9/28/2023 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

A monumental beauty that is deeply still in its fruit stage. Homemade grandma’s cornbread with butter on top. Korean Yuzu Pastries. Raw coconut flesh. Long and full bodied. This is an exceptional wine.

Out of magnum.

3/18/2023 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

at The Earle in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Cork was shockingly perfect.

The best aged left bank Bordeaux I've ever tasted. Hard purple and black berries sitting on the top of the forest floor. Stunning long and complex.

3/18/2023 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Tasted at The Earle in Ann Arbor, MI

Impressively young and classically ripe Right Bank Bordeaux.

The wine looks crimson colored. It smells like raspberry, red currant, strawberry jam, medium toast and clove. It tastes like blackberry, raspberry, red currant, strawberry jam, mineral, light toast, vanilla and tobacco. The body is medium/full. The wine has fleshy texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has medium acidity.

3/30/2023 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Tasted out of 9L at Third Coast Soif #OffSoif event at Easy Does It

The wine looks straw colored. It smells like lemon, lime, apricot and pear. It tastes like apricot, apple, peach, lemon, lime and almond. The body is light/medium. The wine has satin-like texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has high acidity.

10/21/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Exquisite burgundy. Hard black fruit that opened up with time into masterful crunchy complexity. Incredibly long finish of hard red candy. Still very young.

9/24/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Masterful Shiraz/Syrah. Spicy and complex. Strong dark black hard candy and melting eucalyptus. Arguably the best value for premium Syrah in the world.

9/17/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Exceptional as always. Sexy honey apricot in shades. No where near peak yet.

9/17/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Light a fresh with cherry cola, fresh acid, and red raspberries. Great quaffer

9/17/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Exceptional older mclaren vale cab. Dark purple with light red rim. Dark black cherry. Lots of spice. Strong complexity driven by eucalyptus. Highly recommended.

9/13/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Solid pleasant Oregon Pinot. Well made. bright and fun.

9/9/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Dark black cherry hard candy. Small hints of ground cacao and green fig. Series juice with a lot more years in front of it.

9/7/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Dark and dense. Young but delicious. Plenty of mocha and dark black cherry fruit. After an hour dusty chocolate tannins start to emerge. Very good.

9/5/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Solid and respectable value Bordeaux. A good mix of black and red fruits with medium weight. Slightly hard tannins hive another two years in cellar.

9/5/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Crisp and fresh lemon verbena nose. Good crema in the semillon driven palate. Serious sophisticated long finish.

8/31/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Dark rich and smooth. Lots of black fruit and mocha. The wine is hanging in there nicely. Very smooth.

8/31/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Warm and friendly but veering to the slightly soft and over warm flavors

8/28/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Light and fresh cool climate Pinot. Very quaffable.

8/23/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Solid & balanced classic California Chardonnay. The flavors are simple clean and pleasant. Crowd pleasing for a suburban, farm to table crowd.

8/23/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Aged Bordeaux is so good. Even from a solid winery like this. Moderate tannins and good smooth fruit. Well balanced.

8/18/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Impressive with the intense minerality and bone dry character

8/16/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

A legendary tannat for a killer vintage. Dusty. Savory. Complex. beautiful.

8/16/2020 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com wrote:

Dark yellow. Intense color. Wild natural nose and opening palate. Starts rich and textured and ends dry with lots of stone.

2/20/2019 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Flotsam & Jetsam 2017 Stalwart Cinsault.

Light. Bright. Gushing red fruits. Crazy amount of acidity ... or is that some VA.

Nerdy Sommeliers in South Africa probably dig this. I kinda do too.

1/4/2019 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Tasted out of Magnum.

Masterful. A beautiful aged wine with layers of complex melted blackberry and cassis. Lots of beautiful integrated tannins and gorgeous underbrush and forrest floor.

11/26/2018 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in this wine. I remember it being a lot better when it was just a smidge younger. Kinda tomatoey, but still decent complexity. Just not much pleasure.

11/26/2018 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Still a solid wine, why certainly past peak. Starting to move towards the 'gooey tomato sauce' thing that plagues older Grenache.

4/2/2018 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

I reviewed this in 2010 with 92points and worried that it might lead age. But it aged beautifully.

Black raspberry compote and nice framing tannins. Rich and powerful but with no rough edge. Hedonistic fun and very easy to drink, but more classic merlot character now than in the wine’s youth.

4/2/2018 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

This is why we age wine. It is still a big mouthful of classic Grenache, but now mellowed into pure silk.

4/2/2018 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Deep and delicious. Dark black berries and melting graphite in bacon fat. And yet never heavy with really pretty acidity.

3/31/2018 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Intense golden color with rich viscosity in the glass. Honey, spices, layers and complexity in the front palate. Lots of herb and serious texture in the mid palate. There pretty and smooth in the back palate. The finish is long and ever changing. A serious bottle of white wine that deserves lengthy time spend with it.

8/15/2017 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

The feral whiff of wild yeasts. Hard candy interpretations of blueberry, elderberry, and cassis. Smoke and charred meat. Lots of strong acidity. Definitely cold climate Sonoma Syrah.

7/22/2017 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Still young but lots of delicious dark fruit and plenty of spice. Excellent California Syrah.

1/28/2017 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

A beautiful and richly warming red wine. // Charred fat and smoke give way to warm blackberry compote. Like a slow cooked lamb shank, age has congealed this wine down to its essence. Dark jelly, rich alcohol and intensity. $150 retail.

5/5/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

I purchased a case of this wine on release and have been drinking a bottle per year to follow the evolution of this unusual grape variety as produced by the superlative Carole Meredith and Steve Lagier.

The early bottles showed a bloody brooding meaty power, but the wine has become more refined over the years.

This last bottle was the brightness with pleasant acidity, pure fruit, and a gracefulness on the palate that was slightly reminiscent of Gattinara instead of Rhone Syrah.

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4/11/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com wrote:

Finest Provenance Possible - Tasted at Winery.

Two bottles were both off-putting and funky. Winery representatives considered them flawed. Not enough experience for me to know if this is the end of this vintage's life or if we just got unlucky.

4/11/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Does not like this wine:

Finest Provence Possible - Tasted at Winery.

Over the hill at this point, into the funky tomato-paste thing.

4/11/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Finest Provenance Possible - Tasted at Winery

Tight, yet soft with black fruit and flavors of charred meat and smoke. Very smooth. Right now this we is a strange mixture of alcohol burn and smooth mouthfeel.

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4/11/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Finest Provenance Possible - Tasted at Winery

Luscious with an apricot and jalapeño compote. Smooth red berry jelly with the least perceptive heat between 97, 02, 03 ,07, & 14.

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4/11/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Finest Provenance Possible - Tasted at Winery.

Peaches, plums, and apricots in a crockpot with dashes of herbs. A crusty chard from smoke and heat. Creates a dark delicious goo.

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4/11/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Finest Provenance Possible - Tasted at Winery

The Jackass Hill terroir shows through the alcohol with strong apricot aromas and flavors. Also some stone fruit. Sexy and extreme. Incredibly big and incredibly lush. Massive but not ungraceful. Sweet stewed peppers. A finish that recalls apricots on the grill.

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4/11/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Finest Provenance Possible - Tasted at Winery.

Exotic and lush with those aromas that are created when you pour red wine into cooking tomato sauce. Sweet potato cream. Apple pie with cinnamon. Spicy tomatillos and salsa on the finish.

3/18/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Nearly finest provenance - purchased from winery and consumed same day.

This opened up faster than the 2005 Jensen; only 45 minutes.

A very dark color and a nose of pure 'sweet' Pinot fruit with the very tiniest hint of smoke and earth. The palate has a serious density with the earthiness more prominent. Dense and firm, but without the immodesty of other powerful Californian Pinot Noirs.

There is incredible life left in this wine. The best years are ahead.

$120 Winery Retail

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3/18/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Nearly finest possibly provenance - purchased from Winery consumed same day.

The color is medium red at the edges, but with a dark core of blackness. The nose is spicy and slightly herbal with red berry compote. The taste is dense and firm with compressed black fruits, stone, and a core of strong acid. Finish is very long.

This is a very young wine despite being 10+ years old. Took over one hour to open up and a vigorous decanting would be better. Better yet would be 5-10 additional bottle age in the cellar. Which is an astounding thing to say about California Pinot Noir, but that's Calera.

$120 Winery Retail

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3/18/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com wrote:

Finest Provenance available - Tasted at Winery

The color was dark red. The nose was overripe with warm tones and funky stewed tomatoes. The palate was dark blueberry, chocolate, and dust. Very little acid left with a viscous texture on the tongue. A short fading finish.

A big disappointment as Ridge Monte Bello is always much better than this. Maybe and off bottle or vintage?

$400 Winery Retail

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3/18/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Tasted with finest provenance - direct at the winery.

A beautiful and perfect mature version of Monte Bello that has transformed into the kind of secondary aromas and flavors you most likely find in fine Bordeaux.

The color is an attractive medium-light red with a hint of amber at the edges. The nose is all red apple skins and the bright earthy aromas of the forrest floor in Fall. Palate is herbal with tea and rose petals, herbs, and tobacco. Fruit isn't gone, but overwhelmed by the complexity of the other elements. Finish in long (about 60 seconds) and echoes the complexity of the palate.

One of the finest "Old California" wines I've yet tasted. A revelation that shows Monte Bello to be a European wine trapped in a California label.

$400 Winery Retail.
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3/3/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com wrote:

The color is a muddy Burgundy red emerging from a tight black. The nose is wildly feral with smoke, cut weeds, and tiny red berries. The taste is bitter bing cherry with notes of persimmon and hints of blood orange. Highly acidic, just this side of sharp. This wine does caress the palate. It pricks it with a sharp needle of flavor. Striking. $35 Retail

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2/5/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Quite a nerdy and exciting orange wine. Cloudy with a chance of serious complexity. Yeasty and acidic with similarities to old champagne. Fun surprise. $38 Retail

2/5/2016 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Well made. Balance Meursault-styled Chardonnay. Full bodied, yet pure. A Fox-News wine - fair and balanced.

12/11/2015 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Not youthful, but a serious sophisticated wine in the prime of its life. Earthly, tobacco-driven complexity. Dark fruits and rose petal potpourri. Don't expect improvement, but don't hesitate to open a bottle.

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12/11/2015 - austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com Likes this wine:

Warm full-ish bodied and with a savory meaty roundness. Good quality. More distinctive for the rarity than the taste.