| Wine Type | Vintage Name Variety Locale | Date Posted Score Helpful Comments More... |
|---|---|---|
| Red |
2019 Abadia Retuerta Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León Cuvée El PalomarTempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more |
5/23/2023 - GQG Likes this wine: 96 pointsFantastic! Ready to drink upon opening and on day 2 even better. Full-bodied savory blueberry and raspberry fruit, smooth tannins, balanced acidity, and a nice long finish leaves me wanting nothing more at the moment. I'd put the enjoyment factor of this cuvee up against many $200+ Napa wines, so it's a deal. Bought in Spain for around $55. Aged 2 years in a mix of new French and American barrels, then aged another year in bottle. Produced from the oldest vines in the vineyard. |
| Red |
2013 Durant and Booth ReserveNapa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more |
7/28/2022 - GQG Likes this wine: 97 pointsWonderful wine that's so fine to drink. See previous notes, it was more of the same tonight. Never tire of the morphing character of this Bordeaux blend. |
| Red |
2013 Durant and Booth ReserveNapa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more |
1/8/2022 - GQG wrote: 97 pointsJust a really solid showing tonight, besting another of my favorites, a 2012 Bevan Wildfoote also opened. And that's no small feat! Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (2) |
| Red |
2018 Château Ducru-BeaucaillouSt. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend more |
11/18/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 97 points2018 Classified Bordeaux Tasting -- 39 Wines (Old Woodward Cellar Event, Michigan): Full-bodied mouthcoating flavor bursts out of the glass at the attack, fills the palate from top to bottom, doesn't ever let go, and finishes long and strong. It does so with a purity of sweet (but not too sweet) dark fruit, structured yet smooth tannins, and buoyant freshness that all seems very ebullient and alive. It's powerful and accessible which makes it a blast to drink young. 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (6) |
| Red |
2016 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon Monsieur ÉtainRutherford more |
9/9/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 96 pointsFirst M Etain and it made a really positive impression. Smooth and silky with a perfectly clean nose of cassis and a fullness on the palate that never got heavy at all. Judicious oak is well balanced with pure fruit, earth, and perfect acidity that really delivers through the lengthy finish. It's an elegant and well made Napa blend that hits all the right notes for me as I sip into the evening. 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1) |
| Red |
2019 Caterwaul Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valleymore |
8/31/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 93 pointsAnother bottle, another review. Well, sort of... it's become more like a stream of consciousness experience, otherwise known as rambling. It's a bit lazy, not much better than my last Caterwaul review that simply incorporated other reviewer's work with my stamp of approval added. Lazy. Ok, don't expect any more now other than a wee little story. TL;DR: get yo'self some Wildroots CoastalBerry Trail Mix at Costco and put it out next to the red wine. 7 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1) |
| Red |
2019 Caterwaul Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valleymore |
8/20/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 93 pointsReally good after a 2 hour decant, high QPR at $49, others have described it well at this early stage. Give it some air time for sure. Thomas Rivers Brown winemaker |
| Red |
2013 Bacio DivinoNapa Valley SuperTuscan Blend more |
7/18/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 94 pointsPure dark cherry and cassis flavors with a nice, sweet smoothness coats the palate with fullness from top to bottom. Decanting for a couple of hours delivers the smoothness. There's plenty of freshness and drive across the palate and on through the lengthy finish. 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (11) |
| Red |
2012 Raymond GenerationsNapa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon more |
7/13/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 93 pointsThis smooth Cabernet is showing impressively right now. Lively acidity, black cherry, blueberry, leather, and dry tannin with a bit of sweetness. It's a balanced and delicious wine. Decanted for an hour or so but it's ready at PnP. Wish I had more than a bottle left. |
| Red |
2016 Quivet Cellars Syrah Hulda Block Las Madres VineyardCarneros more |
7/9/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 94 pointsWith a 2 hour decant this beauty is hitting the palate with rich and full-bodied raspberry, dark cherry, cacao, white pepper, lively acidity, smooth tannins, and finishes with awesome length. With a 4+ hour decant it just goes deeper, darker, and more delicious. 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1) |
| Red |
2015 Sterling Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon IridiumNapa Valley more |
6/30/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 93 pointsA lifted, floral nose is followed by red fruit with mocha and notes of oak and graphite that expand over 2 hours of decanting, and there's a nice push across the palate from the acidity. Very round and dusty tannins are well balanced by the red fruit that turns a bit darker over time in the glass. I sorta get why some other reviews mentioned a green element but it's not bell pepper, herbal, mulchy, or anything objectionable for me. Instead it comes across as a part of the "Rutherford dust" kind of, sort of... in a non-descript way... and may be from a fraction of whole cluster grape stems used in the fermentation. The floral nose and the freshness both support my whole stem guess. Anyway, the green element is not strong and will diminish further over time in the bottle. 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (16) |
| Red |
2015 Marauder Wines Dark ArtsSonoma County Red Blend more |
6/29/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 94 pointsThis wine is killing it right now. I likened it to Thor/Avengers 3 years ago (young and cartoonish, but worthy), now it's like Deadpool (mature and awesome). It's just as big, full, sweet, smooth, and delicious as a Sonoma blend can be anywhere near this $40 price. While it's not a Bevan Ontogeny or Kinsella Jersey Boys, it's 90%+ of those at a killer price. The anti-flavor folks should just keep moving along. Thanks, Kirk Venge! Glad I backed up the truck and loaded up. Great at PnP (though a bit sweet) and needs a 2 hour decant to really strut its stuff. |
| Red |
2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon CarterNapa Valley more |
6/20/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 96 pointsFollowing Bad's and #1's 4 hour decant recommendation, I'm joining with them in confirming that it's kicking a** right now as Carters so often do in the early years. Not that it's a powerful behemoth that needs to be tamed by decanting, though, it actually stays in its lane from PnP sip to swallow. That would be the fast lane as it's no slouch! Right from PnP I found it delicious and accessible. Big, but not heavy, and its dark fruit, earth, minerals, and smooth texture grabs on in the attack, expands mid-palate with plenty of energy, and then eventually lets go after a lengthy finish. I'm impressed at this early stage. 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (7) |
| Red |
2019 Venge Vineyards Scout's HonorNapa Valley Zinfandel Blend, Zinfandel more |
6/19/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 91 pointsTypical juiciness and smoke flavor for Scout's Honor, although this vintage seems more pure, balanced, and fresh than recent vintages. What's notable with this 2019 is its full flavor offers notions of fruit clarity and energy rather than coming across as more opaque and dense. |
| Red |
2015 Scarlett Wines Cabernet Sauvignon ReserveRutherford more |
5/5/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 96 pointsBadmonkey nails the current state of this wine... currants, black cherry, blackberry delivered with purity and spice with a rich, round, charming, sweet singular mid-palate. It's a bit more sweet than the 2016 Carter Three Kings I had last night but still under control. For me the sweetness complements the overall roundness of the wine and doesn't drift anywhere close to the jammy label. 96 score and down to my last bottle of this old friend. |
| Red |
2016 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon VineyardOakville more |
5/4/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 97 pointsPure cassis/blackberry and deep red fruit, powerfully delivered in a structured package of smooth tannins and good tension that is in a great place right now. It needs two hours for the initial sweetness and hot finish to dissipate, and then it starts bringing on the charms. 6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3) |
| Red |
2013 QTR Cabernet SauvignonHowell Mountain more |
5/2/2021 - GQG wrote: 93 pointsA 1 hour decant releases a delicious and elegant old world profile with nods to the modern world. |
| Red |
2018 Aperture Cabernet Sauvignon Soil SpecificSonoma County more |
4/26/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 94 pointsThis is the first of my 2018's to hit the ground running on opening, an easy 92 score to start. 4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3) |
| Red |
2014 Macauley Cabernet Sauvignon ReserveNapa Valley more |
2/7/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 95 pointsIt's Superbowl night, so what wine to pick? Really, it should be beer, but I'm doing the keto thing, so it's wine. Fine wine. I went with Macauley and Venge, like Brady and Gronkowski, a good bet, a sure thing! Starts off with a clean nose and hits on the attack with a plum note that after an hour in the decanter morphs into a seamless and viscous blueberry and raspberry mid-palate with expansion into the nice stretched out finish. |
| Red |
2018 Aviara Prana Cabernet Sauvignon Block M5Atlas Peak more |
1/10/2021 - GQG wrote: 88 pointsThis wine caught my eye because it's sourced from the famous M5 block of Stagecoach. The vineyard's previous owner Jan Krupp said, "[My favorite] might be the flagship M5, which takes its name from [my] favorite block of Stagecoach cabernet sauvignon. It’s our most complex block. The wines age forever. Of all of [them] this one sets my heart on fire." 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1) |
| Red |
2011 Abadia Retuerta Selección Especial Sardon de DueroVino de la Tierra de Castilla y León Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more |
1/3/2021 - GQG Likes this wine: 92 pointsIntegrated layers of dark cherry, blueberry, and cedar are delivered with freshness across the palate. Two hours of decanting makes it very drinkable. I enjoyed the visit to the winery and hotel in Sardon de Duero (west of Ribera del Duero) in 2018. |
| Red |
2016 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon VineyardOakville more |
12/31/2020 - GQG Likes this wine: 99 pointsSmooth, full, deep, pure, dark, lengthy, and complex, but a bit less intense than the last bottle in 2019. Really delicious after a 1 hour decant, and it continued to drink amazingly well for 9 hours. I shaved a point off in its current state as I miss the intensity of years past. It's got the structure to go years more and it may yet reclaim its triple digit score. |
| Red |
2014 Bacio Divino Cabernet Sauvignon Janzen Cloudy's VineyardNapa Valley more |
12/22/2020 - GQG Likes this wine: 96 pointsImpassioned, unreserved, and forceful on opening, it's delicious from the get-go and 4.5 hours later it's smoothed out and has opened up beautifully. Solid depth and tannins blend full throttle with dark fruit, licorice, and minerality, delivering it all through the finish with energy and avoiding any semblance of flab. Drink now with a long decant or hold as this wine has years left in the tank. |
| Red |
2013 Caspar Estate Cabernet SauvignonRutherford more |
11/25/2020 - GQG Likes this wine: 93 pointsI've had a couple of these so far and have posted my thoughts. Right here on this page my prior self told my future self to give this 2013 vintage another year. With adult restraint I listened to myself and I waited. Wine don't care what I say, it's still acting like a teenager. |
| Red |
2018 Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras VineyardNapa Valley more |
11/24/2020 - GQG wrote: 94 pointsIt's time to conclude the bottle shock test after letting this bottle sit a month in storage. Conclusion: well, this test, while interesting, didn't provide proof either way whether bottle shock is real or not. However, this bottle definitely outperformed last month's bottle, so there's a data point for y'all. 6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3) |
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- Tasting notes: 244 notes on 184 wines
