Reviews

Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Kaliholmanok Kicu'me

Coravin pour, with notes of red cherry, purple plum, Dalmatia sour cherry spread, cedar, underbrush, garrigue, and some forest floor. Approachable enough, but still youthfully linear and a little…

Torrin The Maven

PnP at 54 degrees with somewhat reserved notes of kirsch, black and red cherry, saline, and some underbrush. Cloudy in the glass and fuzzy on the palate, with a medium attack and somewhat simple…

Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

A super solid wine and even better than when I had this almost one year ago. In a perfect drinking window now. PnP was just fine, though about 30 minutes in the glass with some swirling really…

Aratas Petite Sirah

This has lost a little steam since I last had it in 2016. Still "fine," but not as attention-grabbing as in the past. I like it. I don't love it. A Tuesday night throw-down with pizza kind of wine…

Hourglass 36-24-36 Blueline

Finished the bottle. Previous note applies. This wine manages to pull off unctuous concentration and intensity while also maintaining a notable balance and texturally smooth delivery from beginning…

Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Red currant, cedar, underbrush, and some thin black cherry notes. A pedestrian front end attack, with a simple mid-palate and overly lithe finish. Not even that much acid or grip to cut the beautiful…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder

Wanted to see if the bottle I had a few weeks ago was just an anomaly.

Hourglass 36-24-36 Blueline

Coravin pour. An extraordinarily dark, concentrated wine, with black core fruit flavors of black currant, blackberry, black rock, dark bitter chocolate chunk, espresso, tar, black licorice, clove,…

L'Aventure The Sibling

Previous notes from a few months ago still apply. Needed a decent decant (2+ hours) before it really started to come alive and lose some of that firm grip it was exhibiting on PnP. Still good advice…

Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes

Quick Coravin pour. Holding back but not totally inaccessible. Purple plum, black raspberry, limestone, garrigue, and some purple licorice (if that even exists). After an hour in the glass it got a…

Melville Pinot Noir Block M

Similar to previous notes. Ripe red and black cherry and red raspberry core, with some strawberry, orange rind, wood, and spice. Drinking fine now. A tad heavy on the fruit, but the flavor push is…

TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Cimarossa Vineyard

Served alongside a 2012 Fleury BDX, also from Howell Mountain, which was a little more structure driven and less giving in the dark core fruit flavor department when compared to the more…

Fleury Estate Winery BDX

Served alongside a 2012 Tor Cimarossa, also from Howell Mountain, which was a little more giving in the dark core fruit flavor department when compared to the Fleury. The Cimarossa was rounder and…

Realm Cellars The Falstaff

Similar to my notes on this wine from almost two years ago. This particular specimen was from Magnum. With some swirling in the glass, this delivered some nice earthy black cherry, purple plum,…

Hartford / Hartford Court Old Vine Zinfandel Hartford Vineyard

Try as I might, I just can't bring myself to find enjoyment in these Zinfandels. It's like a Pinot Noir and a jug of Welch's grape juice birthed an Ocean Spray Cran-Grape baby and then fed it Vodka…

Hartford / Hartford Court Pinot Noir MacLean's Block

Dark black cherry, forest floor, pepper, earth, and spice. The darkest profile of the Pinots tasted. Medium bodied, with some booze on the back end that pulls you away from the core fruit just a bit.…

Hartford / Hartford Court Pinot Noir Velvet Sisters

The most flavor-driven of the Pinots served, the Velvet Sisters was kicking out ripe and sweet red cherry, red raspberry, orange rind, and evergreen notes. The alcohol lingered in the finish. The…

Hartford / Hartford Court Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard

An intriguing Pinot Noir, medium in weight, with a "light on its feet" delivery, but with a beguiling complexity of flavors that really elevated it to the next level. Normally I prefer a little more…

Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate

A fun and fascinating wine to follow throughout the night. A super generous gift to the table!

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon BBS Stagecoach Vineyard

This BBS was a beautifully crafted, brooding but sultry beast, strikingly indicative of the best of what can come out of the alluring 2012 vintage and the Stagecoach site. Sexy black core fruit,…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo

Cocked, locked, and spitting black nails the size of broadswords right through the back of the mouth on initial entry. Decanted for a total of three+ hours, and it could've used even more air time.…

Cirq Pinot Noir TreeHouse

All I can really say is that a side-by-side with a 1998 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses made this Cirq taste like licking Courtney Love's oxycodone-ridden…

Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses

PnP with flawless provenance and no signs whatsoever of VA or funk. Cork was absolutely perfect.

Addax Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

A year since I last had this wine. It should still be another year before I revisit it again. Previous notes apply otherwise, as this is overall a well crafted bottle of juice.

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Twins Vineyard

Starting to really come into a nice drinking window. PnP with just a little swirling in the glass to blow off a little initial heat worked just fine service-wise. Black cherry, plum, cassis, and…