10/19/2022 - Martysfo wrote:

Too old

10/24/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

Absolutely delicious and full of fruit, earthiness and acidity. We enjoyed the wine with Roast Duck the first night, and then we used the leftover duck to make a risotto the second night.

8/28/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

Great wine. 2011 was problematical, but as they aged they came out of their shells. Lovely, great acidity.

8/27/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

Big, brawny and with a mouthfillingly long finish with bright acidity.

5/29/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

Great wine, and still very youthful. Lush, rich and slightly jammy with deep rich currents and blue fruits. Little hints of the legendary Rutherford dust. Some fantastic acidity on the long finish. Had this wine with T-Bone steaks. Great match.

5/20/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

outstanding. Nuance, velvety, hints of black fruit, tar and tobacco. Great wine at its peak, and it got better the longer the bottle was opened.

5/5/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

The perfect Zinfandel. Briary and jammy, yet sleek and silky with a great spicy finish.

4/18/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

One of the greatest Chardonnay’s I’ve ever tasted. Lemon curd and lucious. Long finish and some great acidity. Perfectly aged.

4/9/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

This is a great wine. Jammy without being obnoxious, spicy yet refined, and even though it has 15% alcohol, it is elegant and nuanced. Great stuff.

2/25/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

2011 was a trying year. Yet these folks have made a great, lush wine that’s fruit forward yet nuance. Lots of oak and will age another 5-10 years with no problems.

2/25/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

Excellent wine. Nuance fruit, great acidity. At its peak.

2/20/2021 - Martysfo Likes this wine:

This was a great wine. Lush, with lots of dark brooding fruit. Long finish with brisk acidity. You can tell that this wine was modeled after a northern Rhône Syrah, as opposed to a blockbuster Shiraz. Great wine.

2/20/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

Very good, but not great Dead Arm. Rich and meaty, good acidity. We had it with chicken dish, but would have been really good with a long, slow cooked braised dish.

1/23/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

A great example of what is brewing in the Paso Robles wine region. Rich fruit, and very much typical Grenache flavors for red cherry, brambles. There is some spice and back bone from the Syrah. A great wine, with lots of life left to it.

1/8/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

Fantastic wine at its peak! Lots of cherry fruit, tobacco, some cedar and a touch of basil. Rich, yet nuanced. Will go on for many years, wish we had another bottle.

1/3/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

Great bottle at the peak of its drinking window. Very typical of Rutherford. Blue fruit and mocha. Leathery and cedar on the nose, and a rich, full finish.

1/3/2021 - Martysfo wrote:

Excellent bottle. Typical Calistoga, rich, ripe fruit. Integrated tannins, and beautiful acidity. Lucy on the palate with a long finish.

12/31/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Great wine at its peak! Briary and with loads of roasted meat on the nose, black pepper and gobs of black and blue fruit. Big yet nuanced on the palate. This wine probably has 5-10 years of life left. We had it with burgers stuffed with foie gras.

8/28/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Spectacular bottle. We tasted this in the Sabon Wine Cellar when we were in France, and it was better tonight. Great fruit and a very long finish. We just love Chateauneuf de Pape wines!

12/25/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Classic burgundy, earthy, some nice red fruits, great acidity and a wonderfully long finish. Got better the longer the bottle was opened.

11/27/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

My favorite Bouchaine Chardonnay, and right now this wine is at its peak. Hints of grapefruit zest, Myer lemon and crushed pineapple, with some creaminess and a hint of butter. Lots of great acidity on the finish. Excellent wine, and consumed during Thanksgiving dinner.

11/6/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Excellent example of perfectly aged Barolo. Leather, cedar, sage and other earthy notes. Hints of dark red fruit and rich on the mid palette. Long finish with bright acidity. Wine was still fresh and delicious.

10/28/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Wonderful and yummy. Big cedar and leather on the nose, we dark cherry fruit sneaking in from behind. The palate was rich and with wonderful weight. Great and long finish with great acidity. In fact, its been 20 minutes since I finished the bottle and its still in my mouth!

10/17/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Great aged bottle of RRV Pinot noir. Earthy on the nose with hints of cherry and other red fruits. Beautiful acidity on the palate with an extremely long finish. Amazing how well Pinot noirs from this house age. Will consume with Grilled salmon.

10/14/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Nice wine and very typical of Alexander Valley. Does not have the richness of a Napa cab, but quite nice. Some dried floral notes, blue/black fruit. Very spicy on the mid pallet. Long finish, great with beef.

10/5/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

All about honey and citrus with a little note of truffle on the finish. Great bottle of wine, at its peak.

10/8/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Nice, meaty nose with lots of fruit and spice on the palate. Very long finish.

10/6/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Fantastic bottle. Cab and merlot that is all Italian. There is the funk and acidity, richness, plum and black fruit. Yet it was not overpowering. We had it with an octopus in a tomato based sauce, pizza with burrata and prosciutto and rigatoni with Sunday gravy. It matched well with all.

10/6/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

The only way to describe this bottle is honeyed citrus. The grapefruit zest flavors were intense, as was the great acidity on the finish. Drank with a seafood bucket, great pairing.

9/19/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Absolutely what I want in a Rose from Provence. Crisp acidity, great fruit and very refreshing. Discovered this wine on a trip to Mexico 2 years ago. Very large production, over 75,000 cases with 40,000 imported into the US. Excellent wine.

9/11/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Excellent bottle in the Mondavi style. Considerably leaner than most Napa cabs, with some delicious acidity. Good fruit, ball currents and some plums. Long finish.

8/21/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Solid effort from the crew at V. Sattui. Excellent body and mid palette with a nose of blue fruits mixed with olives. Long and energetic finish. Excellent wine for the money, but their single vineyard bottling are really worth seeking out. All are great values for Napa Valley cabernets.

8/9/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Delicious with deep flavors of mocha and blueberries. Hints of dark cherry, aromatic notes of vanilla and leather. Wine is at its peak, and probably will be for another 5-10 years.

8/8/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Beautiful candied cherry/cranberry nose with some serious earth on the palate. Bright acidity on the finish.

8/8/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Yummy, fantastic and an other descriptor you can come up with. Beautiful blue fruit on the nose mixed in with a touch of mocha. Rich on the palate with ripe tannins and rich acidity The fin ish is long and beautiful. A great Rutherford cab at its peak.

7/30/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Very interesting wine, and it was not as I expected. Upon opening, this wine was extremely earthy with a very pronounced acidity, yet little fruit. As it opened up, the fruit started to show, and became more and more pronounced as we drank it. Long finish, and with the great acidity, a fantastic food wine. Not a great burgundy, but a very good one.

7/25/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Magnificent bottle. This wine is still very youthful, with real acidity. The aromas of vanilla, a little oaky smoke and citrus mix with some slight truffle flavors. On the palate, it was rich and full bodied. The finish, long and fruit forward. This wine is still an infant, would have loved to try it in another 5 years. We had it with a New England style dinner, clam chowder and lobster roll. Great pairing!

7/17/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Magnificent. Drinks more like a Dry Creek Zin as opposed to a Russian River one. Baked raspberries with cloves and cinnamon on the palate. And it has one very long, spicy finish. A great wine at its peak.

7/7/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

This is a great wine! Had another WS bottle from this vintage and it was every bit as good. This wine is soft and elegant with an extremely aromatic nose of cherry and cola. Rich, yet nuanced on the palate. There are hints of cinnamon and other baking spices and a touch of vanilla. The finish is long and rich with a bracing acidity. This is a classic Russian River Valley Pinot Noir at its peak.

6/10/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

This was not a good wine, it was a great one. Most people don’t think California Chardonnays do not age. This one proves it wrong. Bright honeyed stone fruits with a touch of Mayer lemon on the end. Great acidity and a long, long finish. Had it with seafood cooked in an asparagus broth and served over linguine. Great match, great wine.

5/31/2020 - Martysfo Likes this wine:

Perhaps a year or two too late. Nice, earthy and leather nose, followed by a hint of cherry fruit with a little cedar. Spicy palate, and very long finish. Could have used a little more fruit.

5/25/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Good but not great wine. Lovely smoking nose, nice tropical fruit and excellent acidity.

5/25/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

This is a great wine! It is everything an Oakville cab should be. Lovely currents and red fruit on the nose, a medium plus palate. There is great acidity on this wine making it a great wine to match with food. We had it with Porterhouse steaks and it went wonderfully. A great wine at its peak.

5/14/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Good, but not great wine. Some nice cherry and smoke on the nose. A little musty on the palate.

5/3/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Great wine at its peak. Beautiful acidity with fruit accents. Hints of tar and leather with savory herbs.

4/29/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Nice, but not great bottle. Good fruit, some nice earthy notes with a little tobacco on the finish. Could use a jolt of acidity.

4/24/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Magnificent wine. Let it open up and you have cedar, dark cherries and hints of leather and savory herbs. Full and rich pallet, with a great finish.

4/22/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

Chardonnay is probably my least favorite white wine. With that being said, this is a very impressive wine. Some smoke, vanilla and butterscotch on the nose, full pallet and beautiful acidity on the finish. Very Burgundian, and not very much like a typical Cali chard.

4/19/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

I am not a huge fan of either Nickel and Nickel, or merlots. That being said, this was a delicous wine at its peak maturity. Wonderful, inky, rich red fruit, nice toasted vanilla notes on the nose. Very full bodied on the pallet, with a long finish. Just enough acidity to make it interesting and to cut through the richness of the lamb shanks we ate with it.

4/17/2020 - Martysfo wrote:

After enjoying a magnificent bottle of the 2003 Russian River Valley from this producer, we decided to try this bottling. The Sonoma County is the bottom rung in the WS hierarchy of Pinot noir, but this wine turned out to be almost as good as the RRV bottling. Bright sour cherry on the nose, some baking spice and earth. The pallet is rich and full with a long, and very spicy finish. Great wine.