Red and earthy at first, with some funk blowing off with air, this was a decent showing, but lacking some focus and flavor direction along the palate. Leather and cedar make an appearance, behaving…
Honed, focused, chiseled, mineral, black goth berry-rock, and a mean streak all up and down it, the 2016 HSS is serious business in the best of ways. Give it another 5+ years and be rewarded. It…
The 2014 Stonestreet Upper Barn is less succulent and engaging than the 2006 Peter Michael Mon Plaisir (Upper Barn) and 2022 Sphaerics (if and only if - Upper Barn) served beside it. There is a nice…
The 2006 Peter Michael Mon Plaisir has a blast from the past similarity to the 2022 Sphaerics, with a little bit of a sherried profile without being too pineapple-y. Still good freshness here; kinda…
I finally figured it out. Any time I can't decide between a Hefeweizen or a Champagne, I reach for Ultramarine. The brats and kraut sparkling wine. The chotomy to my dichotomy.
Ooh Lordy this bottle was hot and angry on first pull. AIR!!! When we woke it up, it didn't wanna get up, it didn't wanna come down for breakfast, it didn't wanna do its chores, it didn't wanna do…
My note from last year applies in terms of this wine's specific characteristics and flavor profile, though I will say the performance this time around was absolutely beautiful on day one (a healthy…
I guess I'll just have to keep giving this wine 100 points. I've had the privilege of tapping this wine a number of times now, and every time it just kills it. This time, its prowess was tested…
A full bodied, masculine front end kicks off a rush of deep and dark black cherry, black raspberry, and soil notes. A pine needle flavor adds further interest on the finish. This is a broad stroke of…
If a Northern Rhone Cornas butcher met up with a Stags Leap socialite, you'd have the 2021 Vice Versa Stelzner. This thing is slathered in meat drippings, soil, char, burnt embers, and the black…
Clementine, lime, white travertine, and a long lemony finish mark the latest vintage of the 2021 Platt Chardonnay. It is both vibrant and full, with energy and acidity that fully encompass the back…
I had to laugh because I have always considered Dr. Crane fruit-driven for my palate. The first word in my notes says, "fruity." CT'r Cristal2000 thinks I make this stuff up just cuz I give him a…
Powerful and front loaded. Boom! Instantly turns richer and longer with the first sip. A beast of a wine that holds it all together with graphite and mineral elements providing an amazing stretch of…
Great right now. I mean, it's the friendly GIII, so how could it not be?! Concentration and balance are especially notable in 2021, with a refinement that really showcases a sophisticated side of…
Deeper than the day is long, this was a shot across the bow with a concentration cannon that blasted flavor and depth right to the mid-palate, diving even deeper and with more fortitude as it…
A pretty wine, with violets and juicy red/purple fruit popping on the palate. Here the nose is muted, but the affable flavors skip along the front end upon first sip, marking the path of a wine that…
A red fruit athletic marathon runner, with crimson and black cherry, red and purple plum, saline, red apple skin, and tinges of vanilla. I thought this was Beatrix perhaps, but was a bit dumbfounded…
True to its name the Mysterons was fairly cat-and-mouse on the nose and the palate. It was truly a bit of a mystery with its dodgy flavor expression and somewhat indiscernible profile. For some…
At first pass, this thing was balled up like, well. a ball. Quivering and compact, I sensed this might be M7 simply because of the sheer Oppenheimer-type encased fury-boom potential it possessed, but…
Like a hybrid of Cousins and Beatrix, the Spinning Plates offers a similar profile to its two brothers (or, Cousins.?), with a concentration that is dialed-down but is more tannic and linear in its…
Day one under Coravin for this wine made for an angular and a bit boozy showing, with a mechanical delivery that was fairly foursquare from front to back. The fruit wasn't as expressive as I usually…
