5/20/2024 - Coachron13 Likes this wine:

Two hour decant. Even more would work because it took an hour more to really smooth out. Excellent then, with considerable upside over next 5 years. Big wine as expected with cab, petit verdot and tannat being the major contributors.

5/20/2024 - JimSlatin Likes this wine:

We really enjoyed this wine at this stage; Nice stone fruit, white flower, and a touch of spice; The last one I had 3 year ago was a touch too floral and acidic to where it was a little out of balance, Today it has come together nicely.

5/18/2024 - swoop71 Likes this wine:

Still an interesting Pinot Noir but the 2018 is now just past its peak

5/20/2024 - Aravind Asok wrote:

Pop and pour. Gorgeous nose with guava, peach and lime. On the palate: lacking some midpalate acidity, but nice density and played very well with more acidic fare. Solid acid on the finish, which shows some heat. A very nice btl with the right food pairing (we did harissa chickpeas and rice).

5/16/2024 - swoop71 Likes this wine:

Crisp and refreshing with a nice balance of citrus, grass and tropical fruit

5/20/2024 - mehalchin wrote:

Very good QPR at $19

5/20/2024 - vintage_whine wrote:

Shrill acid but comes to life with an hour of air. Starts earthy and dusty, and then unfolds to rose and black cherry and apricot. Fuller bodied and competitive with older pommard

3/31/2024 - Jeffyboy wrote:

light lemon clear and clean colour. nose: basalt and limestone in the first attack - very mineral. later apples and tangerine. Fresh but nor very intense nor interesting. taste: high acidity and mineral-apple-lemon mix. Medium (+) finish with lime notes. Crisp, fresh but lacks a bit of complexity.

5/20/2024 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine:

Prior bottle was 22 months ago and my notes were roughly consistent, but this bottle was a small step down from my prior one. Black and red cherry notes on the nose as well as a good amount of spices and some earth notes as well. Medium bodied with a mixture of black and red cherry, but not quite as open or expressive as previously. Tart cherry, spices, earth, tannins and acidity on the back. Structural qualities seemed a bit more dominant here than in my prior bottle, even after being open for 2+ hours. I'll plan to open another bottle later this year and confirm if this is a temperature thing, a time open thing, if the wine is simply in an odd place or if this truly is where the wine is today.

5/20/2024 - PourMeSomeMore wrote:

Bummer, badly corked. Hubby smelled the tainted cork from 10 feet away.

5/20/2024 - ChrisJoyceWine Does not like this wine:

ok, I’m a Level 2 Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers and I’m also a winemaker in Saint Helena (Napa valley) since 2013 and this wine tastes like crap! I absolutely LOVE my SB’s but this wine is icky, syrupy sweet. Pineapple dominated the day. Imagine a Mai tai at some dive bar in Honolulu. No acidity, no citrus (lime, grapefruit) or lemongrass normally associated with SB. After each taste (and a water break to cleanse my palate) I got this persistent mouthfeel almost closely related to a gasoline infused Riesling on a bad day. At the end of a tasting , you want a complex tasting indicating all flavors, aromas and mouthfeels come together in a beautiful harmony and this wine definitely lacked that, sadly.

5/20/2024 - PourMeSomeMore Likes this wine:

Still a youngster. After about 3 hours of decanting, it begins to open up and start to give the beautiful Etude juicy savory richness with a lengthy polished tannin finish.

5/20/2024 - pdadams66 Likes this wine:

Dark red center, red/purple rim (still fairly youthful).
Crushed rocks, fresh crushed damsons, bow rosin.
Smooth, pureed berries, great fruit, good acidity, touch of rubber and green, very long.
Drinking very well (a touch better on day 2), would last for a few more years but the combination of mature fruit and acidity is excellent now.

5/20/2024 - r4Cali Likes this wine:

100% Cab Franc. Had for son's graduation celebration. Loved by all.

5/20/2024 - Hamersly wrote:

Still plenty of structure, just right with a good lasagna.

5/20/2024 - simkodam wrote:

Another really good 99 cab. PnP and just delightful. Vibrant. Berry fruit still prominent and tannins are integrated so this wine is smooth and good with or without food. Such a delight! Finish is long

5/20/2024 - tjb12 Likes this wine:

Developing some bottle age notes but still quite fresh. Really nice with Vietnamese shrimp rolls

5/20/2024 - @sebastienwine wrote:

Tons of brett on the nose upon opening. Left it overnight and was happily surprised by its freshness the next day. While it still has notes of sweat it’s mostly wet earth and black plums now. The palate is juicy and spicy with medium tannins.

5/13/2024 - r4Cali Likes this wine:

Nice 16 y/o Burgundy

5/20/2024 - r4Cali Likes this wine:

Punches way above its weight. Absolutely loved this. Beautiful color and nose of red fruits. A lot of flavors but super focused and easy to drink.

5/20/2024 - juffer Likes this wine:

Nose of dried cherry, prune skins, amaro, slight coconut presumably from the wood. Rich mouth, though not raisined. Good acidity and sweet but not over the top fruit impressions on the finish along with some chocolate.

5/20/2024 - Vino Rhino wrote:

Very ripe fruit forward

5/20/2024 - jsander Likes this wine:

Beautiful. Smooth. Drinking so well.

5/20/2024 - whits Likes this wine:

Aromatic with scents of raspberries, cherry candy and soy, silky smooth, broad yet disciplined, fires off flavors of plum, cherry, mushroom and bay leaf, great savoury floor, pretty open, expands in the glass with air, tasty

5/20/2024 - robmatic wrote:

Intense raspberry and herbal flavored concoction, this is still very vibrant, youthful, and flamboyant.

5/20/2024 - tjin Likes this wine:

A fragrant bouquet of graphite and cedar gives way to a medium-bodied palate with notes of cherry and oak. Very smooth with a silky finish.

5/20/2024 - robmatic wrote:

Excellent. Tons of fruit character, and still drinking fresh and youthful.

5/21/2024 - 2caveman Likes this wine:

Consistent excellence from this bottling. Any edges smoothed out now. Ideal food wine

5/20/2024 - WineNerd76 Likes this wine:

Medium plus ruby in color; black cherries, raspberries, and tabacco on the nose; high acidity, high tannins; tastes like candied cherries, hibiscus, and crushed gravel with a long finish. Nellie likes it, and so do I.

5/20/2024 - Buff Tannen, USXFel Presidente Likes this wine:

Watermelon rind, cinnamon and orange, the raisin and smoke notes of the malbec provide the difficulty this forum needs to respect the bubbles, which happen to be dry. Feels weird to call a rosé serious, and yet here it is

5/17/2024 - crewald wrote:

Does *not* go with Texas barbecued ribs. Shared with Rick Dehmel at Sportsman's weekend. Improved as the ribs faded.

5/20/2024 - GregBates Likes this wine:

Yummy

5/20/2024 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:

Ripe, juicy, luscious and delicious. Blood plum and cherry fruits. Creamy through the mid. Layers of flavour. Some tangy acidity. Simple, easy going and versatile.

5/20/2024 - IDKDavid Likes this wine:

Nice little village wine. My first experience with JM Boillot, though I've had wines from his family members. This was still very primary, though tannins may have mellowed a tad. Nice deep ruby color. Med intensity nose that was pleasant with dark red fruits and a little spice. Palate confirmed the dark red fruits - Tart cranberry, dark cherry, black plum, cinnamon, etc. It's fairly medium bodied, has a nice acidity and mellow tannins. This could get a little better once more of the tertiary flavors emerge.

5/20/2024 - mmiller94 Likes this wine:

Cassis, black cherry, some black plum, just a hint of dried fruit, very balanced tobacco and vanilla notes from the barrel, and bay thyme, graphite, and a bit of violet round things out. Velvety tannins and a bright acid add lots of structure. While I don’t think this is one for the long haul, I would be very curious what this turns into in 10 years.

5/20/2024 - df1962 wrote:

PnD let air for 1hr.

Consistent with previous notes. Great balance with elegance and complexity.

5/20/2024 - df1962 wrote:

PnD let air for 1hr.

Fabulous. Up there with previous vintages.

5/20/2024 - FoMoCo Likes this wine:

Wonderful wine - even better on day 2.

5/20/2024 - PIntag wrote:

14.1% abv.
I think Nutty08 described this perfectly about this being in an awkward spot. It's definitely not bad and a pretty good drink, but this needs more time to express itself. It is bright, red-fruited, and energetic, but the tannin is prominent and the fruit is in the background with acidity sticking out a bit. This seems to me to be a classically structured "old school" kind of Napa Cab that will need at least 5 more years to be in a good drinking window. I liked this quite a bit, but was not completely satisfied as it was wound up and wouldn't really unfurl. This will never be a powerful, attention-grabbing Napa Cab, but it could turn into a really compelling and detailed Cabernet. Tasted over 2 evenings with very little change on the second night (vacuum sealed overnight in the wine fridge).

5/19/2024 - JoeDwine wrote:

At La Masser…..
With custard cream puffs.
Very linear and straight forward light honey, pears abd nuts and not too sweet good balance

5/20/2024 - Wildgrant wrote:

I’m sure the maker didn’t intend for it to go this long but actually it’s still quite decent. Rather Sherry like.

5/20/2024 - Pedroel Likes this wine:

Bordeaux varietals, only; no Sangiovese. Minimal Italian terroir. It has a bit more fruit than many French Left/Right and a bit less than WA or CA…and less extraction than a Napa blend (to its benefit). Tannins are fine and well integrated. The finish is a strong suit.

5/20/2024 - Mootsie Likes this wine:

You can pick up the Grenache component. It lifts the wine a bit, but overall the wine lacks character. Matt used to make some good Granddaddy Grenache blends back in the day and I loved those. This one just doesn’t go anywhere. Not bad, just not memorable.

5/17/2024 - connorpksmith Likes this wine:

Gaja Vertical Celebration: PnP for an hour. Didn't take many notes on this. As is always with my experience with this wine, it is suave and juicy, boasting an undeniable charm. The palate offers typical strawberry notes and sweeter red fruit tones, yet it also possesses a sneaky concentration of dark red fruit, delicate spices, and herbaceous minty notes. While it may lack the vibrancy I appreciate in the '19, '17, or '16 vintages, I am truly splitting hairs at this point – this could simply be a reflection of my personal preference. Fabio's consistency in crafting the exceptional Monvigliero Cru across recent challenging vintages is a testament to his skill. 94-95

5/20/2024 - Wildgrant Likes this wine:

A very nice basic Riesling.Served with steamed crab legs. Good flavour, length, as nice as you’d want for the price.

5/20/2024 - jmcmchi Likes this wine:

Black fruit and Smokey cedar on nose

Dark acidity over smooth tannins, nicely balanced juice and bite, excelled with coq au vin. Medium body, lots of life left

5/3/2024 - Mannyrodp Likes this wine:

Nose under stated black fruit , medium body , balanced tannins, dry and not too acidic , overall extremely enjoyable, drank at a party , very young wine that should be solid in 4-6 years

5/20/2024 - THECORKDORK Likes this wine:

Tasty Etna red. Brunello like.

5/10/2024 - queenscellar Likes this wine:

Delicious flavor, fruit forward

5/20/2024 - Ellenkf Likes this wine:

Extra points for how beautifully intact it remains. Turbid with a touch of garnet. This is a medium bodied Zin that drinks like Bordeaux. The fruit is still quite ripe and jammy and tannins are tamed, but the finish is elegant- a bit stony with slight wintergreen flourish.