4/28/2024 - Rbhan12 Likes this wine:

Lovely wine. Intense juicy citrus, lime peel, tons of flinty minerals, white and yellow florals.

Very nice GG that should age really well.

4/28/2024 - jaredoco Likes this wine:

Nose has robust black licorice, with some overripe cherry. Then on the palette some nice earthiness, some healthy lush moss and forest floor, oiliness, with a cherry and strawberry kicker. Acidity is great.

4/28/2024 - jviz wrote:

Same bottle as nutty08. I had the advantage of drinking a 16 Vatan last night, And if Sauvignon Blanc is at all your thing, this is very, very close in terms of quality. The label says 14.5% alcohol, but may be higher. I think it’s integrated just fine today. If that’s what it takes to achieve those Notes of guava, passionfruit, Alongside some honeydew melon, I’ll take it every time.

4/15/2024 - MN Wine Junkie Likes this wine:

I was looking forward to tasting this wine (released in 2023 due to fires in 2020) because I had purchased a few bottles of this even though I was leery of 2017 vintage. I am pleased to report they made a very nice, elegant and approachable wine in 2017! This is drinking nice right now, and will likely improve for another 5-7 years, but I don't think it has the structure to be as long lived as other Bella Oaks or Heitz (Bella Oaks) wines. I would drink this over the next 10-20 years.

The wine has a nice floral nose (actually, quite exquisite) with violets, fruit, potting soil and some anise and spice. The palate shows creamy dark and red fruit, some tobacco and graphite with a touch of sweet toasted oak. Tannins are silky and enough acidity to keep the fruit lively, but not sure if there is enough for considerable age. All in all, drinking great now, and as I plan on drinking my bottles in the next 10 to 15 years, I am not going to worry about it! This bottle is quite open now, and offers a very tasty and compelling wine for immediate consumption, but no hurry! Solid 95 and may slightly improve as tertiary flavors become more developed. However, I worry more about the acidity keeping the fruit going if aging more than 10-20 years. If you have multiple bottles, I would check in ever few years...that is my plan anyway!

4/28/2024 - Cjb25 Likes this wine:

First note on CT but this was too good to stay on the sidelines. Fragile cork but came out in one piece with an ah-so. Lemon, petrol, lanolin. Faint oxidative notes. Still super fresh and unreal acidity for a 23 year old white even after being open for 4 hours. Finish goes on for what seems like forever. Feels like this still has a lot to give with proper cellaring. One of the better whites from recent memory. Wouldn’t be surprised if this continues to improve over the next decade plus.
Bravo!

4/28/2024 - ajm2573 Likes this wine:

Lots of red fruit. Easy drinking cab. Great everyday drinker. Yum!

4/28/2024 - jviz wrote:

Appears to be a bottle with a good cork. Served with lamb and the pairing made the wine better than it would’ve otherwise been. Transparent, well bricked with notes of baked red fruit. Quite rustic, a bit of barnyard (not Brett). A little to the sour side, so not the most charming version of Magdelaine, but always a pleasure to taste.

4/28/2024 - al80813@gmail.com Likes this wine:

This is a long note. Sorry. TL;DR be patient with this wine and you’ll be rewarded.

Opened and decanted for an hour before pouring back into the bottle. 37% Touriga Nacional, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), 13% Tinto Cão, 9% Souzão, 4% Mourvèdre, 4% Grenache, 4% Counoise from the Red Mountain AVA in Washington State. Fermented in concrete and open top stainless steel before aging in 30-40% large new French oak vessels.

Deep garnet in the glass, candy-apple red at the edge of the glass. On the nose it was quite closed with cigar box, graphite, and some cooked red fruit peeking behind. On the palate it’s showing complexity but still shy, and still quite shy after an hour and a half of being open. On the palate it’s got sweet tobacco, lots of earth/herb, and mixed berries.

After 2hrs it’s showing savory herbs on the nose and shows brighter red cherry and strawberry than before. With more time it opens more decisively on the palate to ripe strawberry, blueberry, and that persistent sweet tobacco note, with a long coffee finish.

It’s on the fuller side of medium body, tannins were harsh and chewy initially but mellowed out after an hour. Not quite silky but they’re unobtrusive after some air. Acidity is medium.

Interesting project to grow Iberian grapes in Washington. I spoke to the winemaker who mentioned they now make this cuvee with 100% estate fruit and says lots of other folks are wisening to the potential of Iberian varietals in Washington. Great QPR at $30. Drink or hold, it’s not going to age for 40 years but it’s got enough acidity and tannins to rest for a bit. This is very nice after 2hrs in glass.

4/28/2024 - grossie Likes this wine:

Seems fully mature to me, maybe slightly late in evolution. Dark color, moderate opacity. Rich nose of forest garrigue and kirsch liqueur, a bit stoney too. I get the sense that it's old, some of the fruit is starting to tend to get some stewed qualities. Med+ bodied, flavor matches nose, but add in a bit of mint. Slight bite towards to back of the long finish. If it wasn't for the bite I would give this a couple of more points, though as it is this is very nice.

4/28/2024 - hebill wrote:

Aging nicely. Good for another 6-7 years or so.

4/21/2024 - gkarlsson Likes this wine:

We both liked this merlot-cabernet, with its mild tannins and complexity. It tasted like a classic Bordeaux.

4/28/2024 - jshufelt wrote:

Consistent with previous tasting notes.

4/28/2024 - mflesh wrote:

One year and 2 months later, this wine has opened up nicely. It's in the wheelhouse! Ready to go!

4/28/2024 - jonahfactor wrote:

Must be an off bottle, given other recent CT tasting notes. Cellar-stored and a deeper gold than expected. Dull nuttiness on the palate. I might venture that this one was corked.

4/28/2024 - CDT Likes this wine:

Tasted after a 45 minute decant. Dark ruby in colour with slightly restrained aromas of liquorice & leather, somewhat herbal (dill). On the palate, full bodied juicy & very tart black fruit, boysenberry/blackberry, raisin, jam, herbal, medium acidity, medium soft tannins with a long finish to pepper & leather. This wine is still bold & lively, & hasn’t really changed much in 2 years since tasting the previous bottle. Excellent!

4/28/2024 - tfesmgk Likes this wine:

Drinking great. Opened for 3 hours before drinking. Lots of dark fruit, integrated tannins but still present. Great steak wine.

4/25/2024 - ggruber66 wrote:

Not bad, not great. I will say it got a lot better after it opened up.

4/28/2024 - ElsaJ wrote:

Needs another year or so a little sharp acid. But ripe berries and citrus overpowering the forest floor - think it’ll balance in a bit

4/28/2024 - HenryCellar wrote:

Helen says too jammy. Brian says give it some time.

4/28/2024 - amaranta720 wrote:

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4/28/2024 - gkarlsson Likes this wine:

My partner liked this chardonnay so much that I didn’t tell him that it is a low-price wine from Lidl. It comes on a little too strong for me, but he liked its butteriness and standard chardonnay characteristics. I’m happy to keep him supplied, even more so because we have been disappointed by some “Reserve” and even “Grand Reserve” chardonnay wines from Trader Joes that are 2x and even 3x the price of this wine.

4/28/2024 - mzimberg Likes this wine:

Still mostly dark purple. Austere saddle leather and almost ripe plums. Lean and linear palate. Nice complexity with bell peppers over wild blueberries. Smooth and compellingly honest. The decently long finish brings out bakers chocolate and dark roast espresso.

4/28/2024 - dbkitc wrote:

I continue to be seriously impressed with this wine, an old-school, Chambolle lookalike. Pale ruby color that is now clear at the rim. The nose exudes notes of ripe cherries and strawberries dusted with fresh cut grass and some uplifting spice. Light bodied yet explosive on the palate with a defining acidity that ties everything together well. This is cool weather Pinot at a high level with fruit ripeness that is admirable. I’m really enjoying this bottle. Dont see it improving much yet is far from decline. (93)

4/28/2024 - bbq_grandcru Likes this wine:

Full body. Quite extracted. Fruity but one dimensional. Disjointed on mid palate and hugely tannic into the finish. Needs more time.

4/27/2024 - matiasox@gmail.com Likes this wine:

2 hour decant. Nose: intoxicating blackberry jam, chocolate covered cherries, cedar, leather, cassis, and a touch of green bell pepper. Palate: blackberries, charred oak, sandlewood, leather, slight greenery, smoooth, full body, velvety.

4/28/2024 - DanyMorcos Likes this wine:

Rounder, herbal and slightly more mineral version of the Listan Blanco. Begs for a nice hearty dish to cut through (creamy chicken situation).

Prefer the listan for its linear, crisp and easy drinkability.

4/27/2024 - Nothung Likes this wine:

Consistent with prior note

4/28/2024 - Ortega1780 wrote:

Lemon zest, stale musty bread on the nose, but not in the best way, some pear and green apple nose and palate, very effervescent, but coarse and noticeably less refined compared to cliquot - would pay more for a better experience next time but worth a shot as this seems hit or miss for price-

4/28/2024 - mmurph Likes this wine:

Another beautiful vintage. Always one of our favorites.

4/28/2024 - andrewdl Does not like this wine:

Just didn’t taste right.

4/28/2024 - andrewdl Likes this wine:

True OR Pinot

4/28/2024 - JaynPam Likes this wine:

A little soft, but nice fruity flavors.

4/28/2024 - denniswdern@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Wow!! Beautiful pale lemon color. Medium to pronounced aromas of lemon, pineapple, mango, spice and biscuit. High acid, medium to high alcohol, medium body. Pronounced flavors of lemon, pineapple, mango, baking spice and butterscotch. Super long finish, and beautifully balanced. Perhaps my favorite California Chardonnay.

4/27/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

Another delicious bottle of this wine which opened with a deep crimson robe of colour and a rich nose of blackcurrants, garnet plums, fruit cake, cedar and dark chocolate. The palate initially is rich and round with an initially deceptive glossiness that with time in the glass developed classic Paulliac austerity and line to match the layers of fruit. There's a touch of 82 about this wine suggesting that time will highlight the structure and complexity of this alongside the delicious fruit characters.

4/27/2024 - Mike Kopanski wrote:

The first thought that came to mind upon tasting this Chardonnay was light and precise. By precise I mean that almost everything this wine has to show us is readily available with just the first sip. There is intensity, but not too much. There is a refreshing hit of controlled acid, several orchard fruits and a bit of orange and tangerine. The mouthfeel and viscosity are spot on. It’s not a high scoring wine, or even very much complex. It just smoothly invites us to take another sip.

4/27/2024 - hprphf wrote:

Reductive, modern style with notable stem and spicy red fruit, oak very present. if a bit thin and clearly village. 91-92

4/28/2024 - Muledog71 Likes this wine:

Rebuy yes , for 40 champagne this was quite serviceable. Although there are 40$ sparklers to be had that are arguably better, though not champagne.

4/28/2024 - 1512tnw Likes this wine:

Still drinking well. Picked up from auction from a cellar for $20, so great QPR. Red fruits (cherry), hint of menthol.

4/27/2024 - Montrealron Likes this wine:

Two virtually perfect examples opened for a Vallana themed dinner at La Campagnola restaurant in Lasalle, Québec, only five days after arriving from Italy.
Decanted and put back in rinsed bottles six hours earlier.
Full rich and dark colour, more like a 15-20 year old wine.
Amazing nose of mixed berries, gentle sweet spices, flowers and precious woods.
Deep and delicious in the mouth, without any hint of deterioration, or anything lees than an incredible balance.
Truly an honour to the memory of Bernardo Vallana, perhaps the greatest winemaker of his generation.
Also served that evening, two bottles each of Castello di Montalbano 1964 (93) and Cinque Castelli Riserva 1961 (94).
In each pair, both bottles were totally consistent.

4/28/2024 - lewisrise Likes this wine:

Pale ruby with medium intensity, developing aromas of violet, blackberry, briar, Asian spice, cedar. This wine has medium alcohol,and acidity as well as body with fine medium tannins. This wine has medium intensity, flavors of blackberry, briar, cedar, asian spice and nutmeg with a medium finish. This is a good wine that should be drunk within the next year.

4/28/2024 - MS86 wrote:

One of my favourite regions though was disappointing. Quite closed and a bit hot on the palate. It did improve with food. This wine showed an odd combination of blueberry, tomato and stone minerality. Wouldn’t re buy.

4/28/2024 - bbq_grandcru Likes this wine:

Just way too young. Overpowering acidity and lemon notes. Much younger vs other 2020 Meursault including coche which is brawny and unrefined but still drinkable and enjoyable for where it is. This just isn’t quite drinkable yet. HOLD!

4/27/2024 - hprphf wrote:

PnP, seems like in the muted phase with less of the chalky mineral characters than expected, quite ripe, very good still. 92+

4/27/2024 - hprphf wrote:

Lightly reductive with decent mineral impacts, very good with hotpot. 92

4/15/2024 - MN Wine Junkie Likes this wine:

This started our Napa adventure, which began at Bella Oaks. Martin was nice enough to pour this so our palates could be warmed up and fresh! This is a quite serviceable Champagne and offers a great QPR. Nose showed brioche and straw with some sea breeze and hints of lemon zest. Palate showed toast with lots of citrus and tart apple and a streak of minerality (chalk and saline). A solid Champagne and a solid 92.

4/28/2024 - JM_MadTown Likes this wine:

Another amazing bottle of this wine, which we enjoyed last evening. However, there is one glass left that I am enjoying while writing this review.

As before, the wine came together quite well after it was open for an hour and warmed up from cellar temperature. Lots of red fruits, a little sour cherry at first that mellowed into more luscious raspberry and cherry fruit. It seems to have a number of years of life left. A very enjoyable Burgundy!

4/28/2024 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine:

Soft blackberry, plum, black pepper, spice and green bell pepper. The palate is quite rustic, yet with nice layered of dark black fruit, chocolate and spice, there is a little greeness which holds this wine back a little, the mid palate is soft and velvety yet the tannins are a little jagged more than I would like, I feel this should balance out overtime. Let’s see. The finish delicate and slightly chocolatey. 2017 was a tough year for California, this certainly does much better than the majority of Napa.

4/28/2024 - amaranta720 Likes this wine:

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4/23/2024 - drjb wrote:

Another corked bottle of this otherwise excellent wine !

4/28/2024 - Jeff Kohn Likes this wine:

Lovely nose of dark fruit - cherries, plums, blackberries, some chocolate and vanilla, and faint floral undertones. The palate follows from the nose, with cherries, blackberries, strawberries plums, and chocolate. Juicy acidity in the mid-palate, with a medium+ finish. I agree with the others, drinking really nicely niw.