2010 “Ampodium”pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and signs of light sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of ripe, some desiccated and some tart, black and blue fruits: blackberries, blueberry pie, fields of lavender, black pepper, bacon fat, iodine, and granite earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (mostly integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and laden with rocky minerals. Totally in balance and at peak. Lovely. Drink now through 2035. — a year ago

John Tan

9.3

Sanshugong.

12% alc. Margalagua is a charismatic parcel of the Taganan vineyard comprising 100- to 300-year-old vines on a uniquely iron-rich seam of rocky volcanic soil. This treacherously steep vineyard site is planted with a mix of mostly indigenous red grapes, such as Negramoll and Listán Negro, with a small amount of Listán Blanco. This parcel is about elegance and depth rather than power: due to the silky character of the wines, it is vinified differently with a much longer (30- to 45-day) maceration and 100% stem-inclusion, yielding a darker, bolder, richer wine.
[Vintage 2018:] “This vineyard has been vinified and bottled separately since 2012 because it has a very strong personality, not surprisingly, because it's one of the most fascinating and exceptional vineyards I've ever seen in my life. . . This is a translucent bright ruby color, and it's aromatic, floral, spicy and mineral, expressive and super fresh, because of the year and because they have new cooler vineyards. It has lots of notes of violets and lilies. The flavors are pungent, precise, clean, symmetric and very elegant, with refined tannins and a tasty, somewhat salty finish. This is the best wine they have produced to date. Truly word-class.” WA 98 (Luis Gutiérrez) — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Opened prior to dinner and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1997 La Mouline pours a deep ruby/purple color with a slightly hazy, near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of ripe and desiccated black and red fruits: mixed brambles, black cherry, spiced meat, olives, purple flowers, black pepper, dried herbs, rocky earth, a mix of cool and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Powerful and modern. Lots of energy left. Drink now through 2042. — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Both days outstanding but slightly different experiences. Day 1 was about power. Day 2 was about balance. The 2020 “Cuvée Réservée” pours a brilliant garnet with a translucent core; medium+ viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with heady, slightly funky notes of ripe brambles, garrigue, red & purple flowers, bacon fat, licorice, and dry rocky earth. On Day 2, everything was more open nit and the fruit showed more bruised with a slightly stewed profile. Lavender was the predominate floral profile too. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is textbook Pégau and I love it. Drink now through 2045+ — 3 months ago

Tommy

9.1

Rocky with lush, concentrated black fruit flavor. — a year ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Wow this is singing! What a nose. Gorgeous lemon inflected minerality. Hints of attractive spicey oak and stunning rocky minerality. Tree bark and herbs. So good. What a screaming mimi of a nose. Palate is rich and ripe but also nervy and tense. Amazing purity buttressed by that awesome Meursault richness. Lovely texture. Awesome mouthfeel and a lovely lemon drop lime zest finish. Wonderful. — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Opened prior to dinner; enjoyed over several hours. The 1998 pours a deep garnet/purple with an opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with mixed brambles, black pepper, just a hint of animale, Kalamata olive, purple flowers, dried green herbs, and rocky minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Delicious and doesn’t seem to be dropping from a cliff soon. Drink now through 2033 — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2023 (S) pours a deep ruby/purple with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe strawberry, Bing cherry, red and purple flowers, red rope licorice, rocky earth and cool spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium. This vintage of Lapierre shows the warmth of the vintage and oozes generosity. In some ways, this reminds me of the 2015 vintage. Drink now through 2033+. — 3 months ago

Jeremy.Buss

9.2

While a bit of age has softened this, you still get some of the pepper and spice along with soft dark berries, some light tomato and maybe even a hint of cherry at times. — 4 years ago