Reviews

Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Wildfoote Vineyard, Vixen Block

From a bottle opened nearly 24 hours. Even more dark chocolate chunk, dark coffee grounds/espresso, blackberry mocha, scorched earth, tar, asphalt, and a hit of DARK red raspberry. An incredible…

Sine Qua Non Midnight Oil

From magnum. Plum, kirsch, brick, tobacco leaf, leather, wood, and some red/black cherry. Missing some seamless as far as flavor delivery and an overall smoothness/glide, but otherwise an array of…

Sine Qua Non Ventriloquist

From magnum. Strawberry seed, red dirt, orange rind, and terra cotta. The least expressive when compared to the '00 Flagrante and '00 Incignito. Some interesting flavors, but overshadowed by a…

Sine Qua Non Incognito

From magnum. Kirsch/cherry water, strawberry seed, red brick, Kauai red dirt, prosciutto, and hints of wet wood. Similar flavor profile to the '00 Flagrante and '01 Ventriloquist, but with more…

Next of Kyn No~8 Cumulus Vineyard

From magnum. Upon first pull, this showed some intriguing blackberry seed and purple plum notes that desperately wanted to jump out of the glass. The first few hours were a slow burn of an awakening…

Sine Qua Non Syrah In Flagrante

From magnum. Cherry, brick/terra cotta, prime rib, soil, and some wood. A decent attack on the front end energy-wise; medium weight mid palate, with the flavors watering-out to a more lithe and short…

Next of Kyn No~7 Cumulus Vineyard

From magnum. Tight, tannic, and hyper-linear for most of the evening. Decanted for 5-6 hours with little signs of letting go of its firm grip. Some notes of boozy black cherry, unripe raspberry,…

Becklyn Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

From 3L. Similar to previous notes. Huge, plush, ripe attack, with black/red/purple fruit liqueur, black cherry, plum, and vanilla. A fantastic flavor profile; a little plump and doughy on its…

Sine Qua Non Grenache Patine Eleven Confessions Vineyard

From magnum. After about 4-5 hours of decanted air, this wine blossomed into a massively concentrated beast, with sexy, deep kirsch, ripe raspberry, bruised strawberry, soft-warm leather, garrigue,…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Empyrean Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

From magnum. Decanted and aerated over the course of 3+ hours. Final sips were the absolute best.

Sine Qua Non Syrah Patine Eleven Confessions Vineyard

From Magnum. Not surprisingly, the initial pull was pretty tight and linear, with higher register funky plum popping out in the front end. Finish was clipped and somewhat bitter. It essentially took…

Lerner Project Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

From magnum. Dark, chocolate-covered black cherry and black raspberry core fruit, with dark clove and anise spice notes. Compelling scorched earth, embers, and black earthy soil components added…

Sine Qua Non Syrah B 20

From magnum. Funky purple plum, asphalt, mulch, licorice, and some blueberry. Slightly bitter on the finish, which made for a somewhat clipped experience insofar as the display of fruit was…

Bevan Cellars Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard

A gorgeous and massive frontal attack of black and purple core fruit, with black raspberry, bitter chocolate, dark cassis, and spice notes. Similar to the '16 EE served beside it, but with less overt…

Sine Qua Non Grenache THE Line

From magnum. Dried strawberry, bitter plum, kirsch, cherry water, and some underbrush. Strawberry and blackberry seeds on the finish, making it bitter on the back end. Purity of fruit was notable,…

Bevan Cellars EE Cuvée Tench Vineyard

Huge blackberry and black raspberry core fruit, with waves of boozy red and black licorice, black cherry liqueur, currant, and spice. Delivering flavor like a hussie barrel sample from a brothel in…

Sine Qua Non Syrah The Duel

From magnum. One of my favorite wines of the night. Off-the-charts intensity, concentration, and power (especially for a decade-old wine). Unbelievably complex. Notes of wild blackberry, camphor,…

Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Wildfoote Vineyard, Vixen Block

Oh man, is this wine gonna be a sexy siren when it has a chance to fully come together. Currently, it's a pro athlete in training mode getting geared-up for the main event. Driven and captivating for…

Sine Qua Non Grenache The Duel

From magnum. Purple/red plum, deep kirsch, raspberry, strawberry, and wild red and black cherry. Some garrigue and underbrush on the finish. Seemingly higher on the acid spectrum, with a formidable…

Bevan Cellars Danger D Cuvée Showket Vineyards

From .750. While the David's Cuvée was noticeably less intense in .750 than from magnum the day before, the Danger D was fairly similar between the two bottling sizes. Possibly a hair less…

Sine Qua Non Grenache Pictures

From magnum. An extraordinary wine whose distribution of flavor had so much to do with temperature control. When I first tasted it on PnP, it was operating in that 94-ish point range. The bottle was…

Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon David's Cuvée Showket Vineyards

From .750. Interesting the differences between this bottle and the magnum from the day before. This bottle was just as smooth and beautiful, but noticeably less intense and more medium in its…

Sine Qua Non Syrah Dangerous Birds

From magnum. Purple/blue/black core fruit, with specific notes of purple plum, blackberry liqueur, blueberry, blue river rock, asphalt, black peppercorn, saline, purple licorice (whatever that is…

Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select

PnP and this at-first-look beauty caressed the palate with lovely black core fruit and black/blue river rock. With every moment of air, however, this HSS started to quickly soften. In little time,…

Sine Qua Non Grenache Dangerous Birds

From magnum. Moving from the 2000, 2001, and 2002 SQNs and skipping a few years to embark on the 2007s and 2008s in the lineup, this is where I really started to find pleasure and excitement. Though…