An exquisite bottle of domestic Chardonnay. Much fuller and richer than some of the other Aubert Chardonnays, but this was an absolute pleasure to drink. Super smooth and viscous, with ripe yellow…
This poor little guy couldn't come close to hanging with the other big boys served alongside it. Some dark currant and cedar notes, but pretty thin mid-palate. Unfortunately forgettable. 88-90 points…
Same as my notes from 12/15/2016. Accessible and balanced. Blue and black fruit dominated. A great house blend from Bevan that is an easy drinker for the most part at this stage. It indeed shows the…
Big and rich, with black cherry, currant, blackberry, and heavy spice notes. After trying Cabernet Sauvignons and big reds all night, I was thinking this would come across too light (being that it…
Same as my previous notes. Especially notable mid-palate this time around. Softer and rounder on the finish, but then the tannins crept up nicely and framed out the fruit. Hold until 2018+ at least.
Similar to previous notes. This came off as a little clunky and funky this time around. It was a PnP and in need of more air to clear out some of the dark mulch funk. Otherwise, this was chalk full…
Similar to all of my previous notes on this wine. The only issue this go-around is that the Debate fell behind the competition when served alongside a whole host of Russell Bevan top flight 2015s…
A very deep and extracted Cabernet. Dark black fruit, with some earth and subtle spice notes. Indeed captivating and extraordinarily crafted with quality in mind.
A striking bottle of wine, this blend was less brooding and deeply pitched than the 2015 PerUs Cabernet Sauvignon. Of course, that's not to say this wine wasn't a big, dark, modern expression of a…
Insane concentration and intensity. Grabs ahold of you and doesn't let go. Blackberry, forest floor, black currant, tobacco, cacao, tar. A seemingly endless kick of dark, rich black fruit flavors.
Phenomenal performance for such a young wine. Hands down the best EE I've ever had. So concentrated, opulent, and deep, but at the same time brimming with energetic purple and red core fruit.…
A very intriguing wine. Displayed classical red and black currant, cedar, and fruitcake notes, but also enveloped the palate with a rush of dark purple and black core fruit, cloves, and asphalt. The…
I quite liked this wine for the totality of what it delivered during consumption. I found that if I tried to make it into a cerebral experiment, I was just over-intellectualizing the pleasure right…
Much more accessible than the Shakti, this Piranha Waterdance displayed really nice purple and blackberry core fruit, along with some of the signature SQN funk that crept up on the back end and…
Young and primary, but teeming with pent up purple and red berry core fruit just waiting to unfold. Soft, furry tannins surround the black raspberry, cassis, purple plum, and chalk rock notes. A…
Same as my notes from 12/13/2016. Developed a really nice dusty, sedimentary rock tinge on the back end after about 3 hours of air. Stags Leap represented very well with this wine. A very "complete"…
PnP with initially tart red and purple berry notes and alcohol on the back end. An hour in the decanter yielded ripe and fruity core flavors with plum, red and black licorice, and some vanilla. There…
This showed better than what I remember from nine months ago. PnP and served at cellar temperature, it displayed more rounded and voluptuous notes of lemon curd, vanilla bean, quality oak, and hints…
A very agreeable 10 year TP. Displayed some nice nutty, caramel driven flavors. Light golden raisin and toffee notes pushed through and delivered some decent complexity throughout consumption. 88-89…
Dark black fruit, oak char, wood, mulch, and some stone. An earthy, brooding rendition, with the forest floor and wood notes really dominating over the fruit after some air. Seemed as though it was…
Medium bodied and fairly thin mid-palate. Tasted somewhat cheap for a Howell Mointain Reserve Cabernet. Performed at around the $30 level. Some decent dark fruit flavors, but not much complexity and…
Previous notes apply. Black cherry and black raspberry notes dominated. This was smooth and approachable right out of the gate. Some purple plum flavors emerged after a couple of hours. I didn't get…
From Magnum. Shockingly intense and powerful for a 2002. Really nice concentration. A little rough around the edges, with a gritty, cedar-laced finish. However, the core purple and black fruit, black…
From Magnum. Previous notes apply. Pretty boozy on the PnP, but fanned out nicely after some air time in the glass. A big, rich, spicy style, but with quality fruit and focus still intact. An…
A very smooth and inviting style, with creamy almond and brioche notes to compliment the ripe pear and lemon curd flavors. More on the round side, with the acid and minerality in the background from…
