In a blind of 2019 Napa Cabs, this performed exceptional, though it is worth noting that it is undoubtedly young and still sorting itself out. My notes on this bottle read, "More sophisticated and…
Though youthfully primary and slightly strict at this stage, the 2019 is packed with sophistication and beautiful potential. It's a serious and stern presentation currently, but it makes its mark…
I've had this wine a couple of times now. In a blind a few months back, it showed a little older than the other modern Napa Cabs, at least in the sense that the profile displayed some leather and…
Cutting to the chase, this was a rocket ship on day two. Day one was reserved and a little linear, with red to black fruit dominating the profile. Finished flavorful but a bit strict on the back end.…
The 2014 M7 had been the only vintage of M7 I had not tasted until now. This particular bottle showed a relatively sweet and rich profile, with perhaps less delineation of flavor than more recent…
Balanced and smooth, especially for such a young pup. Super fruity, in fact, one of the fruitiest renditions from this site that I can remember. Notes of mixed berry basket, boysenberry, licorice,…
Great fruit concentration, with black cherry, earth/soil, bitter chocolate chunk, and spice leading the flavor cavalry. The back end is yummy and slightly ravenous, with a filling/decently deep…
This dude is an unresolved fruity spider monkey boinging back and forth from round and bulbous to angular and abrupt, with a simple and shorter finish that seemed even slightly watery. Like a 2010…
Stewed purple plum, black raspberry, juicy cassis, wet limestone, coffee grounds, soil, and red-purple licorice kick off a To Kalon that is perhaps less 'serious' than other examples of this site,…
Big, juicy, juicy, juicy, and juicy. Some alcohol comes to the party, but it's washed over pretty quickly by the (you guessed it) juicy fruit. This is rounder than I recall, with a big bubble of…
This bottle presents a good argument to the age-ability of certain Carter wines. This 2010 TK is a beautiful specimen, perhaps even slightly eclipsing the 2013 GTO served beside it (though I think…
A big wine, with redder fruit than I recall, but with a sophistication and focus that is most notable. A great wine, though I was actually a little more drawn to a 2010 Carter TK served next to it…
Honed, focused, chiseled, mineral, black goth berry-rock, and a mean streak all up and down it, the 2016 HSS is serious business in the best of ways. Give it another 5+ years and be rewarded. It…
Muddled and slightly unfocused at first pass, this found a decent glide for a very short period of time before making another hard left on to the dirt road, making for a bit of a rough ride…
This really is a phenomenal wine. The 2013 is probably the best wine this house has ever made. So much focus and chiseled intensity, with a flavor expansion that can turn on a dime. Expertly crafted,…
A very well put together wine. It was overshadowed by a 2019 Ovid, but stylistically was better judged on more of the classical spectrum than that of the more modern Ovid. On its own, the red and…
From Magnum. A wine that may need some more time in bottle (especially since it was a 1.5L), the 2017 Promontory was thinner than expected. Though the focus and exactitude was impressive, the…
It's big, juicy, and has all sorts of purple-red berry waves rumbling over the palate, though there is a cocktail element that orbits the profile throughout consumption. It's a young pup, so its…
My note from last year applies in terms of this wine's specific characteristics and flavor profile, though I will say the performance this time around was absolutely beautiful on day one (a healthy…
I guess I'll just have to keep giving this wine 100 points. I've had the privilege of tapping this wine a number of times now, and every time it just kills it. This time, its prowess was tested…
True to its name the Mysterons was fairly cat-and-mouse on the nose and the palate. It was truly a bit of a mystery with its dodgy flavor expression and somewhat indiscernible profile. For some…
At first pass, this thing was balled up like, well. a ball. Quivering and compact, I sensed this might be M7 simply because of the sheer Oppenheimer-type encased fury-boom potential it possessed, but…
If a Northern Rhone Cornas butcher met up with a Stags Leap socialite, you'd have the 2021 Vice Versa Stelzner. This thing is slathered in meat drippings, soil, char, burnt embers, and the black…
I had to laugh because I have always considered Dr. Crane fruit-driven for my palate. The first word in my notes says, "fruity." CT'r Cristal2000 thinks I make this stuff up just cuz I give him a…
Powerful and front loaded. Boom! Instantly turns richer and longer with the first sip. A beast of a wine that holds it all together with graphite and mineral elements providing an amazing stretch of…
