Reviews

Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Noirs Brut

A pleasant sparkling. Decent foam and a user-friendly mouthfeel and profile that never offends. A good-to-go drink when you want a sparkling white on a hot evening. Paired great with crab jalapeño…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Same as previous notes. Just a down right friggin great Cabernet and a phenomenal QPR. For me, there is no better Napa Cab. for my money.

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Holy Mary Mother of God. If you've loved previous LPVs from Carter, you're gonna freak out over this wine. If this shakes out right, I can see this wine following its 2013 older brother and becoming…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Weitz Vineyard

Here is where we really started to ratchet up the intensity and complexity. This felt like a huge jump in flavors compared to the Coliseum and Fortuna. The 2014 Weitz displayed wonderful purple,…

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

The absolute best of the bunch for me. I had absolutely no problem picking the OG as my favorite in the lineup as soon as I took a sip of this bad boy. That clone 337 just reaches out and slaps you…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Coliseum Block

The reverse of the Hossfeld, with approximately 80/20 Cabernet/Merlot. This wine showed the fruitiness of the Merlot, but kicked in with a nice spine that added some tannic structure, pleasantly…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Of the BTKs, this was the most reserved at the moment. Sweet and concentrated, with notes of red and purple berry fruits, vanilla, and alcohol. The quality of fruit is again evident, as is the tannin…

Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon Rock Block Series Stardust Heaven

Agree with others on this. Wait! In fact, wait another 4 years. 2020 seems like a good time to see where this is, as it displayed extremely coiled-up notes of red berry fruit, alcohol, chalk, and…

Carter Cellars Hossfeld Coliseum

Certainly the fruitiest of the bunch, and unquestionably a Merlot-driven animal. Red and black cherry, cherry liqueur, cacao nibs, alcohol, and a tinge of alkaline. Understandably, this little guy…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Phenomenal fruit, with flashy red and purple berry notes, vanilla bean, chocolate, and pencil lead. Where this wine really shows you its presence is in its depth and mid-palate. Huge sexy "oomph" on…

Mark Herold Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard

Neck and neck with the 2013 Coombsville. Previous notes on this wine apply. Blackberry, blueberry, creosote, dark cacao, raspberry and blueberry liqueur, red and black currant, and vanilla bean. Not…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fortuna Vineyard

A wine that I absolutely fell in love with in the 2013 vintage has again showed immense promise in 2014. A bit more blue and purple berry fruits than the Coliseum Block Cabernet, with the wild red…

Salinia Chardonnay Heintz Ranch

Same as my notes from 3/21/2016. Good to drink now. Great extracted Jura style Chardonnay.

Mark Herold Wines Herold

Same as my notes from 4/15/2016 and 3/25/2016. Powerful and youthfully dark, gravely berry fruit. Cool berry notes (but not as cool as the 2012); blackberry, black currant, black licorice, charcoal,…

Mark Herold Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Brown Label

The 2013 Coombsville and Stagecoach were a straight tie for me this time around. Exact same notes of blackberry, black currant, black raspberry, black licorice, dark cacao, freshly turned mulch,…

Mark Herold Wines Herold by Mark Herold

Similar to my notes from 4/15/2016. A cool feel about it (more so than the 2013), with dark berries, black licorice, cold river rock, and obsidian. Came off a little more cerebral than the 2013,…

Mark Herold Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Uproar

Same as my notes from 2/12/2016. Blackberry, black raspberry, black and red currant, purple berry, and red and black licorice. The best of the Uproars, but still straightforward and simple.…

Mark Herold Wines Herold by Mark Herold

Same as my notes from 4/15/2016. The best of the Herold 2011s, which is still not my jam.

Mark Herold Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Uproar

An ok wine given its price-point, but nothing to write home about. Spend the extra dough and focus on the Mark Herold namesake Brown Label Cabernets (and more elevated Cabernets from this lineup).…

Mark Herold Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Uproar

Same as my notes from 4/15/2016 and 12/2/2015. Forget this wine. It is barely worth talking about. It is not a true expression of Napa Cabernet in any vintage, even in 2011.

Mark Herold Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Brown Label

Exact same notes as 3/25/2016 and 4/15/2016. Dark chocolate notes of fairly intense deep blackberry, black currant, mocha, and vanilla bean. By comparison, lacked a little complexity, but had a nice…

Mark Herold Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Brown Label

I'll defer to all of my previous tasting notes on this. A good wine, showing continued integration each time I revisit it (compared to my previous CT notes); somewhat simplistic, but very satisfying…

Mark Herold Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Brown Label

Still not my thing. This was used simply to juxtapose the 2012 and 2013 Brown Labels...and juxtapose it did. Not even in the same ballpark as the other two vintages, with its distracting vegetal…

TOR Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard

PnP with tight lemon and steely, pebbly notes. After some air, a bit of an uptick with additional hints of grass and nuanced minerality.

Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Corona Vineyard

Wait; wait; wait! This needs much more time. I had this last year with a couple of hours in the decanter and it seemed to be moving along nicely. However, this go-around it was extraordinarily tight…