Samuel Sabori

9.1

Drank with a farmer in Kenya, his eyes lit up. We are talking smallholder value. Perfect bottle for the moment. — a year ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

The follow up to the 03 Leonetti. @Paul T- Huntington Beach & I have been telling readers about older Jones Family Vineyards for some time. If you haven’t had or not tried this producer it will be the last time I try to entice to you to try this producer. Talking about it more will only drive up the prices on the secondary market.

This 09 is damn beautiful after nearly a four hour decant but it is still fairly youthful.

It is ruby, lush, gorgeous, ripe fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum with skin, dark cherries, plum, hues of purple, blue fruits & raspberries, poached strawberries, black licorice, mixed, dark berry cola, steeped black tea, dry crushed rocks, limestone minerals, dry top soil, dry herbs, hints of eucalyptus, dry clay, dry tobacco, new leather, spice, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon & vanillin, withering red & dark florals framed in violets & lavender, beautiful round acidity, beautiful; balance, tension, structured, smartly polished finished that lasts minutes.

Still needs another 5-8 years to show its best self.

The Jones Family vineyard is located off Bale Lane in Calistoga and was planted to all five Bordeaux varieties by David Abreu in the early 1990s. Heidi Barrett made the wines until 2008, and Thomas Rivers Brown now makes the wines. — 2 years ago

Jake Hajer

9.2

Ahhh...now we’re talking. Like a Sancerre - a little less mineral and a little more lime type citrus. Fennel flower. Clean and clear. Good acidity but not sharp. Really enjoy. — 6 years ago

Chris Sheldon

9.1

It may be the lockdown talking but i am very impressed. Big fruit but not too sweet for me. — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Nice meeting Paul Lato and talking about his wines.

This Zotovich Vineyard offering is delicious young but, will evolve into even greater pleasure in 5-6 years.

The body is full, round with beautiful texture. There is nice mix of perfectly ripe red & dark fruits with excellent blue fruits that hover around the plate. Gentle, soft wood use and subtle baking spices. This bottling walks the tightrope of Burgundy with its perfect waterfall acidity and round, soft structure and has Californian well ripen fruits.

He is one of few Southern California producers that doesn’t over extract and brings out those wonderful blue fruits I love in good Pinot Noirs.

Paul’s cousin was also nice to pour us a glass of one of their 2011 Chardonnays that was really beautiful and drinking at its peak. I didn’t get the vineyard designation as it was at the end of the event and security was being aggressive about clearing the hall. But, again, a beautifully textured Chardonnay that was round with beautiful fruit, great acidity and just the right amount of heather-honey notes. 9.5 on the Chardonnay. — 7 years ago

Andrew S

9.5

Now we are talking. Dark berries, smoked meats, olive, beautiful acidity. Tanins are medium. — 8 years ago

Bryce Wiatrak

9.6

Never a bad night when you’re drinking aged Harlan. The 2004 has grown savory in character - tobacco leaves, thyme, animals and rust. Still palate coatingly tannic, but the needle of fine acidity provided a beautiful textural juxtaposition. — 8 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.6

Vintage 2016 | Eiswein is a real treat. When tasting and talking about this wine that has an awesome balance and excellent acidity to balance the sweetness it occurred to me that the word ‘Heaven’ was used many times 😇. — 2 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.7

Tasted & immediately looked up what I had bought, $50.00 but so worth it.
K&L notes,

This is no cheap rosé, it's true. But consider, for a minute, that this is no simple quaffer of a pink wine. It hails from Palette, one of the smallest appellations in all of France. It is, in a sense, a sort of Provençal monopole, since Château Palette owns nearly all the acreage in this tiny 23-hectare zone. Their vines are old, too. In some cases, more than 100 years old. The red grapes are the usual suspects for this part of France: Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah with small amounts of Cinsault, Carignane, and other local varieties. But at Simone, they translate into a rosé unlike any other. We're talking power here, and a certain something serious. The rosé is fermented in small foudres and is then racked into barriques and left on the lees until the following spring. Rich with raspberries and herbs, this mouth-filling rosé holds onto its natural acidity, as it does not undergo malolactic fermentation thanks to the very cool cellars of this historic chateau. This wine costs as much as many reds. Fortunately, it has the concentration and complexity to go along with the price. Serve it with serious food and be prepared to broaden your appreciation of what rosé can be.
Related items click to collapse contents
— 4 years ago

Samira Farmer

9.0

Nice. 2005 wines are tonight’s theme. Works well with Eggplant Parm and lots of talking, which makes me thirsty. — 6 years ago

with Charlie

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Pontet Canet tasting and dinner with Alfred Tesseron.

The fruits are ripe, ruby. Blackberries, black raspberries, black plum skin, raspberries & strawberries. Dark rich soils, dark spice, crushed dry rocks, black licorice, tobacco, soft leather, graphite, Great balance fruit and earth. The body is velvety and statin. The structure, length, tension and balance are just coming around. The texture is gorgeous. The acidity is round and excellent. The finish delicious and persists nicely.

Photos of; our dinner group, The K&L Bordeaux Buyer-Ralph Sands and Alfred talking about the wines, Clyde Beffa Jr. -Owner of K&L Wine Merchants and Chateau Pontet Canet. — 7 years ago

Madeleine Ray

9.3

We’ve been talking about this producer for a while, so excited to have found the appellation level, even if the vineyard designated bottles are few and far between. Begins with all graphite and granite on the nose, sharp and clean. Opens into reserved fruit on the palate and earthy florals like tulip or orchid. More time in the glass allows for a bit of a saline and meaty character to appear. Whole cluster, but you wouldn’t know it right away, the structure is decidedly not oak tannin, angular, but not overwhelmingly so. Paired with an arrabiata sauce, which softens the white pepper, brings out the red fruit, and surprisingly doesn’t negatively showcase the alcohol content. It’s enticing! Keeps ya checking back for more. — 7 years ago

Kim Stanbro

9.1

Our server warned us about the high alcohol content- he didn’t realize who he was talking to. We tried to have him shake the bottle and he gave it a polite attempt. — 8 years ago

with Dave

Jan de Weerd

9.1

If a wine does not meet your (high) expectations, is it a disappointment?? 🤔. Yeah, everything is relative. This six year old Gran Malbec was still super tight. Sharp, spicy oak tannins (lots of new French oak?) kept anything possibly underneath totally hidden. Although some greener notes came through early on and again later after about 2-3 hours of opening. So, yeah. Not balanced, very intense, limited lingering and single note. Agung will help for sure but not confident if this wine will ever fully shine. But don’t be down on Pulenta. Fantastic winery. We will visit this fall (their Spring) as Spoken Wines. Talking about Spoken Wines, have you seen our latest video story of Hartenberg?? And their incredible commitment to regenerative viticulture, lead by… cows!! Beautifully explained and demonstrated right in front of you by Wilhelm Joubert, the viticulturist. Check it out. And don’t miss the surprise at the end 😁. www.spokenwines.com — 2 years ago

with Tammy

Luis Arguero (@winefromAtoZ)

9.2

Tenuta Il Falchetto Bricco Paradiso Barbera d’Asti Superiore DOCG 2019: Medium-bodied. High acidity. Approachable tannins. Dark fruits. Spice. Oak. Flavorful long finish. Had this wine a few weeks ago at the Slow Wine SF event and I am still talking about it today: The color! The taste! The nose! Such an exceptional wine. Hands down my new favorite Barbera! Great weekend to all! Cheers🍷 — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

The wines of Roger Sabon have been on my radar for about ten years now and I have always thought the “Prestige” designation was, pound-for-pound, one of the better values in all of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. However, for one reason or another, I never seem to drink them that often. This particular bottle of “Le Secret des Sabon” was a lone singleton resting in my cellar since release. My wife, after an unusually exhausting week of work, said she wanted to drink something “impressive”...which means to me that the juice better not suck. And while “Le Secret” has a reputation for being one of the great wines from the entire appellation, I was taking some risk when I selected this bottle since I had no personal experience with it. As soon as I pulled the cork, it was clear this was going to be a special experience. Glass staining garnet with a touch of color that looks almost brown-ish however, there are no signs of decomposition. There is, however, a fairly decent amount of fine sediment. The fruit...well...the fruit is simply sensational. We’re talking fistfuls of the purest raspberries and cherries with some star anise, slightly burned pie crust and black pepper. This is a wine of tremendous texture and balance. Medium acid and medium plus tannins, the latter of which are so fine and silky. The ABV is stated as 15% but it’s so well hidden you would hardly notice. My only wish was that “Le Secret des Sabon” wasn’t so expensive...but there is no doubt about its quality. Drinking so well now but could easily hold for longer if necessary. — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Haut-Bailly Dinner in SF with Veronique Sanders of Haut-Bailly.

The 2000 is delicious but, it still proves out my thoughts that 2000 is a stubborn vintage. It’s going to be 25 years plus in bottle from vintage before this and many other 2000’s show their full beauty & elegance.

It’s starting to show nice integration, elegance & beauty. But, there are better days ahead. Round, ripe, slightly stewed fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, black plum, mint, loamy soil & clay, dry stone, tobacco, leather, black earth, granite and red, dark, blue flowers. Great round acidity. It’s well balanced, delicious with a finish that persists minutes.

Served with Creek Stone Farm Filet of Beef, Sautéed Potatoes, Red Wine Sauce. @Mathilde French Bistro

Photos of; Clyde Beffa Owner of K&L Wine Merchants & Veronique Sanders, dinner menu & pairing, Veronique talking HB terroir & vintages & dinner guests. — 6 years ago

Simone Pizzi

9.3

Barbera as it should be. Generous, rustic, intense, honest. It's a wine that looks at you in the eye, speaks of rolling hills, countryside, farm animals and good values. Beautiful nose and excellent length. The great work in the vineyard shows glorious in the glass. Enjoy with no limits ! — 7 years ago

Chris

9.5

Beautiful! Of course I am talking about the sake and weather... — 8 years ago

with David

Michal Rosenn

9.1

somm overhears you talking about finance bros ordering sassicaia, get a pour of sassicaia 🙃 — 9 years ago