Reviews

Tusk Estates Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasted at the House of Tusk Celebration event.

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon

Black and red fruit; some spice and sweet cassis as well. Deeply pitched and kicking out much more drive when compared to the 2014. The 2015 wrapped around the palate nicely, especially on the front…

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon

Round and accessible with no hard edges. Some nice red and black (and hints of blue) fruit. Black cherry and cacao nibs dominated, with some vanilla alcohol, cedar, and earth on the back end.

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper

PnP, with somewhat reticent notes of red and black fruit, cassis, and some earth and spice notes. I was missing some of the superlative intonations that would have otherwise driven me to express…

Purlieu Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Very much in my lane in terms of the superior level of overall delivery that comes from the BTK site. Oakville fruit shown with a concentration and depth one would expect from a top tier wine, but…

AJ Pearce Cabernet Sauvignon Massoumi Vineyard

Made by the proprietor at The Wine Thief in Napa. As a sub-$100 wine ($75 retail), this showed a very approachable side to the 2013 vintage. If I understood him correctly, this wine was aged for 39…

Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon

Same as my notes from last year, except that I would project an optimum drinking window as far out as after 2020 or 2021+. The first few hours of consumption were so constricted it was difficult to…

Donelan Chardonnay Genevieve's Block DeVoto Vineyard

Same as my notes back in June. Very Aubert Lauren in style. I loved it.

Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Amoenus

Similar to my tasting notes in March, except that this especially showed dominant red and black cherry liqueur notes, along with red volcanic minerality and red clay earth notes. A fascinating wine…

Realm Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Fidelio

Same as my specific tasting notes from June 20, 2017. I've been fortunate enough to have a couple beautiful SQN whites lately, so they were still in my mind as I was sipping this Realm. I'd love to…

Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Initial sip on PnP was a hit of heat/alcohol and high register notes of pink terra cotta, hot red brick, pomegranate, and tart plum. A bit splintery on the attack, with the heat washing around the…

Denner Theresa

Similar to previous notes, except that I felt this was a little lacking in the depth department this go-around. It also didn't help that I had an awesome SQN In The Abstract a couple of days ago that…

Thienot Champagne Brut

Same as my previous notes. I've admittedly felt less and less drawn to this Champagne over this past year. Time to start looking elsewhere I suppose. Drink now.

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

Previous notes apply. 9 months since my last 2012 OG. Performed very nicely, but I felt like this was still a bit restrained. Purity of fruit was noteworthy, with a nice cedar note that crept up on…

Sine Qua Non Syrah Atlantis Fe2O3~1a, b & c

From Magnum. On the nose, a nice funky, pepper aroma with some saddle leather and stewed plum. Same on the attack, with ripe purple plum, dusty blackberries, leather, railroad tie, camphor, incense,…

Sine Qua Non In the Abstract

After about 2 hours of being open and with the opportunity to warm up above refrigerator temperature (actually, it was in an ice bucket), this white displayed absolutely beautiful notes of yellow and…

Bevan Cellars Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard

Very similar to the 2015 EE, except that the Sugarloaf was a little more subdued and flat in its execution. The red and black fruit stuffing is all there, along with some interesting pebble and…

Bevan Cellars EE Cuvée Tench Vineyard

Same as my notes two months ago. The best of the 2015 Bevans. Though still young and somewhat primary in its youthful delivery, the mid-palate concentration and complex flavor profile are certainly…

Bevan Cellars Ontogeny

Coiled up and somewhat subdued notes of dark black cherry, black and red currant, cedar, and some fuzzy graphite on the back end. The black cherry note repeated itself prominently after it had some…

Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Tench Vineyard

I recall liking this wine, but it didn't evoke any true sense of draw or fascination for me. I thought it was a very well crafted wine (as is true with many of Russell's wines), and the fruit…

Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Tin Box Vineyard

Similar to last year, this version of Tin Box displayed its signature red, black, and some purple fruit flavors, plum, black and red currant, black cherry, and the slightest hints of spice. This was…

Bevan Cellars Danger D Cuvée Showket Vineyards

A special treat to be able to try this wine. Tasted with "Danger D" himself - a remarkable man indeed. Beautifully integrated tannins with resolved flavors of deep black and red fruit, black and red…

Bevan Cellars Chardonnay

Same notes as last week. Colder service was better. 89-90 points.

Staglin Family Ineo

Round, plush, fruit-forward, and indicative of the 2014 vintage. Not extraordinarily complex in terms of its delivery of any captivating, tiered flavors, the Ineo was a bit forgettable, especially…

Staglin Family Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

I was quite impressed with this wine. Not my preferred style in some respects, with a more reserved, classical profile on the attack. Yet, the delineation of flavors was extremely precise and…