Fruity on the nose; fruity on palate. Red berry (cranberry) dominates, with candied red cherry, cassis, and red currant. The profile is. red. With air, it becomes more linear and superficial. The…
Oh bejeezus, this is one seriously stern arm-crossed child who doesn't know how to use its big words when it's cranky. Not much on nose; not much on the palate. Linear and flat-lined, with barely any…
A product of the 18/19 vintage, which as a blend should be pretty ideal given the successes of those two vintages. Super fruity on nose, with a predominantly black fruited profile overall. On the…
In a lineup of top shelf 2019 Napa Cabs blind, this undoubtedly showed near the top of the heap. Of course the immediate argument is that it should always be the singular one on top (short of a…
In a blind amongst some stellar performers (Kinsman, Macdonald, Scarecrow, Colgin), the 2019 Absurd showed as lighter bodied (I mean, for a Realm) and redder fruited than I would have anticipated. It…
I've had various vintages of these wines a number of times now, and this was the most unresolved I've experienced the beloved Sassicaia. Pours light and clear, posing as a baby Barolo with a broken…
Whoo doggies! Fire water. My initial notes read, "Enormous, alcoholic, black raspberry bomb with tons of booze. Finish cocktail driven. Man, the heat on repeat!" I was pretty surprised what a slap…
This is what I look for in a Bordeaux with some age on it. Fresh and complete, with both solid fruit flavors and complex secondary and tertiary notes adding interest. Red/black cherry and plum…
I see high praise here, and fundamentally I certainly understand it. I just didn't experience it to the full throttle degree of others. Sun drenched leather, sherry, oolong tea, burnt orange zest,…
Red fruit dominant, with smatterings of black currant, hope chest, black tea, and cedar. Though I found this to be fresh and solid, its overall flavor profile drank older than what I'd expect from…
Relatively thin and diluted red currant, cedar, earth, and macerated red cherry flavors make for a seemingly tired wine that is trying to hold it all together but seems to be fraying with every…
Gothic and black as the night is long, the 2019 Ovid is a White Zombie black asphalt Thunderkiss '65 blackberry bonfire of tar, embers, black soil, obsidian blood, and Kraken ink. An intense…
A few Coravin pulls from this bottle remind me that 2020 Cheval Blanc is an off-the-charts pure and regal expression, but it will require patience for sure. This had a flash in the glass of…
Brighter red cherry with some purple-black fruit kick off the straight-shot profile of the 2019 Margaux. To no one's surprise, this is about as primary and linear as it gets in its current state. The…
Incredible polish and poise here, with a linear profile that is just starting to give in the fruit department. This presents as a fairly serious wine, and one that will need more than a handful of…
A pretty wine, with violets and juicy red/purple fruit popping on the palate. Here the nose is muted, but the affable flavors skip along the front end upon first sip, marking the path of a wine that…
This is as solid as it ever has been compared to the last sample I was lucky enough to try the year prior. At first, it was a gushing glow of fruit awesomeness all at once, but with some air to…
This bottle was pristine, and needed at least a couple of hours of decanted air to get into form and offer some decent flavor expansion. Plum, black cherry, cedar, dusty spice, and subtle hints of…
There is a polish here that immediately adds to the textural profile of this Canon. Somewhat plush, but not so much that it makes for too fruity or flabby of a delivery, the 2018 is similar…
Ya, so, I don't want to like this wine at all, but there is no denying this is top shelf stuff right here, so much so that the only reason I'm not jumping to 100 is because I am in one of those moods…
The 2006 is a bit reserved, and even tired along its execution of red and some black fruit flavors, with a shorter than expected finish. A 2009 eclipsed this by a mile. The 2006's freshness was…
A compelling bottle of wine. In great spot, with smooth tannins but great grip, relaxing just enough to allow the dark and somewhat earthy fruit come in. This obliterated a 2006 Valandraud next to…
I had much to gush about with this 2016 back when I had it in April. My notes still ring true for the most part, but this bottle was a bit more reserved. Clearly, 2016 is a solid vintage for…
When in St. Emilion recently, there were a lot of wineries and wine shops pushing out their 2011s, declaring that the vintage had come around and was in a great drinking window. Honestly, I always…
