Reviews

Gros Ventre Pinot Noir First Born

A rich, viscous style that knows how to pull back in time to remind you it was made with attention to detail and notable craftsmanship in mind. The initial attack after PnP was a rush of dark black…

Studio Seven Fifty Pinot Noir Sun Chase Vineyard

A very interesting Pinot to be sure. Russell Bevan's "I'm not afraid of fruit" style coming forward unabashedly on the attack, but married really nicely with some of the wine's earthy qualities as…

Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing

From Magnum. Medium-to-light bodied flavors of black cherry, allspice, cedar, vanilla, and earth/soil. A faint herbal tinge on the back end. The delivery on this wine was fairly linear and somewhat…

Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard

Same as my previous notes. A beautiful bottle of Syrah. 95-96 points. Drink now and over the next couple of years.

Scarlett Wines Cabernet Sauvignon

Well, here I am back to awesome with the wine, experiencing some really nice black and red licorice and asphalt notes to cut through the massive core of red and black fruit. Previous notes apply, but…

Lewis Cellars Chardonnay Reserve

Previous notes apply. Big, voluptuous, and plush. Dominated by viscous lemon curd and vanilla notes. Quality fruit indeed, but nearing levels of coming across a little over-processed and devoid of…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Bam Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

My third time having this wine; previous notes apply. This wine needs another few years to really stretch its legs. It is a youngster that flaunts its youth with somewhat compacted core fruit and a…

Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon CCS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This Schrader started off much in the same way a 2013 Carter OG began its display of flavors on PnP the night before: overt red (and some black) fruit (bordering on "fruity") and little in its…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Carter

Carter Carter...The wine so nice, they named it twice! My previous notes apply. Having an opportunity to have this wine side-by-side with the Fortuna, I found myself favoring the Fortuna just a hair…

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

Previous notes apply, except that this was fairly tight and restrained throughout the course of consumption. It was not decanted (and definitely needed it), but over the course of a couple of hours…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Weitz Vineyard

Previous notes apply. A very compelling wine that strikes a nice balance between fruit flavor/concentration and tension/verve. This is drinking even better than when I last had it in June. The grip…

Morlet Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Cour de Vallée

This wine was decanted for a number of hours and still struggled to exhibit much more than some tight, compacted red, black, and purple berry notes. Some faint earth and minerality, with…

Lithology Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

I had the opportunity to try this wine again. I honestly just don't get it. I have no idea what direction these guys were going in this expression of To Kalon. My previous note applies.…

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

This was from a Coravin bottle that had been tapped multiple times over the course of three months. Thanks to Dan and Mark for trying to add this wine to our lineup and seeing if it would still…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This was really showing its capacity to deliver an amazing array of complex flavors. Last time I had the Three Kings, I favored the Grand Daddy served alongside it. This time, the Three Kings came…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Wine is fun... unpredictable, but fun...

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fortuna Vineyard

Same as my previous notes on this wine. Drinking even better than a few months ago. A beautiful profile of red, black, and some purple core fruit. Complex and tiered in its delivery, with a…

Greer Cabernet Sauvignon Greer Vineyard

Rob Greer took the time to meet up with us at lunch and bring a bottle of this 2014 Greer. An amazingly giving gesture indeed and a wine with a lot of potential ahead of it.

Vineyard 29 Sauvignon Blanc Estate

A perplexing wine for sure. The oak influence in this wine confused the flavor profile for me to the point that I really couldn't understand what I was drinking. A significantly bitter,…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo

Notes of black currant, black earth, dark loam, and dark chocolate. In terms of flavor, the overall profile of this wine is undoubtedly in my wheelhouse, with a brooding, gothic type of quality about…

Tusk Estates Cabernet Sauvignon

As with the 2012 Schrader CCS, 2015 Carter OG, and 2015 Realm BTK, the Tusk was competing very well toward the final sips. Initial PnP was extremely tight and almost unforgiving. Super powerful and…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Coliseum Block

Soft and surprisingly earthy notes of black fruit, mulch, and a little funk. This seemed fairly advanced in its flavor profile. In all honestly, it's not exactly a fair fight when this is having to…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

My previous notes apply. Once again, this wine absolutely killed it! The "oohs" and "aahs" across the table were instantaneous as soon as we all took our respective sips. It's no doubt this wine sold…

Realm Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

PnP and this was one of the most giving and accessible of the wines served at the table. As noted by Cristal2000 and #1Winelover, this was indeed a young wine, but ironically delivering a medley of…

Sodhani Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Notes of ripe plum, camphor, mulch, and wet leather. Unfortunately all of the wines in the Sodhani lineup had a wood turpentine note to them. Not sure what was going on there. No rating.