Reviews

Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District

This poor little guy kicked out some cedar and funk on the initial attack which jumbled the flavor profile. The seemingly beautiful fruit was dark and deep, but the frame was lost and the back end…

Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos de La Bussière

Core red raspberry and strawberry cream notes, with light black cherry and fleeting, faint hints of mulch and spice. Feminine on the attack, but a mid-palate that was still fairly solid.

Robert Mondavi Winery Pinot Noir Reserve

Some simple and thin flavors of black cherry and faint earth and spice. Mid-palate was hollow, with the "attack" (of what there even was) fleetingly whipping over the palate and rushing straight into…

Robert Mondavi Winery Pinot Noir Reserve

An instant blast of heavy cedar and mulch. A stinging and bitter attack with an alcohol-drenched 2x4 aftertaste.

Shafer Relentless

Same as all of my previous notes on this wine. PnP was the way to go. Performed optimally at 54 degrees throughout service. Solid 95 points during this time period. (1-1.5 hours).

Bevan Cellars Pinot Noir Petaluma Gap

Same as all of my other notes. Best served cooler to corral all of that ripe fruit. PnP is recommended. Don't bother with a decant. Drink now and over the next few years.

Bevan Cellars Ontogeny

Same as my previous notes from 01/23/2017. Scrap the decant and stick with PnP. This doesn't need extra air or any kind of extended decant in my opinion. The air it gets in the glass is just fine.…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

PnP with red and purple berry notes. A black cherry liqueur flavor was prominent, surrounded by river rock and alcohol on the back end. Concentration and depth were notable, as was the sweet tannic…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Last minute pull. Still needs some time in my opinion. Similar to my previous notes, but a little more rambunctious than I remember. Kicking out a lot of black cherry liqueur, red and black licorice,…

Argot Cabernet Sauvignon Borrowed Jewels, Sugarloaf Vineyard

Gobs of blackberry pie and ripe plum notes. Just bottled last week, so it's going to need another year or two to really settle into itself. Lots of acid and some bitterness on the back end, but the…

Argot Cabernet Sauvignon StarStruck

Just bottled; a little difficult to totally assess at this juncture, with some strong acid pushing out in front of the overtly primary fruit. Some herbal notes on the back end that helped to frame…

Argot Pinot Noir Hawk Hill Vineyard

Similar to my previous notes from 05/27/2017. This was served a little cooler than last time (the cooler temperature was more preferable to me). Some nice herb and rosemary notes this time around.…

Bevan Cellars Pinot Noir Petaluma Gap

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…

Scarlett Wines Cabernet Sauvignon

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.

Mark Herold Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard

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…

The Debate Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

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…

Addax Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

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.

PerUs Wine Co. Alessio

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…

PerUs Wine Co. Armaan

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.

Bevan Cellars EE Cuvée Tench Vineyard

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.…

Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Calixtro Tench Vineyard

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…

Sine Qua Non Syrah Piranha Waterdance

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…

Sine Qua Non Grenache Shakti

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…

Ghost Block Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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…

Bevan Cellars Ontogeny

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…