Reviews

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

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…

AJ Pearce Cabernet Sauvignon Massoumi Vineyard

Previous notes apply. This wine is certainly higher registering on the acid and structure spectrums, but has enough flavor (though somewhat restrained and classical in its delivery) to hold interest.…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

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…

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Previous notes apply, however I did feel like this was displaying in a way that was less concentrated and unctuous than how I had previously experienced this wine (by Purlieu BTK standards at least).…

Realm Cellars The Absurd

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,…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras

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…

Realm Cellars The Absurd

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,…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

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,…

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

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…

Alpha Omega Merlot

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…

Alpha Omega Era

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…

Shafer Firebreak Dessert Wine

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.

Shafer Relentless

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…

Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select

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…

Shafer TD-9

Pedestrian notes of red and black currant, black cherry, dust, and wood. Linear, thin, and lacking complexity.

Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Thomas Vineyard

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…

Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five

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…

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon

Previous notes from September apply, though I will say that I found it to start shutting down after about 30+ minutes of air. Mid-palate started to show a more linear display, with only the attack on…

Greer Cabernet Sauvignon Greer Vineyard

Same as all previous notes. Performed quite well, with a notable accessibility and plushness that is indicative of the vintage. A wild, dusty blueberry note added an elevated interest. Drink now with…

Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard

I'm still working on trying to understand these RM wines. The notion of them needing a lot of time indeed has merits, but I'm not entirely confident it's only a time issue. The 2013 and 2015 were…

Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard

I'm still working on trying to understand these RM wines. The notion of them needing a lot of time indeed has merits, but I'm not entirely confident it's only a time issue. The 2013 and 2015 were…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Previous notes apply. Finished off the bottle of a Coravin pour from last month. This took about two hours to really come to life. This was served next to a '15 Vice Versa LPV, which had more…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Same as my notes from last month. A great bottle of wine that stood out from all of the other wines served alongside it. I'll try to hold remaining bottles for another year.

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

...Crisis averted from yesterday's strange Coravin experience. Same bottle as yesterday; Coravin pour again. This was not displaying in any sort of disjointed fashion, but I will say it appears to be…

Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Actaeon Quixote Vineyard

The first bottle was flawed. This second bottle was not, however my palate seemed to still be stuck in What The Heck mode after previously taking down some hefty sips of the heavily flawed bottle. I…