Reviews

Aubert Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard

Plum, red raspberry, big black cherry, vanilla-strawberry, spice, and a fistful of alcohol. Following this over two days could not fully shake it of its cocktail profile. Air did help, and day two…

Maxem Pinot Noir UV Vineyard

A Coravin pour on day one was a lot of big black cherry fruit and a significant amount of alcohol swirling around in a whirlwind of flavors and varying levels of tug-of-war power and shifting weight…

Addax Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

The booze has certainly integrated a bit better here, but the flavors have become more plush and round. Good in some senses, but missing grip when compared to the gobs of blackberry fruit. A flavor…

Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Black currant, cedar, wood dust, blackberry, and some black cherry. Grippy and youthful, with a medium-bodied profile and medium finish. Simple in terms of fruit flavor expansion, but controlled and…

Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

It's been nearly a year since my last bottle. Similar to Badmonkey's experience, this seemed to struggle to fully come around. After a decent amount of babying and trying to give it air (which warmed…

Domaine Tortochot Mazis-Chambertin

A beautifully balanced Pinot, with earthy black and red cherry, black and red currant, bark, and hints of citrus. A bit of funk skirts the periphery, but only with a subtlety that elevates the core…

Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains

On initial pour, the nose was kicking out all sorts of floral and ripe black cherry notes. But alas, the front end of the attack delivered primary and somewhat linear on the palate. No surprise given…

Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Vougeot 1er Cru Les Petits Vougeots

Red and black cherry dominate here, with a primary flavor delivery and a medium-bodied weight distribution across the palate. Somewhat linear, with a thinner but focused finish. Impressively pure and…

Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Murgers

Black and red cherry, bright red strawberry, orange peel, citrus blossom, and faint bark and spice notes. Some white pepper and subtle earth show up toward the back end, finishing youthfully grippy…

Domaine Robert Groffier Gevrey-Chambertin Les Seuvrées

Red and black cherry, black raspberry, roast beef, damp earth, and a slight wet hay note on the final tail end. A little barnyard funk jumping off here, but not enough to distract from the overall…

Buisson-Charles Volnay 1er Cru Santenots

Starts out intense and coiled-up, eventually giving way to highly focused but uber-primary notes of strawberry cream, red and black cherry, red raspberry, substitute teacher chalkboard, and white…

Domaine Anne et Hervé Sigaut Chambolle-Musigny Les Bussieres Vieilles Vignes

Plum, soft ripe black cherry, and earth lead the front end of the attack, with some cedar and slightly funky soil notes pushing through as it rolls across the palate. Finishes round and slightly…

Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Vieilles Vignes

Dark black and red cherry dominant, with hints of vanilla, crema, wet limestone, and faint spice bark. A little more on the black fruit spectrum. A notable mid-palate for such a base-model wine, with…

Aubert Pinot Noir UV Vineyard

A very tasty wine, if not a little overblown with overt and saturated red raspberry and muddled over-ripe strawberries and red cherry notes that keep the delivery fairly singular and straightforward…

Bevan Cellars Syrah Moaveni Vineyard

Previous notes apply. Black fruited, with slightly woodsy olive brine, railroad tie, and camphor notes that add interest. A ton of fruit here, but still finishing with some alcohol on the back end,…

Château Haut-Brisson

Red currant, red and black cherry, cedar, dust, and some dry soil. Surprisingly open and balanced, with an even-keeled delivery straddling flavor and grip. Drink now and over the next 5+ years.

Olivier Bernstein Clos de la Roche

Strawberry, red cherry, earth, chalk/limestone, and stems. Beautifully balanced weight-wise, with the profile favoring more of the earth side of the house. Slight funky soil notes on the tail.…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fortuna Vineyard

Coravin pour. Crunchy blackberry seed, black and red currant, river rock, purple plum skin, and gravel. Great tension; a bit grippy, but straddles a nice line between balance and speed. Could still…

Realm Cellars The Bard

Very good! VASTLY improved from last year. Chocolate, blackberry, black wet soil, earth, and still hints of vanilla bean (but not overly processed). Black core fruit. Balanced nicely. Notable weight…

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

Composed and alluringly poised when mirrored to its 2017 counterparts, the GTO lets you know it is showing up to the ball with a touch of class. Less concentrated and intense than the OG, but…

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

On first sip, this OG was a sweeter and riper version of the barrel sample I had before. Rich black cherry starts off the race on the front end, pulsating out additional flavors of cassis, fresh…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Almost identical in profile to the Three Kings, but with more plush and somewhat rotund ripe fruit, the Grand Daddy was the most unresolved of the To Kalon offerings. True to its usual form, the…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

A really beautiful showing, with so much youth and vibrancy coming out of this wine despite its dark, black, gothic profile overall. Earthy rock and signature LPV minerality dominates over the core…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Black cherry liqueur and licorice rule the roost here, with a kirshwasser note that ramped it up to a higher register profile, especially on the finish. The delivery was party-ready, but certainly…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo

So this wine didn't suck at all. A massive wall of tannins and grip formed an outrageous skyscraper of scaffolding for the pitch-black fruit core. Shockingly, the immensity of the structure didn't…