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

2007 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia

 Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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1/7/2022 - JFI wrote: 90 points

Past peak?
- 37,5 cl bottle

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    1/7/2022 7:27:00 PM - I opened a .375 tonight and it’s in great shape.
Red

2018 de Négoce Cabernet Sauvignon OG N.43

 Napa Valley more
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11/25/2020 - Haggis wrote: 88 points

This is a very young wine, so any comments need to be taken with that in mind. It does have some good fruit (mostly blackberry, blueberry, and a hint of tea). The problem is that it has no tannic structure to indicate that it is built for the long haul. It almost completely devoid of tannin, actually. One issue with these de Negoce wines is we have no idea what they are. The "fun," I suppose, is trying to figure that out. We'll never know. However, for the price, this is not bad. I'll just say that it is mediocre (but not bad) and that it is not likely to age gracefully. I suggest holding for a year, then drinking up in the following 3-5 yrs. A good "cellar defender" if nothing else.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    12/21/2021 12:33:00 PM - Hi Haggis,

    SCM Fan named “the taster” in the first line of his comment: Alder Yarrow, who writes a wine blog called Vinography. Here’s the link to his TNs of a bunch of De Negocé wines including N.43.

    https://www.vinography.com/2020/09/cameron-hughes-is-at-it-again

    BTW, I’m opening my first N.43 tonight and will post a note tomorrow.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    12/22/2021 6:18:00 AM - I was concerned after reading your note, but there was no lack of tannin and structure in the bottle I opened last night. In fact, it was very well balanced and structured. A terrific bottle.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    1/1/2022 1:05:00 PM - Hi Haggis. I agree with the bottle variation. I had a very good bottle of N.70 Blend C so I gave a bottle to a friend who loves Pinot, and he said it was very disappointing and didn't taste anything like a Pinot.
Red

2003 Midsummer Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Mann Vineyard

 Napa Valley more
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10/30/2021 - PIntag wrote: NR

13.5% abv. Recent auction purchase.
Interesting Napa Cab. There's a little bit of a roasted note that points to the hot vintage, but it's not too bad. Seems kind of tight and wound up still, even on the second evening (stoppered overnight). Acid was pretty high and stuck out a bit. Not the most attractive flavor profile but an interesting drink for the $22 I paid for it.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    11/25/2021 11:32:00 AM - @seijaro

    https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=184674
White

2014 Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet

 Chardonnay more
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10/31/2021 - nmichaud1 wrote: NR

Nez muet, j'ai trouvé le vin un peu mou à mon goût. Cette bouteille est vraiment une coche en dessous de plusieurs village 2014 bu dans les dernières années. En espérant que ma dernière sera meilleur, il y a une bonne marche en les villages et 1er cru de Ramonet à mon avis personnel.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    11/25/2021 11:29:00 AM - @seijaro How about you stop spamming CT with the same inane comment whenever someone doesn't add a score to their TN? It's tiresome. Just move on.
Red

2012 EMH Cabernet Sauvignon Black Cat

 Napa Valley more
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9/18/2021 - ledocq Likes this wine: NR

Girllfriend said this was great and even better on day two. Me, I'm having a wee long Covid episode, so I'm not drinking.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    9/20/2021 6:59:00 PM - Damn
Red

2017 Podere Poggio Scalette Chianti Classico

 Chianti Classico DOCG Sangiovese Blend, Sangiovese more
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8/3/2021 - zinnut wrote: 88 points

This is a very blah chianti. Nothing special. Even with food. I would not buy this again. Maybe vintage variation

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    8/17/2021 6:37:00 PM - Bottle variation? I have nothing but love for this wine in pretty much every vintage.
White

2018 de Négoce Chardonnay OG N.77

 Yamhill-Carlton more
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7/16/2021 - ledocq Likes this wine: NR

Basically took it off the truck and drank it then and there. All that they say below - great stuff, punches so far above its price point it's silly, goes well with spicy food, and seems from the way it develops over a couple of hours that it will age a bit. One thing de negoce has made me think about is that even if something is $11 and drinks like a $40/50 wine, who cares if you don't like the flavor profile? There are plenty of $40/50 chardonnays that don't excite me, even when I get them at a discount from (say) K&L. This one is terrific. If i tasted it blind, I'd want to buy it. Thanks to everyone over at berserkers who said to pick up a case.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    7/18/2021 6:28:00 AM - I picked up a 12-pack when it was first offered, which I likely won’t see until sometime this fall once the border reopens. But based on the Berserker comments and your TN I just re-upped for a second case.
Red

2006 Dominus Estate

 Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more
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2/21/2021 - mchern02 wrote: 93 points

Had about 4 hours in the decanter

Typical Dominus nose of blue fruit and cassis, spice, menthol and flint. Body is plush, forward and well balanced with chocolate and dark fruit; while still young, it is fairly muscular with a tightness that may need a few more years to fully mellow out. Long ass finish.

Almost as good as the 05 from last week and clearly ahead of the 04; still probably needs some time unless you like it on the primary side.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    2/26/2021 3:06:00 PM - I opened one today and my experience matches yours exactly. Thanks for the note.
Red

2014 Becklyn Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

 Napa Valley more
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8/4/2020 - ozziewine Likes this wine: 94 points

Good call by EMTAME on drinking the Becklyn Napa/non-appelation Cabs sooner than later. I can attest to that belief having had the 2014 through 2017 vintages and all drank well early, though they might need some air.
Today this was terrific with one pass through the Vinturi after opening. It's really syrupy and velvety. The Vinturi helped cut back on the somewhat cloying/liquer-like nature of the wine right out of the bottle.
This has notes of roasted fruit, coffee, dark chocolate, lead pencil, earth.
On opening it was bordering on the over-the-top cough syrupy extraction, but the acidity provided some structure that kept it reigned in. Suggest drinking these within a year or two if you like the fruit, or wait to see if this matures into a less exuberant adult.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    2/21/2021 2:38:00 PM - Thanks for the note. Just opened my first 2014 and my experience with a PnP is like yours: syrupy and extracted, cola, ripe raspberry, milk chocolate... think I’ll let this air for a few hours before investigating further.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    2/23/2021 1:45:00 AM - A Napa Cab Sauv QPR suggestion: Detert. Tom Garrett at Detert, along with his cousins the MacDonalds next door, own two of the best plots in To Kalon Vineyard... although they can’t say it on the label thanks to the Mondavis.
Red

2010 Tenuta San Leonardo San Leonardo

 Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT Red Bordeaux Blend more
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2/13/2021 - ajeeja wrote: NR

From a magnum: good acidity, but the fruit is fading and it’s lacking substance/body. Drink up.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    2/14/2021 5:45:00 AM - Still in its infancy. Give it 5+ years. Eric Guido at Vinous tasted it last year and said the 2010 is closed and tight at the moment. Needs a lot more time.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    2/14/2021 10:44:00 AM - Likewise to you! You know, reading the other TNs here, I think I’ll pull a bottle in the next few days to try it. I’ll report back. I also still have 8 bottles of the 2008...
Red

2007 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia

 Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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12/17/2020 - MJMcCarthy Likes this wine: 92 points

Smooth and well balanced. Mature, red fruit on the attack and mid-palette, and a well developed finish.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    12/18/2020 6:50:00 AM - Mark1npt, these will age glacially. Delicious now, but no rush at all. You have, literally, decades.
Red

2006 Fratelli Brovia Barolo Villero

 Nebbiolo more
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11/18/2020 - dkfinancial wrote: 50 points

Maderized. Another bottle. I’ve chucked away more than $400 on dead bottles from this producer. On my never-buy-again list.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    11/19/2020 4:51:00 AM - Sorry to hear about your troubles with the Brovia, DK. I’ve opened two of my four bottles of the 06 Villero and they’ve been very good. No issues. But I sourced mine in the US. I wonder if something happened to the bottles that were shipped to the Ontario agent.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    11/19/2020 11:29:00 AM - Traxx: “lots and lots of 50 point scores” for Nebbiolo? I see one for a 2003 Mauro Molino, and the 50 pt scores for the 2006 Brovia Villero. That’s it. How is that “lots and lots”? Personally I wouldn’t have submitted three 50 pt scores ror the same wine - even if it was three separate bottles - because it skews the average. Which I know DK knows. 😉
Red

2013 Podere Poggio Scalette Il Carbonaione Alta Valle della Greve IGT

 Sangiovese more
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1/23/2020 - texanoblues Likes this wine: NR

Deep red and opaque, with black center. On the nose and palate was smoke, black fruit, flowers, and licorice. Extremely rich, without being too dense. Nicely balanced structure with ample acidity and very fine tannins.

Very enjoyable bottle that in no way resembles any other Sangiovese I've ever had. Appearance, flavor, and mouthfeel all indicate a SuperTuscan or other Bordeaux blend. My guess is that it is a blend.

Whatever it is, it's very high quality and a pleasure to drink. But it would be nice to know what varietals were used. Anyone know ?

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    1/24/2020 7:32:00 PM - It’s 100% Sangio. (My source: my friends are friends with Jurij Fiore and visit him every year to drink and dine with him.)

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    11/16/2020 3:50:00 PM - texanoblues, I’ve done more digging and I retract my previous statement. From what I can glean from my friends and online, here’s the situation.

    From my friend: “Scalette's current vineyards were established at various times beginning in the 1920s. For most of that time, Chianti was a jug wine and the farmers were genuinely 'dirt poor'. Wine aficionados didn't drink Italian wine. There were no vineyard managers and wine producers didn't buy their vines from a nursery. When a bunch of vines died out, you replaced them with whatever you could get cheap or had at hand. Back when Vittorio bought the farm in 1991, that was the heritage that came with it. Vittorio bought Poggio Scalette from an estate after the owner died and the vineyards had been left untended for some years. So the vines went through a survival period during which some self-selection would have occured.”

    From an interview with Jurij Fiore, Vittorio’s son and current winemaker at Poggio Scalette: “The majority of our wines are Sangiovese. We have very old vines, which are 80 years old, and in their case it’s not of course all Sangiovese. The way you used to make Chianti Classico was by mixing Sangiovese with some other indigenous varieties such as cannaiolo, molorino, mammolo, cillegiolo, and also white grape varieties such as trebbiano and malvasia.”

    Again from my friend: “So Il Carbonaione isn’t 100% Sangiovese, and I doubt the exact composition has been documented anywhere. They have done some replanting as vines died off, but they haven’t messed with the vineyards that have been successful for them.”

    So there are likely remnants of other vines in the Scalette vineyards. It’s likely that a very small percentage of those other varietals are part of the current make up of Il Carbonaione, but it seems that they do have a presence.

    By the way, I’m sure you know there’s no Mr. Scalette. It’s Vittorio and Jurij Fiore. And when you referenced that I got my info from “a friend of a friend”, I just want to make it clear that my friends are good friends with Jurij, not some random person. :)

    One other note: you wondered about “Sangiovese di Lamole”. According to my friend, Vittorio once talked about having some genetic analysis done that identified a clone of Sangiovese which is unique to Ruffoli and Lamole that they have in their vineyards. He’s not sure if that analysis was ever done.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    11/17/2020 1:28:00 AM - OK! I have the word from Jurij Fiore, the proprietor/winemaker. I asked him directly, and he said this: “Ciao! Carbonaione is 100% Sangiovese. But, coming from a 90 years old vineyard, there are some plants of historical Tuscan varieties like Mammolo, Ciliegiolo, Colorino, Canaiolo...but not so much. 👍🏻”.

    So with a few historical plants of other varietals still hanging on in the vineyard, you can say it’s technically not 100% Sangiovese, but for all intents and purposes it is. Which is why most reviewers (Galloni, for example) and Jurij himself call it 100% Sangiovese.
Red

2014 Ferrer Bobet Priorat Vinyes Velles

 Carignan Blend, Carignan more
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10/4/2020 - Drewski1975 Does not like this wine: 84 points

I rarely don’t like one of my wines but this one falls into that category, unfortunately. Shame as I bought 6 and had high expectations.

Almost undrinkable w/o food and I threw the rest of it out after I finished my dinner. I concur with the previous reviews as it is very very green and is not what I typically expect from a priorat. Hopefully it is just the first bottle - will provide reviews on the following bottles.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    10/5/2020 9:36:00 AM - Had one a few weeks ago that was fabulous. Nothing green about it. It was even better on the second night. Hope the rest of your show well.
Red

2009 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains

 Pinot Noir more
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6/29/2020 - andydnyc Likes this wine: 91 points

Fantastic. Drink up though. This is nearing the end of it's drinking window in my opinion. More brown than red, and almost port like by the end.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    6/29/2020 8:05:00 PM - Interesting. If it had good provenance and was well stored, this should just be entering its drinking window and should have at least 15 years ahead of it.
White

2012 Domaine Dujac Bourgogne Blanc

 Chardonnay more
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4/19/2020 - ledocq Likes this wine: NR

Best one yet. Just noticed the DIAM 10 corks. I might try to just let my last one alone as long as possible to see what happens. But 8 years on a bourgogne blanc is pretty amazing.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    5/3/2020 2:47:00 PM - Great to hear.
White - Sparkling

2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut

 Chardonnay more
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5/2/2020 - Dave Canada wrote: NR

Very strange showing....quite reductive on first pour...dirty sink and rubber.
Not great.

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    5/3/2020 2:44:00 PM - A fair bit of drastic bottle variation with this, it appears.
White

2015 Emidio Pepe Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

 more
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3/29/2020 - cct wrote: 93 points

Mid golden color. Bitters, fruit pith, persimmon, lemon oil (stealing this perfect descriptor from MAOC), herbal tones, and chalk on the nose. Mid plus weighted, toothsome and a little chewy with plenty of dry extract that is balanced with acidity and density of fruit. Persimmon, peach pit, lemon Pledge, chalky, seashell, and grassy notes add to this idiosyncratic palate. I often have a hard time describing Pepe's trebbiano, but rarely trouble identifying it. A pretty singular, super interesting and eclectic wine. The richness of the year is evident, and a couple years ago I thought it was too rich and fat. This has settled in very nicely into a toothsome, chalky, mineral and savory more than fruit driven complicated and intriguing wine. Drinking very well in a youthful way. I am more optimistic about this wine than I was on release. Outstanding. 93

  • Comment posted by sunnylea57:

    4/23/2020 1:24:00 PM - Thanks for the detailed note. I just opened a bottle and you nailed it. Do you know if you have the young vine or old vine bottling? The young vine bottling (which I have) has lower serial numbers, goes though malo in vat, and is released after approx 2 years. It's meant solely for the Italian market but often ends up in the US when importers get it through the grey market. It's around $50-60 US. The old vine bottling has higher serial numbers, goes through malo in bottle, and is released after approx 4 years only to the European and US markets. It's in the $125 US range. Beginning last year the producer started adding a "vecchie vigne" stamp to the old vine bottling, to avoid confusion.

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