Nicely balanced, with slightly oxidative notes of grilled lemon, almond, fresh ginger, bruised apple, and pumice. Medium in its delivery, with a nice ratio of froth-to-flavor on the front attack.…
Much like the 2014 version, this 2016 is fairly lush and creamy, with lemon curd, almond paste, ripe pear, hazelnut, and some faint earth. An agreeable wine to be sure, with enough acid and grip to…
Lemon, quince, grilled pineapple, olive oil, mixed nuts, and some wet limestone. Slightly reductive, with the mineral notes creeping up on the back end, adding to the complexity of the core fruit.…
Big on the vanilla, creme fraiche, and lemon curd flavors, with a notably rich attack on the front end. Tropical fruit and glycol round out the profile here. The flavors are wonderfully decadent, but…
A rich and plush effort, with ripe yellow citrus, lemon curd/custard, vanilla bean, creme fraiche, pear, and grilled pineapple. A full-bodied domestic Chardonnay in every way imaginable. If you like…
A solid expression of the Gap's site, reminding me a bit of the Kosta Browne 4-Barrel program (though not as rich or oak infused), this Black Kite decidedly pushes out focused and determined flavors…
Last minute pull for Thanksgiving. This especially showed like a Burgundy this go-around, even more so than previous experiences. A beautiful wine, if not a bit shy on its delivery of fruit. It never…
A spritz-filled PnP gave way to intense and heady flavors of lemon and tropical fruit notes blasting past the palate on the full-bodied attack. Peach, ripe pear, quince, olive oil, buttered popcorn,…
Sonoma County · Green Valley of Russian River Valley
Same notes as last month. A really nice balance between acid/frame/drive and core fruit flavor. Pure, balanced, and elegantly smooth, but also full and unctuous. Especially well-weighted mid-palate,…
Highly expressive and currently flaunting it's sexy domestic vanillin oak and creamy buttered popcorn profile that I associate with and appreciate about Sugar Shack. Viscous and oily in the mouth,…
Disgorged 7/23/15. Light-to-medium oxidation, with some fried plantain and butterscotch notes darting through the ripe yellow citrus and pear skin core. Bruised lemon peel, toasted almond, and faint…
Severely oxidized. Lamp oil and burnt butterscotch. Astringent, bone dry, and lacking any and all freshness. Two of two bottles performed similarly. Not a happy camper...
With some vigorous decanting, this showed signs of real promise. If you've had this wine before, y'all know Benoit has his Burgundian flair kicking off with this particular white. This is indeed a…
Previous notes apply, though this is quickly becoming my favorite Chardonnay of the vintage; each time I have this wine I experience more layerings of flavor and depth. This particular bottle was…
Served side-by-side with a 2015 B Cellars Barrel Select Chardonnay, which I thought had a bit more depth and complexity than this Star Chardonnay. The Star had notable tension and energy, with more…
Sonoma County · Green Valley of Russian River Valley
Served side-by-side with the 2016 Star Chardonnay, which I thought registered a little higher toned on the palate than this more unctuous Barrel Select Chardonnay. Previous notes apply. This was a…
Previous notes apply, though this is starting to show some beautiful yellow citrus and pear notes that give it some additional mid-palate depth. Starts out just as racy as when I had it back in…
Notably balanced and smooth, with a creamy texture that enveloped the palate and offered a nice vehicle to carry the yellow citrus, mild tropical fruit, and sea stone elements through the attack.…
Candied lemon peel, lemon oil, lightly buttered popcorn, vanilla, slight glycol, alkaline, and some subtle grass. A little less smooth on the back end. Lacking silkiness and textural elegance, but…
Inviting and agreeable, with a moderate sex appeal and soft porn-esque delivery. Overall, fairly smooth; less glycol after 2+ hours in the decanter. Notes of lemon curd, lemon verbena, vanilla, and…
Previous notes apply. I still recommend holding this particular wine well into 2019. Decanting and vigorous swirling brought out more depth of flavor. PnP was initially pretty tight and linear. After…
Round, fairly ripe, and lemon-curd driven, pushing out hints of popcorn and vanilla as well, this Chardonnay certainly has a decent 'yum' factor going on with it. Smooth and palate-coating, with a…
