Intense and concentrated without a doubt, but with a sophistication and focus that really showed extraordinarily well this time around. Even more elevated and complex in its showing since my previous…
A mighty tasty representation of the site, and completely elevated in every respect since I last sampled this in barrel back in February. 10 months ago, this was all about sanguine and bloody butcher…
Served side-by-side with a 2016 B Cellars Star Cabernet, which was much more fruit driven and showed less up-front structure and acid than the Oakville. Previous notes apply on the Oakville, with…
Served side-by-side with the 2016 B Cellars Oakville. Previous notes apply, with a near-identical experience to my last. Redder fruit and "fruitier" than the nicely structured Oakville. The Star has…
Opened around 11AM, double-decanted, and remained re-corked in the bottle until 7PM. Re-opened, decanted, and followed over the course of a few hours. After the first hour of open air exposure in the…
Previous notes apply. Resolved and likely as integrated as it will get before it starts to move into the later stages of its evolution. Black and purple fruits dominate. PnP was good service. Drink…
Ripe black cherry, black and red raspberry, smoke, earth, incense, forest floor, and lichen. A fairly dark and rich attack on the front end, with the lush black cherry core leading the way. Some…
Another flawed bottle of the Arsenal. Wet newspaper and dog-left-out-in-the-rain mustiness. Fruit was blown and flat, with a bitter, astringent delivery overall.
Previous notes from last month still apply. Some air helped to round-out the texture and provide additional depth of flavor. By hour two it was delivering an especially gorgeous mix of creamy, ripe…
Currant, plum, black cherry, black soil, forest floor, mulch, and some pencil shavings. A darker, earthier profile, with medium speed across the palate; finishes a little bitter and gritty. A…
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.…
Lime zest, fresh lime and lemon juice, guava, limestone, fresh cut dry grass, and alkaline. Nicely balanced energy on the front end, with a mid-palate texture that is both lively and silky. The lime…
Red and black cherry, red raspberry, earth, and some spice. Medium all the way around, with notable mid-palate and a nice, fruit/earth driven finish. The earthy red fruit notes repeat themselves on…
Earthy black cherry, wild strawberry, mulch, evergreen, tree bark, stems, forest floor, and some wet rock. Clearly an earth-driven type of Pinot, with a nice dose of fruit flavor to hold interest and…
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…
Black currant, plum, and some black raspberry core fruit. Earth, wet cedar, and Nesquik chocolate powder. notes also emerge. Medium bodied, with a back end that finishes on a slightly bitter,…
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…
Earthy and little more cool climate in its profile than the Gap's Crown served beside it. Anderson Valley vs. Sonoma Coast. The River Turn showed off restrained but focused notes of black cherry,…
A medium bodied-delivery of black cherry, earth, and some subtle spice. Medium-to-light on the back end. Soft a gentle on the finish, with black cherry and alcohol repeating at the tail end. A little…
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…
Black and red currant, blackberry jam, black and red cherry, sandalwood, chocolate chunk, and some spice. A slight floral note appeared on the tail end briefly, but got washed over with a tiny tannic…
