Reviews

Hartford / Hartford Court Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard

Previous notes apply, though this wine started to make more sense to me tonight. Decanted and put back in the refrigerator to keep cool (but not overly cold). Probably served at around 50 degrees…

Aubert Pinot Noir CIX Estate Vineyard

Deep, dark red raspberry, ripe red and black cherry, forest floor, mushroom, and faint orange rind and evergreen notes. A fairly rich and ripe rendition, with gobs of sappy fruit coating the palate.…

Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Gap's Crown Vineyard

Previous notes apply, though this greatly suffered from a temperature issue, where its focus and frame became a bit flattened out as it reached room temperature. The flavors were all still there, but…

Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard

Yellow citrus, yellow pear, lemon and orange zest, candied/honey lemon, white stone, and hints of buttered popcorn and glycol. A fortified flavor burst of energy on the front end, but still holding…

Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard

PnP with sappy black cherry, wild dark raspberry, black soil/earth, loam, and dark spices. More on the black side of the fruit spectrum (as opposed to the Kanzler which is much more red fruited);…

Rivers-Marie Chardonnay Sonoma Coast

A little better than when I last had it a couple of months ago. When given the chance to air out a bit, it showed some nice yellow citrus flavors. Fairly agreeable, pairing well with salmon over a…

Addax Chardonnay

Yellow citrus core. Lemon curd and zest, lemon olive oil, lightly buttered popcorn, vanilla, glycol, and subtle grass. Medium-to full in weight; a nice drive with a balanced push of flavors evenly…

Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Occidental Ridge Vineyard

Previous note applies. Some cranberry, raspberry, and orange rind. Keeping this at a cool/cold temperature helped. When it started to inch away from a cold cellar temperature, it got a little blasted…

Rivers-Marie Chardonnay B. Thieriot Vineyard

Similar to previous notes. One of the finer examples of this particular wine. Lemon citrus, lemon zest, vanilla glycol, pumice, and hints of hay. Somewhat straightforward, but flavorful and balanced.…

Ultramarine Blanc de Blancs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast

White stone and high-pitched yellow citrus core fruit. More linear in its delivery when compared to the 2010 Ultramarine served next to it. A little bit of the usual saline funk I associate with this…

Ultramarine Blanc de Blancs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast

Funky yellow citrus, quince, chalk, seaweed, bruised lemon rind, and some wet hay. An interesting display of flavors across the palate, offering a unique complexity certainly not seen with domestic…

Aubert Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard

From Magnum. A phenomenal showing this time around. After about two hours of air and some vigorous swirling in the decanter, this absolutely gorgeous wine kicked-out all sorts of seductive and…

Aubert Pinot Noir UV Vineyard

Part of a would-be vertical of 2010/2011/2012 magnums of Aubert UV Pinots, except that the 2011 was severely flawed.

Aubert Pinot Noir UV Vineyard

Part of a would-be vertical of 2010/2011/2012 magnums of Aubert UV Pinots, except that the 2011 was severely flawed.

Aubert Pinot Noir UV Vineyard

Part of a would-be vertical of 2010/2011/2012 magnums of Aubert UV Pinots, except that the 2011 was severely flawed.

Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Occidental Ridge Vineyard

This seems to have lost quite a bit of drive since I last recall. Displayed some nice saturated red raspberry, ripe red/black cherry, and citrus rind notes, but there was nothing to propel the…

Château Boswell Pinot Noir Absolutely Eloise Sun Chase Vineyard Sonoma Coast

CRISTAL's assessment is spot-on. Notes of black cherry, tobacco leaf, earthy cedar, and subtle woody spice. A decent amount of fruit here, with more focus than the overtly bombastic Rita's Pinot…

Vice Versa Pinot Noir Platt Vineyard

Even more intense than when I last had it in February, the VV Platt Pinot explodes with ripe black cherry, currant, juniper, evergreen, and earthy spicebox notes.

Vice Versa Chardonnay Platt Vineyard

Having the opportunity to follow these VV Platt wines is really something special. My previous notes apply, with some additional comments about "quality"...

Aubert Chardonnay CIX Estate Vineyard

Two years ago since I last had this wine. PnP kicked out some off-putting spritz that threw the flavors all out of whack. It tasted like a Sauvignon Blanc had a love child with a super dry…

Rivers-Marie Chardonnay B. Thieriot Vineyard

Same as all of my previous notes on this wine. Held up great over the course of over three hours. Beautifully balanced, with just enough of a kiss of buttery citrus to push the flavor spectrum into…

Aubert Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard

PnP at 50-52 degrees, with a zesty but buttery-smooth yellow citrus dominated core. Lemon curd, lemon zest, honeydew, citrus oil, honey, olive oil, clarified butter, and some vanilla. Perfect…

Rivers-Marie Chardonnay B. Thieriot Vineyard

PnP with a viscous and glycol-wrapped delivery on the front end; yellow citrus, Meyer lemon marmalade, lamp oil, vanilla-liqueur, and olive oil. A lot of booze on the back end, washing over the…

Hartford / Hartford Court Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard

This was served as a PnP directly out of the refrigerator, so my first impression was a little lost on the otherwise muted flavors. My initial sips showed some chalky rock and pithy yellow/white…

Hartford / Hartford Court Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard

An intriguing Pinot Noir, medium in weight, with a "light on its feet" delivery, but with a beguiling complexity of flavors that really elevated it to the next level. Normally I prefer a little more…