Reviews

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

Nose shows immediate promise with a medley of perfectly sweetened fruit and vanilla, like when the best warm cobbler is served at your table and that wave of succulent aromas hits you before it even…

Morgan Pinot Noir Double L Vineyard

Fruity, watery, and thin, with little acid or grip to provide any sort of notable structure or frame to this wine. Notes of strawberry and possibly some red cherry, but overall the core fruit flavors…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

It's been nearly a year and a half since I last had the 2013 Crane. This was a PnP at a restaurant. The first thing that grabbed me about this wine was its chiseled core of red and purple berry fruit…

Cirq Pinot Noir TreeHouse

Previous notes apply from 6 months and a year ago. An initial wave of very nice brambly purple and red fruit, and some hints of mulch, earth, brush, and river rock. The acid seemed low; the frame…

Carlisle Petite Sirah Sonoma County

Same as my notes from six months ago. Decanted a total of three hours, which helped. There is definitely a spine left in it for sure, and enough grip to keep the frame solid throughout consumption.…

Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Corona Vineyard

As others have noted, this is primary and a bit sour initially on entry. I blame this 100% on youth. Not surprisingly, I opened this WAY too early; my fault. Damn curiosity! I would hold off on this…

Freemark Abbey Merlot Napa Valley

So forgettable I really can't remember how it tasted, except that it just tasted like "some red wine." Nothing to distinguish it from any house red I've had before. It wasn't horrible. It wasn't…

David Clinton Old Vine Zinfandel Mounts Vineyard

Paired fine with a black truffle agnolotti, but honestly, what doesn't taste good when you're having anything with black truffles in it?!

Pruett Vineyards Syrah Taylor's Reserve

Man, some folks are absolutely loving this wine right now. A few in our party killed this bottle almost instantly. I continue to find it more and more middle of the road as time goes on. It was super…

Bevan Cellars Ontogeny

Same notes as last month. I drank the heck out of this wine all throughout dinner. I ignored a 2010 Forman and a 2013 Spottswoode in favor of the Bevan. Good stuff!

Forman Cabernet Sauvignon

Same as all of my previous notes. A 2013 Bevan Ontogeny bested the Forman by a significant margin for me. Different styles of wine for sure. Others preferred the less fruit driven nature of the…

Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Muted, dry, and a little thin mid-palate, this Spottswoode is in need of some serious bottle time before it MIGHT show a more improved hand. 2020 is probably about right, but I'm honestly not…

Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon

Previous notes apply. Try as I might, I just can't get there with this wine. I try to go in each time with an open mind and assess it from the most objective way I know how. And still, it cannot come…

Venge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Bone Ash Vineyard

Same as all of my previous notes. This was its usual big, bold, almost over the top, fruit in your face type of Cabernet. I still find quite a bit of pleasure in this style of wine...but it is indeed…

TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Cimarossa Vineyard

One of the best Tor wines I've had in a long time, and possibly ever (even more so than the BTKs of the past). This was a PnP at a restaurant. From the first "pop" of the cork, I could instantly…

Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

A truly stunning bottle of wine. PnP displayed beautifully pure red, black, and purple fruit notes, black raspberry, red and black currant, black slate, river rock/gravel, pumice, and a hint of…

The Debate Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard

PnP was just a little tight, but still displaying some really unctuous dark red and black fruit notes. Black and red raspberry, black cherry liqueur, currant, a little spice and earth, vanilla, and…

Bevan Cellars Pinot Noir Summit 2114

A beautiful and poised bottle of wine. Definitely a more restrained version of Bevan's usual flashy, fruit forward Pinot lineup. To me, this had a cooler climate feel about it, but the core fruit was…

Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Amoenus

This 2014 Amoenus offered a fascinating contrast to the more instantly flavor-forward 2014 Materium. The Amoenus was more of a slow burn, where the Materium flashed the palate almost immediately on…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain

A really nice concentration, with black, blue, and deep red fruit flavors. Expensive vanilla extract and subtle river rock notes. Some dark chocolate chunk to add interest. Probably the best wine in…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District

Same as my notes from November 2016. Just a hair more interesting than the 2013 Bergfeld served alongside it. The Stags Leap has a really nice concentration, with blue and black fruit notes and some…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Bergfeld

Same as my previous notes. A 94+ bottle of wine, and in the same category (in terms of quality) as the '13 Stags Leap, '14 Howell, and '14 Diamond Cabernets served during the same tasting. Drinks…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Jack's Masterpiece

After having the 2014 North End and 2014 Ellie's, the 2013 Jack's Masterpiece tasted like a 100 point wine. Unfortunately, it's not a 100 point wine; nor is it a 99 point wine (not sure what Parker…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Ellie's

Just barely better than Hall's 2014 North End Cabernet. The Ellie's was overtly lush and "fruit forward" (trying to be nice here), with not a hard edge to be found... so much so that it came off…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon The North End

Absolutely, 100%, without a doubt, a totally super "barely ok" wine...