Reviews

Lewis Cellars Chardonnay Reserve

Previous notes apply. Big, voluptuous, and plush. Dominated by viscous lemon curd and vanilla notes. Quality fruit indeed, but nearing levels of coming across a little over-processed and devoid of…

Morlet Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Cour de Vallée

This wine was decanted for a number of hours and still struggled to exhibit much more than some tight, compacted red, black, and purple berry notes. Some faint earth and minerality, with…

Lithology Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

I had the opportunity to try this wine again. I honestly just don't get it. I have no idea what direction these guys were going in this expression of To Kalon. My previous note applies.…

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

This was from a Coravin bottle that had been tapped multiple times over the course of three months. Thanks to Dan and Mark for trying to add this wine to our lineup and seeing if it would still…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo

Notes of black currant, black earth, dark loam, and dark chocolate. In terms of flavor, the overall profile of this wine is undoubtedly in my wheelhouse, with a brooding, gothic type of quality about…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This was really showing its capacity to deliver an amazing array of complex flavors. Last time I had the Three Kings, I favored the Grand Daddy served alongside it. This time, the Three Kings came…

Tusk Estates Cabernet Sauvignon

As with the 2012 Schrader CCS, 2015 Carter OG, and 2015 Realm BTK, the Tusk was competing very well toward the final sips. Initial PnP was extremely tight and almost unforgiving. Super powerful and…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Wine is fun... unpredictable, but fun...

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Coliseum Block

Soft and surprisingly earthy notes of black fruit, mulch, and a little funk. This seemed fairly advanced in its flavor profile. In all honestly, it's not exactly a fair fight when this is having to…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fortuna Vineyard

Same as my previous notes on this wine. Drinking even better than a few months ago. A beautiful profile of red, black, and some purple core fruit. Complex and tiered in its delivery, with a…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

My previous notes apply. Once again, this wine absolutely killed it! The "oohs" and "aahs" across the table were instantaneous as soon as we all took our respective sips. It's no doubt this wine sold…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Bam Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

My third time having this wine; previous notes apply. This wine needs another few years to really stretch its legs. It is a youngster that flaunts its youth with somewhat compacted core fruit and a…

Vineyard 29 Sauvignon Blanc Estate

A perplexing wine for sure. The oak influence in this wine confused the flavor profile for me to the point that I really couldn't understand what I was drinking. A significantly bitter,…

Greer Cabernet Sauvignon Greer Vineyard

Rob Greer took the time to meet up with us at lunch and bring a bottle of this 2014 Greer. An amazingly giving gesture indeed and a wine with a lot of potential ahead of it.

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Carter

Carter Carter...The wine so nice, they named it twice! My previous notes apply. Having an opportunity to have this wine side-by-side with the Fortuna, I found myself favoring the Fortuna just a hair…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Weitz Vineyard

Previous notes apply. A very compelling wine that strikes a nice balance between fruit flavor/concentration and tension/verve. This is drinking even better than when I last had it in June. The grip…

Realm Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

PnP and this was one of the most giving and accessible of the wines served at the table. As noted by Cristal2000 and #1Winelover, this was indeed a young wine, but ironically delivering a medley of…

Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon CCS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This Schrader started off much in the same way a 2013 Carter OG began its display of flavors on PnP the night before: overt red (and some black) fruit (bordering on "fruity") and little in its…

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

Previous notes apply, except that this was fairly tight and restrained throughout the course of consumption. It was not decanted (and definitely needed it), but over the course of a couple of hours…

Moone-Tsai Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Straightforward and agreeable, with "medium" everything.attack, body, mid, finish. It was an ok wine, if not a bit uninspiring. Fairly soft and round overall. Red and black currant, cedar, and…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Absolutely unreal! This stands to become one of the best LPVs I've ever had; this juice blew the socks off of just about any LPV I've experienced. Of course, as a barrel sample, and as a wine that…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon BBS Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Served side-by-side with the "standard" 2014 VV LPV. This BBS ratchets up the concentration and drive ever slightly when compared to its secondary counterpart. Carrying much of the same black and red…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Served side-by-side with the 2014 VV LPV BBS. This "standard" LPV provided a seamless delivery of black and red fruit notes along with the signature LPV minerality indicative of the rocky site. Silky…

Moone-Tsai Vineyards Black List IX

This had a very prominent funky railroad tie nose. On the palate, a little bit of the same, with a decent core of dark red/black fruit with some earth and spice. A fairly significant clamp on the…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Black, earthy core fruit surrounded by black currant, dark spice box, coffee grounds, and some faint truffle and earthy cedar on the tail end. Massive and finessed at the same time; as with the 2014…