Intense notes of honey, dried apricot, lemon curd, sweet lemon and orange peel, and poached peach. Powerful but not overpowering, pairing absolutely fantastic with a Point Reyes blue cheese.
Crisp and tight, with notes of pear, apple, flint, and slate. The bubbles seemed to be masking the sheepish fruit hiding in the shadows. Missing some of the richness and nuttiness found in other…
PnP with notes of honeysuckle, lemon, popcorn, pear, and quince. Finished with a stoney minerality; just a tad pithy and tart on the back end. Performed very well in the beginning, with a clipped…
Decanted for approximately 2+ hours. Vibrant and flavorful, if just a little one-note, full of high-toned red berry fruits; strawberry, raspberry tart, and a bit of alcohol. Went down very smoothly,…
Similar to my previous CT notes on this wine, except that it really took quite a while before it opened up into anything worth gaining any interest. On initial PnP, it came across flat and muted,…
Brought over by a friend and decanted over the course of two hours. One of the best domestic Merlots I've ever had (and I typically do not care for most stand-alone Merlots). Beautiful, deep texture…
Specific tasting notes were the same as my previous CT notes on this wine last week. Filled out even more magnificantly with some time in the decanter. After about two hours, it was singing with…
Drank alongside a 2012 Kosta Browne RRV Pinot, the EK Sascha Marie was much better, with a vibrancy and energy that helped to elevate the red berry flavors. Similar to my CT notes from 8/10/15 on…
Essentially the same as my previous CT notes on this wine from 11/21/15, except that some time in the decanter allowed for a little more fruit to emerge. However, this wine still came off as flat and…
PnP with tight, cool notes of purple and black berry fruits, with additional flavors of black licorice and slate. Fairly monolithic, with only the QPR really making up for it. As a stand-alone wine,…
PnP was initially similar to my notes last week on this wine. I then allowed it to breathe at cellar temperature for an hour in a wide-bottomed decanter. This certainly brought out more of a deeper…
The only 2011 Kosta Browne in the whole lineup that survived to become a worthy Pinot from the 2011 vintage, the Gap's Crown displayed up-front flavors of black cherry, pomegranate, strawberry,…
PnP with notes of lemon curd, honey, vanilla, brioche, toasted marshmallow, yellow pear, and a hint of wet rock. There was an initial faint metallic tinge on the finish, but that quickly dissipated…
Bottled in Magnums only. An intriguing Sauvignon Blanc, with notes of grilled pineapple, toasted walnuts, lemon oil, green apple, wet rock, and wood. On initial PnP, the wood element was dominant,…
As others have mentioned, the Optimus is clearly not in the same league as the Estate Cuvée, but at only $45, the Optimus delivers way above its price point. What a great QPR!
Consumed with friends (otherwise I had planned on waiting until later in 2016 before reassessing this wine). Definitely glad I opened this bottle, as it has improved quite a bit. Similar to my prior…
Similar to my prior CT note (but obviously I couldn't wait until 2017 as I had previously recommended). This time around, I gave the 2008 Rudd an extra point (from 95 to 96), as it certainly…
A very pretty and feminine Chardonnay, with soft citrus and vanilla notes cascading across the palate. Additional notes of lemon curd, poached pear, green apple, popcorn, and a subtle minerality that…
With all due respect to Venge's homage to his dog "Scout," this wine was unfortunately disjointed and confusing. Flabby plum flavors dominate, with additional notes of muddled raspberry and…
A pleasantly surprising example of a Napa Merlot. Notes of plump blackberry, raspberry, plum, chocolate, and baking spices. Beautifully crafted with more complexity than I often find in this varietal.
As noted by the Millennials, this Syrah starts off with a push that coaxes you into thinking it is going to go the distance, but then falls off almost immediately mid-palate. Initial notes of purple…
A lot going on here, with in-your-face flavors of black and blue berries, black raspberry, blackberry, black licorice, dark cacao, white chocolate, chocolate covered blueberry, cassis, asphalt/tar,…
