Search Results - Save This Search

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

2006 Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Cuvée Palmes d'Or

 Champagne Blend more
Options

7/24/2022 - hankj wrote: 87 points

I like aged Champagne plenty, but this wasn't taking age well. Rancia and decomposing yeast tainted the usual tertiary aromas, and the primary palate was faded and flat.

Not flawed at all, just over the hill a bit early? My bottle came from wine.com a few years post release, so maybe they didn't store it properly for those first two or three year before my ideal cellar ....

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    7/24/2022 8:37:00 PM - Could have just been my bottle Mark! Good luck
Red

2007 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain

 more
Options

6/29/2022 - hankj wrote: flawed

Corked, obviously and no question. This is a trend in these 2007's. Not correlates but kind of a s***** cork too. Darn shame in an expensive wine meant to be held for long aging.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    6/30/2022 7:08:00 AM - Sorry! 2007's.
Red

2013 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

 more
Options

2/16/2022 - wineismylife wrote: 92 points

WIML92

Tasted non blind.

Garnet to dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of Birch, black cherries and black berries. Flavors of boysenberries, raspberries and cherries. Tart acidity, resolved tannin, full bodied. Drink now.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    6/19/2022 3:45:00 PM - Thanks will do!
Red

2007 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain

 more
Options

4/17/2022 - acheng wrote: flawed

WTF. My second corked bottle.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    5/27/2022 5:47:00 PM - ouch bummer! hope it's not a widespread trend. Better luck in the future!
Red

2006 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino

 Sangiovese more
Options

4/14/2022 - Fftjr wrote: flawed

Seemed to be heat exposed elevated cork. Vegetal nose. Not good.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    4/18/2022 3:18:00 PM - Well that's a freaking bummer, sorry mate!
White

2017 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu

 Chenin Blanc more
Options

9/6/2021 - Capt Cutlass Likes this wine: 89 points

This has aged and oxidised as for me have recent vintages. Open and enjoyable but lacking the verve of its youth. Drink up, two years ago....

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    3/4/2022 8:03:00 AM - my guess is light hand on the sulfite lately, causing Huet to be vulnerable to shipping overseas. I've had 2017's in France, and they don't show the same sherrying.
Red

2010 Louis Jadot Pommard

 Pinot Noir more
Options

4/9/2021 - Château de Farmer Likes this wine: 91 points

Clearly lots of effort put into the winemaking process, judicious oak can still be felt. Underlying material is "just okay" (high quality village level, which is what this is...), making this an extremely pleasurable, good but not great wine entering its sunset years. Some tertiary definitely present. Still drinking well, but probably not for much longer.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    3/4/2022 7:56:00 AM - I'm with you on the aging curve assessment
Red

2008 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova

 Sangiovese more
Options

12/5/2021 - prelypchan Likes this wine: 92 points

Purchased on site at winery. 60 minute decant. Seems fully mature - perhaps a bit earlier in its lifespan than expected? Tannins fully resolved. Lots of tertiary notes - tobacco, leather, savoury herbs. Still stewed/dried red and black fruits to keep some balance to the wine. Stored in fridge, retasted the next day showed that it hadn’t budged at all. Lovely example of aged Brunello at this point but I don’t think I’d wait much longer to consume.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    12/21/2021 9:37:00 AM - Your note confirms the bottle that I just drank as well. I wondered if the maturity of my bottle was a one-off, but probably not. It definitely seems that the 2008 vintage is ready to drink
White - Off-dry

2016 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Clos du Bourg

 Chenin Blanc more
Options

10/12/2021 - hankj wrote: 90 points

Powerfully rich high acid wine, deep and complex. I really love Huet, but this bottle like so many other has notes of apple cider vinegar, and POx. I maintain +-70 bottles of various Huet in my cellar, really love it. But so many bottles have VA in the vinegar stage, and/or premox! Huet is the only label I know that is worse than white Burgundy in frequency of bottles flawed by volatile acidity and/or premox. It's a shame because it's such a great wine, but it feels like you have to buy four bottles to get one in ideal shape, two that are passable but flawed, and one that is verging on undrinkable. I wonder if because they're a natural leaning winemaker they are holding back too much on the sulfite?

Or maybe somehow it's a house style? I'm not bothered by white wines that are slightly sherried intentionally, but with QA it seems as if the sherrying is random - same wines from the same vintage can range from perfectly clean to undrinkably oxidized.

In any case, as much as I love it, I'm going to slow down my buying of Huet ...

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    10/16/2021 8:53:00 AM - Yeah maybe it's my PNW distribution? I tasted 10-12 Huets in the Loire Valley feom a variety of sources, and no flaws. Lightly-sulfited wines don't tend to travel well in around the world distribution chains. My overall # of Huets tastes is similar to yours. I have 76 bottles of Huet my cellar, so a buying slowdown still leaves me with plenty!
Red

2012 Storybook Mountain Vineyards Antaeus

 Napa Valley Zinfandel Blend, Zinfandel more
Options

7/31/2021 - hankj wrote: 90 points

Fun blend, mature and just starting to fade a tiny bit. Def in drinking window

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    7/31/2021 7:36:00 PM - Sure! An hour of air was good for this wine, filled out nicely
Red

2009 Lagier Meredith Syrah

 Mt. Veeder more
Options

3/21/2021 - Drinkslogger Does not like this wine: flawed

I have been drinking wine for 12 years. This is the most acidic bottle yet. The nose was elegant, seductive, and beautiful. The palate was: Did someone squeeze lemon into my wine?

Seeing that there are some mixed reviews below. I am probably just one of the many unlucky ones to get a bad bottle.

Sad and disappointing.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    5/18/2021 7:28:00 AM - Same here per my earlier review, terrible flop on part of winemaker on this one

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    5/18/2021 1:45:00 PM - My 6 pack (whoops) was from a large local retailer in Seattle. My guess isn't bad bottles but flubbed winemaking, which is strange as they usually nail it
Red

2017 Ridge Geyserville

 Alexander Valley Zinfandel Blend, Zinfandel more
Options

2/26/2021 - Timmyhage wrote: NR

750 ml that was decanted for 3 hours. On opening, bright raspberry dominated the nose. After 3 hours in the decanter, the fruit became subdued and was overwhelmed by cedar and chocolate with an undertone of raspberry liquor. On the palate, the wine was unbalanced and the Petite Syrah seemed to dominate (chocolate, oak, chocolate).

While I love Zins blended with petite Syrah, the high(er) proportion of the PS seems to dominate the nose and palate. While enjoyable, this will blossom after 6 or 8 years once the blend melds.

I tend to prefer the Geyserville over the Lytton Springs due to lower PS proportions but this feels more LS in style. Take into account and give this time to develop - it’ll be worth it. Next bottle in 4-5 years.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    4/19/2021 8:31:00 AM - Very helpful comment, thanks. PS certain does benefit from some time in the cellar
White

2019 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu

 Chenin Blanc more
Options

2/19/2021 - hankj wrote: 87 points

Mildly out of balance acetic acid slightly blunting other aspect. Not bad enough to call a flaw, but took away from complexity.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    2/20/2021 9:06:00 AM - Good take. Virtually all wines though have some acetic acid, generally well below the the legal threshold. In some wines the tiny bit of vinegar plays nice with the rest of the aromas, Barolo for instance can feature its often characteristic hint of volatile acidity.

    I've opened five 2019 Huets so far. 2 solid, 2 showing some acetic acid, 1 full on apple cider vinegar nose. I'd call the last flawed and the middle two too much for my palate/nose.

    In the past 10 years I've probably tasted around 80-100 Huets, so not as much as some. Close to 100 bottles in my cellar right now. I really love Huet!

    But in my experience, Huet is among the world's highest rate of flawed bottles. I strike out with Huet at least as often as with white Burgundy, probably more. The types of flaws are clearly the result of sloppy winemaking. Acetic acid is a result of undesirable bacteria, so lax sanitation. Very often I get sherried bottles from Huet, caused by oxygen in the bottles and poor storage.

    Huet is a dirty, sloppy operation. But they make great wines.

    To me the bad bottles are well worth the good ones. Many are mildly flawed and still drinkable and pretty good. And the good bottles are worth so much more than their price that I simply amortize in the cost of 30% of the bottles having some issues. At +30% Huet is still a good value. It will be a bummer 20 years down the line pulling bad bottles from my aged stash, but cheap for a great wine, so easy come easy go. The good ones are so darn good that it's worth it.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    2/20/2021 9:24:00 AM - Looked at your profile and tasting notes btw. Discerning palate. And like many other DC oenophiles, you favor Burgundy. Just my anecdotal observation, but interesting to me that DC seems to skew Burg, not at all a bad collective predilection ....
White - Off-dry

2015 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Clos du Bourg

 Chenin Blanc more
Options

6/16/2019 - hankj wrote: 92 points

This one had a low density cork and is ever so slightly sherried. Not in a bad way, just yellower than it should be right now, and a little nutty/Scotchy/creamy before its time. It's "bad bottle" and still yummy. The tighter bottles should age fabulously.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    6/17/2019 8:35:00 AM - First one I've had in recent memory that was not perfect, including same exact wine from same retailer. I think it's a one off.
Red

2015 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau

 Red Rhone Blend more
Options

11/5/2018 - Heynetty wrote: NR

Wine Dojo - Camerata Quickie: Tasted Blind

A: pale ruby
N: Medium (+) nose. Strawberry, red cherry, raspberry, violet, medicinal, black pepper, wet stone, juniper. Secondary notes of vanilla, clove and nutmeg. Tertiary aromas of mushroom, wet leaf and forest floor .
P: Dry, high acid, medium (+) tannin, medium (+) alcohol (14%) but well integrated, medium (+) body and pronounced intensity with long finish.
C: Can drink now but has potential to age. BLIC? Ticks all round. A really outstanding quality here.

Guesses:
I guessed old world as very earthy. Agh, the pepper put me in the rhone and the slightly lighter body made me think grenache based wine from southern rhone but the color was inconsistent. It aromas didn't support pinot noir or sangiovese but might have supported Nebbiolo as did the pale color. I went for Nebbiolo.

Mistakes:
There would have been a fuller body on Nebbiolo and the pepper wouldn't have been here. Lots of red fruit and florals yes, but the fruit condition would be riper and more stewed in a CDP.I just didn't analyze the fruit condition and gave too much credence to the color. Grenache is thin skinned and not got a lot of color intensity but thought the remainder of the blend would have rendered it much darker. A odd miss but i can at least see where i went wrong.
60% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah and 5% other permitted varieties.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    5/1/2019 9:31:00 AM - Helpful note. I really like the vintages of VT that come across as Nebbiolo-like. Quite surprised that 2015 produced a VT with this profile. I see the 2016 reviewed as dark-fruited and deep with very high scores, but the '15 seems like my wheelhouse, thanks!
Red

2015 Stags' Leap Winery Petite Sirah

 Napa Valley more
Options

1/11/2019 - RSGreene wrote: 69 points

Light bodied. Very acidic. Drink with something sweet.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    3/12/2019 6:27:00 PM - This is an off bottle, no question, as this is a big, rich wine with density and depth. Corked? That can cause thinness and an acrid acidity ....

    At any rate don't give up in this label!
Red

2006 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova

 Sangiovese more
Options

2/18/2019 - hankj wrote: 95 points

This I coming into its own, still grippy but finer tannins. It will always have structure, but at this point you can call these bottles fully settled in and in the window. I think it's a long window though, no reason in a proper cellar that these won't also be wonderful in 15-20 years.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    2/22/2019 6:37:00 PM - Sorry I'll fix it! Thanks
Red

2014 Derey Freres Fixin Vieilles Vignes

 Pinot Noir more
Options

10/11/2017 - Burglife Likes this wine: NR

The nose is quite earthy with some tobacco aromas. Bright red fruit on the palate, with some of those rustic tobacco notes. Initially a very rough finish that smoothed out by the second glass, and opened up into a nice pleasant drink.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    4/21/2018 12:28:00 PM - Thanks for the review! Did you set the CT drinking window for this wine? If so it seems short given the roughness until it got a lot of air. Does 2021-2026 seem reasonable to you? Thank you!
Red

2006 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova

 Sangiovese more
Options

10/10/2017 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 95 points

Delicious, powerful, complex, long, tobacco, layers of fruit, ample tannins, beautiful package.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    10/10/2017 11:33:00 AM - Glad to hear these are coming along Chris! I've got 7 of them left, started with 9. Drank one in '11 - pure infanticide. Then a second a year ago, which hit me as needing more time to shed a little weight.

    My opinion on when to drink Brunello has changed a bit of late though - it accelerates into the drinking window pretty quickly once it's close, and fades out of it pretty quickly too.

    I was going to wait for 2022 to try another - now I think I'll schedule that for Christmas time 2019.

    Thanks!
Red

2015 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette

 Gamay more
Options

10/4/2017 - Motz wrote: 92 points

Tasted over three days. The wine needed air to show its finest qualities. During the first hours open sweet fruit and moderate brett dominated on the bouquet and palate. With air, the wine showed greater precision, mineral depth, and grip. The brettiness receded on the second and third days, allowing the wine to show its substance, with raspberry, cranberry, lingonberry, blackberry, rooibos, hibiscus, black earth, and sous-bois. The impression of garnet gemstones provided highly appealing cut, lift, and tension. The wine held the same form on the third day. Overall, at under $20, an excellent value for 2015 Cru Beaujolais.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    10/4/2017 4:57:00 PM - nice write up thanks, have also found this wine wants air to show its best aspects.
White - Sweet/Dessert

2015 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Haut-Lieu

 Chenin Blanc more
Options

2/5/2017 - MartyL wrote: 90 points

Perfectly nice but was expecting more. Sweet notes of apples and litchi buttressed by acidity, it comes across as a little simple compared to previous vintages. I wonder if the 1er Trie is a big step up this vintage.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    5/18/2017 6:56:00 PM - Hi the 1ere have much more residual sugar, ranging from 80 to 120 grams per liter depending on vineyard and vintage. By contrast regular Moelleux have 40-60. So the 1ere's are the nicest fruit, but harvested later and twice as sweet. Hope this is helpful!
Red

2008 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova

 Sangiovese more
Options

4/8/2017 - flwinos wrote: flawed

Corked bottle

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    4/8/2017 7:20:00 PM - bummer! My condolences ;)
Red

2013 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Berserkers' Cuvée

 Willamette Valley more
Options

12/20/2016 - hankj wrote: flawed

Mildly frizzante and gone-to-fat, over-the-hill tasting in the way OR Pinot can. Not corked nor improperly stored. Giving this the benefit of the doubt and calling it a bad bottle, but definitely not holding the last two much longer.

  • Comment posted by hankj:

    12/21/2016 6:07:00 AM - Tim thanks for noting replacement - I'm not too concerned about a 20 dollar bottle - fruit's a gamble after all :)

Loading wine details...
loading

×
×