Reviews

Joseph Phelps Insignia

Black cherry, currant, unripe plum, and some faint leather on the back end. Notes of vanilla, incense, and cedar struggled to make a showing as well, but were somewhat overpowered by an alcoholic…

Villa Del Lago Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine is going to be a wonderful expression of Pritchard Hill........but only after we set up a space station on Saturn's rings and Ex Machina ballerinas rule the world.

Gandona Cabernet Sauvignon

Powerful but fairly tight on initial PnP. Day 1 was much less giving than 24 hours later. Initially, this Gandona spit out some black cherry, cranberry, bitter chocolate, vanilla alcohol, and some…

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Martinez Vineyard

The most accessible and giving of the other three Pritchard Hill wines tasted beside it. More black cherry fruit, with hints of bitter chocolate. Strongest in the mid-palate depth. Still a bit…

TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard

Previous notes apply. This was only pulled for purposes of a Pritchard Hill taste-off. Like all of the wines tasted, the Tor needs time. 3+ years minimum. I felt it was a little flat on its delivery…

Maxem Chardonnay UV Vineyard

Last minute pull for Thanksgiving. This especially showed like a Burgundy this go-around, even more so than previous experiences. A beautiful wine, if not a bit shy on its delivery of fruit. It never…

J Vineyards & Winery Cuvée XB

Crisp and dry, with quince and lemon juice dominating. Displaying a bit of a reductive quality on the tail end, but not heavily oxidative the way a Krug or aged Champagne can be. Overall light and…

Wren Hop Pinot Noir War & Peace

I fully concur with fellow CT'er Air Guitar in that this wine really seems to be coming along nicely since I last had it over a year-and-a-half ago. It carries a more cool climate profile overall,…

Bevan Cellars Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard

In a beautiful drinking window currently, with ripe black cherry, plum, chocolate, and some faint spice notes. Decanted for a couple of hours and served <54 degrees. Though PnP was just fine, the…

Aubert Chardonnay CIX Estate Vineyard

A spritz-filled PnP gave way to intense and heady flavors of lemon and tropical fruit notes blasting past the palate on the full-bodied attack. Peach, ripe pear, quince, olive oil, buttered popcorn,…

Realm Cellars The Falstaff

Exquisitely framed flavors of perfectly ripened black cherry, dark cassis, plum skin, black raspberry, dark chocolate, dehydrated blueberries, and some subtle sweet oak char. There is a floral note…

Wren Hop Pinot Noir Killing Moon

Revisiting this wine after a Coravin pour a week prior. With a little air, this filled out even better than my initial experience. Previous note applies, except that it displayed increased depth and…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

A beautiful wine that took a few hours in the decanter to unfurl and shed just a bit of excess cassis liqueur and alcohol to unveil an array of deeper purple, red, and black fruit flavors. Some tasty…

Aubert Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard

Red raspberry, ripe red cherry, evergreen, old cinnamon bark, and subtle citrus. Front-loaded with red fruit on the initial attack; full, round, and fairly plush overall at first. The mid-palate was…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

After a couple of Coravin evolutions, the remaining juice from this bottle was PnP'd and consumed within 30 minutes. Great flavors and energy during this volley.

Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard

This has put on a bit of weight and progressed rather rapidly since I last had it back in February 2017. Rounder and more accessible (a fairly good thing to some degree), but a little cloyingly…

Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Napa Valley

Currant, black cherry, gravel, and earth notes lead the way, with a notable grippy minerality that elevates this wine beyond just being your average throwdown NV. Medium weight mid-palate, with a…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Fruity and flat on the attack, with a hollow mid-palate that stumbled its way to a hot, booze-ridden finish. No real grip or frame aside from the distracting alcohol sensation on the back end.

Scarlett Wines Cabernet Sauvignon

Last minute pull. It's been about a year since my last dance with the Scarlett. This showed less "ultra-modern" than last time, which I appreciated. A somewhat medium and pleasantly flavorful attack,…

Wren Hop Pinot Noir Killing Moon

Red cherry, kirsch, red raspberry, rhubarb, and subtle Tab cola. Clean and pure flavors, with a straightforward attack; especially focused on the back end, with a purposeful and studious finish.…

Wren Hop Pinot Noir Night Children

Coravin pour. This is really starting to find its glide. A bit fruitier than I recall from the beginning of the year, with an inviting attack of red raspberry and cherry, cola, rhubarb, and subtle…

Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon Blueline

A beautifully rich and smooth attack of dark berry fruit, with dark chocolate and graphite notes that add interest. Mid-palate depth is notable, with enough acid and grip to corral the ripe core and…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Day 1: Great Gotham Gobs of Candied Cassis Boy Wonder! The first sips from this harlot worked the palate the same way Kim Basinger worked a bottle of honey bear honey in 9 1/2 Weeks. Good God man!…

Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Amoenus

Exhibiting beautifully brooding and complex flavors of black, purple, and dark red core fruit, the 2015 Amoenus kicks out notes of deep, dark black cherry, wild blackberry, black soil, black olive,…

Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard

PnP. Same notes as a few months ago. I definitely prefer this over the Kanzler Pinot that I had the other day. This Silver Eagle had some more earth and spice notes to elevate its flavor profile. The…