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

2009 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée

 Champagne Blend more
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2/6/2024 - Counselor Chris wrote: NR

Tasted in a lineup of five Coeur de Cuvee, this was the star of the very strong lineup. I didn't take written notes at the dinner, but most of us at the table thought this was a superstar, right at a perfect age where all the parts are in harmony.

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Red

1995 Ravenswood Pickberry

 Sonoma Mountain Red Bordeaux Blend more
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11/2/2023 - Counselor Chris wrote: NR

From a magnum purchased at Wine Exchange last year. Fantastic bottle, a mature claret with complexity, balance, poise. Well admired in a diverse group of wine and non-wine people.

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Red

2001 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

 Napa Valley more
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6/8/2023 - Counselor Chris wrote: flawed

Opened a magnum to toast my beloved father the day after he passed away, since it was a wine he loved. Aaaaand it was corked. There may be some cosmic meaning there, but I can't really put my finger on it. I guess it's that corks suck as a wine closure

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Red

2008 Ladd Cellars Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

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3/23/2023 - Counselor Chris wrote: 92 points

This wine is at a great later maturity age right now. Lovely florals, sweet strawberry, raspberry, tart cherry skin, ripe orange, cool pine forest, still very good acid structure at the finish. The fruit is still delicious, even as it has drawn back to reveal more complexity. It's not flashy or self-important, but it's another excellent Ladd pinot, and a good showcase of how well they age.

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Red

2009 Jean-Claude Lapalu Brouilly Croix des Rameaux

 Gamay more
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12/8/2022 - Counselor Chris wrote: NR

Still going along beautifully. Fresh crunchy red berries, a subtle note of mint, some cool white mineral, and a finish that pulls back to being dry and a bit chalky. I guess you could view the finish as giving good balance to the fruit, or you could consider it starting to be a bit drying, depending on your palate. Terrific wine, and incredible value, with the $23.99 price tag still on the bottle.

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Red

NV Horton Vineyards Route 33

 Orange County Red Blend more
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12/4/2022 - Counselor Chris wrote: NR

Lighter red/purple color, looks very lightly oaked. No real nose at first, but with some air and coaxing, a bit of garden flower bush and some faint purple berry.

On the palate, this is a lightly-concentrated, lightly oaked (or maybe unoaked?), very simple and basic red wine, but it is fairly honest and unmanipulated. Others might have tried to crank this wine up with additives or oak chips, but this seems content in its modesty. Almost watery thin in its concentration, and no real finish, but pleasant enough in its basic red wine flavor.

It looks like it sells for around $15, and at that price, there are definitely plenty of other places I could look for a more interesting wine, yet I'd say that if I were served this at a reception or event, I wouldn't particularly mind drinking it, and I'd probably prefer it over a similar level wine made in the residual sugar / highly oaked style like an Apothic Red or Meiomi. Though probably most civilian wine drinkers would reach the opposite conclusion.

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Red

2013 Briceland Vineyards Petit Verdot Ishi Pishi Ranch

 Humboldt County more
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4/5/2022 - Counselor Chris wrote: 93 points

This is a gorgeous and distinctive wine, drinking really well at this age. There is perfectly just-ripe fresh purple berry fruit and strawberry, making a similar impression to when you take your first sip of a great bottle of Loire cab franc. Everything else about the wine is subtle and integrated: sweet purple flowers, pencil lead, tobacco leaf, tea. There is a lot going on, yet the wine is very light on its feet, floating softly on the palate, again like a good Chinon. This wine really clicks both with my palate and with my love for adventure and variety in the world of wine.

4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
Red

2019 Six Cloves Wines Primitivo Benguerel Family Vineyard

 Sonoma Valley more
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11/17/2021 - Counselor Chris wrote: NR

A bright, almost glowing clear red ruby in the glass. 15.2% alcohol.

We have a very young wine here, and the first impression is very high toned, tart cherry, raspberry, hard red candy, high orange acids. Sporty, but rather overwhelming, with acids poking out considerably.

I recorked the bottle, left it on the counter, and revisited in on the second day, and it had knitted together much better by then. Still the bright, jazzy red fruit but a little more in balance, a slight note of fresh earth appears, a suggestion of black pepper, big citrus acids on the finish. The finish almost tastes like you're swallowing fresh squeezed orange juice. Despite the listed alcohol, there is no heat or overripeness at all, nor does oak take any noticeable role in the wine.

This is a wine for folks who like crunchy fruit and ripping acids, maybe such as folks who enjoy lightly oaked versions of Barbera d'Alba, Ribera del Duero or Priorat. It also reminds me of the most red fruited and tart zinfandels from Carlisle, like the DuPratt. If your palate runs that direction, this is a great choice for you, though give it some air due to its youth, or better still, a few more years in the bottle.

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Red

2019 Six Cloves Wines Magnolia

 Carneros Red Blend more
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11/16/2021 - Counselor Chris wrote: NR

Bright, clear red/purple in the glass, 13.3% alcohol. At first impression, this comes off grapey and kind of like a barrel sample, owing to its youth, and the initial impression is a little overpowering and disjointed. So I dumped part of the bottle into a decanter and came back to it in an hour, and then tasted it over the next hour. It was a big and welcome transformation, allowing the young wine to start showing its stuff.

On the nose, now we get cool, fresh purple berries, a bit of pencil lead. On the palate, there is freshly-picked strawberry and blackberry, a notion of wild berry bushes in springtime, and some chalky mineral. The cool fruit gives way to a finish of chalky tannins and fresh orange. The wine shows no oak influence that I can discern.

This is a fun wine, probably a stumper in a blind tasting. It is certainly far different from your ripe, oaky styles of Napa and Sonoma cabs, but it also doesn't really track too closely to old-school cabs either. It charts its own course in a cool climate, lower alcohol, and very lightly oaked style, really emphasizing the freshness and purity of the grapes. Like if you made a cab/merlot blend in Burgundy.

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White

2019 Six Cloves Wines Chardonnay Linda Vista Vineyard

 Oak Knoll District more
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11/16/2021 - Counselor Chris wrote: NR

Light straw colored, 13.2% alcohol. This is a lovely, understated, feminine style of Chardonnay. The nose brings faint aromas of pineapple, sweet lemon, and sea shell. On the palate, another light layer of marine minerals, white grapes, tart orange and orange zest, tart apple. The wine has light concentration, but still an abundance of flavor, complexity and character. There is no noticeable oak presence, allowing the vineyard's voice to be heard.

This wine has a Chablis sensibility, but it speaks a little more quietly. I realize I am probably being influenced by knowing Sonoe's background, but this did remind both me and my wife of the best Koshu white wines we have had from Japan. And for another observation made with the benefit of knowing a bit of background, I also think the wine reminds me of Matthiasson's chardonnay from the same vineyard, which I've had several times but probably not in a year or two. Just going from memory, maybe this wine is a bit more cerebral and complex.

All told, I enjoyed it greatly.

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White

2008 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard

 Santa Lucia Highlands more
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10/30/2021 - Counselor Chris wrote: flawed

Oxidized. Not horribly, but enough to go down the drain.

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Red

2016 Carlisle Mourvèdre Bedrock Vineyard

 Sonoma Valley more
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10/9/2021 - Counselor Chris wrote: NR

A little thin, with candied red fruit. Not up to Carlisle’s usually high standards.

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Red

1994 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon

 Napa Valley more
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10/5/2021 - Counselor Chris wrote: NR

Drank beautifully, seemed to have hit it at right at its peak. Not as complex as the very best wines, but the fruit, purity and balance were fantastic.

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Red

2006 Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino

 Sangiovese more
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1/2/2021 - Counselor Chris wrote: flawed

Yet another corked Italian wine.

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Red

2010 Virage Vineyards

 Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more
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11/20/2020 - Counselor Chris wrote: 92 points

Very classy wine, old school at heart but with modern cleanliness and purity. Pretty purple berry fruit which isn't sweet but has intensity to it, then some menthol and hints of bell pepper and tobacco, some graphite and mineral towards the finish.

A medium weight right bank blend with a traditional bent to it, very nicely made, no flaws, good character. It isn't going to blow you away in a blind tasting, but it's a really nice wine with some good character to it. I really enjoyed it.

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Red

2003 Château Montus Madiran

 Tannat Blend, Tannat more
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11/16/2020 - Counselor Chris wrote: 91 points

Entering a very nice age for this wine. Purple and black fruits, some meaty notes and graphite in the middle, a hint of lavender, good tannic structure but not harsh at this age. This is better closer to cellar temp than at room temp. A nice reward for patience with a modestly priced wine.

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Red

2010 Denner The Dirt Worshipper

 Central Coast Syrah Blend, Syrah more
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10/17/2020 - Counselor Chris wrote: 85 points

Heavy stewed fruit, beef and beef blood. Disappointing lack of energy, structure or complexity. Just kind of a blunt instrument.

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Red

2008 Ladd Cellars Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

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7/22/2020 - Counselor Chris wrote: 94 points

This was a truly exciting example of mature Russian River Valley pinot. The wine is a slightly hazy light red with a clear rim. Aromas of tart wild berries still on the bush. The initial impression showcases brisk red cherry and raspberry, which are tasty yet fall comfortably short of any overt sensation of sugar or candy. The fruit gives way to lovely fall baking spices, cinnamon and dried leaves. Citrus peel acids are high on the finish, and get higher as the bottle develops. The fruit gets more brisk as the bottle develops, too.

The closest comp I can give might be Williams Selyem pinots from the RRV of around the same age, except that the acids are higher on this wine, and the fruit has a bit less sweetness to it.

I really enjoyed this wine, from the first pour to the last. It would be a great ringer in with some much pricier RRV or Burgundy bottles.

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Red

1999 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon

 Napa Valley more
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5/17/2020 - Counselor Chris wrote: 93 points

Graceful wine in the late part of its prime drinking window. Smooth purple berry fruit, menthol and eucalyptus, nicely integrated oak, gentle tannins, nothing boozy or heavy. 1999 remains such an underrated California cab vintage, and Shafer made a really good one here.

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Red

1997 Saint Cosme Côte-Rôtie Montsalier

 Syrah more
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4/21/2020 - Counselor Chris wrote: NR

Perfect storage, perfect cork, but the wine was just way too old. Probably at least 5 years past a reasonable drinking window. My recordkeeping mistake.

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White

2003 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Reserva Viña Tondonia

 White Blend more
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3/21/2020 - Counselor Chris wrote: 93 points

Medium gold color which would be somewhere between worrisome and fatal on a white from Burgundy or the Loire (and which we see all too often), but which is right in character for this wine at 17 years of age. Served at about 58 degrees.

Waxy golden apples, sweet corn, a light nuttiness, a hint of honey and vanilla. Then the second act is a lovely wash of bright orange and lemon, with a dusting of white spices, leading to a long, fresh finish.

This bottle seems at a perfect age. I don't know if 2003 was a very hot year in Rioja, but if it was, this bottle doesn't show any sign of overripeness or alcohol, and the acids are exceptional.

I confess to being afraid to open these for company, since they look and act unusual, and people (even experienced wine enthusiasts) are quick to write off a wine where they perceive any oxidation. So I opened it for myself this evening, and now . . . I wish I could show this off to some of my drinking buddies.

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White

2010 Tercero Grenache Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard

 Santa Ynez Valley more
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3/2/2020 - Counselor Chris wrote: 92 points

Really a delight at this age. The wine is in perfect condition, through whatever combination of the winemaking and the excellent decision to finish the bottle with a screwcap. Light yellow and straw color. And yet it has truly evolved, and very positively - for those who think new world wines and/or wines under screwcap can at best hope just to stay the same or become mellower versions of themselves.

The wine has developed a pronounced nose with petrol, truffle, peach and lemon. In the mouth, underripe pear, peach pit, and bracing lemon on the finish. Very exotic and full of character, for a 10 year old Grenache Blanc that probably cost around $20 at the time.

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Red

2000 Lynsolence

 St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend more
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1/31/2020 - Counselor Chris wrote: 91 points

Quite cheerful right out of the game. Not especially complex, but nice fruit and acids, modest amount of chocolatey oak, bit of menthol.

A very enjoyable, unfussy wine. No

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Red

2008 Lisini Brunello di Montalcino

 Sangiovese more
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9/29/2019 - Counselor Chris wrote: 93 points

In a perfect place. Great fruit, old world leather and herb and mineral complexity.

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Red

2013 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch

 Sonoma Coast more
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1/21/2019 - Counselor Chris wrote: 93 points

Really rockin’ tonight. Intense crunchy red berry fruit, good complexity of leaves and herbs from the whole cluster but not at a bitter or overly green level, graphite, stone, bright acids. Excellent wine into its early maturity.

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  • Tasting notes: 254 notes on 243 wines

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