My favorite of the 2014 Janzen wines, notably besting its BTK and MH siblings, especially on the initial attack and with its mid-palate depth. A tremendous amount of drive and concentration, pushing…
An easy-going Cab that delivers some notable dark red and black core fruit flavors. Some dark spice (clove) and cedar elements provided a little extra lift. Medium-bodied overall, but a nice…
A bit too fruity and plumy for my taste. A fun red meat pasta at Olive Garden type of wine, but that's about it. A red cherry note competed with an alcohol-covered spice flavor that thinned out the…
A "night and day" type of experience when compared to its sibling, the flashy '15 Bacigalupi Pinot. This Dutton Ranch was all about a cool climate display of restrained and delineated flavor. Unripe…
Bold, dark red and black fruit flavors bolt out of this Pinot as if it was getting chased by the cops. Black cherry and dark spice notes dominate. Ripe and a bit extracted (a bit heavy and plush…
A pleasant and agreeable Chardonnay with palate-pleasing notes of refreshing yellow citrus fruit, popcorn, vanilla, pumice, and subtle grass. A "nice" short term sipper that cuts a good line between…
Specific notes of dark candied black raspberry, black and red cherry, cassis, blackberry, fresh vanilla bean, dark chocolate, and some subtle grey river rock (adding a bit of cut through the…
Bam! Pow! Clench! Grip! Acid! Fruit! Rock! Spice! ...Like a Wham! Blam! comic strip page getting torn out of a magazine, crumpled up, and thrown in your face. The initial delivery of this wine was…
Massive but sophisticated in its overall deliver of flavor...and I mean FLAVOR. Black and dark, dark red core fruit, with blackberry, black raspberry, bitter chocolate, clove, allspice, anise,…
An enormous, gushing cascade of dark core fruit encompassed by sweet vanilla bean and oak components. Blackberry, black raspberry, blueberry, dark and milk chocolate, fresh vanilla bean, oak char,…
Black and red currant, black cherry, cedar, dust, and some spice. A hair better than the AO Proprietary Red, but pretty similar in most ways. The mid-palate was a little fuller, but still fairly…
A rush of acidity, followed by notes of black cherry, currant, and alcohol. Pretty disjointed, teetering back and forth between some higher-toned, bitter fruit flavors, and a thin boozy rush on the…
Barrel sample. Red and black core berry fruit, with a healthy dosage of spice. Higher acid provided a significant amount of tension and verve. A little wound up at the moment, but seemingly just…
Barrel sample. The most low-toned wine in the '16 AO line-up, with dark, black core fruit, fresh black soil, espresso, bitter chocolate, char, clove, fresh vanilla bean, and obsidian. The dark spice…
Barrel sample. Red and black core fruit, with some soil and spice. Medium-bodied and a little simple, the Thomas was much more subtle and reserved than I had anticipated. I did not get any of the…
Barrel sample. Black core fruit, with some soil, dust, and spice to add interest. Delivery on this wine was a little flat and Simple Jack, but it still managed to offer pleasure by way of its…
Barrel sample. Tight and constricted, this reminded me a little of the 2013 Shafer HSS we had earlier in the day. Not surprisingly, this LPV displayed the blackest, most gravelly properties of the AO…
Barrel sample. Complex and compelling, concentrated and driven, the '16 AO Crane was the star of the lineup. Black and red core fruit, black raspberry, blackberry, black and red licorice, anise,…
Barrel sample. Not atypical of the BTK site, this wine displayed hallmark black core fruit, with black raspberry, blackberry, truffle, soil, char, and spice. Plenty of push mid-palate to move the…
Nope. I don't get this thing at all. Serves no purpose. A syrupy simpleton. One wonky note of chocolate-blackberry goofiness. This is why most wineries shouldn't have a desert wine. 79? points.
Classic meets modern. Tight and coiled-up, like a snake ready to strike. Pretty massive overall, but also displaying an intriguing sophistication that draws one back for another sip. Needs air! Lots…
Wild blackberry, plum, asphalt, wood, charcuterie, and some garrigue. Some quasi-interesting flavors trying to self-identify, but overall lacking much-needed complexity and finesse. Powerful and…
The first pour of this wine was flawed, but the staff was nice enough to serve a freshly popped bottle for comparison. The new bottle was not flawed, but it was pretty disjointed and lacking any sort…
