Reviews

Promontory

A perfect wine. And in 10 years it'll be a perfect wine. And in 15 years it'll be a perfect wine. And in 20 years it'll..well, you get the picture. So, we all know that taro card reading wine is an…

Adamvs Cabernet Sauvignon Quintvs

Well, I asked for some tension and I got some tension. The 2015 is tighter and more linear than the 2014. This is indeed a long-hauler, with quite the grippy frame. More herbal and exacting on the…

Promontory

There is a simmering herbaceous energy that swarms around the black currant and unripe black cherry flavors, with menthol and forest floor rounding out the profile. The cooler vintage makes for a…

Adamvs Cabernet Sauvignon Quintvs

A noticeable step up from the Teres, the Quintvs (pronounced Quintus, by the way - this house uses the "v" as a "u" FYI. A helpful hint from your pal csimm so you don't walk around saying "Adam-vs"…

Promontory

I didn't get much of a read here. It was so linear and primary that any sort of logical assessment was lost between the pucker and the frame. Sour cherry and sour cherry and sour cherry. The finish…

Adamvs Cabernet Sauvignon Teres

Along the same lines as the 2016, this 2018 has a fuller mouthfeel and some dark power to counterbalance the grainy frame. The 2018 displays some of the mineral-inflect tannic spine as the 2013, but…

La Pelle Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Surely the best of the bunch in terms of concentration and depth, the Reserve Cabernet offers that extra layer of density and breadth befitting a reserve designation. Powerful blackberry, black…

Adamvs Cabernet Sauvignon Teres

The vintage here does the Teres all the favors in the world, with initially a tight front end, but with requisite power to throttle the fruit and push it forward so that it can compete with the…

La Pelle Cabernet Sauvignon Alluvium

The powerhouse of the three SVDs, the Alluvium elbows past the partygoers and shows its upfront opulence and swanky luxury. Ripe blackberry is encircled with a bit of booze on the initial cascade of…

Adamvs Cabernet Sauvignon Teres

Tight, linear, and a bit spicy, the 2013 Teres shows some of the stern hallmarks of the vintage. With air, red and black currants, herbs, unripe raspberries, and dusty earth emerge. Finishes with…

La Pelle Cabernet Sauvignon Ceniza

Comparatively darker and chewier than the Red Hen, The Ceniza rolls out the blackberry, ash, bitter chocolate, pulverized granite, pencil lead, and wet cave flavors with a gothic and semi-serious…

001 Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon Ecotone Vineyard

A new project by Jack Bittner, with Graeme Macdonald as winemaker, the 2019 001 (double-O[oh]-one) will be the inaugural wine from prime plots on the Ecotone site. Jack was gracious enough to meet us…

La Pelle Cabernet Sauvignon Red Hen Vineyard

Dark and deep, with ripe blackberry, purple plum, and red and black raspberry notes almost immediately landing on the mid-palate with a perfect dollop of savory goodness, but also with red currant…

Tusk Estates Cabernet Sauvignon

Huh. This was. initially pretty perplexing. Round and uber-plush. Displayed pretty yummy black and blue fruit that was indeed tasty, but lacked the extra frame and tension to keep things moving and…

Adamvs Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Another bottle of this got thrown into the mix courtesy of Cristal2000. This bottle OWNED the table in its own right. A Howell Mountain beauty that really outshined its other Adamvs peers all the way…

La Pelle Cabernet Sauvignon

If you have $85 burning a hole in your corduroys and don't know what to spend it on, might I suggest the La Pelle Napa Valley. This is a total bang for your buck wine. You can drink this now and not…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

(If you want the punchline, skip all the drivel and just go to the last sentence at the bottom of this lingual mess I've created here).

Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard

Man I tell ya, I last had this nearly five years ago and my note then is just as applicable as it is now. Solid stuff here that is absolutely able to (and perhaps should) age for longer. This…

Fait-Main Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras

Over four years since my last sampling this, the '16 FM LPV has gone from a high-rider taut teaser to a lush, plush, and gurgling gush of muddled blackberries and choc-o-late silkiness. If you know…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo

This started out in a zone that seemed to be on track for greatness, but it shut down hard in under an hour. Like Aqua Net at a Stevie Nicks concert, it was initially swarming with wonderful acid and…

Tusk Estates Cabernet Sauvignon

Opened at the end of the evening, which is almost always a mistake in terms of service, the Tusk wasn't the total blowout like the SQN mighty Z cocktail, but it was clearly in need of about 3-5++…

Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Materium

Bringing this to a BDX tasting is like having Marilyn Manson as an opening act at a Celine Dion concert. Heavy metal devil horns brings the ripe fruit, the heat, and. well, the ripe fruit. Yet, this…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

This sample was actually a bit subdued (comparatively to other vintages of VV LPVs at least), but certainly with enough potency and drive that there is little question of its origin and of the…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon The Magnificent Seven

I think I've already punched my ticket a couple of times in terms of adjective allowances to describe this wine in my previous notes. Just when I think I'm pretty much done with this degree of what…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Hey man... What can I say?! This is everything you love about the good Doctor turned up to 11. If you know Crane and you know Elysian, it'll come as no surprise that this bugger is all flavor-forward…