Reviews

Sine Qua Non Grenache Rattrapante Eleven Confessions Vineyard

There is a celestial weightlessness with this wine that highlights its ability to be both powerful and harmonious. Textbook Grenache flavors of kirsch, red and black cherry, garrigue, and herbs are…

L'Aventure Côte-à-Côte Estate

This comes off as big and brash, with a mid-palate that wants to desperately go deeper but is stifled by the sense of booze and grainy grippiness. Crunchy blackberry seeds, chocolate cake batter, and…

L'Aventure Estate Cuvée

Similar to my note on January 4, 2022 (more info than you probably need to know in that note), the Estate Cuvee shows much more complex and reachable than the bruiser boy Côte-à-Côte. Where the…

Sine Qua Non Grenache Distenta I

A bit less gushing than the Profuga and a bit more muted on the finish (gently clipped by some unresolved wood and acid - which I personally don't mind for the purpose of cradling the ripe and…

Sine Qua Non Grenache Profuga

As was before when I sampled this last year, the Profuga is a wonderfully deep and unctuous outpouring of dark berry, black spice, and fresh earth goodness. Darker than the 2019 Distenta I Grenache…

Next of Kyn No~11 Cumulus Vineyard

A smooth operator with a cool blackberry, plum, and black cherry core that is flanked by flecks of raspberry and purple licorice notes (.no need to ask me what purple licorice tastes like. I have no…

Sine Qua Non Syrah Distenta I

It'll come to no surprise that my recommendation to anyone holding bottles is to wait at least 6-7+ years before expecting the total zenith consumption time for this Syrah-dominant youngster (I'm…

Saxum White James Berry Vineyard

A blend of 46% Grenache Blanc, 31% Roussanne, 23% Chenin Blanc, the 2019 Saxum White displays quite a beautiful core of deeply pitched yellow melon and peach notes counterbalanced with judiciously…

Turtle Rock G2

If you've been on a quest for an awesomesauce inoculation of huckleberry Hubba Bubba mainlined into your flavor muzzle, the Turtle Rock G2 may very well be the Forever 27 yurple drank syzzurp that'll…

Turtle Rock Willow White

Yellow and green pear, lemon verbena, honeydew, cantaloupe rind, unripe mango, and white flowers all make for a refined attack that, especially with air, saunters across the palate with notable…

L'Aventure Estate Cuvée

Composed of 50% Syrah, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Petit Verdot, the 2019 L'Aventure Estate Cuvée is quite a purring black panther of a wine, even without the benefit of a decant or extended air.…

Andremily Mourvèdre

Super meaty, rich, and perfectly balanced. Silky smooth and a gushing mouthful of a wine, with plush cassis, blackberry pie, sanguine, salami, and ripe raspberry notes, this vintage of Mourvèdre is a…

Andremily Mourvèdre

Blackberry cobbler, cassis, black raspberry, and licorice notes are front and center on the flaunting push of gushing ripe and viscous fruit. A round and enveloping mid-palate makes for a saturated…

L'Aventure Côte-à-Côte Estate

A big-boned GSM (34%, 32%, 34%) that comes in hard and fast with purple and black berries that are all octaned-up and smoking with a core that is chockfull with gushing midnight ripe fruit and meaty…

Allbaer Sangiovese Le Retour

A penetrating and pungent candied red cherry fruit flavor dominates the profile in a frank delivery that pushes pronounced ripeness and alcohol to the forefront of the attack. It's a cocktail-driven…

Fulldraw Vineyard M.E.M.

Blackberries and cracked black peppercorns kick off a spicy profile that is laced with dark cassis and violet notes. Muscular but focused, and less of a bruiser than the initial unabashed hit of…

Fulldraw Vineyard Syrah Honey Bunny Fulldraw Vineyard

Big boned and beefy, with a bit of a grapey mid-palate that is luckily saved by some extra intensity and frame, the Honey Bunny is a predictable but pretty tasty Paso purple bumpkin. It's a bit…

Sine Qua Non Syrah Trouver l'Arene

Initially coming off like a young and powerful Grenache, the Trouver l'Arene spat kirsch, red and black cherry, red and black raspberry, garrigue, and Cosmo cocktail notes that would've had me…

Sine Qua Non Aperta

Round number two with the Aperta. I wrote a novella on this a couple of weeks ago on Cellar Tracker, so if you're bored on the couch waiting for your mom to warm up your leftover Mac & Cheese, feel…

The Third Twin Nuestra Señora del Tercer Gemelo The Third Twin Vineyard

This is my second shot at the NUESTRA SENORA DEL TERCER GEMELO (refer to my recent and lengthier tasting note from 09/20/2021). This bottle is a bit spun up at first, but its concentration and drive…

Sine Qua Non Aperta

An SQN Rhone concoction that Frankensteins a surgical amalgamation of mixed whites, the 2018 Aperta is a provocative fusion of 38% Chardonnay, 25% Viognier, 22% Roussanne, 6% Petit Manseng, and 9%…

L'Aventure Cuvée "Les Demoiselles"

Still an abrasive showing, with the crunchy blackberry and Chambord martini flavors never hitting any sort of desirable glide; the alcohol is constantly hacking rough edges into the flavor expansion.…

Allbaer Petite Sirah Un Petit Debut VERSION OOI

At first shy on the nose but eventually presenting faint puffs of freshly washed plums, peonies, and hints of menthol, the aromas on this curious petite sirah signal a fragrantly lifted and refined…

Sine Qua Non Syrah "M" Eleven Confessions Vineyard

Creeping up on two years now since I last had a bottle, I can't deny my affection for this wine; it simply commands attention as soon as it hits the glass. Pouring a moonless midnight black-purple,…

The Third Twin Nuestra Señora del Tercer Gemelo The Third Twin Vineyard

Saturated red and black raspberry, kirsch, black cherry, spice, toast, forest floor, and stems traipse around in a striking exhibition of confident flavor-parading. The entwining of ripe and ready…