4/24/2024 - afields wrote:

Like the Ravines Chardonnays, this is an excellent qpr chardonnay that’s proof of concept for the finger lakes as a source of, at the very least, quality entry level chardonnay in a classically cool climate / Bourgogne appellation level style. Less oak than the standard Ravines bottle, closer in style to their Argetsinger bottling. Lean/M- body, nice but not aggressive acid, mandarin orange and orange blossom and modest mineral salinity. Can’t ask for more than this from a $20 Chardonnay…

4/24/2024 - khmark7 wrote:

Serious high toned red. Can easily last another 10 years. This is drinking fine now, and will remain a good food pairing due to it's acidity. A good pairing with grilled beef.

4/24/2024 - csimm wrote:

Great right now. I mean, it’s the friendly GIII, so how could it not be?! Concentration and balance are especially notable in 2021, with a refinement that really showcases a sophisticated side of uber yummy fruit that envelops and enlivens the palate. Chocolate covered cherries, with a spit of mineral notes keeps everything in check without getting too juicy. With air, it becomes more even keeled and higher riding, signaling a call for some additional bottle age. It won’t take long before this blossoms, but give it a couple-three years to form into a raving ball of fun-filled fantasticism.

4/24/2024 - csimm wrote:

Like a hybrid of Cousins and Beatrix, the Spinning Plates offers a similar profile to its two brothers (or, Cousins…?), with a concentration that is dialed-down but is more tannic and linear in its current state. The primary fruit gets redder with air, with flecks of alcohol and vanilla darting through the core. Like the GIII, the Spinning Plates offers up juicy fruit but shows its youth upfront at the moment. While I’m sure Spinning Plates is designed to impress early on, I do think a few years in bottle will amalgamate its flavors even better. Put this on the table with a 64oz. ribeye and consider yourself all set for some glorious meat sweats. ‘Merica!

4/16/2024 - Yassine23 Likes this wine:

Lovely

4/24/2024 - csimm wrote:

A red fruit athletic marathon runner, with crimson and black cherry, red and purple plum, saline, red apple skin, and tinges of vanilla. I thought this was Beatrix perhaps, but was a bit dumbfounded at what this wine could be. It was riding higher and redder than any Cousins I’d previously sampled, with this 2021 offering amazing energy and honed focus. The acidity here is poppin’ for sure. If you like ‘em with a smack, pop these now, otherwise, patient minds would recommend holding these for a few years minimum. Time is on your side here. Tons of lift and vibrancy with this jumping spider monkey.

I favor the 2019, but this 2021 has a lot of potential. Hold for now.

4/18/2024 - Yassine23 Likes this wine:

Intense smoke and bbq notes, then the fruit popped up. Lovely

4/24/2024 - csimm wrote:

Deeper than the day is long, this was a shot across the bow with a concentration cannon that blasted flavor and depth right to the mid-palate, diving even deeper and with more fortitude as it cascaded to the gushing finish. This is Oakville fruit on full display, with rich soil elements injected through the black fruit core. If you like To Kalon, this is quintessential TK all day long. This was one of my favorite showings of the entire Vice Versa 2021s this go-around, even slightly eclipsing the M7 at the moment, simply because the TK was much more flamboyant, chewy, and giving compared to the coiled up M7. Drink the TK now and tomorrow and the next day and the next day… Awesome performance. It’s big, rich, and concentrated, but perfectly composed. 98-100 points.

4/7/2024 - Yassine23 Likes this wine:

Excellent, room for further development of course but showing well

4/21/2024 - M2quared Likes this wine:

This was a wonderfully well balanced Zin with notes of dark cherry and blackberry. There was just enough tannin left to compliment the subtle spice on the palate. This wine went very well with a meatloaf dinner. While a bit lighter than I normally like with Zin I will definitely invest in a few more bottles.

4/24/2024 - csimm wrote:

A pretty wine, with violets and juicy red/purple fruit popping on the palate. Here the nose is muted, but the affable flavors skip along the front end upon first sip, marking the path of a wine that is, though a bit young an juvenile at present, something to keep an eye on over the next few years. With some short term cellaring, I sense this will blossom beautifully. It’s a little primary compared to its 2021 Vice Versa siblings.

4/24/2024 - csimm wrote:

A full bodied, masculine front end kicks off a rush of deep and dark black cherry, black raspberry, and soil notes. A pine needle flavor adds further interest on the finish. This is a broad stroke of a wine, and perhaps even beefier than previous vintages. I sense this will chillax a bit with a couple years in bottle. It’s pure and incredibly focused for such a shouldery specimen. Hold for a couple of years.

4/23/2024 - paul195 wrote:

3 of 15 to come

4/24/2024 - oakville72 Likes this wine:

I am not a Merlot fan, but this 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc blend pushes all the right buttons. Fragrant nose with plenty of oak. In this case, the oak complements but doesn't overwhelm the wine, like a food dish that is accented properly by herbs and spices. Still young yet quite attractive now. An excellent value for a wine with the name "Pomerol" in it.

4/24/2024 - DBenke wrote:

Drinking very nice.

4/24/2024 - csimm wrote:

Clementine, lime, white travertine, and a long lemony finish mark the latest vintage of the 2021 Platt Chardonnay. It is both vibrant and full, with energy and acidity that fully encompass the back of the jaw. This is a fitting addition to the Platt lineage and does everything right to provide succulence and vibrancy in a gorgeous yellow citrus package. Drink now and over the next few years.

4/24/2024 - Bbrown82 Likes this wine:

This is a real solid single vineyard Aussie Chardonnay. Lemon, oak, slight butter. Medium acidity and medium body. 92 points.

4/23/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Home Dinner. This is a delicious riesling in classic Australian 'dry spatlese' style with a nod to Moselle 'feinherb'. There is a lovely line of lime and white stone fruit here with plenty of zest and minerality to a nicely balanced finish. There is also plenty of dry extract and grip here suggesting an interesting evolution ahead.

4/24/2024 - cos65 Likes this wine:

Dark inky (opaque) ruby black.
Ripe dark berry fruit, still with moderate tannins, but the fruit makes this quite approachable.
Quite tasty now, probably better with time.

4/24/2024 - Mr_Jinx Likes this wine:

Nice notes of dark fruit and spice, but felt a little thin. Would have benefitted from more tannin.

4/24/2024 - AllRed wrote:

Decanted half an hour and served with Flannery dry aged strips. Purplish color with aromas of blackberry, plum, blue fruit, sappy herbs and loam. Medium-bodied with soft tannins and flavors of currants, mocha and fresh herbs. Medium+ finish. Excellent for the price.

4/24/2024 - Condrieu82 Likes this wine:

Mose is deep with black fruits and mulberries, lavender even. Medium acidity; deep, full-bodied and exploding with blueberries and bramble. Some forest floor notes, but also cocoa, white pepper, and a pleasantly oaky, long ending. Medium+ tannins. Still young, but so delicious already. Hold 2-3 years for even better results. Excellent!

4/24/2024 - Rcapria Likes this wine:

wow for the money this hits all the right notes! chocolate overlays and filled with dark fruits...soft tannins and a nose that was beaming with a cornucopia of fruit aromas....

4/23/2024 - drjb wrote:

Cork taint in extremis.

4/24/2024 - WoodieBayArea wrote:

not the best "les Clos" i've tasted but good enough given the $80 price tag... a night ago so no details

4/23/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Home Dinner. Another fine mature bottle of this wine which opened with a deep crimson colour and a fine nose of red cherries, raspberries, Asian spice and red orange zest. The palate is medium weight with a lovely core of rich red fruits and a fine background of spice, citrus zest and limestone that persisted nicely. The balance and purity evident tonight has come with age and deserves that extra point.

4/24/2024 - Joelene wrote:

Delicious, drinking nicely.

4/24/2024 - WoodieBayArea wrote:

really nice mid-range Chablis from Fevre... classic on the palate with good acidity, citrus fruit and some minerality... almost tasted some oak here (but just a tiny bit??), wonder if this came from tank or had some barrel on it???... anyone know?... good quality for the price

4/24/2024 - WoodieBayArea wrote:

this was "in your face", and then noticed ABV was 14.7%... not surprised at all... sad cuz the purply fruit and an earthy background was nice, but the volume was on 10 when I would have preferred 4... oh well, thank goodness that the bulk of CA cab producers (at least those that went overboard starting around 2000) have really started to taper back... which is APPRECIATED (by me at least)... if you like FULL FULL body, this is for you

4/24/2024 - snarfglk Likes this wine:

nice wine, 85% CF, 15% Merlot
I liked it, but certainly not a 93 or 94 point wine.

4/24/2024 - jaydriggers wrote:

This is too sweet for my personal taste. I prefer this label/winery’s regular 2022 bottle over this grande reserve old vine.

4/24/2024 - WineTraveler42 Likes this wine:

I was surprised by this 2017. Very drinkable right now. Solid performance with all primary and secondary aromatics. Subtle but very nice. Drinks well without food. Nice go to for an easy evening.

4/22/2024 - ricknat1 wrote:

Premoxed

4/24/2024 - WoodieBayArea wrote:

on pnp, was very bright and high-toned, great nose (dirty / gritty), and red fruit in the background, only on night two did I notice it being hot (then saw 15% ABV!! on the label)... still didn't have the 'in your face' kinda palate that drives me crazy... pretty nice but should have waited another decade or more

4/24/2024 - Gas Station Wine Guy Likes this wine:

This will be a sublime wine with the proper cellar time. Very tight right now, but lots of sex appeal. This will easily be a 30 year wine.

4/24/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Full disclosure, I am homer for aged Montelena so take this note with my bias in mind.

PnP, ready to go on open, even better after 60 min.

On the nose, medicinal spice, hint of barnyard, eucalyptus, sour cherry, mushrooms.

On the palate, red fruited delight, elegant and balanced, charcoal, red cherry, green olive (a positive even though I hate green notes), cigar box, saddle leather, hint of chocolates. Oak? Tannins? Not today.

This bottle was amazing and everything I want in an aged Montelena. At age 28, dare I say this is in the zone. Need to find more!

4/24/2024 - robertp57 Likes this wine:

I still like it a lot. Aged less than a year since I last tasted, but really very nice

4/24/2024 - lake.vino Likes this wine:

Remaining fresh if mature. Green apple, iodine, leesy, oyster shell, mushroom. Mineral. Long finish. Good and serious. Bit of lemon. Grapefruit.

4/24/2024 - mmurph Likes this wine:

Fantastic wine at an amazing price. Highly recommend!

4/24/2024 - Markie_Sharkie Likes this wine:

Nice minerality. Good alternative to Sauvignon Blanc without being as bright.

4/24/2024 - Mleh Likes this wine:

This was a stunning barbaresco, and based on the tasting notes here and from the critics my expectations were sky high. On open, aromas of cherry, earth, rose and some other floral notes. Palate was same as above plus a little chocolate and some woodsy/savory note. What was special though was the intensity of these flavors and aromas. I don’t think I’ve ever had a Nebbiolo with such density. At first I thought the tannins were not that strong, but after sipping the bottle over more or less a whole day my conclusion is that the tannins are actually pretty robust but the initial intensity of flavor was so much that the tannins were less noticeable. In fact, after about eight hours of air it essentially tasted like a really good bottle of Barolo right after opening. It had cherries, earth and rose with very robust tannins, but the intensity of flavors was much less than when I had just opened the bottle.

I think my conclusion is, either open and decant right away and then drink immediately or keep it for like ten years. But given how amazing it is right away, I would say just drink it. I have five more bottles so I’ll probably keep a couple for a while just to see what happens.

4/24/2024 - cmaximus02 Likes this wine:

Similar to 52 and 54, the color is more transparent than most california bordeaux varieties and there is plenty of acid and low alcohol. But the fruit was still ripe and sweet enough to drink this both with (preferred) and without food. Overall a very nice, easy drinking albeit simple wine

4/24/2024 - PDX-S wrote:

PnP had over 3-4 hours out of a Gabriel Glas.

A very smoky and flinty nose that does not blow off over a few hours. There is a little minerality detectable underneath the smoke.

Composed and round in the mouth, the wine is lean, blending a little lemon and nickel. It shows nicely upfront and then drops off sharply after the mid palate hits. Hard pressed to purchase again after this particular bottle.

4/23/2024 - t_moderne wrote:

Pop and pour.
Glasvin Expression stem

Ruby color.
Nose offers red fruit and spice noyltes (cinnamon and hint of nutmeg). Earty element too.
Fresh and energetic on the intro. Shows an earthy profile with the red berry fruit. That earthiness adds some depth and weight.
Good crisp finish.

4/24/2024 - oakville72 Likes this wine:

Intriguing Pouilly-Fuissé. Deeply gold in color for the AOP. Very much the product of the production choices as what the vineyard offers. In many ways a Meursault. Fruit is light but complexity is long. Definitely needs time to integrate. A tasty conundrum. Wait a few years to try it again.

4/24/2024 - jasonjames Likes this wine:

4/24/2024 - henryfriendly Likes this wine:

Big anise on the nose, with some leather and cherries. Bright acid, a hint of something ferrous on the palate. Decent length, but definitely a wine that needs food to show its best now.

4/24/2024 - AndreRibeiroChaves Likes this wine:

Fantastic Bordeaux Blanc! Robust, fruity (lots of pineapple), peppery, lively acidity! Great buy.

4/24/2024 - lazy Likes this wine:

Pale straw. Smelled mango, pineapple, kiwi, and nettle; the taste is end to end fruit, adding some tangerine to the above. Medium-minus mouthfeel, balanced acidity with the fruit, good intensity, and a long fruit finish. Great stuff here.

4/22/2024 - spendergast Likes this wine:

Decanted 2 hours. This wine has evolved nicely over the past 10 years since my last tasting. Notes of cassis, black raspberry, blueberry, leather and hint of spice. Tannins are soft and well integrated with long finish.