A noteworthy "restaurant" Chardonnay at La Bicyclette in Carmel. Carries an agreeable smoothness that houses the ripe fruit in a smooth but firm scaffolding. A balanced non-astringent acid frame…
Light and a little tart on first PnP. With air, it completely woke up. Alluring notes of grass, yellow citrus, honeydew, quince, hints of pumice, and slightest tinge of alkaline, but then a beautiful…
Currently angular and slightly abrasive, this iteration of UV-SL offers yellow citrus and alcohol, with some imitation vanilla extract and popcorn notes. Missing texture and seamlessness. A tad empty…
A surprising come-around with this wine since I last had it. Much more balanced and seamless this time, and not too Syrah-gamey or Cornas-esque (as MH can sometimes come off to me).
Showing the earthy side of Cabernet Sauvignon at this stage. Notes of wild and dust-covered plum, red and black cherry, and dry soil and sedimentary rock. The plum and cherry dominate throughout the…
Uber fruity. Oceanspray Cran-Cabernet cocktail. Some black cherry, blackberry, and cranberry-plum flavors. Next-to-no depth or focus. Finishes weak, with no sense of nuance or sophistication. Better…
Plump, plush, round, sweet, ripe, ripe, ripe lemon curd, lemon tart, custard, buttered popcorn, and yellow cupcake batter with vanilla frosting. An obese amount of oak influence made for a super…
With the qualifier of, "Well, as Merlots go, it's pretty good." Decent structure and grip. Not a ton of complexity or depth to speak of, but carries itself with some nice crunchy red and black cherry…
Quince, chalk, lemon pith, steel, panko, and some pumice. Fairly linear and straightforward on the attack. Never fully dropped on the mid-palate, riding superficial through the finish. Medium weight…
Yellow citrus, popcorn, vanilla glycol, meringue, marshmallow, and custard. Heavy on the oak influence, with ripe and round yellow citrus enveloped by the sweet vanilla flavors. Little sophistication…
A curious mix of cranberry and plum flavors, with some vanilla and crunchy pomegranate and red currant notes. Simple and a little odd overall. The price of admission on some of these N&N Cabs seems…
Round and ripe red and black cherry, plum, and some cedar. Straightforward and soft around the edges. Finishes plummy and a bit globular. Drink now and over the next few years.
A plummy Zinfandel-esque profile with an overly ripe, round, and simple core. Flavors of plum, plum, plum, black cherry, macerated blackberry, cedar, and plum. Finishes plummy, with a plum-ridden…
Though fairly tight and somewhat constricted, this was probably the best in the lineup from this producer. Notes of black and red cherry, vanilla, black raspberry, cedar, red and black currant, and…
Same as last year. Performs like a champ after a few hours of air. I'll try to hold another 8-12 months just to really optimize its drinking window. The 2012 vintage was a huge success from Bevan…
Previous notes apply from last year, though I do think another couple of years will produce even more upside for this wine. The 2014 is an agreeable vintage no doubt, with a personable delivery of…
It's been three years since my last bottle of this wine. A slight bit of evolution in bottle has served it well, but it hasn't changed all that much. Perhaps a little more expressive and less linear,…
Still sticking to 2020+ (maybe even 2021) as a marker for offering an even more improved drinking window on this wine. It performs quite decently with a healthy decant, but would do well to shed a…
Previous notes apply. Still best to hold until after 2021++. This bottle was followed for four separate days over the course of two weeks (Coravin pours and a final day of a few hours of open air).…
Similar to all of my other notes. Needed an hour or so to start delivering a less manipulated and confectioned advancement of flavors. Lemon meringue and curd, vanilla, and mojito dominated the…
Certainly showing even more of its BdB yellow citrus profile than a year ago, this bottle displayed upper register lemon zest, lemon oil, yellow pear, white quartz, chalk, and acacia. Refreshing…
A definite contrast from the Magnum I had of this a year ago. This bottle was (as others have noted) somewhat muted in the fruit department. In fact, the fruit seemed somewhat progressed and…
Ripe and sweet Meyer lemon, yellow peach, candied lemon drops, spritz-infused quince, granite, and wet limestone. Certainly one of the sweeter Rieslings I've had over the last couple of weeks, with a…
Same as my previous notes on this wine, except that this was a tad boozy on the initial pull. Luckily, with some air in the glass, the alcohol dissipated quickly, revealing its fun and fascinating…
