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Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments Comment Date Community Score More...
Rosé - Sparkling

2017 Ultramarine Sparkling Rosé Heintz Vineyard

 Sonoma Coast Champagne Blend more
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9/2/2023 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

Awesome. Have enjoyed this bottling so much, and 2017 is a favorite (much prefer to 18).

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    9/3/2023 8:04:00 AM - Hi DQ - thanks for the question.

    No - this preference has been consistent since release. With the 17 (and 16 and so-on before), I’ve felt that the Heintz Rose is the one to open on release. First bottle of the 18 showed wild, pet-nat-ish and even a touch beery relative to all prior UM roses. I’ve opened several more (we drink a lot of UM in this house) and it’s settled in some from there, but I still strongly prefer the 17, 16 and earlier vintages.
White

2017 Aubert Chardonnay Powder House Vineyard

 Sonoma Coast more
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2/12/2022 - markcic Likes this wine: 94 points

Well I was able to bring my wife home yesterday after 6 weeks in the hospital and rehabilitation center after she was able to beat and survive a nasty bout with Covid. And yes she double vaccinated, had her booster and a flu shot. So as a little celebration I had her favorite Italian restaurant make her special bronzini and I opened this bottle. The nose is white flowers and stone fruit. The palate is white flowers, peaches, melon and a touch of vanilla. The finish is long. It took a while to come around and I should have opened it earlier as it was too cold when I first pulled the cork. There is a nice glass left in the bottle that she can enjoy tonight with the Super Bowl.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    2/13/2022 8:41:00 AM - Sending best wishes to your family - many good bottles and memories ahead
White

2009 Robert Mondavi Winery Fumé Blanc To-Kalon I Block

 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc more
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10/24/2021 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

How is this holding up after 12 years? Yes. Walks such a perfect line between the grassy/herbaceous and tropical styles of SB with the depth of flavor to more than encompass both. A singular wine. Could not come from soil outside California yet so deep and laden with gravitas in a way that’s distinctly old world… great to visit this old friend.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    10/26/2021 8:33:00 PM - Upside from here? I’m not sure… my best guess is that it continues to lose the zippy freshness many folks look for in SB - which it still has, though perhaps not as turbocharged as it used to be - and gains a caramel edge. I’ve had other aged i-blocks (actually younger than this, though still aged) which had begun that progression. So i guess it depends on what you’re looking for.

    But the way this wine showed when I drank it, I have no regrets whatsoever about not seeing what net year or next decade bring with this wine. It served its greatest and highest purpose - and served it well!
White - Sparkling

2014 Under The Wire Sparkling Oakville Farmhouse Vineyard

 White Blend more
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9/26/2021 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

Super-interesting bottle of wine to drink. Can’t place the grapes (which is perfectly reasonable in this case)… not mistakable for champagne, but with the backstory, it’s a walk through the history of Napa Valley. The wine gives pleasure through traditional means - it tastes great - but thinking about it as a historical plot with timely neglect that allowed it to survive the transitions of napa in its original form just gives it more…. Lift and life?

Love having wines like this every once in awhile.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    9/26/2021 11:58:00 AM - Hi Rich,

    Answer re: aging... I really don't know. This doesn't drink just like a champagne - so I'd have a hard time anticipating what more age would bring to the mix. My guess is drink it now - nothing's waiting to integrate, and the risk of "lost freshness" resulting in a less-great experience may not reward you with another gear. (If there is another gear, I'm not sure what it would be).

    Great drink right now - especially if you open it with history geeks.
Red

2019 Bedrock Wine Co. Bedrock Vineyard Heritage

 Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Blend, Zinfandel more
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3/10/2021 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

Out of 375 - love the format.

Conventional wisdom is these need time - and I’ve seen the reward time can give. But i have to say this was wonderful young. A touch reduced, smells fresh like the inside of a winery in the fall. The tension, structure and super-fresh fruit are a wonderful combination and this was delightful last night. Tastes like a Mediterranean red blend - which I love (Corsica? Sicilia?)

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    3/10/2021 8:44:00 AM - MJP - that's exactly the kind of wine I'm talking about. this is not the same thing - it's a touch girthier and darker - but it's reminiscent for me. enjoy!
Rosé - Sparkling

2016 Ultramarine Sparkling Rosé Heintz Vineyard

 Sonoma Coast Champagne Blend more
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12/13/2020 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

Right off the truck, and this is exactly what i want & expect from ultramarine - electric, energetic, acidic pale pink with wonderful light california fruit... I like these with a few years on em, but opening one now is far from a mistake.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    12/14/2020 7:47:00 AM - Hi Jen,
    this is either a great answer or a lousy one depending on your perspective: I have a couple of the 2010s left, and those continue to be really fun. Had a mag of the 2013 BDB over Thanksgiving and it was maybe the best Ultramarine I've had. And the '16 Rose, 2 days off the truck, was fantastic. I've not had a "blah" bottle yet, out of a pretty large sample size.

    of course, I may be the world's worst critic of champagnes and sparkling wines - depending on the wine, I love them young and fresh, or mellowed, mature and nutty. Ultramarine hits a sweet spot - the high acid both serves as tension and excitement in a young wine (if you like high-acid wines), and I think (10 is the first vintage so they're not so old yet) they'll age.

    Try to go wrong and if you find a way, report back so none of us do. I've not yet been successful!
Red

2013 Sine Qua Non Grenache ♀

 Central Coast more
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6/6/2020 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

Enjoyed this while cooking, eating, homemade pizza, putting the kids to bed and then binging TopChef. Actually, the perfect context for this wine.

I wouldn’t use words like “perfect”, and this wine seems like it would shrug off any technical compliments or semi-precise tasting notes. It’s the person you invite to the dinner party to get everyone talking and interacting with each other... the social glue. You can enjoy it by itself or with food, young or old, decanted or popped. It’s just so damned friendly that you can’t help but smile and like it (even if it’s a bit obnoxiously expensive). What a fun wine.

Ample acidity, milk chocolate, sour cherry, plum, and dried fruit leather like you’d take on a camping trip. Best glass was 4+ hours in.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    6/6/2020 4:24:00 PM - Thanks for the comments - while this wine is priced like something reverent, it really just wants to come out and play. In the Covid quarantine, I’ve tried to not take the cellar as seriously, and it’s been tremendous fun.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    6/9/2020 11:03:00 AM - Charlie, I don't have that much experience with them (yet. that's changing.), so take this with a grain of salt. I'd answer "yes" to your question on the basis that a) you've let the wine "settle in" age-wise, b) the grenache, while not better than the syrah, might be a touch more unique, c) while expensive, this bottling tends to be toward the lower-end price-wise, and d) it's delicious in the ways I expect/think (both from reading and drinking) are typical of the style.

    there may be some scientific elements to wine production, but for me the fun part is the emotion. try it and see. part of the nuance I was trying to capture in my note was that this wine wasn't a "moving experience".... it was just really fun. $200/btl is a lot, so if "just really fun" is a letdown at that price, you might be better served elsewhere. but I will underscore: it was REALLY fun.
Rosé

2017 Andremily Rosé

 Santa Barbara County Mourvèdre more
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10/31/2019 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

Compelling and different. Definitely not the patio-sipper we usually gravitate toward (assorted bandol, bedrock, littorai). Deep pink, almost light-red, fruit-forward and mineral-driven. Wife suggested she'd blind this as an unknown Italian red (our household crutch when tasting something new and bizarrely different).
Great with Tacos from Comal

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    11/1/2019 2:57:00 PM - Hi Crawford -

    This is a complex, different rose... but it is still a rose. I served PnP and I wouldn't do it different the next time. First glass wasn't meaningfully better or worse than the last - it was just good.

    Limited experience with this style of wine but I don't know that I'd age it. can it last a few years? sure, it has girth. but I don't think it needs 'development'... for me, development usually means some level of mellowing. I liked the energy of this wine young.
Red

2014 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Weill a Way Vineyard

 Sonoma Valley more
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2/27/2019 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

this is big, young, and quite a bit more oak than I expected. On the spectrum closer to the 2013 exposition series than the purity you get from traditional Bedrock syrah (Hudson/Griffin's/etc).

the fruit is good - very good - and the flavor and structural elements from oak treatment are also tasteful - I just wasn't expecting it to be so prominent. My guess is that this ages extremely well (a la Hudson "Pleine de Chiene" series from 08/09 Bedrock) - but in the meantime, consider your own stylistic preference (mine is for Bedrock's treatment of Hudson and Griffin's)

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    2/27/2019 11:38:00 AM - Mootsie - thanks for the note. two thoughts:
    1 - my understanding was that the post-exposition weils veered back toward the core bedrock style - but tasting this wine, I don't think that's as much the case as expected, and I think folks who really want the style of the 2013/12/11's will be pleased.
    2 - fun to try these and, while I think it's very nice wine, recognize just how different my preferences sometimes are from Parker's!

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    2/27/2019 3:29:00 PM - well done - I should have paid more attention! based on one man's tasting and the release note, I'd say mission accomplished!
Red

2016 Pax Syrah Sonoma Hillsides

 Russian River Valley more
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8/6/2018 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

Decanted several hours then enjoyed with company. Lavender nose with a slight smokiness, meat (brisket?)... needed the air / this is super-young, though it’s not tannic or tough - just tight.

Comment on the context (Galloni’s 100-pt score): As much as I like to drink without letting outside factors like that drive the experience, I appreciate the statement AG may have been making with this one: Pax didn’t over-do it. He made a beautiful wine here without shooting for something over-the top. I’m glad the “wine professional” world recognizes that.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    8/12/2018 2:27:00 PM - Joshua - agreed. Enjoy it now and in the next few - I think that’s actually what Pax & team had in mind when they made it, and before the whole Galloni thing.

    Saved a touch for the second night and it was missing a step. If I scored wines based on the popular scale, day 1 was about a 94+, and day 2 was 89.
White - Sparkling

2012 Jérôme Prévost Champagne La Closerie Extra Brut Les Beguines

 Pinot Meunier more
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9/11/2017 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

opened for wife's birthday.

complex and wonderful.

we agreed that the spritz is soft enough to be enjoyed right upon opening (not too vigorous). The wine didn't actually change all that much - including the bit leftover for day 2. But while it didn't move much, we kept noticing more and more different layers. both savory and sweet - reminded me of a few green herbs like epazote or (maybe because I just planted some) cuban oregano... both sweet and savory. clearly chard-driven but not so tropical - a bit of green apple, a bit of cardamom. <EDIT: 100% pinot meunier, but leaving note intact because it's a useful reference point for me> perfect weight.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    9/14/2017 1:27:00 PM - Nick - many thanks - how cool! I don't know that I've ever knowingly enjoyed an all-PM wine this much.
Red

2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Exposition Three Weill a Way Vineyard

 Sonoma Valley more
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6/11/2017 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

Opened the full series together with a group. Enjoyable experience to compare these side-by-side. My preference order was #1, #2 (close), then #3 (not close).

#3: interesting experience here. I found this wine to be a distant third in the series. the fruit is full and voluptuous, but there's not much backbone for me, and I found that the syrah fruit and viognier-driven nose were not playing on the same team, letting the alcohol show a bit. One of my table-mates with tremendous wine experience and whose palate I trust liked this the best and called it elegant, stating that it's easily the most open and drinkable of the three, and that he'd drink it with salmon. Parker liked it best too. I guess that's one of the things that makes this hobby so great - we all have our own (completely valid) experience.

Opening these together is a GREAT way to experience them, and highly recommended.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    6/15/2017 10:13:00 AM - Thanks dogs.

    As I understand it, these were tiny-production to begin with, and they've lost some vines to disease, so it no longer makes sense to split the bottling three ways. There will still be a Weill Syrah- just not 3 different versions.

    Fwiw, while these are wonderful wines, I like bedrock's griffin and hudson even better - so don't fret, plenty of great wine coming out!
Red

2014 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph

 Syrah more
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3/20/2017 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

get more of these half bottles. a beauty even as a baby. needs 2 hours open to unwind.

high-quality, round but subtle fruit hiding behind a savory wall of flavor - olive, herbs/lavender, touch of meat (subtle).

gorgeous.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    3/20/2017 11:12:00 AM - yep - saw the 375's out of the corner of my eye passing through a store - they had 2, and i'll give you 3 guesses how many I bought.
Red

2011 Carlisle Zinfandel Papera Ranch

 Russian River Valley more
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2/9/2017 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

Second and final bottle of this - Carlisle killed it in 2011.... for my tastes, this is one of the truly epic bottles of zin.... producer, vineyard, year, age... about as good as it gets.

Round, blueberry/blackberry, plush without being huge, ample acidity. Just great.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    2/13/2017 10:03:00 AM - Michigan Dogs, thanks - glad the notes are useful. You've named two wineries that produce pure joy for me.

    I've thought about rating wines, but ultimately that would involve pretending that I can be objective - it's like betting on sports, it kind of takes some of the joy out of it for me... probably will shift back into that mode at some point though. For now, I can allow myself to think of each satisfying sip (which is not all of them, but it is a great many) as a 100-point experience, without feeling like I'm misleading someone!
Red

2013 Aubert Pinot Noir Ritchie Vineyard

 Sonoma Coast more
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12/15/2016 - Jahull03 wrote: flawed

corked/but taken care of by winery

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    12/16/2016 10:28:00 AM - ...and taken care of by the winery
White - Sparkling

2012 Under The Wire Sparkling Chardonnay Brosseau Vineyard

 Chalone more
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9/13/2015 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

Am I the only one actually drinking this stuff? over-the-top good, at a price point that's still "fun".

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    9/13/2015 8:27:00 PM - well that explains it!

    not intending to gloat. in a sense I should be jealous - your full experience is ahead of you. Enjoy!
White

2011 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes

 Chardonnay more
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6/18/2015 - Jahull03 wrote: NR

very nice. mid-weight (lighter than I expected), and sulfur wasn't as overwhelming as it can tend to be with PYCM. blew off nicely within 30 minutes.

explosion of flavor on the palate - clearly chardonnay, but much higher rocks-to-sunshine ratio than a comparably priced (high-end) CA chard. love the mineral expression with just a touch of tropical fruit this brings to the table.

  • Comment posted by Jahull03:

    6/19/2015 11:58:00 AM - Thanks Buzz. I don't think you're risking much by holding off another year or two - this was better after an hour of air (first half-hour was actually essential due to the sulfur treatment). Plenty of acidity to carry it.

    That said, it's not the biggest / most tightly wound wine... I don't think I'd put this in the back of the cellar and forget it. And it's pretty darned good now.

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