Reviews

Château Clinet

Powerful and ripe on the initial sip, with a quivering black cherry bomb that drops hard and fast on the palate before a more rolling effect takes place with black raspberry, cedar, dry soil, and…

Addax Cabernet Sauvignon Tench Vineyard

Rich blackberry, bitter chocolate, red and black cherry, and embers, this wine showed upfront modernity and couldn't be anything other than a VERY recent version of Napa Cabernet. So, the 2018 Addax…

Immortal Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Slope

Plum and blackberry pie flavors present in a monolithic hit of lump-sum, here-ya-go flavors that hit the palate with a considerable thump on the front end, before eventually evening-out.some. It's…

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

This was one of a couple of pirates thrown into the mix (as the original plan was to blindly taste reds ranging from the 2012 vintage to present releases). This wine was CLEARLY not within those…

Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Rosso Vineyard

Plum and booze rush up the front end of the palate before they are consumed by a bitter green note that squashes the expansion of flavor. With air, this becomes a bit more affable, but it still…

Château Beau-Séjour Bécot

Earth, dust, and bit of funk playfight with black and red cherry flavors; new kids on the block meet old school rules here. Higher in acid than just about any wine up to this point, but with a…

Elyse Cabernet Sauvignon Tietjen Vineyard

Grape Ape meets Ookla the Mok, the powerful blast of blackberry cobbler and big-boned black earth flavors possess serious YUM factor delivered in a one-fist-clump of "here's your fat dollop of ice…

Côte Bonneville DuBrul Vineyard

Ripe blackberry, bitter chocolate, muddled plum, rust (iron), and soil flavors roll soft and round along the palate, with a medium weight pause mid-palate before trolling to a fruity but slightly…

Tenuta Sette Ponti Oreno Toscana IGT

Blackberry skin, plum, and unripe black cherry notes are wrapped in an exceptionally dry and dusty casing. Much more dynamic than the 2016 Capbern BDX served next to it, but still fairly reserved…

Château Capbern

Lighter and dustier than the previous wines poured, telegraphing Bordeaux in spades. Earthy cherry, great grandma's hope chest, tobacco, green peppercorn, and dusty plum push out all the hallmarks of…

Double Diamond (Schrader) Cabernet Sauvignon Amber Knolls Vineyard

Funk-keeee funkalicious front-end funkified fruit (like a BDX that got caught in a bayou). This has fruit like a domestic red but is overpowered by wet tobacco and almost muddy fruit to where I…

Double Diamond (Schrader) Cabernet Sauvignon

Black cherry, eucalyptus, plum, and blackberry skin dominate the profile. There is decent tension, with a broad grip housing the flavor carriage wanting to bust out of the frame. The fruit power is…

Ghost Block Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Dark plum, round and rich black cherry, sweet blackberry, and hints of soil, this was immediately identified as New World Napa (or an Aussie Shiraz posing as a Cabernet Sauvignon) crafted for the…

Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 169eme

Similar to the most recent bottle of 168 I had where I found there to be more freshness and energy than some of the previous heavier and oxidative iterations (looking at you 165 and 166!), this 169…

Domaine des Malandes Chablis 1er Cru Vau de Vey

Round and inviting, with a small push of added volume when compared to the bottle of this I had last year. A little less spunk and intensity, this will be a wine for nearer term consumption.…

Jean et Sébastien Dauvissat Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons

Starting out muted and simple upon first opening, this Vaillons takes a bit of air and swirling to coax out what depth it's willing to show. Once it budges, deeper honeyed yellow citrus, almond skin,…

Château Clinet

So...tight... and darn near flavorless. More primary than a Precambrian man's forehead. This has shut down more than Blockbuster video. Ok, enough of the metaphors. Let this be for... ever?! Or at…

Aesthete Wines Sauvignon Blanc Barrel Aged Dry Stack Vineyard

Still performing well, carrying slightly weightier yellow stone fruit, melon, and citrus notes complimented by some focused mineral and grass flavors. This compelled me to buy the 2017. Looking…

Nicolas Maillart Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Les Chaillots Gillis

Though I do get how a more purist palate might find the wood treatment here to make for a more lush and sumptuous mouthfeel, I do find this to be a superbly executed BdB with enough requisite acidity…

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir

Fresh and satisfying, with a lovely density that provides both Grand Cru weight and breadth, this 2019 Droin Vaudesir takes the best of the 2018 and 2017 vintages and combines them to make a 2019…

Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Les Barres

Similar to my notes from last year. There is a profile here that reminds me a bit of Krug in that it contains a beautiful richness that is compelling and flavorful without being heavy or overly…

Masot fiabe di vino Col Fondo

As expected from a Col Fondo, this hazy and yeasty frizzante is encapsulated by an exceptionally dry casing, but unfolds with layers of unripe white peach, quince, yellow citrus, yellow pear, sour…

Patrick Piuze Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent "QC"

Lemon juice, chalk, wet white travertine, and lemon pith are pleasantly zingy but also primary and linear. Here there is enough 1er Cru intensity to keep the breadth of delivery at requisite levels,…

Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Harbison Vineyard

A textural dream, with a smooth and enveloping mouthfeel that is Bevan at his best. The flavor profile is straightforward and fruity, with black and red cherry creme, black raspberry, and some spice.…

Arkenstone Cabernet Sauvignon Heimark Vineyard

Another outstanding showing on this wine, with meaty black berry, dark earth, char, embers, unsmoked cigar, and spice captivating the palate immediately upon first sip. The attack is strong but…