Reviews

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper

The 2015 Purlieu had a notable concentration and depth of flavor. Dark berry fruit, black cherry, cassis, dark mulch, fresh soil, and hints of scorched earth. A great push and grip as well. A far…

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper

The front-loaded attack of dark blue and blackberry and scorched, mulch-driven fruit washed over the palate with a plush rush of intensity. What initially seemed like a wondrous attack of broodingly…

Becklyn Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Plush, round, flavorful, and pushing out a medium-bodied attack of dark black cherry, purple plum, blackberry, blueberry, cassis, and some spice. Certainly a nice array of flavors jumping around on…

Henriot Champagne Cuvée des Enchanteleurs Brut

Beautifully mature and resolved, with nicely oxidative notes of dark yellow citrus, bruised Meyer lemon rind, grilled pineapple, lightly toasted brioche, and light colored toffee. Tiny bubbles that…

Aubert Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard

2013 and 2014 Aubert Eastside side-by-side.

Aubert Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard

2013 and 2014 Aubert Eastside side-by-side.

B Cellars Cabernet Franc Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Previous notes apply. An alliterative fun, flavorful, fascinating, and focused phenom. A lot going on here that could still use another year or so to elevate even further. The black cherry and cassis…

Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

It's been over a year since I last had this wine. Notes of blackberry, black currant, mocha, cedar, black pebbles, fresh vanilla bean, and allspice. A really nice depth of flavor; The attack was full…

Staglin Family Cabernet Sauvignon Booth Bella Oaks

Finished the bottle from multiple Coravin pours over the course of three months. The best showing of this wine, especially when given a couple of hours to air-out in the glass. A darker profile than…

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Day 2: Some remaining wine from yesterday (about 1/4 of a .750 bottle) was poured into a small bottle, filled to the top, capped, and stored at 54 degrees for 24 hours.

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Similar to my notes on 9/9/2017. Beautifully pure and sexy black core fruit. Scorched earth, fresh vanilla bean, fresh asphalt, incense, clove, black tar heroin (kinda like an adult tootsie roll…

Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard

Dark black and purple core fruit, with black raspberry, black currant, black pebbles, railroad tie, and some cedar. Decent grip and some evolution and layering of flavors across the palate from the…

Valdez Family Winery Petite Sirah Landy Vineyard

Seems to have faded a bit since I last had this a year or so ago. Nothing wrong with it technically, but exhibiting only some basic notes of red and purple berry, plum, camphor, and some wet wood and…

Bacigalupi Vineyards Chardonnay

Previous notes apply. Lemon curd, vanilla, lime zest, popcorn, and some subtle stone fruit. The lime note (and a tinge of alkaline and alcohol) repeat on the back end. Missing a bit of finesse and…

Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon

Finished a bottle that was the victim of a few previous Coravin taps over the past month or so. This was the best showing out of this bottle yet. Allowed some time in the glass to really get some…

Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Le Nouveau Western Star Vineyard

PnP, tasted, and then decanted for about an hour at 54 degrees; small pours from the decanter, which remained in the wine fridge throughout consumption. This seemed to be the most appropriate service…

The Grade Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Winfield Vineyard

All previous notes apply. A little more muted than the last bottle. Grossly improper stemware is likely to blame for that. Drinking fine now otherwise.

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

Hey man...all I can say is that I'm a fan. PnP is right now, ready to go. A few minutes of alcohol on the initial pull, but otherwise its delivery was fun, filling, vivacious, and concentrated. It's…

Wren Hop Pinot Noir Oracle's Whisper

It's been a year and a half since I last had this wine. PnP was a bit reticent, but after two hours of slow O2 and some swirling in the glass, it filled out nicely. Black cherry, black raspberry,…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine

PnP was high-pitched and a bit steely, with lemon seed, slate, chalk, and limestone notes. Ultra, ultra pure, with a unique, exacting focus that I have only found in a handful of Champagnes.

Favia Syrah Quarzo

Previous notes apply, except that after a few hours of air, the Viognier component started to mellow out and seemed to work its way more seamlessly into the Syrah element. Still could use another…

Carlisle Syrah Sonoma County

Much improved since I last had this wine 1.5 years ago. Dark purple and black core fruit, with notes of black pepper, camphor, black olive, and some subtle spice. Beautifully balanced with a…

Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon True Vineyard

Another Coravin pour. Seems to have moved along to a riper stage with some air. I had a Coravin issue with a Quivet LPV at the same time last week when I hit this bottle too; so, maybe there was some…

Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Pretty prune-ridden and over-ripe. I'm guessing a Coravin malfunction from last week? Bummer. Note to self: Just PnP in about 1.5 years and not bother with trusting "technology" to screw up an…

René-Henri Coutier Champagne Grand Cru Brut Rosé

A beautiful hue of golden orange-pink, like a sunset in Morea...aaannd that's about as good as it gets....