Comments on my notes

White

2005 Ratzenberger Bacharacher Wolfshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs Mittelrhein

8/13/2017 - hrazdiiv Likes this wine:

91 points

I was very much looking forward to this GG and was slightly disappointed though, to be clear, it is still a good bottle. Comes out of the bottle a medium-dark yellow, with an excellent viscosity. On the nose there are strong scents of pineapple, caramel and a whiff of petrol. The downfall of this wine was that it was lacking in acidity. It was likely picked at Auselese level of ripeness, but it still should exhibit a stronger beam of acidity that would lend itself to aging beyond 10 years or so. I drank this over three nights to make sure I was getting the benefit of the wines development but kept coming to the same conclusion - while this wine will get "interesting" in the next 5-10 years, it will not necessarily evolve into an elite Riesling.

jeffm_fla commented:

12/13/17, 4:37 PM - Excellent review of this wine. I really appreciated your description and thought you totally nailed it!

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Red

2010 Knights Bridge Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Oakville

1/29/2017 - jeffm_fla Likes this wine:

90 points

Somewhat disappointing. Good, but didn't wow me like I was hoping.

jeffm_fla commented:

2/7/17, 4:44 PM - I don't see this improving with more bottle age. It didn't seem overly tannic or out of balance in any way, just not overly impressive.

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Red

2011 Corra Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

12/10/2015 - Superjack29 wrote:

92 points

This is showing much better than it did a year ago, a lot less green and a lot more of the Celia Welch style that I love. Not quite the weight of her other vintages but that is to be expected when drinking any 2011.

jeffm_fla commented:

1/10/17, 9:57 AM - This was very helpful. I only bought 3 of the 2011's and I've been sitting on the last 2 in the hope that they might improve. I cut way back on my Napa Cabs in 2011 and drank almost all of them young. Glad I held on to these.

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Red

2012 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Oakville

2/8/2016 - jeffm_fla Likes this wine:

94 points

WOTN at our To Kalon tasting dinner. No notes, but favorite of field that included 2011 Mondavi, 09 Knight's Bridge and Pont de Chevalier

jeffm_fla commented:

5/19/16, 10:57 AM - I'm going to try to wait a couple more years before I open another, but I tend to drink my wine young -- particularly the To Kalon wines. I love the primary fruit and power these wines have.

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Red

2011 Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend

12/22/2015 - Pcrage wrote:

80 points

First let me say that I am a big fan of Insignia and have a case vertical from 1997 though 2012. It is one of my favorite California blends and I always look forward to a special occasion to open this fine wine...except in the case of the 2011.

It pains me to say this but the 2011 is a real disappointment. Tasted out of bottle upon decant and it gave little indication of anything exciting. Aired for over an hour and then drank one glass (that's all I could take) over the next hour. Restrained nose, a bit of fruit up front then flat mid palate and nothing but a watery descent on the finish. This saddened me.

I realize this is a young wine but it has limited depth and tannin let alone fruit right now to hope for anything better.

I have had no less than 60 bottles of insignia over the years and this was a major bummer.

jeffm_fla commented:

2/18/16, 1:04 PM - A real indicator of how awful 2011 was in Napa. What amazed me was how many wineries actually RAISED their prices in '11 ( Thank you Harlan!). My, admittedly cynical, guess is that they knew they weren't going to be able to move the 2011s anyway, so they got their new prices in place for the much better, and much larger, 2012 vintage.

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Red

2011 Realm Cellars The Bard Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend

6/23/2015 - SMHalps Likes this wine:

89 points

Group dinner at Lincoln Square Steaks on the UWS of Manhattan. Eight guys attended. All four wines were decanted at the same time. As the wines were drunk one at a time, the last wine was in the decanter for more than 90 minutes. The first wine was in the decanter for at least 30 minutes before we drank it. We had in order: 2011 Realm Cellars - the Bard, 2008 Quilceda Creek Palengat, 2008 Larkmead Vineyards LMV Salon, and 2007 O'Shaughnessy Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. The group consensus was the O’Shaughnessy was WOTN, followed by the Quilceda Creek, the Larkmead , and the Realm was last.

One of the wines had to finish last. I thought it was very fruit dominated and didn't taste much else going on. Not sure it will have the legs (or tannins) to age for more than a few years. I think drinking it on its own, without the others to compare it to, it would have been a nice dinner wine.

jeffm_fla commented:

1/23/16, 1:47 PM - What a difference the year makes! I had pretty much decided I didn't like Realm's blends (their single vineyard Cabs are excellent), but then tasted the 2013 version of this wine. Glad to have 2011 behind me.

Comment

Red

2009 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard Oakville

12/27/2015 - jeffm_fla wrote:

88 points

Disappointing. Closed with a thin mouthfeel.

jeffm_fla commented:

1/16/16, 6:14 PM - Hard to find good Cabs for under $70 now -- seems like everyone has been going crazy raising prices the last couple years. I still like the Joseph Phelps Napa Cabernet and (at the member price) Kuleto delivers a lot of value for the price. Cheers!

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Red

2012 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Oakville

12/2/2015 - mhewitt wrote:

97 points

This is a spectacular cabernet. Will it get better? Probably, but it's drinking great now. Pop and pour, it's open and ready for business. This is top 5 all time wines for me and top 3 cabernet.

jeffm_fla commented:

12/9/15, 6:00 PM - Planning to open my first bottle in a month or two at a To Kalon tasting for my group. Can't wait!
jeffm_fla commented:

12/10/15, 6:41 AM - Dave,
I will be opening up the 2012 RBS soon - thanks for the decanting tip (I rarely bother, but will in this case!). This was the first vintage that Fred let me buy enough to actually get much of an experience (I only had one bottle of the RBS in '10 and '11). I liked the 2010, but thought the '11 was another of the disappointments that year -- not bad, but nothing special and certainly too expensive! I just ordered my 2014 allocation (6 assorted bottles) - have you heard any early word on the vintage?
Cheers! Jeff

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Red

2009 The Mascot Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend

2/24/2015 - jeffm_fla wrote:

87 points

Disappointing. No real fruit on the nose or palate. Tannic, but softened with time and air, acidic, a little cedar and a little green wood.

jeffm_fla commented:

2/25/15, 8:31 AM - Thanks for the info. I may have to give them another chance...

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Red

2011 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection Napa Valley

5/18/2014 - What I'm Drinking Now wrote:

85 points

Wine Spectator Grand Tasting Event (Washington, DC)

Jeff hit the nail on the head. One of the reasons I attend the Wine Spectator event is to try higher end wines that I would like to taste prior to committing over $100/bottle. I couldn't have been more excited about Caymus Special Selection since previous bottles have been outstanding representations of what Napa is capable of.

Unfortunately, this wine was not very good. Expanding on Jeff's points, the wine featured cinnamon, vanilla and even some nutmeg but there was not fruit to be found. It really did taste candied or like it was artificially flavored. I have stayed away from 2010 (personal taste preference) and 2011 due to the difficult whether and this tasting reinforced my stance. If Caymus can't make a great wine in the 2011 vintage....who can?

jeffm_fla commented:

9/4/14, 7:02 PM - I'm a big fan of Napa Cabs and of Caymus in particular, but I just don't like the 2011. I waited a long time to open a bottle (review above), but this just isn't up to par.

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Red

2007 Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend

5/22/2014 - jeffm_fla Likes this wine:

91 points

I found it a little thin with fading fruit -- disappointing from one of my favorite wines. It was the favorite of a plurality of our group at our (blind) 2007 Napa retrospective, though.

jeffm_fla commented:

5/23/14, 8:30 AM - Champagneinhand,
Thanks for your comment. I hope you're right. I have 3 bottles left, so I will probably wait until (at least) next year to open another one. We also drank an Altamura and Gemstone at the same event, and it was amazing how differently they were progressing. The Altamura was soft, but with lots of fruit while the Gemstone tasted as if it had been bottled last month - a big blast of fruit on the nose, but still very tight and tannic.

Part of why we love wine!

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Red

2009 BOND Matriarch Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend

3/14/2013 - Jeffnc1 Likes this wine:

95 points

We ordered 3 bottles and just couldn't wait a year or more to try one. It is quite possibly one of the best wines we've ever tasted. It is so hard to believe that this is made from the "lesser" quality Bond grapes. As good as it was, in 2-3 years, it will be incredible.

jeffm_fla commented:

6/5/13, 5:52 AM - Haven't tried the '09 yet, but every year I comment on how good the wine is for the price (even at almost $100 a bottle!). The Matriarch is always one of my favorites, and I think it is the best at its price point.

Comment

Red

2009 Rudius Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

3/16/2013 - jeffm_fla Likes this wine:

92 points

No tasting notes, but we liked it a lot. Another nice pick from Rick at Groezinger's

jeffm_fla commented:

3/16/13, 7:35 PM - caeleric/cae_cpa - Thanks for your suggestions. I'm a big fan of Knights Bridge and its "sister" wine, Pont de Chevalier. Have some Tor in my cellar, but haven't tried it yet. We were out in Napa a couple weeks ago and got to have a private tasting at Knights Bridge - really a great time.

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Red

2006 Château Léoville Barton St. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend

1/16/2013 - jeffm_fla wrote:

89 points

Surprisingly thin,without much nose or mouthfeel. Had nice flavors that opened up a bit in the glass. Perhaps it is in a dumb phase.

jeffm_fla commented:

1/18/13, 11:18 AM - Thanks -- I knew it was young, but expected a little more weight. I bought 3 (and a half...) bottles so I could try it at different stages, so I know now to wait a few years before number 2.

Has anyone tried the '09 Bordeaux yet? We opened the 2009 Les Pagodes de Cos at the same tasting and it was really very good.

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