Still solid, though this bottle turned a little sherried and woody the more it was exposed to air. A great food wine, but signaling a more narrow drinking window as time goes on. Summer is here. So.…
This really opens up after a couple hours of air, with a more deeply pitched profile quickly coming into form once a healthy dose of aeration allows the flavors to expand. Earthy black fruits,…
Acid driven and lively. Lemon juice and grapefruit dominate. Too bad it's not August right now. Previous notes from April 2023 apply otherwise. A solid, refreshing sipper!
Offering even more profundity than when I last sampled this in April, the 2019 "standard" Cabernet from La Pelle is comprised of deeply pitched black/red raspberry fruit, chocolate, and plum notes;…
Red and black cherry flavors, with powdery tannins that provide requisite frame and speed without becoming too constraining or superficial, the 2018 Red Hen is a beautiful wine. I personally am drawn…
Blackberry, black raspberry, black cherry, soil, and graphite dominate, with more power and darker fruit than the Red Hen served beside it, the 2018 Alluvium is a bit of a monster. Still, there is…
This 2021 is a powerful and driven specimen, with sweet, ripe, and dark fruit interweaving with a pronounced propulsion of candied raspberry and cassis notes. The finish is incredibly loooong.…
Same as before, with perhaps a more saline purple people eater sea monster from from the shores of St Joseph (that is, if St. Joseph had shores). Super spicy, with black and white pepper, bark, and…
A beautiful wine that seems to need a bit more time to unravel. Black cherry and earth dominate at the moment, with lurking complexity that beckons for a few more years in bottle before it comes to…
Even fresher than previous samples, the 2016 continues to be a superb example of what domestic SB can achieve. rather, a superb example of what Maayan can achieve. Previous notes apply otherwise.
Another go-around with this wine, which delivered the initial hit of powerful tannins, but was able to find a nice groove once given a healthy amount of air. This bottle kicked out super dark, black…
Surely the best of the bunch in terms of concentration and depth, the Reserve Cabernet offers that extra layer of density and breadth befitting a reserve designation. Powerful blackberry, black…
The powerhouse of the three SVDs, the Alluvium elbows past the partygoers and shows its upfront opulence and swanky luxury. Ripe blackberry is encircled with a bit of booze on the initial cascade of…
Comparatively darker and chewier than the Red Hen, The Ceniza rolls out the blackberry, ash, bitter chocolate, pulverized granite, pencil lead, and wet cave flavors with a gothic and semi-serious…
Dark and deep, with ripe blackberry, purple plum, and red and black raspberry notes almost immediately landing on the mid-palate with a perfect dollop of savory goodness, but also with red currant…
If you have $85 burning a hole in your corduroys and don't know what to spend it on, might I suggest the La Pelle Napa Valley. This is a total bang for your buck wine. You can drink this now and not…
Salty and funky on the nose, with an instant cool climate aura that makes you wanna stick your face further into the glass and pretend you tripped and fell in a blackberry field off the coast of…
I'm tellin' ya, Maayan is just destroying it with these whites, and this Chardonnay, which I've had a number of times from the previous couple of vintages, is totally my style all the way around.…
Though I'm sure this 2020 will age in similar fashion at its four-year-older sibling, it was admittedly difficult to go from the captivating 2016 to this spritely 2020. True enough, this shows a…
Ok, so I'm gonna own up to the fact that I rarely find pleasure in aged Sauvignon Blanc of any style from anywhere. Be it Sancerre, New Zealand, or here in the states, I want my Sauv. Blanc full of…
Bright, clean, and impeccably fresh, this inaugural Bien Nacido Chardonnay from La Pelle impresses for its beautiful and finessed lemon zest, lime rind, unripe yellow pear, stone fruit, oyster shell,…
Green apple, honeydew, and white peach notes present a disappointingly lithe and austere showing, with a pedestrian execution of flavor that does very little to expand or deepen the superficial…
Similar to my previous note. Agreeable and quasi-punchy light tropical fruit and grassy lemon flavors that are balanced and complete. Drink now and over the next year or so.
Lemon zest, fresh grapefruit, white stone fruit, fresh cut grass, and honeydew. Some white rock shows up on the tail, as well as a repeat of the grass and lemon notes. With some swirling, quince hits…
