Search Results - Save This Search

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

2015 Elusa Cabernet Sauvignon

 Calistoga more
Options

4/24/2024 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 95 points

I first signed up on the Elusa list when a few of my favorites where Thomas Rivers Brown made wine sold out to "The Man," as we used to say. Schrader and Outpost immediately come to mind. TRB makes the wine at Elusa and the vineyard in the Calistoga area seems to be excellent terroir, so it looked like a good trade off when I dropped the others. I had never tasted it and I decided to be patient so I stuck it in the cellar and let it age. Yesterday, I decided to check it out and brought the 2015 to a family Seder to drink with the inevitable brisket. I decanted it at 6 pm and first tasted it at about 7 pm from clunky glasses. I then followed it for another 90-120 minutes.

This wine is in a very nice spot, with sweet tannins and a smooth velvety mouth feel. Approachable with wonderful a red fruit melange. It is developing a fruit-forward flavor profile with miles to go. Oak? No obvious oaky component, perhaps because it is resolved (seems unlikely at this age) or perhaps just neutral oak. Depending on your definition of tertiary flavors [From the Wine Enthusiast website, "The last of the three levels of aromas and flavors is tertiary. These complex components occur when wine is aged in an ideal environment. In red wines, fresh ripe fruit starts to transform into stewed or dried fruit, like raisin or fig. Tertiary aromas of tobacco, earth and mushroom will come about, too."], there are none of those yet, and thank god for that, at least as to stewed fruit and raisins or horse corral dirt, which IMNSHO get in the way of purity. It's fruit to the fore, with some spice.

In April 2007, I posted a thread on the E-bob bulletin board asking how long to decant a 2004 Rivers Marie cab and barely an hour later, TRB, sent me a private message that said, "GO with the decant and pour back for six hours. This wine can't receive too much air. Thomas". That wine was fierce and very good, but no where near as luscious as this one. Maybe it was the extra time in bottle, maybe it was an evolution of TRB's winemaking style, maybe it is a change in my own palate, or maybe just the vintage character (2015 Napa cabs are outstanding), but this Elusa is dramatically different. I recommend that people try it and if your impression is like mine, jump on the list.

Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
Rosé

2016 Hammell Wine Alliance El Crue Rosé

 Santa Maria Valley Rosé Blend more
Options

3/9/2024 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 92 points

This is an outstanding Rose. It's a six grape blend - fairly characterized as a Rose of Chateauneuf. I am not a fan of Rose because it is generally designed to appeal to the AFWE types, but this one has excellent flavors with an almost peach-like aroma and a red fruit, but not sweet strawberry, flavor profile, and some citrus added but without sugar or sweetness. I bought this at auction - it still had a CT bar code label from a prior owner - and I wish there were more. I am not sure whether they just changed the packaging and now it's just "True Believer Rose," but I have my doubts because that's a lot cheaper. I buy a lot of Tercero Mourvedre Rose, which is one of the few Roses that I like, and this is comparable, if not a bit more complex.

Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2003 Rhys Alesia Syrah Sonoma Coast

 more
Options

3/8/2024 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 91 points

Bought almost 20 years ago. This was Kevin Harvey's first ever Syrah from Rhys or Alessia. Decant for an hour and then followed for a few more.

Still on the upswing. No sign of 20 years of age. My wife suggested it showed about 10 years old and I agree. Dark red and black fruit, spicy acidity, a tiny bit of pepper. Years ago, I sent him an email asking for a tech sheet and he laughed (in an email) and said he had no such thing because he just made the wine in his garage. Anyone who says that Cali Syrah is too ripe and will fall apart is 100% full of you know what. No sign at all. My guess is that this wine will not peak for 5 more years because it continued to improve for at least an hour in the glass after the decant. If Irate this based upon what I expected versus what I actually got, this gets a few more points. patience is a virtue. Bravo.

Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2012 Lagier Meredith Mondeuse

 Mt. Veeder more
Options

3/6/2024 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 92 points

Someone on WB mentioned Carlisle Mondeuse that, upon genetic sampling, turned out to be something else. I had this in the cellar from Berserkerday years ago and since Carole Meredith is the wine professor and wine genetics guru, I figured this could be the real thing.

I have no idea whether it is really Mondeuse, because what do I know, but it is on the excellent side of interesting. Decant for only about 30 minutes and then followed for about 3-1/2 hours. At first it was too cold, but as it warmed up it took on excellent aromatics. It was extremely dark, almost impenetrably ark blackish red. The nose was floral, but red wine barolo-type violets. No honeysuckle or white flowers. The palate was brooding and meaty, with blackberries and other dark red and black fruits. Very smooth mouth feel for such a powerful presentation. It reminded me of a well-aged Petite Sirah. There is strong acidity and if I had to guess, this will be fine for at least another decade. Too bad that Carole is getting out of the winery business. I liked this better than her Hatori Hanzo, but perhaps it is just wearing its age so well.

Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2012 Evening Land Vineyards Pinot Noir Seven Springs Vineyard

 Eola - Amity Hills more
Options

2/17/2024 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 93 points

Bought from a local wine shop in 2015. I am not a great pinot lover but this was an excellent example of west coast (I almost wrote California) pinot noir. When I first decanted it, I sighed because I got that pinot funk aroma that I do not like, which has been described by others as everything from sulphur to coca cola. However, within 15-30 minutes in the decanter, it was gone and the wine started to take on weight. Moderate red fruit and balancing acidity. Very smooth, almost elegant. Not a wine to drink with grilled porterhouse, but a very good accompaniment to a pork roast or roast chicken.

My guess is that it needs another 4 years to reach its peak. We are too quick to drink West coast pinot and then we complain that it is not as good as a GC Burg. Patience is rewarded in this case.

2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2014 Cayuse Syrah Bionic Frog

 Walla Walla Valley more
Options

2/22/2024 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 92 points

Two and a half hour decant and then drunk with Juan S. for lunch. Paired with home smoked brisket on a brioche roll with jerk aioli and home made coleslaw. This was very good but a bit disappointing because I expected more and have had better experiences with Bionic Frog. Juan, needless to say, an inexperienced wine drinker, thought it was excellent.

It was very smooth with tannin mostly if not fully resolved but the palate was less explosive that normal - limited fruit, only very light raspberry and no smooth white pepper. Maybe it was just an off day for me or maybe the pairing was too much, although I used jerk marinade and jerk spice that Juan had given me to make the aioli and he though the with was great. I have two more bottles and maybe they will show better. Like I said, still very good but on the actual/ expectation scale, I have had many higher rated wines.

PS - There was no Cayuse funk, perhaps because of the decant. I am very happy with that, because it is the only thing I do not like about Christoph's wines.

2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2003 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm

 McLaren Vale more
Options

2/3/2024 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 93 points

opened, decanted for an hour, and then followed for a few hours. This is what I love about Aussie Shiraz, with the extra factor that the bottle was autographed by D'Arry Osborne when I met him at Zachy's about 18 years ago. When the roughness subsides and the fruit emerges from hiding, this is an outstanding wine. I had finished most of my 1998 Aussie Shiraz and I found this one just sitting there and begging to be opened. I had a bunch of 375s that are long gone and I had lost track of this one. No blueberry pie filling, unless you spend too much time drinking a blend of fecal notes, cat piss and the dirt in the corral. The tannin is 95%+ resolved into a sweet accompaniment to a cherry/raspberry velvet that crosses the tongue and slides effortlessly towards the throat. The nose is subtle fruit and effortless, with a small bit of violet floral aroma. The only thing that keeps this wine from the exceptional characterization is that the finish was "only" of average length. I wish I had bought more. This is at its peak, or perhaps a year or two short of it, so if you've got 'em, smoke 'em.

Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2003 Podere Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Rocche

 Nebbiolo more
Options

1/25/2024 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 92 points

Popped, decanted and followed for 4 hours. Not a lot of sediment. The nose has some blue flowers - violets and stuff. At first, there was customary creosote/railroad ties that you would expect from a Barolo, but it soon morphed into a very nice dark fruit and floral palate. Extremely smooth with no rough edges. I would say two hours after decant was the peak, but it mostly leveled off after that with not much of a down turn. Very little evidence of prunes or other flavors from the extremely hot weather that year. My guess is that they picked a bit on the early side. Overall an excellent wine. I have had good luck with early 2000s Rocche dei Manzoni wines and this is no exception. Although this wine is still at its plateau, I get a very tiny whiff of sherry. Is it the additional fruit from age or the beginning of a downturn? Hard to say. I think it is the former and it has time before it turns, but no need to hold this longer.

Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2009 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard

 Paso Robles Syrah Blend, Syrah more
Options

12/10/2023 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 95 points

Bought from the original mailing list offer. Stored in a temperature-controlled cellar at 58 degrees. Every bottle is better than the last. At 14 years, it is approaching its peak, but it still needed a decant of three or four hours. Unfortunately, we had less than 30 minutes, but I have followed it for over 4 hours. My guess is that my remaining bottles should be held for 4-6 more years to smooth out the remaining tannin, but will then plateau for years after that.

There is some alcohol on the nose, but the fruit and violet floral aromas are still prevalent. The palate is cherry and raspberry, leaning towards raspberry, so I'm guessing without looking that the blend is more grenache that syrah. [PS -Wrong. It is 57% Syrah, 31% Mourvedre and only 12% Grenache] This is a fruit driven wine with little or no pepper or spice. Except for the bit of remaining tannin, it is smooth and pure in the mouth despite its power. I do not like it. I love it.

Who are the CT users who said that it is best between 2014 and 2023? I am 72 years old and this wine will be exceptional long after my palate is burned out. As I said, I do not think it has reached it peak. I have bought Saxum wines since the 2004 vintage and I have had a few as old as 15 years past vintage. I have yet to have one that is even close to the downslope.

2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2016 Château Puygueraud

 Francs Côtes de Bordeaux Red Bordeaux Blend more
Options

11/20/2023 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 91 points

TN in the style of Burgundy Al . . .

Stand up tasting (as Zachy's Portchester). Brief Note. Light on its feet, smooth and ready to drink. Fruity with a hint of a floral nose. Good value at $45 for a Magnum.

TN in the style of Tom Hill . . . long and boring

Followed not from he beginning, but only from two days ago. I had never seen or heard of this wine when we stopped at Zachys to pick up some 2001 Merus that I had won at auction. I was going to pass, but it was the only thing left on the tasting table. Other than that it was Bordeaux, knew nothing about it.

It was obviously merlot driven, with a velvety mouth feel for a young Bordeaux. Tech sheet on the website says 80% Merlot/15% Cab Franc/5% Malbec. 14.5% ABV. For a Bordeaux? Yes, and it's not overly alcohol driven. Is this modern style? I suppose so. Clean, not dirty. Fruit, not leather and horse corral driven. Wait 20 years? Not required. Did they learn from Valandraud? No. It must have been Derenoncourt, cut from the same cloth, who was instrumental at Pavie-Maquin, also owned by the Thienpont family that already owned Puygueraud.

How long to decant? Hard to say because Zachys was pouring this from magnum and constant tipping of the bottle to pour over about 4 hours will shake it up and oxygenate. My guess is that a 2 hour decant will smooth it out, but probably good right out of the bottle. This is a keeper for the price, especially if you happen to be 72 years old and can't wait 13 more years.

Bottom line - this is an excellent buy at $45 for a magnum. And that's from someone whose favorite wines are MacDonald, Scarecrow, Saxum and SQN.

3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2014 Saxum Paderewski Vineyard

 Paso Robles Willow Creek District Red Blend more
Options

11/16/2023 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 92 points

I will rate this wine based upon how it tasted from a Magnum at present with no decant. It needed about five more years in the bottle and then probably a two hour decant. There is tremendous power in this wine, but the aromatics have not yet exploded yet. There is red fruit and meeting this with nice spice and the other people I shared this wine with really liked it. I liked it as well, but bemoaned of the fact that it would've been much much better had I waited a few more years. My suspicion is that it is the tannin resolves and the wine smooths out to improve the balance so that the fruit comes closer to the forefront, it will deliver 95 point level pleasure, which is a very high rating for me.

This is another "not for the faint of heart" Saxum of the highest order.

Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2013 Saxum Cuvée Rocket Block James Berry Vineyard

 Paso Robles Willow Creek District Grenache Blend, Grenache more
Options

10/27/2023 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 97 points

Decanted at the Seafire Grill in Manhattan and followed for about 3 hours. I admit to being biased in favor of Grenache, a grape that I love, but on the other hand it means that I have a lot to compare this with. Despite the fact that CT refers to this wine as a Grenache Blend, the notes on the Saxum website report that this is 100% Grenache, 16.4% ABV.

OMG this wine is GREAT. Maybe the 1999 Rayas was just a tad better, but that's only because it was older and had smoothed out a bit more. The SQN Grenaches are outstanding, and I love them, but this was better. The 2002 and 2006 Aquilon were close, but no cigar.

What have I had that was better? The 1970 Monfortino was just a smidgen better, and the 1989 Produttori Rabaja Riserva. The 1865 Coronation Sherry bottles in 1911. Some 100+ year old Madeiras. I have a sweet tooth so drinking a TBA with 350 gms/ltr sugar at Knebel with the family and a few other such wines might have touched this. BUT this Saxum Rocket Block is right up there at the top.

This bottle was bought from the original mailing list offering. I was supposed to give a speech to the Bar Association on the day the offering went live and the person organizing the program slotted me in at 12:00 noon NY Time. I explained that would be impossible because I had missed the 2005 Rocket Block because I was meeting with senior bank officers and the sold out in minutes. I was not going to miss this one. She begged and we compromised. I would sit on the panel at the front of the room but I would not speak until 12:15 so I could order from my laptop. Noon came around, I signed in to the website, and ordered by about 12:02. She was looking over my shoulder in disbelief. Waiting to give my presentation was the correct decision.

Now for the real tasting note. This is a fruit driven wine with a spicy backbone and a tiny bit of vanilla. Everything is explosive without losing elegance. The nose matches the palate perfectly and it is very expressive. No disjointed weirdness. I got mostly raspberries with a bit of blueberry and cherry. Spice on the back end with a little prickly bite at the front of the tongue. My dinner companion got more blueberry than raspberry. I got both fruits, but in the opposite order. There was also a tiny taste of some kind of roasted meat juice, making me wonder whether maybe there were a few Mourvedre grapes that snuck into that block in the vineyard.

The only thing that kept this from getting to 99 points (nothing gets 100 because then a better wine would have to be 101) was that it was still just a tiny bit tannic and rough. Another 5 years of bottle age and it might be there, but, alas, this turns out to be my only bottle.

Every taste of this wine over the time period was better than the one before. If you open one, give it at least a two hour decant and then taste it over another 2-3 hours. The finish was long for a non-sweet red wine.

If your preference is Cab Franc from the Loire or old Bordeaux (I had a 1975 Cos d'Estournel tonight and it was sort of OK), you may not like this wine. You AFWE guys out there - you know who you are - will not like this wine and I would be happy to take it off your hands if you happen to own one.

By the way - the ABV is not really noticeable. I did not even think about it until I checked the notes on the Saxum website to confirm that it was 100% Grenache.

1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
White

2004 Aubert Chardonnay Quarry Vineyard

 Sonoma County more
Options

9/23/2023 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 97 points

It is hard to say when an Aubert Chardonnay reaches its peak. I last had a 2004 Lauren in 2017 and it was outstanding. This was even better. Tremendous depth! A fruit driven wine with that chest-filling characteristic that appears in the best, properly aged, Chardonnay, but that I have never been able to describe. No oak and no butter! The fruit is white fruit predominantly apple, but the flavors are so perfectly integrated that it is hard to point to any one flavor as dominating or sticking out. It is a seamless whole in which the parts are not separately evident.

I had a Jadot and a Louis Latour Le Montrachet at the Inaugural Heritage Auctions blind tasting national championships and and they were excellent, but this was in that league. The only white that I recall being better was a Guigal Ex Voto that was ex chateau and brought to a dinner by Francois Mauss about 18 years ago. However, I had been drinking all night before I tasted that and this Aubert was after only one glass of 2004 Alban Reva, so my memory of the Guigal is questionable.

I remember that I bought this as part of my first allocation because everyone was going crazy about Aubert pinot noir and the common belief was that you had to buy the Chardonnay for a couple of years before you were offered the pinot noir. I am very glad that there was that common belief, whether true or not, because I bought a lot of the Chardonnay and I believe that it is the best version of such grape made in the United States. Some people argue for Marcassin, which I have only had a few times, but they have never seemed better to me. Kongsgaard is too oxidative for me and I have had an outstanding bottle of Morlet Chardonnay Coup de Coeur, but if I could only drink one producer of Cali Chardonnay for the rest of my life, Aubert woud be at the top of my list.

1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
Red

1973 Château Mouton Rothschild

 Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend more
Options

8/6/2023 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 92 points

First, the storage: Purchased on release at Zachy's in approximately 1976. Two years in an unairconditioned apartment that recent law school graduates live in while earning $16,500 a year. Then eight years in a rack in the basement with a very leaky door to the outside at your first house that you could afford only because your father loaned you the money for the down payment, then 27 years in a passive underground cellar of your second house until your wife insists that you have to build a real cellar in the basement because she is tired of having to move cases around on the floor just to find the wine that you want, then 10 years in a temperature-controlled cellar built by Chris Kravitz.

Fill: Low Shoulder.

Cork: The first cork I have had that did not come out cleanly with a Durand. The top 80% of the cork came out in a crumble and looked like that dark brown crumbled chocolate you sometimes get on a cake. Half the rest made it out of the bottle with careful use of the Durand worm and the rest did a swan dive with a twist into the wine.

Decant: The wine has been lying at a slight angle in the display row in the cellar for a decade without moving, label up. Brought upstairs, put in an angled wine carrier at the same angle, cork removed, decanted through a fine screen to catch the crumbled cork into a "decanter" I got at K-Mart for $4.50, and then poured immediately into the glasses of waiting guests in the back yard.

Color: OMG - other notes say it was light in color. Not this bottle. As I decanted it, I noticed a slight browning in the stream, but in the bottle it was dark Bordeaux colored with no sign of bricking. The color was indistinguishable from the other four red wines we served - all at least 35 years younger.

Palate: Excellent. No sign of significant deterioration or other bad things that happen when Bordeaux gets old and tired. I would never had guessed 50 years old. I would have been surprised at 1982 and more likely would have guessed 1989 or 1990. Extremely smooth. Although the tannin was probably 95% resolved, there was still just a bit. There was red fruit on the nose but it was subdued on the palate. When I consider that my collection, and hence what I like to drink, leans heavily towards SQN, Saxum, and the cabs of Thomas Rivers Brown, subdued is probably a compliment to most of you. I have had some great Bordeaux over the years. 1989 Haut Brion, 1989 and 1990 Montrose, 2000 Latour and 1928 Margaux (at age 41) come to mind, and this was excellent. If it had more fruit or a bit more power, I would probably have scored it about 95. If I factor in the age, the storage, and the fill, this would get a 97.

Original cost - no sure, but definitely less that $10.

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

2008 Saxum James Berry Vineyard

 Paso Robles Red Rhone Blend more
Options

7/22/2023 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 97 points

My last note on this wine is more than five years ago. What's that Beatles song? "Getting Better All the Time." I am half way through my stash of these and any wine that pokes its nose above 95 points is exceptional. Outstanding. Whatever roughness there ever was is gone. Tannins are sweetened. Berries and more berries. Velvety mouth feel. Wonderful nose. Someone wrote that the 2008 is better than the 2007 that was the WS WOTY and they may be right. This was a pop and pour and might have been even better with some air. It is definitely driven by the Grenache. I'm hoping that the syrah will resolve into a bit of smooth pepper in the next few years, at which point the wine will move into the stratosphere and perhaps the best Rhone Ranger wine this side of Avignon.

Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
White - Sparkling

NV Deutz Champagne Brut Classic

 Champagne Blend more
Options

7/6/2023 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 90 points

We drank this from plastic wine glasses at the Lyndhurst Mansion Jazz at Sunset concert because it was my wife's birthday. Nice well-made NV. Much better than, for example, the ubiquitous Veuve Yellow Label, which we all know is really orange. My personal preference is for yeastier, more hedonistic champagnes, while this was a bit more austere with lemon citrus and tart white fruit, but still very enjoyable. It was brutally not outside, even at 6 pm, so this warmed up a bit faster than perhaps would have been best, but DO NOT serve it ice cold - it will kill the aromatics. Slightly warmer than I would like - it was perhaps a bit over 50 degrees - was fine and better than murdering it in an ice bucket.

Someone on CT reports 9 gms dosage. That is a surprise. I would have guessed a little less, but excellent balancer nonetheless. I am not a 0 dosage kind of guy.

2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
White

2013 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard

 Sonoma Coast more
Options

7/2/2023 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 94 points

Decanted for about 30 minutes because David Ramey says to decant your white wines. He's right. This is a textbook Ritchie, which I always find to have more acidity and electric sharpness with white fruit (Granny Smith apple)when compared to the softer, more rounded Lauren. I love them both, but the Ritchie pairs better with seafood and fish, which is what we were having. A family smorgasbord of simple shrimp with salt and pepper sauteed in butter, mussels steamed in their own juice, scallops quick fried with paprika and garlic, cod sauteed in butter with paprika and seared tuna with wasabi. There was a bit of pineapple citrus to go with the white fruit and a moderate to long finish. 10 year old chardonnay with no hint of premox. Must be from California. :)

1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2013 Carlisle Zinfandel Old Vines

 Russian River Valley more
Options

5/26/2023 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 96 points

If you do not like long TN's with stories, skip this one because first I have to set the context. I have been buying Carlisle since the 2004 vintage. I used to buy 4 cases with each order, but I have slowed down a bit. I have probably owned well over 500 bottles. Adding those that were bought by others and brought to various dinners over the years, I have probably drunk over 300 bottles. Mike Officer would argue that I do not drink them fast enough, but what does he know. He just makes them.

My favorite has always been Montafi Ranch. Even as my purchases have slowed down as I approach the other side of my own drinking curve, I was sure to buy those. I once wrote, after drinking a wine blind, "This is a great Zin. My guess is not mountain fruit. The only Zin I have had that was this good in Carlisle Montafi Ranch." It was a 2011 Montafi Ranch.

My wife told my son that she wanted wine with dinner, but he forgot to get a bottle until about 6:30. He rushed downstairs and randomly pulled this to decant it before our nightly war with Jeopardy. I am reducing wine consumption, so I poured myself a large glass but did not finish it with dinner. I brought the remaining 2 ounces upstairs as I worked on my computer. At about 11:30 pm, I decided to finish it.

OMG. This wine is incredible after 5 hours of air. There is a fruit explosion of raspberries and blackberries with spice and garrigue, with sagebrush (we just got back from Santa Fe) and rosemary. BUT that was not the most notable component. The aromatics and palate included the unmistakable sweet aroma and flavors of a top of the line XO Cognac. I once commented that I noticed that same in a much higher priced bottle of 2006 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Aquilon (saved from Alzheimers by Cellartracker again) and Brian Loring suggested that it was caused by American oak used by some Spanish wineries. Maybe, maybe not, but I have been in the Carlisle barrel room and I saw lots of Tarransaud by no American oak. AND this was sweeter and headier (in a non-alcoholic sense) than the Aquilon. Everting was woven together into an exceptional taste experience.

It takes me a lot to give a wine more than 95 points. I have written over 1250 tasting notes and scores over 95 points represent only 3.5% of the total, and include the likes of 1875 Madeira, Pichler Unendlicht (if you've never had that, get a bottle and give it 2 hours of air), 1970 Monfortino, 1994 Fonseca, 1997 Q do Noval Nacional, 1955 Graham's, a few SQNs and Aubert whites, and 1962 Delas Freres Hermitage. That's pretty good company for a wine that I suspect cost me less than $30.

Congratulations to Mike Officer and his team.

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

2006 Scholium Project Margit's Master Blend

 California Cabernet Sauvignon more
Options

4/14/2023 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 94 points

One hour decant, two would have been even better. Watch out for the sediment. Lots of it. Tannin is almost all fully resolved. The is a fully integrated Cali Cab with an extremely smooth mouth feel but rustic flavors. A mixture of dark fruit and smooth spice. Smooth spice? That makes no sense, but it was the balance that caused the spice to add flavor but not bite. Does not have the power of a young Scholium red but instead shows off what age can do with perfectly ripe, not over-ripe grapes. Moderate finish. Sadly, IIRC, Abe said that the Margit's vineyard was ripped up the following year or a few years later, so this wine will not be made again. This wine has matured very well since my last note more than a decade ago.

Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2014 Tercero Verbiage (Rouge)

 Santa Barbara County Red Rhone Blend more
Options

3/22/2023 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 92 points

A Berserker day wine. Wow. I don't know what I paid for this, but it was absolutely worth it. It was a little rough but still complex with a delicious flavor of berries, earth, herbs and all sorts of other stuff right out of the bottle, but after two hours in the decanter, it exploded with flavor while the roughness disappeared completely. It became extremely smooth with an excellent of any mouth feel. The blend is 46% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre and 4% Cinsault, so a classic Châteauneuf blend. In my opinion, this is the kind of wine that shows the greatness that California warm weather and terroir can do to grape varieties. These are grapes that flourish in warm weather. Larry Schaffer, the owner and winemaker, does a great job of blending these different grapes into a seamless whole. And don't be scared off by the screw cap. All it does is make it easier. I don't know what the oxygen penetration is on this particular variety of screw cap, but whatever it is, it works very well and seems to put in just the right amount to age the wine at 19 years old.

4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
Red

2004 Outpost Zinfandel Howell Mountain

 more
Options

3/14/2022 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 92 points

Jacob said cedar. I think light smooth tobacco from a cigar box with a bit of chocolate and subdued fruit. I did not drink except for a tiny sip. Smooth. A bit of Howell Mountain spice with no bite.

Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2009 Carlisle Syrah Pelkan Ranch

 Knights Valley more
Options

1/30/2022 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 92 points

Very shirt decant. An excellent Carlisle syrah just entering its second stage of development. Very smooth, fruit drive, some spice but not really classic syrah pepper, more like just a bit in the background. There is breadth and depth to this wine with brooding dark cherry, meatyness and a bit of coffee and chocolate. Someone said leather on CT but I get none of that - no similarity to the smooth saddle leather component of Bordeaux. My guess is that this has another 5 years, maybe a decade, to go. I suspect that it will get a bit better over that time, but maybe it plateaus. Another MRO drinking window bites the dust. He suggested 2013 to 2021. I suggest that it's still on the upswing in 2022. 57% new oak, which I suspect it the contributor to the coffee/chocolate component, but after all these years in bottle, there is no oaky, woody flavor.

1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2013 Saxum James Berry Vineyard

 Paso Robles Willow Creek District Red Rhone Blend more
Options

1/29/2022 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 95 points

Decanted for about 30 minutes and then followed for 3-1/2 hours. It needed the air and could have used a 5 hour decant.

This just oozed delicious Grenache raspberry fruit with an extremely smooth mouth feel and some spicy power from the magic Mourvedre. The color is dark, the nose has a floral component that is not sweet flowers like honeysuckle or rose. More like violet. I do not get pepper from the syrah component - maybe that will come with another decade of age. The finish in the mouth does not go on forever, but it's i the neighborhood of that. Another magnificent effort for the pro-flavor wine brigade.

2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2005 Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

 more
Options

1/28/2022 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 89 points

I have no idea why we own this wine. Perhaps a gift. Perhaps left at our house after a big wine event. Who knows. Entered in CT in 2014, which was probably after a reorganization so we may have owned it much longer.

Decanted for about an hour. Very good, approaching excellent. Tannins are fully resolved and sweet. Wine has probably reached its peak. A bit simplistic with almost entirely bright red fruit, but excellent balance, a really good mouth feel and great smoothness and no negative characteristics. 89 Points is without considering the QPR. This wine is easily available for under $20, and usually under $15. It's often available at professional events and things like that, but the new vintages are just raw. However, put an extra 10-15 years of bottle age on it and it becomes quite delicious. My wife, my son and I all agreed that it was a very nice wine. Since they ate seared sliced NY strip made into Bracciole and I used the same meat to make spicy Mexican stir fry made with a fresh hot pepper, and it worked for both of us, that's a good recommendation by itself. If I add in the QPR factor, I give it a couple more points. If you want a "cheap" Napa cab to lay down now for a decade, this is a good choice if they make it like they did in 2005.

1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
Red

2009 Scholium Project Babylon Tenbrink Vineyards

 California Petite Sirah more
Options

1/8/2022 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine: 93 points

100% Petite Sirah. Outstanding. Dark berry fruit. Roasted meat. Coffee. The fierce tannin is resolved and has sweetened some of the red fruit. Great depth. I have been drinking Babylon since the 2004 vintage. When we got a 2004 barrel sample for a remote tasting, a "civilian" friend said I should use the word "nyquil" to describe the head banging force. No more. It has all been converted into flavor. This wine is showing at we predicted a decade ago, and probably has 10 years or more before it peaks.

1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
  • Tasting notes: 1,272 notes on 946 wines

Loading wine details...
loading

×
×