Reviews

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

A beautiful wine that took a few hours in the decanter to unfurl and shed just a bit of excess cassis liqueur and alcohol to unveil an array of deeper purple, red, and black fruit flavors. Some tasty…

Wren Hop Pinot Noir Killing Moon

Revisiting this wine after a Coravin pour a week prior. With a little air, this filled out even better than my initial experience. Previous note applies, except that it displayed increased depth and…

Aubert Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard

Red raspberry, ripe red cherry, evergreen, old cinnamon bark, and subtle citrus. Front-loaded with red fruit on the initial attack; full, round, and fairly plush overall at first. The mid-palate was…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

After a couple of Coravin evolutions, the remaining juice from this bottle was PnP'd and consumed within 30 minutes. Great flavors and energy during this volley.

Scarlett Wines Cabernet Sauvignon

Last minute pull. It's been about a year since my last dance with the Scarlett. This showed less "ultra-modern" than last time, which I appreciated. A somewhat medium and pleasantly flavorful attack,…

Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard

This has put on a bit of weight and progressed rather rapidly since I last had it back in February 2017. Rounder and more accessible (a fairly good thing to some degree), but a little cloyingly…

Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Napa Valley

Currant, black cherry, gravel, and earth notes lead the way, with a notable grippy minerality that elevates this wine beyond just being your average throwdown NV. Medium weight mid-palate, with a…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Fruity and flat on the attack, with a hollow mid-palate that stumbled its way to a hot, booze-ridden finish. No real grip or frame aside from the distracting alcohol sensation on the back end.

Wren Hop Pinot Noir Killing Moon

Red cherry, kirsch, red raspberry, rhubarb, and subtle Tab cola. Clean and pure flavors, with a straightforward attack; especially focused on the back end, with a purposeful and studious finish.…

Wren Hop Pinot Noir Night Children

Coravin pour. This is really starting to find its glide. A bit fruitier than I recall from the beginning of the year, with an inviting attack of red raspberry and cherry, cola, rhubarb, and subtle…

Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon Blueline

A beautifully rich and smooth attack of dark berry fruit, with dark chocolate and graphite notes that add interest. Mid-palate depth is notable, with enough acid and grip to corral the ripe core and…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Day 1: Great Gotham Gobs of Candied Cassis Boy Wonder! The first sips from this harlot worked the palate the same way Kim Basinger worked a bottle of honey bear honey in 9 1/2 Weeks. Good God man!…

Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Amoenus

Exhibiting beautifully brooding and complex flavors of black, purple, and dark red core fruit, the 2015 Amoenus kicks out notes of deep, dark black cherry, wild blackberry, black soil, black olive,…

Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Similar to last month. Like an agreeable friend-hug with someone you've kinda hung out with a time or two. No romance, but a decent "It's just lunch" type of wine. Drink now.

Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard

PnP. Same notes as a few months ago. I definitely prefer this over the Kanzler Pinot that I had the other day. This Silver Eagle had some more earth and spice notes to elevate its flavor profile. The…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Finished the bottle. Holding for a few years is still recommended. I poured this into a decanter and kept it at <52 degrees in an attempt to control the air influence (giving it air, but hoping…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

Coravin pour. Same as before. It's fun. It's flavorful. It's not going to win any Nobel Peace Prizes or ever make it as an answer on Jeopardy, but this is solid juice served with a smile all day…

Bevan Cellars Ontogeny

Previous notes apply. Another fantastic showing from this "base" model Cabernet. The mid-palate and complexity are indeed notable from this sub-$100 wine. Punches above its weight class for sure.…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Bergfeld

Previous notes apply. Showed more complexity than its 2014 Hall Howell peer that was served the day before, but didn't do a ton to really show that it belongs in the upper echelons of Napa Cabernets.…

Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Kanzler Vineyard

Fairly typical profile of the Pinots that come out of this house. Cloudy red raspberry, red cherry, orange rind, and some subtle earth. Medium all the way around, with rounded edges that seemed to…

Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Same as previous notes. A decent amount of mid-palate concentration (though more on the elegant side of things overall), with some black mineral-laced fruit that added interest throughout…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain

Same as last month. Last bottle. Won't miss it. Pass.

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Smaller Coravin pour, with little opportunity to thoroughly evaluate, but enough time to know that this wine is going to need a few years to fully come together. Much less seamless in its current…

Goldeneye Pinot Noir Anderson Valley

Light-to-medium bodied, with the initial attack displaying red and black cherry, strawberry, and some earth notes. The mid-palate drop is where this almost completely falls apart, with an…

Fuse Wines Cabernet Sauvignon

Medium-to-light flavors of diluted black cherry, red and black currant, and some subtle earthy spice. Mid-palate is medium in weight and somewhat decent considering the price-point here, but its…