Reviews

Paul Lato Syrah Il Padrino Bien Nacido Vineyard

Salty charcuterie, olive, red and purple plum, river rock, and red and black cherry notes make for a cooler presentation of flavor. Meaty in style, but not overt or loud in its production and…

Adversity Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard

From Magnum.

Château Margaux Pavillon Rouge

Black and red cherry, muddled strawberry, tobacco leaf, cedar, and earth. A fine food wine, but a bit mushroomy for my taste. Lacks depth and profundity. Medium-minus on the finish. Drink now.

Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select

A solid performance with this particular bottle. Decanted for a few hours, which really allowed the firm tannins to soften and the black fruit and obsidian notes to emerge. No green peppercorn or…

Benanti Etna Rosso

Light red cherry and orange pith, with a touch of smoke. Thin and basic, but fresh and snappy. A Red Solo cup on the beach with a bag of BBQ chips type of wine.

Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Another stab at this wine, and it delivers better than the previous bottle a couple months back. Cool black flavors, with a profile based on restraint and poise, but still offering lovely black…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Element Zero

This is a super beast of a wine, with walls of intensity and structure. Napa power users will be stoked to have these in their cellars, but best to don your trusty riot gear and remain 100 yards from…

Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas

This needs a decade minimum to unwind. There are some higher register cherry notes, with salami, violets, and gravely soil barely peeking out, but it's mostly just primary red-purple "fruit" that is…

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Anjea Sleeping Lady Vineyard

This doesn't even need a decant. Silky smooth with a perfect equilibrium, especially for such a potent wine. Dark blackberry and black cherry fruit dominate, with a wonderfully pure but voluminous…

Château Valandraud

This was best after half the bottle was recorked (not gassed) and left in a cold cellar for three days. Modern, dark, and powerful, but sans the heat after the third day. Let these lie for a number…

Futo Oakville

I have to admit to continually being fond of Futo, especially the Oakville offering. Despite the elevated pricing, the wine itself is consistently compelling with its combination of dark fruit and…

Château Lafleur

A decent amount of fruit is still alive and kicking here, with signature cherry and plum notes intermingling with some soil and leather flavors. Dried roses and river rock flavors make an appearance…

Château Lafite Rothschild

Leather, sherry, soil dusted plum, and caramel. This bottle was an interesting curio, but seemingly either past its prime or had some storage issues perhaps. or a combination of both. Fun to try but…

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Anjea Sleeping Lady Vineyard

Big and unctuous, but with a silky finesse that made a 2018 Arkenstone Heimark served beside it look like a blackberry whiskey sour. the Anjea has that Nigel smooth edges thing going on that always…

Arkenstone Cabernet Sauvignon Heimark Vineyard

This bottle was a hot, massive, thick monster. Sticky and syrupy, with the high alcohol brambly blackberry cocktail delivery showing a full frontal exhibition of overt heat and power. Finishes like a…

Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge

Past its prime, but with enough cherry and cedar flavors to provide interest. The slightest bit of freshness compels a second sip. A wine for yesterday.

Caves Dom Teodosio Garrafeira Particular

Muddled strawberry, leather, sherry, and maple (not sweet) flavors. A fun curio given its age. Would pair nicely with a fat cigar or coffee cake.

001 Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon Ecotone Vineyard

This was a tannic tantrum of a bottle. Different than the more approachable bottle I had a few months back, this monkey was tight and strict. Finishes crunchy, with black mineral elements dominating.…

Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon True Vineyard

A one-note dollop of red/black fruit, with a static delivery that moves across the palate with predictable flavor expansion. Lacks personality and a distinct focus. Finishes flaccid and without…

Realm Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Big and ripe black fruit and dark soil elements dominate. A rich Napa Oakville bomb that carries enough mineral lift to keep it all in focus. Seems to be getting heavier with time. Drink now.

Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This was the ripest and most fruit-bomby of all the wines in the blind, with a rounded core that was covered in extracted baskets of gushing fruit. It's a cocktail style that is all bachelorette…

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

This came off extremely oaky and almost chocolate milkshake marshmallowy compared to the other competitors in the Napa blind tasting. Gobs of fruit here.

Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

This still needs time. It was middle of the pack in a blind amongst some compelling Futos and Macdonald. Much more delineated than the Schrader, Realm, Carter, Outpost crew served next to it, the…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

In a blind of Napa big boys, this thing jumped ahead of the pack with what I consider to be one of the most perfect profiles for my palate. There is that signature olive and saline overlay that…

Futo 5500

More graphite and mineral elements here than the 2021 Futo Oakville served next to it (blind), the 5500 carries similar class but with some red fruit notes that make for a higher register delivery…