So forgettable I really can't remember how it tasted, except that it just tasted like "some red wine." Nothing to distinguish it from any house red I've had before. It wasn't horrible. It wasn't…
Muted, dry, and a little thin mid-palate, this Spottswoode is in need of some serious bottle time before it MIGHT show a more improved hand. 2020 is probably about right, but I'm honestly not…
Previous notes apply. Try as I might, I just can't get there with this wine. I try to go in each time with an open mind and assess it from the most objective way I know how. And still, it cannot come…
Same notes as last month. I drank the heck out of this wine all throughout dinner. I ignored a 2010 Forman and a 2013 Spottswoode in favor of the Bevan. Good stuff!
Same as all of my previous notes. A 2013 Bevan Ontogeny bested the Forman by a significant margin for me. Different styles of wine for sure. Others preferred the less fruit driven nature of the…
One of the best Tor wines I've had in a long time, and possibly ever (even more so than the BTKs of the past). This was a PnP at a restaurant. From the first "pop" of the cork, I could instantly…
Same as all of my previous notes. This was its usual big, bold, almost over the top, fruit in your face type of Cabernet. I still find quite a bit of pleasure in this style of wine...but it is indeed…
A truly stunning bottle of wine. PnP displayed beautifully pure red, black, and purple fruit notes, black raspberry, red and black currant, black slate, river rock/gravel, pumice, and a hint of…
PnP was just a little tight, but still displaying some really unctuous dark red and black fruit notes. Black and red raspberry, black cherry liqueur, currant, a little spice and earth, vanilla, and…
This 2014 Amoenus offered a fascinating contrast to the more instantly flavor-forward 2014 Materium. The Amoenus was more of a slow burn, where the Materium flashed the palate almost immediately on…
The wood and cedar sawdust elements of this wine far over-shadowed the red and black currant fruit flavors struggling to pop out. Reminded me of having to clean my hamster cage when I was a little…
Always a bit of a popcorn butter bomb, but the wood Lewis uses seems to be of decent quality and doesn't overly distract from the beautifully pure core fruit, which seems to be able to stand up to…
After having the 2014 North End and 2014 Ellie's, the 2013 Jack's Masterpiece tasted like a 100 point wine. Unfortunately, it's not a 100 point wine; nor is it a 99 point wine (not sure what Parker…
Same as my notes from November 2016. Just a hair more interesting than the 2013 Bergfeld served alongside it. The Stags Leap has a really nice concentration, with blue and black fruit notes and some…
Just barely better than Hall's 2014 North End Cabernet. The Ellie's was overtly lush and "fruit forward" (trying to be nice here), with not a hard edge to be found... so much so that it came off…
A little softer and rounder than the Diamond and Stags, but a deeper concentration. Really nice blue and black fruit. The back end tapers off just a bit, leaving a fuller, more viscous mouthful.…
A really nice concentration, with black, blue, and deep red fruit flavors. Expensive vanilla extract and subtle river rock notes. Some dark chocolate chunk to add interest. Probably the best wine in…
Same as my previous notes. A 94+ bottle of wine, and in the same category (in terms of quality) as the '13 Stags Leap, '14 Howell, and '14 Diamond Cabernets served during the same tasting. Drinks…
The flagship Black Label was a very agreeable sipper. Displayed some nice black core fruit, mocha, and hints of chocolate covered blueberries. A little fat and round (overtly Merlot-esque for my…
Punchline: I have nothing against Turnbull, but Mike Smith elevates the Carter label far more with the Fortuna Vineyard than Turnbull seemed to be able to do with this same site. I really, really…
A nice wine, but something that screamed out "standard Cab!" Maybe this is something that will develop with time, but it came off like a typical pounder that one would bring to a dinner at the…
A nice example of the varietal, with a surprisingly tannic and acidic spine that framed out the core fruit. Some black and red fruits, with hints of cedar. The fruit seemed extremely underdeveloped.…
Put this in the same camp as every other SB put out by a Cab house. Just another fairly forgettable SB with little behind it to hold any kind of interest. No real minerality. No grass notes. No…
This was the one wine in the lineup that was worth talking about. It had some nice black cherry, currant, blackberry, and dark chocolate notes that seemed to be trying to push through..."trying" is…
