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Wine Type
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Vintage
Name
Variety
Locale
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Date
Posted
Score
Helpful
Comments
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Red
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2011 Herman Story Syrah Nuts & Bolts
California
more
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A solid 94!
Just got back from a friend's house where I had the third bottle that I've experiennced from this vinntage in the past 2 months.
A wonderful wine.
Can't say a lot more than Dagalaifus mentions below. I think he hit it well.
Although it's a Centtral Coast Syrah and you'd expect more of a Southern Rhone or Australian Style wine, this one really delivers more like a very good quality Northern Rhone.
In the words of my friend who joined me on this wine, ". . . how much is it? Heck, it's well worth the money!"
Now I am hearing some really great things about the upcoming 2012 vintage from all over California. Very curious how it will compare . . . but in the meantime, I am picking up a coupla' more bottles of the 2011.
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Red
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2010 Villa Creek High Road James Berry Vineyard
Paso Robles
Red Rhone Blend more
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You mean I'm going to be the first to rate this vintage?!
Well, I am already a big fan of Villa Creek, although I don't necessarily fall in love with every wine they produce.
Had a tasting of it at the winery and later opened a bottle the next evening.
Very rich fruity nose with hints of toasted wood and bramble. Very rich fruit expression on the palate with abundant berries, kirsch, hints of olives, pencil lead, and peet.
Still needs to integrate, but one thing impressed me was an extremely long and very pleasant fruit rich finish in the front palate that made this wine very enjoyable.
Had it with an Italian dinner chicken sorrentino pasta dish and it matched quite well. Delish.
My rating: 92-95!
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Red
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2010 Domaine Charles Audoin Marsannay Les Longeroies
Pinot Noir more
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Allen Meadows writes in Burghound: "A densely fruited nose speaks of plum, blue berry, violet and stone aromas that are followed by rich, velvety and extract-rich flavors that possess stunning complexity and outstanding length. This vibrant effort is impeccably well-balanced and the quality could easily give even a very fine premier cru a run for its money."
I found my experienceclosely parelled his bu twith more fruit& acid on the palateon the palate. I think with a bit of cellaring the expression will become more beautiful andin line with his description! Kudos to Charles Audoin.
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Red
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2010 Domaine Charles Audoin Marsannay Les Favières
Pinot Noir more
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2010 Burgundy wine tasting at the Wine Exchange, OC, CA.
Beautifully balanced nose w/all the right terroir fruit & acid notes. Tannic but rich w/ complexes. Still fruit dominant but NOT overwhelming & NOT detracting from the minerality & soil expression. Very Satisfying. It will be a 93 pointer in 5-6 years!
Allen Meadows writes favorably in Burghound -- I AGREE!!
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Red
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2010 Lucia Syrah Susan's Hill
Santa Lucia Highlands
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LOL! Used the tasting notes assistant then added descriptives to it!
Intense Purple in color with a nose of minerality, wet forest floor, violets, prunes and figs. Still young & closed.
Thick & full bodied, long legs, still a tad alcoholic with heat, flavors of figs, plums, hints of raisins, gamey/meaty and a tad smokey with good minerality. Very well balanced and holds good promise. Medium long finish.
Had it with a thick focacia with toppings, made in the style of a Chicago deep dish pizza. Matched well. Delish!
Overall score: 92-93 pts. Time will help it along.
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Red
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2010 County Fair Wines Zinfandel The One Man Band
Sonoma County
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Nice straight forward young vine (vs. old?) Zinfandel with mouthful of well integrated fruit, hintsof wood & vanilla.
Not terribly complex but very palate & food friendly. Trader Joe's?
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Red
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2010 Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Narbantons
Pinot Noir more
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Wonderful fragrant nose with good terroir & fruit presence.
Good nose balance overall.
Tasting very congruent with the nose . . . fruit will dominate but with good broad terroir balance throughout.
Will be delicious & expressive in 6+ years.
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Red
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2010 Domaine de L'Arlot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de l'Arlot
Pinot Noir more
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Strong flowers on thenose, herb & fruit bearing. Very strong fruit, violets & flowers, and musty earth expression which will balance w/ its minerals & terroir over time. Will become quite nice . . . but not sure if it's my style. Still . . . worthy of its score!
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Red
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2010 Louis Jadot Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Barre
Pinot Noir more
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2010 Burgundy Wine Tasting at the Wine Exchange, OC, CA.
Rich nose with a good Burgundy expression (Jadot style, to me, delivers very nice Burgundian expression)
Still tannic but opens up slowly with good steady expression. Deep rd & dark fruits, hiding but expressive. Nice minerality with good Volnay terroir showing. Would be very curious how it would taste in 6-10 years . . . will have to get a bottle & sit on it!!
WOuld be good with Pheasant stew or Beouf Borguignon! (Harumph!) :-)
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Red
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2010 Domaine Tortochot Mazis-Chambertin
Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
Pinot Noir more
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2010 Burgundy Tasting at the Wine Exchange, OC, CA.
Slightly phenolic/heat on the nose but with strong underling terroir/minerality & fruit on the nose.
Beautiful balance mixed fruit -- fig/plum/blackberry on the palate along with subtle barnyard, wet peet funk, minerality and terroir on the palate. Hint of dry aged beef/meats on the palate.
Med-full bodied with good balance and a medium finish. Delicious.
Bravo for effort.
Would recommend buying several bottles!! Worthy of score!!
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White - Off-dry
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2010 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese *
Mosel Saar Ruwer
more
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A very surprising Reisling that I found quite pleasing.
Still a tad young, it was slow to breath uin the glass but did open up a bit & showed promise of what was to coe.
Peach & pear, minerality, slate, , a hint of quince and some terroir present.
GOt the botrytis, but was this supposed to be a late hervest?!
Tried it at the tasting machines at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA (OK, shameless plug, but gotta give them credit for setting up tasting macines . . . have boutght sooo many wines from them once I got an idea of how they'd perform . . . everything from $10 to $150 stuff).
Overall for a non-white drinker like myself, it wasn't half bad. Think I'm gonna get a bottle.
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Red
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2009 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard
Willamette Valley
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had this at a small wine tasting.
Nice nose of bright red fruits with strong oakiness, kirsch & spiciness.
Rather thin with nice fruit expressions and underlying kirsch, nutmeg, & phenolic tones.
. . . But waited about 30 min and it began opening up nicely (mind you, the bottle had been open for at least a coupla' hours already). More expressive, greater body, mouthfulness, and "glycerine coating" coming through. The up front oakiness faded into the background & balanced nicely.
Good background of kirsch & forest floor flavors showing through while still bringing out greater fruitness. Mmmm!
OVerall very enjoyable. Not sure about teh QPR at nearly $50/bottle . . . BUT, I may still pick one up. :-)
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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2009 Château Suduiraut
Sauternes
Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend more
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What Jeff Leve said in his notes.
Lots of layers of sweet fruits and blossoms that're just starting to come together, but still needing time to mature.
Reminds me of a younger slightly lighter 2001.
Tasted at The Union DES Grand Cru Bordeaux 2009 in LA.
Overall impression 94-97.
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Red
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2009 Château Roc de Segur
Bordeaux
Red Bordeaux Blend more
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A little thin. Very Bordeaux-esque, showing more terroir (spice, kirsch, herbal underbrush notes) than fruit (which is far into the background).
NOT complex but good straight forward drinking. A very good value considering it's around $10. Won't give it more than 2-4 years shelf life.
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BTW, I'd say it shows a very good promise of what the Bordeaus 2009 vintage promises to deliver!!
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Red
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2009 The Pinot Project Pinot Noir
California
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Hmmm! A nice, simple, quaffable Pinot Noir for around $10.
Who'd have believed.
Good wholesome fruit with a nice but light red & dark cherry flavors and a touch of spice.
Not much tannins, a light finish, not deep in structure of complexity at all.
BUT, still, has enjoyable qualities. Not bad for $10.
P.S. Kudos to xfactor for his reviews; got the flavors spot on so much better than me.
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Red
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2009 Gilles Robin Crozes-Hermitage Papillon
Syrah more
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Young nose of underbrush with lush underlying chery & berry fruit, a little hot, phenolic, and alcoholic.
Young tasting but a very nice northern rhone cuvee with the classic northern fruit berry (mostly red), terroir, and underlying herbs & spices.
Tasty, flavorful, expressive, but lacking in deep complexity (but still showing some likeable complexity).
For a bottle that's < $20, a purrty good value for the money. Had it at a tasting & it was one of two bottles picked up!
Has potential for a coupla' years age and some evolution in the bottle.
Would likely open up more given time in a glass. But overall, pleasing.
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Felt that is would score 88pts - 92pts, depending on how much it would open up & age. So I gave it a middle score of 90.
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Red
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2009 Coquelicot Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir Coquelicot Estate Vineyard
Santa Ynez Valley
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My tasting is very close to micklethepickle's experience.
I'd add that the wine iricher & more plush compared to many lighter styled Pinot Noirs, without being over oaked & over extracted.
Good wine! Me enjoy . . . and will buy more.
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BTW, I've actually met the family owners of this extate and have found a liking to their other wines.
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Red
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2009 Justin Vineyards & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Paso Robles
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Had to try it as I am a Justin fan.
A very nice, well balanced, cabernet with a strong Paso signature.
Good berry fruit & currant expression along with tobacco, chocolate, kirsch & spice.
Holds a lot of potential & promise . . . but drank young, hot, alcoholic, and thinner than I expected.
Med bodied /w a med lingering finish . . . I expect that the wine will outgrow these characteristics after about 3 years in a bottle and blossom into its greater potential!!!
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Red
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2009 Domaine Joblot Givry 1er Cru Clos de la Servoisine
Pinot Noir more
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A very interesting Burgundy with an old world terroir, classic style, but a surprisingly nice new world fruit expression.
Med bodied plus, nice pinot fruit flavors with lots of terroir, kirsch, forest floor, and a tad of nuttiness on the palate. Good long pleasing finish.
Acidic, still a bit tight & tannic, but showing a good balance and integration for an early wine.
Would be good by itself or with a variety of dishes! Should improve even more with 2-3 years of cellaring.
BTW, I've been hearing rumors of French wine makers that're styling their wine with more (new World) fruit expression, and have recently come across that in some 2008 Bourdeaux, but this is my first Burgundy showing this characteristic.
I'll be looking for more like it!!! :-)
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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2009 Longoria Albariño Beso del Sol Clover Creek Vineyard
Santa Ynez Valley
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Found this a very interesting wine!
A very diminished nose of sunflower & wet cotton, and a hint of bitter.
Med bodied with deep clover honey tastes, dried apricot, and hints of honeysuckle & bitter sage.
Med finish with good overall balance. A very nice desert wine. Well recommended!
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Red
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2009 Herman Story Grenache On The Road
California
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Again, the Grenache On The Road doesn't stand out in my palate like some of the other wines from Herman Story . . . but I did enjoy the tasting I has at their facility in Paso Robles!
Nice fruit range, lots of richness . . . Enjoyable but a little intense, young, and hot.
A very enjoyable experience . .. and more enjoyable than my experience with the '08 bottling (which makes me think my '08 bottle may have been a little flawed).
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Red
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2009 Rombauer Vineyards Zinfandel Napa Valley
more
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Let me just skip to the fruit!!! :-D
Lots of it! Sweet, fruity, jammy . . . but to my tastebuds, NOT over the top.
Excellent for quaffing, but not by any means simple or one-dimentional. Would choose the food more wisely (like a moder spicy Italian dish or grilled meas w/ veggy, or pizza that's not too spicey) to accompany this wine.
Still a good bit of tannins along w/ long finish, good integration with terroir character, underlying spiciness, and balance.
Would give it a 92-94+ rating if the fruit decided to underwhelm a bit in order to let the rest of the wine show through more!!
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Red
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2009 Department 66 D66
Côtes Catalanes
Grenache Blend, Grenache more
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92 Points just because I enjoyed the flavor so much!! :-D
Good nose with spicy, kirsch, underbrush, and terroir noted. Very fruit expressive with nose suggestive of raspberries, mulberries, boysenberrries, and blackberries.
Almost jammy on the palate; very highly extracted & certainly c/w old Grenache vines and fruit expression. Good balance with still plenty of spice and terroir.
Still a bit hot & young and certainly needs more bottling time or decanting & airing time!
The classic Orin Swift heat & zing present but integrating well (always makes me wonder if they use a bit of oak chips in the barrels -- oh no . . . say "no").
Overall found it pleasing & will get more.
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Red
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2009 Cuvelier Los Andes Grand Malbec
Valle de Uco
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Had it at a Cuvelier de Los Andes Tasting . . . A very young wine w/ a hot nose that expressed dark fruity aromas with a balance of earthiness.
Deep dark fruits on the palate with spice & earth, almost as full bodied as a high end California or Ttuscan Merlot. Rich & undulating, lots of body & character.
Very delicious but would give it at least an hour plus to open up!
Liked it so mych that I may obtain an older bottle or two (from previous vintages) to compare.
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Red
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2009 Armitage Pinot Noir
Santa Cruz Mountains
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Very nicely balanced fruit expressive Central Coast Pinot with a nice layering of olives & wood/stony/herbal tones. Very nice expression your price range too.
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