Reviews

Bevan Cellars EE Cuvée

It's been over a year since my last bottle. Same as all of my previous notes on this wine except it really showed well from start to finish, with no tannic or heat issues at all. Performed good as a…

Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Blancs

Crisp and refreshing, with a frothy, brioche note on the back end that carried the light yellow citrus fruit on through the finish. Nothing super enticing or complex, but paired well with a spicy and…

Shafer Relentless

Same as before. A solid red over the course of two days. A little tight on PnP and in need of some air throughout consumption. Ultimately, I'd recommend a short decant (2+ hours) or hold for another…

The Grade Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Winfield Vineyard

Same as previous notes. Held up nicely over two days. Best after a couple hour decant after PnP. 93-94 points. Likely to level out at this point and start to gracefully age. Has plenty of life left…

Becklyn Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

PnP was a blast of an assortment of wild flavors. Rich cassis, sweet Amarena black cherry, purple plum, black raspberry, IHOP boysenberry syrup, cocoa, Milk Duds, vanilla bean, red and black…

Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard

Looks like I'm the outlier this time around, as this wine didn't deliver the way I had hoped it would, even in its youth. At best for me, it was in that 90-92 point bracket, and honestly that's being…

Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard

Same as previous notes, except that this never fully came around to anything that provided any real pleasure for me. I get the potential, but it is something that I cannot foresee delivering in a way…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Eighteen Seventy-Three Napa Valley

This score is based on Day 2. The first day it was a hot, alcohol-ridden, acidic mess. Day 2 it finally came around...a bit. Still, the booze was apparent; it never fully quit, on the back end…

Kobalt Cabernet Sauvignon

This essentially took 2 days of air before it really started to show its potential. Day 1 was a little hot, but still displayed a big, powerful core fruit that was certainly pleasurable (if not a…

Bevan Cellars Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard

Much better showing than last year. Time in bottle certainly helped. However, this is still a bit of a brute and built more like a Cabernet than a Chardonnay. After about two hours of air, it…

Rivers-Marie Chardonnay Sonoma Coast

Drink now. This is performing very well, with the perfect amount of energy, grip, and flavor. A medium delivery of core yellow citrus fruit, with an encompassing mouthfeel that coats the palate…

Tusk Estates Cabernet Sauvignon

An excellent showing this go-around. Previous notes apply. This needed about 2 hours before it really started to find its glide. There was some decent grip and tension swirling around the deeper core…

Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon Blueline

PnP was a little tight, but it only took about 20 minutes of air to start performing. This is what I would categorize as a fairly standard example of what's coming out of Napa from the 2014 vintage.…

Bevan Cellars Ontogeny

Same as previous notes. This wine performed best after about 20 minutes of air. However, after a couple of hours, it flattened out on the attack and faded on the finish. It also got a little pummeled…

Scarlett Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Same as my notes from earlier this month. Wild and concentrated flavors, with a mid-palate that is incredibly intense. This and a '13 Tusk were tied for WOTN. The Tusk was much smoother (after about…

Arista Winery Pinot Noir Longbow

Medium-bodied and not especially complex; mid-palate was a bit light. Darker red fruit profile, but displayed somewhat thin and lithe overall. Ok with food, but not much of a performer on its own.…

D.R. Stephens Noble Block Moose Valley Vineyard

No formal notes. This paired well with pumpkin cheese cake, apple cinnamon cake, and pumpkin pie! Nothing too exciting about the wine in particular given its intended purpose, but it delivered as…

Schramsberg Vineyards Reserve

Similar to last year's notes, except that this had a lot less verve than what I remember experiencing from the holidays last year. This drops some points when factoring in the overall QPR. Drink now.

Bacio Divino Cabernet Sauvignon Janzen Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard

Revisited this after a Coravin pour the previous week. PnP with about an hour of air did this wine some good. Favored by most over a 2015 Bevan Ontogeny served alongside it. Decent depth and some…

TOR Chardonnay Cuvée Torchiana

Same as last year. 91-92? points. Decent flavors with added depth, but still just middle of the road in terms of complexity. Cork back in the bottle and awaiting results 24 hours later.

Buoncristiani Cabernet Sauvignon

Same as previous notes. On PnP, it was a little tight, with some restrained black cherry notes dominating. But after about two hours of air, it blossomed. Deep, dark chocolate, black raspberry, ripe…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

All of my previous notes apply. This took about 2 hours of slow O2 with some swirling in the glass throughout consumption to really develop some beautifully deep and saturated flavors. Started out a…

Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Notes of black cherry, black currant, and some spice. Decent grip and frame, but not super impressive mid-palate. The high resister acidic bite on the back end served well to cut through the rich…

Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Rosemary's Vineyard

Same as previous notes. This still hangs out in the 91-93 point arena for me. At its best (about 30 minutes of air), it displayed some nice saturated raspberry and spice notes. Good to drink now with…

Bevan Cellars Pinot Noir Petaluma Gap

This behaved a little goofy for me this time around. A medicinal aftertaste crept up on the back end that competed oddly with the huge blast of extracted fruit. Barely a Pinot.