Reviews

Château Rieussec

A great vintage and a solid Sauternes. Honey, apricot, lamp oil, quince jelly, and lemon and orange marmalade. The only elements missing for me would be some additional floral or herbaceous notes.…

Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny

At first pass, this is taut and linear, with a bead of cedar-infused red cherry providing medium intensity and leading into a clipped and primary finish. With some coaxing in the glass, it unfolds…

Penfolds Grange

Port-like and stewed, the 1999 Grange is a much-advanced specimen. Prune, three-day-old coffee, tar, tobacco, Grandma's vest-sweater, vanilla suntan lotion, and balsamic notes show immediately how…

Famille Isabel Ferrando Châteauneuf-du-Pape Colombis

Suuuuuuper tannic and powerful, with crunchy blackberry and plum skin notes skipping off rock and stems, finishing grippy and slappy. A fairly loud showing, the Colombis is best fitted for the exact…

The Third Twin Nuestra Señora del Tercer Gemelo The Third Twin Vineyard

This is my second shot at the NUESTRA SENORA DEL TERCER GEMELO (refer to my recent and lengthier tasting note from 09/20/2021). This bottle is a bit spun up at first, but its concentration and drive…

Sine Qua Non Syrah Trouver l'Arene

Initially coming off like a young and powerful Grenache, the Trouver l'Arene spat kirsch, red and black cherry, red and black raspberry, garrigue, and Cosmo cocktail notes that would've had me…

Château Pavie

An old soul, with cedar chest and red currant flavors intertwining with plum, dry dirt, and cigar notes. Finishes extremely dry and dusty. I know I'll take a little heat here, but I'm simply not…

Harlan Estate The Maiden

A somewhat polarizing wine among a number of us in the group, with the majority (myself included) not convinced this is on a path worthy of especially high accolade. The black cherry and plum notes…

Realm Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

A push-pull showing this time around. At once vanilla-chocolatey, ripe, and rich, while also liqueur-heavy and a bit angular, the 2013 Realm To Kalon comes off both blocky and lush in the same sip.…

Greer Cabernet Sauvignon Greer Vineyard

It's been 2.5 years since my last bottle. Having the chance to try this again is a lesson in service and delivery. This, like many other wines at this event, was a straight pop of the cork and a…

Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Wildfoote Vineyard, Vixen Block

A surprisingly melodious and softly contoured Wildfoote, maturing gorgeously through its typical brawny mega-power and flexy-Mcflex-a-flex posture and transmuting into a very beautiful, almost pretty…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Let this dude sit for a while in the corner. If this bottle is any indication as to how much time this 2015 is going to need to fully unveil its greatness, it'll be a hot minute or three before it's…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Another perfect showing, and one of the top (of many) reds of the night (especially along with the 2018 Lafleur and 2018 Bryant), the 2016 MACDONALD does what any lineage of awesomeness in an awesome…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon BBS Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

If you dig LPV, then it's hard to do better than the Vice Versa BBS in 2016. It's got the gravel and rock you've come to love; it's got the fittingly Halloween-ish haunting black fruit; it's got a…

Fairchild Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Stones No. 2 Pritchard Hill

Somewhat lost in a sea of amazing juice, the Fairchild only suffered from its competition rather than its standalone qualitative virtues. This Pritchard Hill brew begrudgingly gives up crunchy…

Promontory

One would think that following the super strict and serious 2016 Lokoya Mount Veeder would mean that comparatively anything would come off as less rage ridden. Well, the Promontory apparently wants…

Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder

Locked (and hopefully loaded), the Lokoya Mount Veeder ain't havin' any of your monkey business right now. This is a wig-donning, goggle glasses-wearing, dusty couch and moth balls-smelling…

Abreu Cappella

Purity, balance, and grace are matched with gushing power and an unreal expansion of dark and brooding fruit and earth flavors, the Cappella is a captivating wine that shows just how special this…

Abreu Las Posadas

A kickboxing production of red and black fruits, tangling with earthy spice and darker, meatier elements that start to fan out mid-palate, but are stopped short at the finish line by a dusty grip. A…

Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

If there ever was a 2018 vintage domestic contender that could go toe-to-toe with the French equivalent that is the 2018 Chateau Lafleur, it would likely be the Bryant. These were the two wines of…

Château Ausone

Tiiiiiiight and dryyyyyyy, with crunchy blackberry, black gravelly soil, dark spice, stemmy black cherry, black limestone (like the kind that is underneath a cave waterfall and has that black fungus…

Château Lafleur

The best young wine I've had from across the Atlantic and the absolute show-stopper of the night. The concentration, sophistication, and complexity, even at such an infant stage, are so compelling…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Ya this is pretty darn good juice right here. There was a 2016 Vice Versa LPV BBS that was thrown into the mix too, so of course my palate preference instantly gravitated to the LPV. That said, there…

Sine Qua Non Aperta

Round number two with the Aperta. I wrote a novella on this a couple of weeks ago on Cellar Tracker, so if you're bored on the couch waiting for your mom to warm up your leftover Mac & Cheese, feel…

Vice Versa Chardonnay Platt Vineyard

I've written quite a bit on this wine already, so I'll keep it simple. It's one of the best domestic Chardonnays coming out of California. It consistently flies in the 96-99 point range for me. It…