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Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments Comment Date Community Score More...
Red

2013 Herman Story Grenache Bien Nacido

 Santa Maria Valley more
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4/18/2016 - Loren Sonkin wrote: flawed

Pre-Hospice du Rhone: Dinner at La Cosecha (La Cosecha, Paso Robles): Sadly this was quite horribly corked. One could smell the TCA from three feet away. Matt had purchased this that day visiting the winery.

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    4/23/2016 3:23:00 PM - this was the strangest coincidence. I tasted this wine at the winery and it was special enough to want to buy a bottle and pop and pour it that night... the purchased bottle, presumably pulled from the very same lot was stewed. OTOH, the winery team was tremendously apologetic and replaced the bottle without any question!
Red

2008 L'Aventure Estate Cuvée

 Paso Robles Red Blend more
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1/29/2022 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 94 points

Not at the best of its trajectory... maybe another 3-5 years to go

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    10/9/2022 9:03:00 AM - Exactly, I believe that it is a terrific wine that has yet to have hit it's sweet spot!
Red

2006 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio

 Red Blend more
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12/1/2013 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 93 points

clearly quite young and not entirely ready. Still the wine of the night. Beautiful on the nose and palate!

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    12/2/2013 6:49:00 AM - I am quite familiar with this wine from earlier vintages. It was decanted for about 90 minutes and that blow off some of the residual alcohol. But, generally the alcohol tends to dissipate with real aging and this wine continues to open up and become very rich yet delicate!

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    12/3/2013 7:50:00 PM - These wines do evolve… they are just too good to resist at times! I actually opened this bottle so as not to drink my older bottles. Way more to this than an Australian fruit bomb. Then again, this winemaker is not an Aussie fruitbomb maker. Most of his wines have legs for aging!

    I hate it when people who drink RHone varietals from Spain or Australia at 3-5 years of age say that these wines don't evolve. Really, if they just waited or gave it a chance to hit 10-20 years of bottle age… when they are just opening up!

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    12/6/2013 3:51:00 PM - Chris Ringland is one of the truly great winemakers out there today! Jorge Ordonez is a major importer from Spain into the United States. His portfolio is fairly broad. You can't characterize it across the board because it spans from truly great old wine houses to emerging young value wineries. There are many exciting new wines emerging from Spain, and I really like the wines of Jumilla. I also really like the wines of Raul Perez imported by Patrick Mata of Ole Imports. I would also point out that at a blind tasting of refined older palates, a Spanish Garnacha was selected over great wines from CNdP and the US. You have to go into this with open eyes and go by what you are tasting from what comes out of the bottle, without pre-judgments.
Red

2014 Switchback Ridge Merlot Peterson Family Vineyard

 Napa Valley more
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1/29/2023 - Ridgerunner wrote: 93 points

made by Robert Foley this is really an excellent merlot

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    2/3/2023 11:23:00 AM - Actually I had heard that it was now Mike Smith from Myriad now. But, pretty sure in 2014 it was still Robert Foley!
Red

2012 Outpost Zinfandel Howell Mountain

 more
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7/23/2019 - ebert Does not like this wine: 86 points

The flavors are now of stewed fruit or raisins -- maybe past its prime. Very disappointing

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    9/2/2020 2:44:00 PM - Having just tasted this wine over a year later sorry to report that it would be highly likely you had a "bad" bottle. The real issue with liking older wines... by the time you drink them it would be hard to address this issue with a retailer!
Red

2004 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm

 McLaren Vale more
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11/24/2019 - WildeMeeuw Likes this wine: 95 points

Kleur: Diep ondoordringbaar donkerrood. Aroma / bouquet: Krachtig en opvallend vitaal bouquet. Een geur-explosie van nieuwe-wereldse Shiraz-power. Donker fruit, zwarte bessen en bramen, zoete kruidigheid, aubergine, zoethout en menthol. Smaak / Afdronk: Mondvullende, verleidelijke nieuwe-wereldse krachtpatser. Een ongelofelijke kracht en concentratie, mondvullend en dik-sappig, zachte zuurgraad. Zachte tannines die een bijna zoetige indruk achterlaten. Lange afdronk. Geen spoor van tertiaire aroma's overigens. Boterzachte power in een prachtige balans, . Algemeen / potentieel: Verleidelijke, mondvullende Aussie-Shiraz van zeldzame klasse! 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 95/100

Google Translate:

Color: Deeply impenetrable dark red. Aroma / bouquet: Powerful and strikingly vital bouquet. A scent explosion of new-worldly Shiraz power. Dark fruit, black currants and blackberries, sweet spiciness, eggplant, licorice and menthol. Taste / Aftertaste: Mouth-filling, seductive new-world powerhouse. An incredible power and concentration, mouth-filling and thick-juicy, mild acidity. Soft tannins that leave an almost sweet impression. Long finish. No trace of tertiary aromas by the way. Butter-soft power in a beautiful balance. General / potential: Seductive, mouth-filling Aussie-Shiraz of rare class! 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Taste / Finish: 18 + General / potential: 9 = 95/100

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    3/23/2020 8:44:00 AM - The menthol I believe comes from being grown in proximity to eucalyptus!
Red

1997 Justin Vineyards & Winery Isosceles

 Paso Robles Red Bordeaux Blend more
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1/5/2014 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 92 points

A great wine overshadowed by an extremely competitive night

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    4/19/2014 6:28:00 AM - These wines are drinking just fine. Drink now or within the next 3-5 years is my guess!
Red

2002 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm

 McLaren Vale more
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8/2/2015 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 93 points

This wine bears testament to the fact that given the time they do blow off the alcohol, the tannins soften nicely, and they evolve in the same spirit as French Syrah but with a sense of place and a purity of fruit distinctly Australian. Chester is an incredible wine maker!

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    8/2/2015 9:38:00 AM - Glad to see post-reviewing that I am in line with others who had the patience to appreciate these wines at this age!
Red

2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Belle du Jour Vineyard

 Russian River Valley more
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12/6/2023 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 93 points

Really caught off guard by this wine. No memory of it. Wonderful in the glass but cloaked in mystery as to origin.

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    12/6/2023 4:40:00 PM - Thanks, Morgan.
Red

2009 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Old Lakeville Vineyard

 Sonoma Coast more
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4/23/2016 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 91 points

Odd thing. One bottle was corked, the other was absolutely fine.

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    4/24/2016 12:44:00 PM - I have been fortunate to avoid many tainted bottles. Although, I have run into three tainted bottles recently. Quite annoying... especially when we are talking about what should otherwise be magnificent bottles.
Red

2007 Pax Syrah Cuvée Christine

 Sonoma County more
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3/8/2017 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 94 points

I regret the fact that I don't have a lot of bottles of Pax left!

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    3/8/2017 4:37:00 PM - I think that these wines suffered from reviews by people who had no notion of how they would age. Shame on the doubters!!!
Red

2011 Hall Darwin

 Napa Valley Red Blend more
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5/17/2015 - theduck Likes this wine: 84 points

Beautiful plum up front, soft mid, but enough structure to keep it strong. Nice black pepper, and juicy black plum all the way through. Could use a little air, and or age before this one gets consumed. -T

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    12/19/2015 11:38:00 AM - Score not consistent with your note!
Red

2017 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard

 Yamhill-Carlton more
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8/27/2021 - Vitis Maximus Does not like this wine: 83 points

How can a great winemaker take a great source and turn out such a flat and lifeless effort? No Bueno. I love Shea and up until this bottle have loved KWC wines. This one missed the mark by a wide margin. No nose, no depth no nuttin' honey. Had to toss the last half of the bottle. I have another bottle that will either confirm this judgement as a well made crummy wine or establish it as an outlier.

  • Comment posted by Ridgerunner:

    1/13/2024 5:00:00 PM - Waiting for your comments on that second bottle with a bit more cellar time.

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