Nose: The nose is very fresh and juicy with Peaches, green apples, nectarines, papaya, jasmine, and tropical citrus notes.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with refreshing, medium+ acidity. The refreshing quality of the acidity plays into the feel with peaches, green apples, nectarines, jasmine, and tropical citrus notes.
Overall: This is a fun and refreshing Sekt. There is a playfulness that is really enjoyable with up front tropical citrus tones.
Nose: The nose is balanced and upfront with Apples, pears, dough, citrus, vanilla, almonds, brioche, biscuits, flowers, baking spices, and toast notes.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with crisp, medium+ acidity. The feel is well balanced with apples, pears, citrus tones, vanilla, almonds, dough, biscuits, baking spices, and toast.
Overall: This has seen some extended lees aging and it’s clearly there. This is lovely with good balance between the autolytics and citrus tones. This shows off the raising bar of quality that is happening in the Valley for Traditional Method Sparkling wines.
Nose: The nose is aromatic and fresh with red cherries, roses, strawberries, red fruits, crushed rocks, and spices. There is very good depth with a red-fruited backdrop.
Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with medium acidity and youthful, medium tannins. While the feel is slightly larger, there’s an elegance and vibrancy to the feel with red cherries, strawberries, red fruits, crushed rocks, and roses.
Overall: While this could use a few more years to fully come together, it’s just flat out delicious right now.
Nose: The nose is pure Bandol in all of its meaty glory with black cherries, black raspberries, roasted game meats, licorice, tobacco, herbs, leather, dark spices, and violets.
Taste: The feel is Medium/Full bodied with tart, medium+ acidity and chewy, medium+ tannins. There is a savoriness to the tones with black cherries, black raspberries, roasted game meats, licorice, herbs, tobacco, leather, and violets.
Overall: This is quintessential Bandol and it really hits that spot. This can definitely age for years to come, but it’s just filled with all sorts of savory goodness right now.
Nose: The nose shows off a richer side with vanilla, black pepper, licorice, black Cherries, raspberries, violets, oak, spice notes, and black currants.
Taste: The feel is Full bodied with medium acidity and silky, medium tannins. There is a creaminess to the feel with black cherries, raspberries, black pepper, vanilla, black currants, spice notes, and some oak.
Overall: This is drinking perfectly right now. It has a richer and darker take to it compared to the Bandol and more sleekness to it. There isn’t any real reason to age it further as it doesn’t feel like there’s much room for improvement.
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Nose: The nose is deep and rich, filled with black cherries, raspberries, licorice, bacon fat, olives, currants, black pepper, smoke, violets, and a touch of herbs.
Taste: The feel is Full bodied with medium acidity and silky, medium+ tannins. The feel is larger scaled and rich, but deft and balanced with black cherries, raspberries, licorice, bacon fat, currants, black pepper, smoke, and violets.
Overall: Though this could use a few more years, it’s also drinking beautifully. I love the expression of syrah here as there’s a great cross between richer fruits and the peppery side of the grape.
Nose: The nose is balanced and classic with Red cherries, raspberries, herbs, currants, tobacco, cedar, and spice box.
Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with medium acidity and silky, medium+ tannins. The feel is well balanced with red cherries, raspberries, herbs, tobacco, cedar, and spice box.
Overall: This is a fun Cabernet from an very unexpected area. This shows off a cooler style, though one wouldn’t confuse it with Bordeaux. This is fairly open to drink right now and it can also benefit from a few more years of aging.
Nose: The nose is perfumed and balanced with strawberries, pure red fruits, cherries, red berries, crushed rocks, roses, perfumes, incense, and spice tones.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with crisp, Medium+ acidity and silky, medium m tannins. The feel is plush and refined with flowing tones of strawberries, cherries, red berries, crushed rocks, roses, incense, and spice tones.
Overall: This is really gorgeous right now. It was very expressive immediately and showed a purity to the red fruits.
Nose: The nose is well balanced and mature with Custard, brioche, red apples, quince, peaches, caramel, toast, and vanilla notes.
Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with well-integrated, medium acidity. The feel is well textured and balanced with red apples, quince, peaches, custard, caramel, toast, and vanilla notes.
Overall: This feels fully mature. There is excellent balance with the fruit moving past fresh into richer tones. This will easily go another 3-5+ years, but is in a great place now.
2013 Immich-Anker Enkircher Zeppwingert Riesling Sekt Brut 88 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Nose: The nose is very fresh and juicy with Peaches, green apples, nectarines, papaya, jasmine, and tropical citrus notes.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with refreshing, medium+ acidity. The refreshing quality of the acidity plays into the feel with peaches, green apples, nectarines, jasmine, and tropical citrus notes.
Overall: This is a fun and refreshing Sekt. There is a playfulness that is really enjoyable with up front tropical citrus tones.
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2012 Lundeen Chardonnay Blanc de Blanc Extra Brut Bunker Hill Vineyard 89 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Nose: The nose is balanced and upfront with Apples, pears, dough, citrus, vanilla, almonds, brioche, biscuits, flowers, baking spices, and toast notes.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with crisp, medium+ acidity. The feel is well balanced with apples, pears, citrus tones, vanilla, almonds, dough, biscuits, baking spices, and toast.
Overall: This has seen some extended lees aging and it’s clearly there. This is lovely with good balance between the autolytics and citrus tones. This shows off the raising bar of quality that is happening in the Valley for Traditional Method Sparkling wines.
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2018 Daniel Gomez Jimenez Landi Méntrida Las Uvas de la Ira Vina de Pueblo 92 Points
Spain, Castilla-La Mancha, Méntrida
Nose: The nose is aromatic and fresh with red cherries, roses, strawberries, red fruits, crushed rocks, and spices. There is very good depth with a red-fruited backdrop.
Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with medium acidity and youthful, medium tannins. While the feel is slightly larger, there’s an elegance and vibrancy to the feel with red cherries, strawberries, red fruits, crushed rocks, and roses.
Overall: While this could use a few more years to fully come together, it’s just flat out delicious right now.
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2012 Château Jean-Pierre Gaussen Bandol Longue Garde 91 Points
France, Provence, Bandol
Nose: The nose is pure Bandol in all of its meaty glory with black cherries, black raspberries, roasted game meats, licorice, tobacco, herbs, leather, dark spices, and violets.
Taste: The feel is Medium/Full bodied with tart, medium+ acidity and chewy, medium+ tannins. There is a savoriness to the tones with black cherries, black raspberries, roasted game meats, licorice, herbs, tobacco, leather, and violets.
Overall: This is quintessential Bandol and it really hits that spot. This can definitely age for years to come, but it’s just filled with all sorts of savory goodness right now.
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2010 Syncline Mourvèdre 88 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Nose: The nose shows off a richer side with vanilla, black pepper, licorice, black Cherries, raspberries, violets, oak, spice notes, and black currants.
Taste: The feel is Full bodied with medium acidity and silky, medium tannins. There is a creaminess to the feel with black cherries, raspberries, black pepper, vanilla, black currants, spice notes, and some oak.
Overall: This is drinking perfectly right now. It has a richer and darker take to it compared to the Bandol and more sleekness to it. There isn’t any real reason to age it further as it doesn’t feel like there’s much room for improvement.
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2016 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah The Contender In the Rocks 92 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Nose: The nose is deep and rich, filled with black cherries, raspberries, licorice, bacon fat, olives, currants, black pepper, smoke, violets, and a touch of herbs.
Taste: The feel is Full bodied with medium acidity and silky, medium+ tannins. The feel is larger scaled and rich, but deft and balanced with black cherries, raspberries, licorice, bacon fat, currants, black pepper, smoke, and violets.
Overall: Though this could use a few more years, it’s also drinking beautifully. I love the expression of syrah here as there’s a great cross between richer fruits and the peppery side of the grape.
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2018 Stein Cabernet Sauvignon vom Berg 90 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Nose: The nose is balanced and classic with Red cherries, raspberries, herbs, currants, tobacco, cedar, and spice box.
Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with medium acidity and silky, medium+ tannins. The feel is well balanced with red cherries, raspberries, herbs, tobacco, cedar, and spice box.
Overall: This is a fun Cabernet from an very unexpected area. This shows off a cooler style, though one wouldn’t confuse it with Bordeaux. This is fairly open to drink right now and it can also benefit from a few more years of aging.
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2013 Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 91 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
Nose: The nose is perfumed and balanced with strawberries, pure red fruits, cherries, red berries, crushed rocks, roses, perfumes, incense, and spice tones.
Taste: The feel is Medium bodied with crisp, Medium+ acidity and silky, medium m tannins. The feel is plush and refined with flowing tones of strawberries, cherries, red berries, crushed rocks, roses, incense, and spice tones.
Overall: This is really gorgeous right now. It was very expressive immediately and showed a purity to the red fruits.
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2013 Johan Vineyards Chardonnay Konkret 90 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Nose: The nose is well balanced and mature with Custard, brioche, red apples, quince, peaches, caramel, toast, and vanilla notes.
Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with well-integrated, medium acidity. The feel is well textured and balanced with red apples, quince, peaches, custard, caramel, toast, and vanilla notes.
Overall: This feels fully mature. There is excellent balance with the fruit moving past fresh into richer tones. This will easily go another 3-5+ years, but is in a great place now.
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