Reviews

L'Aventure The Sibling

Same as my notes from 3/4/2016. Anyone with remaining bottles should hold until late 2017 at minimum. Still very tight, with a total of four hours of air in a wide-bottomed decanter still not helping…

Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

PnP was somewhat accessible, with notes of red raspberry, strawberry, cherry, and some very faint earth/spice intermingling with the predominantly red fruit-flavored profile. Barely a hint of that…

Eric Kent Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Sascha Marie

Still needs some time to work itself out. Notes of red berry fruit, red raspberry, strawberry, cherry, a little spice, and alcohol. A little thin on the mid-palate, medium-bodied, with a bit of a…

Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard

WAIT on this wine! Decanted for over three hours, showing signs of those top shelf Alban flavors of black raspberry, olive, and charred/bbq. However, it's not quite there yet. This 2010 was quite…

Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard

Nine months have gone by since my last tasting note on this wine. It has certainly started to integrate nicely in comparison to my previous sour ball experience on initial PnP back in December. This…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Connoisseurs Series Allier French Oak Gamba Block 2

Notes of black berry fruit, dark plum, and cedar. Smooth and drinking well now; looks to be at the apex or just on the beginning downturn of its optimum drinking window. The cedar note became more…

Mark Herold Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Brown Label

Holding steady at 95-96 points. Previous tasting notes from a few months ago still apply. Three hours of air in a decanter at 54 degrees smoothed out the overall texture of the wine very nicely.

Wren Hop Pinot Noir Architects & Saboteurs

Same as my tasting notes from almost a year ago, except that this has clearly evolved in the bottle even better since October 2015. Dark black cherry, currant, and spice notes were at the forefront.

TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Cimarossa Vineyard

Unbelievable showing this time around. Similar to my specific tasting notes six months ago in terms of specific flavors, except that the black licorice and asphalt notes circled even more superbly…

Wren Hop Pinot Noir Daughters of Earth Goldrock Ridge

Same as my notes from 3/11/2016. An amazing pinot that fits my palate perfectly. One of the best domestic pinots out there. A little flashy, but in the best of ways, with a medley of beautifully ripe…

Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection

PnP with accessible and immediately gratifying notes of blackberry, black cherry, black and red current, dark chocolate, and vanilla bean. A kiss of spice on the back end framed the core flavors…

Keplinger Sumo

PnP with high-toned notes of violets, grass, stone, bitter blackberries, and some blue fruit. Three total hours in the decanter didn't help to evolve this much.

Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block

Same as my notes from February 2016. 93+. A decent drink now with a short decant or hold for another year.

Château La Croix Figeac

Dominated by cedar and bitter black currant. Clipped, thin, and hollow. Down the drain.

Château Puech-Haut Coteaux du Languedoc Saint-Drézéry Prestige

Dirty, raisin-tinged plum notes, with earth and cedar dominating. Threw off a lot of sediment. Dead and flavorless.

Château d'Aiguilhe

Tannic, thin, and bitter; raisin, currant, and cedar notes. Best forgotten.

Thunevin Mauvais Garçon / Bad Boy

Plum, raisiny currant, and cedar. Not much pleasure here; typical low-end production table wine.

Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

At the risk of sounding like I'm getting kickbacks from Schrader or something (I wish!), I have to admit this was indeed a fabulous showing with this wine. Had a bit of a tight grip on initial PnP,…

Casa Nuestra Cabernet Franc

Tart, clipped, and not giving off much fruit. Some dust and alcohol, with linear, bitter purple berry flavors just barely peeking out. A biting, chalky finish in the back end.

Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

A decent showing for a WS RRV appellation pinot. Notes of red and black cherry, earth, cedar, and a slight hint of charcuterie.

Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Bucher Vineyard

An extremely good showing, and my WOTN. Rich and beautifully mature notes of deep black cherry, black and red currant, earth, mulch, cedar, salami, and spice box.

Wren Hop Pinot Noir Druid's Metaphor

This is a Fall release that a friend was lucky enough to get his hands on... and nice enough to pop a bottle for the group.

Migration (Duckhorn Vineyards) Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

Same as my specific notes from January on this wine. A friend brought this to dinner, along with a Flowers Pinot. Both were thin and simple. Nothing additional worth noting. Not something I'd ever…

Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

Simple and extremely light, with some strawberry, rhubarb, raspberry, and fleeting spice notes. A little alcohol on the back end.

Altamura Cabernet Sauvignon

Another strong showing with this wine. Drinking well now, without the sweetness that had appeared previously. Nice round, dark fruit and dark chocolate flavors at the forefront.