Reviews

Vieux Château Certan

Notably less in the funk locality than the 2005 VCC, this 2010 displayed a red berry-meets-cedar profile that was further complimented by some darker attributes, adding to the perception of depth and…

Vieux Château Certan

Both the 2010 and 2005 VCC were bumping 'We Got the Funk' more than any of the other wines at the table. Not surprisingly, this 2005 carried a greater display of the heady old world profile over the…

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

At first pass, this was super fruity and almost too accessible. The edges were round and it was displaying a predominantly red-fruited cherry-berry profile (not always my favorite). However, as I…

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Having this 1961 next to its great, great grandson the 2018 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande was like watching Twins with hieroglyphic subtitles, or more accurately, looking at…

Château Montrose

This was one of those wines that seemed somewhat reluctant to express itself wholly and was perpetually stuck in the land of unreciprocating interest. No romanticism here..yet? I sensed dark fruit…

Armand Heitz Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières

Jimmy Cricket on a crate of craziness this is a solid wine. Meursault is often good-not-great for me, mostly because of the fullness that can round-out the execution and make for a filled but often…

Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros

Lime and apple form a pinky-swear bond with lemon, saline, and river rock flavors to shape a Bougros that is along familiar lines for this producer across most recent vintages. The Bougros always has…

Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut

I've written quite a bit on this, as have others. So, I'll rely on my previous notes for the heavy lifting (I know, SUPER lazy of me). Suffice [it] to say this is a great bottle of Champagne; it's my…

François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Bournais

This was a decent palate cleanser amongst the 15 or so BDX wines dominating the evening. Decent pep and only a short clip of sweetness, the Bournais has a bit more body than its sibling Baudoin,…

Henri Bourgeois Sancerre d'Antan

A fairly typical showing, this was an easily forgotten opener next to the beautiful 2013 Cristal. I feel like this has lot a bit of speed since my last bottle(s). Fine and all, but kinda boring.…

Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Nicolas François

This is a yeast-beast that leads with a raw dough note on the initial hit, but what might appear to start out as an autolytic invariant, finds a fast flow into more preserved lemon, Rainier cherry,…

Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet

For a village level, this is of course very nice indeed. I will say that I didn't necessarily find anything uniquely compelling that made it stand out over other P-Ms that I've enjoyed in recent…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

This sample was actually a bit subdued (comparatively to other vintages of VV LPVs at least), but certainly with enough potency and drive that there is little question of its origin and of the…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon The Magnificent Seven

I think I've already punched my ticket a couple of times in terms of adjective allowances to describe this wine in my previous notes. Just when I think I'm pretty much done with this degree of what…

Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos de La Bussière

Both ripe and tight, with an uber-linear execution that needed every bit of O2 that the decanter it was in could offer. Quality is certainly high, but this is an animal that will require some…

Abreu Madrona Ranch

A super solid showing here, with a beauty and sophistication that highlights why Abreu consistently belongs in the upper tier of Napa wines. I admittedly have been dismissive of this producer at…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Hey man... What can I say?! This is everything you love about the good Doctor turned up to 11. If you know Crane and you know Elysian, it'll come as no surprise that this bugger is all flavor-forward…

Crocker & Starr Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Place

Purple plum, blackberry, cedar, and hints of leather. A smooth and fulfilling entry that speaks to a nicely aged red with the seeming ability to evolve into its tertiary flavors with poise. There is…

Saxum G2 Vineyard

Ok, I gotta call it like I see it. This was HOT HOT HOT. A Grenache cocktail if there ever was one. No, we didn't decant (so I'll take the hit on that for less-than optimal service). But oh lordy was…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena Reserve

A solid performance, though this was rightly outshined a bit by a 2006 Abreu Madrona Ranch (comparative side-by-sides can get crunchy, eh?!). Otherwise, this 2012 Tynan Reserve was true to form and a…

Vice Versa Chardonnay Platt Vineyard

Every time I pop the cork on this wine, I fall in love with it all over again. It is totally my jam and one of the best representations of Chardonnay in California out there. It is (unfortunately)…

Soldera (Az. Agr. Case Basse) Sangiovese Toscana IGT

On my first ignorant and perhaps somewhat carelessly dismissive pass with this wine, my mind wandered to Burgundy, as the Pinot-esque profile of this wine carried an elegance and ethereal finesse…

Domaine Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère

At Cyrus Restaurant, Geyserville.

Medlock Ames Malbec Secret Ingredient Bell Mountain

At Cyrus Restaurant, Geyserville.

François Chidaine Clos Baudoin

The 2019 Baudoin is a slightly more focused and dry animal when compared to its brother Bournais (by design), which tends to be slightly sweeter and richer by comparison. The Baudoin displays…