Darker and old school-er, with intersecting waves of funk and finesse; the overall profile here is one of beauty and beast (though the beast is kinda more of an all bark no bite kind of posture).…
This was quite good, with leather, pink rose petals, and tobacco encircling a core of cedary strawberry, torched orange rind, and dusty red cherry flavors. It's lighter bodied than I would have…
This thing was instantly boring for about three hours. With open air and more swirling than an Olympic synchronized swimmer, the seal started to barely crack, unveiling some unripe red raspberry,…
With a few hours of double-decanting, this vintage of MacDonald is surely more approachable than some of its more intense siblings. There is a liquid velvet thing with 2014 that skirts rusticity and…
I've been sitting on this bottle for about 4 years now, and then milking it with a Coravin over the last few months. The final pop and pour was stellar, with the perception of alcohol nearly gone,…
Black cherry and plum kick off the core outpouring of fruit on the attack. Though the nose signals ripe and sweet, the red/black fruit is nicely housed in a dry (I mean, dry by Aubert standards)…
It's no Scarecrow, but the M. Etain isn't necessarily trying to be. Next to its big brother, it's honestly barely worth talking about. But if you can peel yourself away from the notion that it will…
The nose here is feral and a little funky, but there is a nice injection of red/black fruit, Christmas spice, black cherry, and black currant. The finish is notably long, with the back end texture…
Fruity on the nose; fruity on palate. Red berry (cranberry) dominates, with candied red cherry, cassis, and red currant. The profile is. red. With air, it becomes more linear and superficial. The…
Oh bejeezus, this is one seriously stern arm-crossed child who doesn't know how to use its big words when it's cranky. Not much on nose; not much on the palate. Linear and flat-lined, with barely any…
A product of the 18/19 vintage, which as a blend should be pretty ideal given the successes of those two vintages. Super fruity on nose, with a predominantly black fruited profile overall. On the…
Black cherry and black raspberry lead the front end. Plum then begins to overpower the profile, becoming plummy and jammy at times. Mid-palate is medium with a round finish that quickly turns…
Decidedly richer and rounder than the Cowboy Caviar Silver Eagle served beside it, this UV is hanging in Reno for the weekend with a lushness and brightness that is almost neon-pulsing. The richness…
The nose is almost feral and wild, like it's gonna blast you with a fistful of Stemmy-McStemminess. Then the palate front-loads the tastebuds with rich berry fruit. There are some rocks and bark that…
Chiseled and focused, with the edges slowly (and I mean slowwwwwly) kinda-rounding toward the finish. Less of a plum profile compared to the Vaso and Onda, this Dana is more about tightly wrapped…
Compared to the 2019 Vaso served in the same lineup, this Onda shows elevated concentration and precision. Some licorice emerges, along with black cherry and plum. There exists some notable…
Plum and ripe black cherry intermingle with spice and cedar notes, making for a little bit of an old school profile here. The tannins show as slightly elevated, clipping the finish and simplifying…
A dirt-worshipper funkafication on nose, enough that I would have thought this was a cooked Pegau CdP Reservee. On the palate, biting and nearly fruit-muted, with leather and dusty cherry flavors…
Though youthfully primary and slightly strict at this stage, the 2019 is packed with sophistication and beautiful potential. It's a serious and stern presentation currently, but it makes its mark…
Linear and superficial in execution, with notes of vanilla, cedar, blackberry seed, and currant which struggle to expand or gain depth. Finishes direct, bitter, lean, and without much personality.…
In a blind of 2019 top shelf Napa Cabs, the Songbook held its own with beautiful persistence and push of flavors. The expansion of dark and almost lush fruit was immediate, with an open and giving…
In a blind with other 2019 Napa Cabs, the Anjea performed especially well; so well in fact, that it was head-to-head with its sibling Voleuse, as well as other heavy hitters like Harlan. Macdonald,…
In a blind of 2019 Napa Cabs, this performed exceptional, though it is worth noting that it is undoubtedly young and still sorting itself out. My notes on this bottle read, "More sophisticated and…
In a lineup of top shelf 2019 Napa Cabs blind, this undoubtedly showed near the top of the heap. Of course the immediate argument is that it should always be the singular one on top (short of a…
I've had this wine a couple of times now. In a blind a few months back, it showed a little older than the other modern Napa Cabs, at least in the sense that the profile displayed some leather and…
