Reviews

Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Eastside Road Neighbors

Similar to the Vista Verde, with a little less personality. Simple notes of red-fruit berry, cranberry, red raspberry, and vanilla-laced alcohol. Linear and youthfully astringent, but with some…

Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Lewis MacGregor Estate Vineyard

On the heels of having just enjoyed Williams Selyem's 2015 MacGregor Chardonnay, I was hoping the Pinot equivalent would be equally as interesting. Unfortunately, this was a fail on a number of…

Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Weir Vineyard

Cranberry and some cedar flavors, with hints of dry soil and granite. Fairly watery and thin, with an incredibly linear attack. The back end fell off almost instantly.

Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Vista Verde Vineyard

Higher-register red fruit notes of red cherry, pomegranate, light cranberry, citrus peel, wet limestone, and some brush. The "pop" of the red fruit is fairly constant through the attack, reminding…

Williams Selyem Chardonnay Lewis MacGregor Estate Vineyard

Creamy and succulent notes of vanilla bean-laced lemon curd, honeycomb, light yellow citrus, ripe yellow Bartlett pear, and hints of clarified butter. The richness of the vanilla dominates on the…

Terredavino Agricole - Conte Di Gropello Brachetto d'Acqui

Same notes as before, and even a little better than I remember. A little elevated on the froth front, but a good balance of sweet and acid/grip. Drink now.

Stella Fiore Brachetto

Same as before. Started to get a little sweet toward the end.

Pruett Vineyards Syrah Championship Cuvee

Same as previous notes. I preferred a 2013 Celani Cabernet served alongside it. Drinking fine on PnP.

Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 1858 Napa Valley

The good news is that this wine at least didn't come across like the total trampy Jamba Juice blackberry smoothy hooker that the 2014 Caymus Cabernet has become. This 1858 showed "some" restraint in…

Celani Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Similar to my previous notes, though this wine totally stepped it up since my last experience in August. Bottle variation? Hard to determine. This bottle was micro-filtered (a definite must) and…

L'Aventure Estate Cuvée

Possibly one of the best Estate Cuvees from L'Aventure that I've had. PnP had a good deal of dark, pure fruit and mineral flavors surrounded by a tight, encompassing grip. After about 30-45 minutes…

Aratas Petite Sirah Shake Ridge

Notes of black raspberry, wild blackberry, green and black olive, green peppercorn, and some mossy wet black slate. A little bit funkafied, with a clipped and clunky finish. It was ok, but a somewhat…

Carlisle Petite Sirah Dry Creek Valley

Stemmy and funky. Flawed.

Larkmead Vineyards The Lark

PnP started this wine out with some astringent characteristics that masked the core fruit at first. However, it didn't take but 30 minutes or so in a decanter before it really started to leap forward…

Greer Cabernet Sauvignon Greer Vineyard

Though I just tried this wine on 10/4/2017, I wanted to give it a whirl at home where I could watch its evolution throughout the course of an evening from PnP through a few hours of air. Much like…

Carlisle Syrah Rosella's Vineyard

Linear and flat across the palate from start to finish. Some purple berry fruit and fleeting hits of black olive (like the kind on a Roundtable pizza). Lackluster indeed (and not "off" in terms of…

Argyle Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

Watery and bitter. Cranberry cocktail with an astringent bite. Thin and almost completely flavorless otherwise. Nearly undrinkable.

Provenance Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford

Fruity, simple, and easily accessible. Predictable but enjoyable enough in the flavor department to hold half-interest throughout consumption, with notes of black and red currant, blackberry,…

Bevan Cellars Pinot Noir Rita's Crown Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills

In a FAR better place than it was nearly a year ago. But be warned, this is still a biggun! Huge fruit. Huge spice. Huge Pinot. Black cherry, black raspberry, blackberry, anise, clove, Chinese five…

Quinta do Noval Porto Colheita

Incredibly smooth and seamless in every way. An almost golden color, with just a slightly darker orange/brown-ish hue on the rim. Lighter on the attack, with toffee, caramel, light maple syrup, dried…

Bernardus Winery Chardonnay Rosella's Vineyard

Same as my previous notes, except that this got a little too warm (room temp), which flattened it out considerably on the back end. The flavors were decent, but the frame lost tension and grip…

Château Boswell Pinot Noir Absolutely Eloise Bentrock Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills

Very similar to the Sonoma offering of the Eloise, with higher-toned, red fruit flavors of cranberry, pomegranate, incense, and alcohol-laced vanilla. Fairly linear on the attack, with a lithe,…

Realm Cellars The Bard

After a somewhat lackluster performance from a recent tasting of the 2015 Bard, it was surely encouraging to experience this 2013 step up with a pleasurable delivery of black core fruit, clove,…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Connoissuer's Series Jupille Sylvain French Oak NO

PnP with notes of ripe black and red currant, subtle black raspberry, cedar, wet earth/mulch, and some black tanbark. Medium-bodied and a fairly smooth delivery for the 2013 vintage. A good wine and…

Larkmead Vineyards LMV Salon

Well, I suppose I'm in the minority here. This was an ok wine at best for me. Pedestrian and fairly predictable flavors of black and red currant, earth, and some spice. A little leather and dark soil…