| Wine Type | Vintage Name Variety Locale | Date Posted Score Helpful Comments Comment Date Community Score More... |
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| Red |
2007 Quilceda Creek Cabernet SauvignonColumbia Valley more |
2/28/2010 - Renegade wrote: 98 pointsI am lucky enough to be on Quilceda Creek's mailing list. I ordered 7 bottles, one for opening right away, the others to cellar; I am glad I did this. This is definitely a full throttle wine, it is 15.2% alcohol which surprisingly high for Washington. However, it is one of the very few high alcohol wines that I think can age and improve. This wine is heavy bodied and has a very deep, dark purple color to it. This bottle was decanted 6 hours before consuming, and there is still some left, which means and upgrade in notes could be coming. However, at this point it gave off incredible aromas of licorice, chocolate, cassis, cedar, incense and slight floral notes as well. It tasted of chocolate, licorice, herbal(almost like Jagermeister) and red fruits. In spite of the very high alcohol, somehow Quilceda Creek is able to have enough up front acid for providing an ageable wine. The tannins are very powerful. While the winery is claiming this wine will go 30+, and they could be correct, my guess is this wine needs at least 8 years from vintage date before opening, and should age and improve for 25 years from vintage date. |
| Red |
1997 Dominus EstateNapa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more |
2/26/2010 - RobertDwyer wrote: 93 pointsFascinating California wine that, I agree, tastes like Bordeaux. Initial barnyard aromas give way to graphite/pencil lead. Satisfying fruit on the palate. Classy stuff.
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| Red |
2008 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coastmore |
3/21/2010 - rjhilgers@gmail.com Likes this wine: 93 pointsJust received my 2008 allocation this week and I couldn't open one of these fast enough. And, as always, Kosta Browne delivers. It's too young now, but shows a ton of promise. Tart raspberry and trawberry, smoke (i.e. smoked meats, not tobacco smoke) and dirt on the finish. Incredbily well balanced, with all the components working in harmony and such a strak contrast to some of the other wines I've tasted this week. The acidity is also very bright and this wine has a lot of life. I'm not sure if every vintage of Kosta Browne is better than the last, but they all strike a chord with me when I taste them. Another fantastic wine from the boys over at Kosta Browne (now, hopefully, they won't let the acquisition change the quality of the wine).
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| Red |
2006 Two Hands Shiraz Bella's GardenBarossa Valley more |
5/8/2010 - RobertDwyer wrote: 84 pointsProbably one of the most disappointing wines I've opened in a while. Went raisiny and pruney on me when I was hoping it would go blackberry and savory. Damn! I'll stick with their more affordable Angels Share line in the future which tastes much better to me.
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| Red |
2005 Caduceus Cellars Nagual de la Naga Ranchita Canyon VineyardsCalifornia SuperTuscan Blend more |
5/10/2010 - Kirk Grant wrote: 92 pointsColor: Garnet/Ruby
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| Red |
2004 Château LascombesMargaux Red Bordeaux Blend more |
4/4/2010 - JOsgood wrote: 92 pointsStill young but very tasty right now. Nicely concentrated juice with good amount of oak. Great texture and finish.
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| Red |
2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Galitzine VineyardRed Mountain more |
3/27/2010 - shadow wrote: 95 pointssolid, tasty, just enough tannin to leave you licking your teeth, color is black, nose, faint but all cab, taste, violets, spices, and a touch of leather
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| Red |
2007 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valleymore |
4/4/2010 - winepog wrote: 92 pointsDecanted for 1.5 hours. A little hot at first, but after another hour in the glass, some heat blew off leaving behind some cherry cola flavors. Two thumbs up.
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| White - Sweet/Dessert |
1999 Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 PuttonyosFurmint Blend, Furmint more |
9/1/2008 - honest bob wrote: 97 pointsOverwhelming, a great wine at its peak. Wonderful intensity of scent - autumnal fermentation, the most inviting kitchen aroma, fantastic non-cloying tropical fruit taste, perhaps nearest to an orgasmic passion fruit. Long sweet after taste 40 seconds+ Magnificent 97P
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| Red |
2005 29 Songs Syrah Back Porch Block Suscol Creek VineyardNapa Valley more |
1/15/2011 - Dale M wrote: 91 pointsDecanted 1 hr. I own exactly 0.0% bottles of either Napa or Sonoma wine, so what exactly lured me into a Napa Syrah from Garagiste? The good price? Cool label? Hard to say, but I was feeling frisky I guess, and was rather pleased to see this arrive in the warehouse soon thereafter, allowing me to see what was what. The nose threw off what can best be described as Duraflame tones, not bad mind you, just a little different. This soon subsided as more familiar waves of traditional campfire smoke, fresh picked blackberries, and violets took over. Fans of Copain (especially ‘the new style’) will certainly applaud what was in the glass here: Very elegant Syrah, classy raspberry dominated fruit that was backed by a brilliant streak of orange peel, odd descriptor I know, but it was there plain as day, and most definitely worked well within the context of the wine. I don’t think any full clusters were used during fermentation, as I didn’t pick up on the telltale resiny / olive notes one would associate with stems. Just a modest suggestion of wood rounds out the finish, satisfying and complete. Wish I had bought more of these. A great buy sub $30; perhaps I would be a buyer at the normal retail price which I think was around $45 or so.
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| Red |
2005 Chappellet Mountain CuvéeNapa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more |
3/11/2010 - RockinCabs wrote: 89 pointsOpened this bottle and it was quite bretty. It needed about 35 minutes of air to reveal the fruit and earth tones it had. Nose: Blackberry, currants, toasty oak, nice pie spice flavors coming though. Palate: Sweet but not glycerine laden making it well extracted. Blueberry/blackberry on the midpalate and some greeness showing. Finish: Toasty oak, fruit and tobacco show, but the green notes persist and wine finishes a bit short.
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| Red |
2007 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir TenSta. Rita Hills more |
4/12/2010 - Gargamel wrote: 92 pointsdecant at 2:45. no sediment but could see some cloudiness. nose has spicey red fruit, briary raspberry/currant, a touch of blueberry, and minerality. much better than expected. 94-95pts for nose. palate has one dimensional very tart cherry. 85pts or lower, one of the most closed down wines i have ever come across.
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| Red |
2005 Long Shadows Wineries Merlot PedestalColumbia Valley more |
3/17/2010 - cadamson wrote: 88 pointsDark, dark purple/black. Nose of cream, dark fruit and lots of toasty oak. Much better than one year ago, but still very young, with lots of unresolved tannins. Big, rich, with plum, cocoa and vanilla cream. Last year I thought these were hopeless and one dimensional oak monsters. This year, there is a glimmer of hope that 4+ years from now this will come together to be an enjoyable wine.
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| Red |
2004 Château LascombesMargaux Red Bordeaux Blend more |
3/4/2010 - Venturifan wrote: 93 pointsDrinking REALLY well right now. Nose of toasted walnut, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Subtle tannins coat the mouth and finish off nicely at the back of the palate. You could hang on to more bottles but this wine is drinking great now.
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| Red |
2006 Havens Wine Cellars MerlotNapa Valley more |
2/25/2010 - Tony C wrote: 90 pointsForget that this wine is $6.99. It is very good--and not only because it is cheap. I had it over three different days and the last day was the best. I initially bought one bottle, then bought 2 cases. This is a big wine, it has a great nose, strong tannins, good structure, and long finish. Decant this baby for at least two hours, then have some your friends that know something about wine taste it blind. See what they think. Price sometimes compromises the taste buds.
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| Red |
2006 Sine Qua Non Syrah Raven SeriesCentral Coast more |
1/1/2010 - MarkC wrote: 93 pointsTook some time, but is starting to open up (after 90 minutes). Deep blue/black fruits, with black pepper and the slightest hint of clove. This is still pretty primary and one-dimensional (as one-dimensional as a SQN can be), and I imagine that it will benefit hugely from time. That said, it is very tasty now--the tannins are soft, the fruit is rich, and there's good balance overall. Interestingly, this has less alcohol than the Hoodoo Man we're also drinking--I always think of whites as the low-alcohol wines. (PE: 94)
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| Red |
2007 Cayuse Syrah En Chamberlin VineyardWalla Walla Valley more |
3/19/2010 - tomandlu wrote: 96 pointsDecanted roughly 1/2 hour. Intense purple-red color but not opaque. Utterly profound, brooding nose of eucalyptus, bacon, black olives, red clay, beets, black currants and wet stones, all of which were balanced and complimentary. Simply massive in the mouth but not at all heavy with intense ripe fruit, tar and tobacco flavors dominant. The tarry, fruity finish was as intense as the bouquet and the palate, lasting at least sixty seconds. This wine was simply amazing in its intensity without heaviness, power without weight, and sheer volume. The finish suggests that it will last but, if it doesn't shut down, it is extraordinary right now, so why wait. Accompanied yet another fabulous dinner at Lark in Seattle. Purchased from the wine list.
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| Red |
2007 Cayuse Syrah En Chamberlin VineyardWalla Walla Valley more |
3/20/2010 - Dale M wrote: 94 pointsClassic Cayuse on the nose, combining wet animal fur and smoky black fruit with the dreaded tell tale note of the En Chamberlin Funk. The palate sings a slightly different tune and is surprisingly open and lush for such a youngster. Almost spherical, the taste of of the Syrah essence is very consistent from start to end; while the acidity is its very typically low self for this prodcuer, an invisible component, 'a dark matter' if you will, provides serious structure and backbone, but is very difficult to articulate with words. Though the Bionic frog seems to reap the freakishly big scores from the critics, I've always felt the EC was its qualitative equal, and this vintage is no exception.
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| White |
2007 Scholium Project The Prince In His Caves FarinaSonoma Mountain Sauvignon Blanc more |
12/25/2009 - rjhilgers@gmail.com wrote: 91 pointsThe Prince in His Caves blend is, technically, a Sauvignon Blanc...but, this wine is unlike anything I've tasted in the Sauvignon Blanc category. First off, when I poured it into my glass, it was cloudy and the color of an almost ripe apricot. Not white, not yellow, but more of an orange color. Definitely, the most unusual color I've seen in a white wine (without getting into a discussion of MD 20/20 or Boones Farm, which don't really count as wines anyhow) and I was intrigued from the first pour. On the nose, this wine is pure apricot. At first I got peach - as sweet as a peach Jolly Rancher - but, as it warmed up a bit, the flavor became richer and a bit more sophisticated, much more like an apricot. There's also a little pineapple, honey and a touch of roasted marshmallow - even taking on some mild characteristics of a Semillon or even a sweet Riesling. Not nearly that sweet, but certainly has some of the same tropical fruit and raisin qualities. Very interesting and complex on the nose. On first taste, I was taken aback by how much it tasted like the nose...again, pure apricot, part ripe, part dried. There's also some tart lemon and good honey taste, but more of a light honey, not a dark rich honey. It's much drier like a Sauvignon Blanc, as opposed to a Semillon or Riesling, and doesn't have much of a front-end. This one arrives at mid-palate, then explodes into the finish, lasting longer than most whites.
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| Red |
2008 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valleymore |
3/25/2010 - haldolugr wrote: 92 pointsVery young - but showing so much promise already. Lots of fruit aromas and nice flavors - fruit is upfront but not overpowering. Was very impressed with how good it tastes and how well balanced it was for it's age. Looking forward to how this will taste with some time
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| Red |
2005 Château PlincePomerol Red Bordeaux Blend more |
12/27/2009 - Drgupa wrote: 90 pointsPopped and aired for half an hour. Ample, rich, ripe nose. Medium body. Good grip. Lovely black currant. This is a lovely wine from this formidable year. Very nice for a bourgeois Pomerol and I´m sure it will improve over the years to come.
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| Red |
2007 DeLille Cellars Syrah DoyenneYakima Valley more |
3/24/2010 - RobertDwyer wrote: 91 pointsMassive bottle with a punt you could hide a small village within. Dark in color. Aromatically fruity, but packs a serious flavor punch on the palate. Wow. Big, sweet-ish chalky tannins. The anti-flavor elite would not appreciate this wine. Low-medium acidity. Long finish. Fantastic grilling/cocktail wine. Serious, but not a sit-down with fancy dinner kind of wine.
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| Red |
2006 Château Les Grands MaréchauxBlaye Côtes de Bordeaux Red Bordeaux Blend more |
3/26/2010 - Squirreljam wrote: NRNice bottle, easier drinking than one 4-5 months ago. Seemed rounder and more together, but could also be bottle variation. Anyway, great value for a wine to sit on for another year and then drink for a couple more.
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| Red |
2007 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir TenSta. Rita Hills more |
2/25/2010 - rjhilgers@gmail.com wrote: 90 pointsThis is the lowest score I've given a Sea Smoke Pinot. Not too low at a 90, but there's something missing for me about Sea Smoke the last few vintages. I don't know if it's the new(er) winemaker or what, but Sea Smoke used to blow me away...incredible tasting experiences with particularly the Botellas and Tens (not as big a fan of the Southings). So, relatively speaking the 2007 Ten is not my favorite relative to other Sea Smokes. But, against other Pinot Noir, this is still very nice. A bit young and rambunctious still, but a nice blend of dark cherries, lavender and blood orange with a hint of smoke. Incredible acidity on this wine, especially for a California Pinot Noir.
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Comment posted by rjhilgers@gmail.com:
3/2/2010 8:37:00 PM - good to know that you think it's worth opening a bottle of this now - i'll be getting my allocation soon and look forward to tasting one and cellaring the rest. i will definitely be posting my tasting notes when i do. interesting that you think they're moving away from some of their roots and terroir and still give them a 98 - would it have been better if you could taste the distinct terroir? thanks for this review - VERY helpful.