4/21/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

This is a lovely wine. Took to a pot luck dinner tonight in advance of 24 of us going sailing on 3 boats in Sardinia. I also took a wine from Sardinia. But I figure, this was close enough. A delightful wine. Smooth. Nice acid. Easy to drink.

4/21/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

A group of 24 of us are going sailing in Sardinia in June, and had a pre-sailing dinner put luck dinner tonight. What better to bring than this lovely wine from Sardinia? I spent much of the day making some unbelievable Asian spicy chicken for the pot luck, which paired incredibly well with the wine. In fact, my friend Renee stole some and took it home. I really liked this wine. The fruit is open. Smooth. It does not need any time. Drink now. It is a perfect summer wine and paired incredibly well with spicy Asian chicken. Can't wait to sample more of the wine in Sardinia in June.

4/19/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was lovely, and paired very well with a rack of lamb, radicchio in gruyere sauce, and a table-side dressed homemade ceasar salad. Greg made the lamb, Jim made the ridicchio and I made the ceasar. The wine paired especially well with the lamb. Delicious stuff. Still a baby, and lots left here for the long haul.

4/18/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was smooth. The fruit is subsiding. I would say it is time to start drinking up. In fairness, we drank 10 bottles of wine among 13 of us before we got to this wine, so admittedly, my memory is a bit hazy. That, and all of the other wines were from the 1990s, so it was a bit out of place. That said, what I do remember is a smooth, beautiful wine, that is entering its final 10 years of life. But don't hold me to it :)

4/11/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

In an epic night, where my BOYZ wine night had the theme of Barolo, this was a great wine. I cooked an amazing feast. Homemade Cesear salad, penne Putanesca, and veal chops with a porcini mushroom sauce. All i have to say is this: we drank 6 epic bottles of Barolo. What made the magic happen was the porcini mushroom sauce. The wine and the mushroom sauce are a match made in heaven. Truly one of the best pairings of my life. I spent a lot of time on the sauce, and it paid off with the wine pairing. Un-fucking-believable!! It did not hurt that the Veal chops I served I slow cooked for two hours on low heat, so that they were perfection with the porcini sauce. Wow!!

4/11/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

This truly was spectacular. Tonight, I hosted my guys' wine night, and for dessert, I served this Port with chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream. This wine was off the charts fantastic. Truly an unbelievable treat. The wine was fresh, rich, complex, with fantastic fruit. None of us could believe that this was a 61-year-old wine. Truly one of the best Ports of my entire life. Wow!!! Epic!!! Great fruit!! Great complexity. We all were in awe!!

3/31/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was delicious out of a 375 ml. Perfect in its drinkability window. Excellent fruit. Perfectly ripe. Not too early to drink. Paired great with chicken piccata, bucatini, artichoke, and homemade Ceasar salad. It has been a full weekend of Easter Brunches, and I decided to jettison the memory of the two buffets and cook a real meal with real flavor. This wine was a perfect treat on a cold, Winter-Spring night with Christina and Morgan. Happy Easter!!

3/24/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

Wow. This was truly spectacular. Took to my parents' house for my Dad's 86th birthday, and this did not disappoint at all. Delicious. Wonderful. A real treat. Holy crap!!

3/10/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

A friend brought this to my wife's birthday party tonight. Wow!! This is amazing juice. Really spectacular. Drinking perfect right now. Pure Napa Cab beauty. Thanks Chris for sharing!!

3/9/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was an excellent bottle we enjoyed with friends at Matteo. Very nice, crisp, rich and smooth.

3/9/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

This is smooth and silky. The alcohol is completely integrated. Lovely fruit. Paired well with the delicious Italian food we had with friends at Matteo. I think this is in its drinkability window, and can be enjoyed now and for the next five years. Not overly tannic. Not closed. Silky and smooth.

3/5/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

For some reason, this wine has entered a closed phase of its existence. Tannic. Austere. Completely closed down. I did not get a chance to decant prior to dinner with a friend at Franklin Ave., so maybe that would have helped. But right now, I would sit on this wine for another 5-10 years.

3/2/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

This wine is so reliably yummy!! Took it to our friends' 60th and 53rd birthday party in Ocean Beach, and Adam and I drank most of it!! It was wonderful!!!

3/2/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was spectacular!! I took it to my friend's 60th and 53rd birthday party in Ocean Beach, and wow, did it sing. A great example of a wonderful California Cab with delicious ripe fruit. This was a big hit with the birthday couple. We kept hiding it from the rest of the party. I purchased this at an auction a few years ago, after it was donated directly by the winery. It was a great bottle!!!

2/17/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

Patience pays off. This is an incredible wine. We had it with friends and paired it with a 2004 Quilceda Creek. They were both fabulous wines, but this Scarecrow was incredibly memorable and a perfect wine. Wow. Winemaking at its finest. A rare treat. Glad I have one more in the cellar to look forward to drinking.

1/27/2024 - A&C wrote:

Gave away to a friend for his 50th birthday!!

1/20/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

Light on its feet. Smooooootttthhhhh!! No bitterness at all from age. Succulent. Delicious. I was lucky to enjoy. Thanks to James for bringing!!

1/20/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

Smooth. Silky. Lovely. Still not quite at its prime, but getting there.

1/20/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was such a surprise. Rich. Decadent. Full of body and great fruit. I was simply stunned by how good this wine is. Wow!! Truly, wow!!

1/20/2024 - A&C Likes this wine:

This is an incredible wine. Simply stunning. I put this up there with one of the best bottles I've had over the course of the last couple of years. And it was a 1997. This is a very special wine. If you have any, you're lucky. Thanks to James for sharing last night!!

12/25/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

What a spectacular wine!! Opened on Christmas with my wife's mother and step-father, who don't drink and consumed over the next couple of nights. This is a wonderful wine!! Exceeded all expectations!!

12/24/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

Believe it or not, this wine is still a bit young. I think it needs another 5 years. There are really interesting coffee and toffee notes in this wine, and a wonderful blend of fruit, but it still has some tannins that need to blow off. Drunk side-by-side with an Ovid Hexameter 2012, and in comparison, the Hexameter was at its perfect drinkability window, and this wine was but a teenager. Great potential here, but sit on it a bit.

12/24/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

Took this Hexameter to Christmas Eve dinner at my parents. Wow!! An incredible wine. Big, bold, complex, and the fruit is perfect at this moment. The wine is at its pinnacle. I don't think it will get better. Magnificent juice!! Merry Christmas!!

12/17/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was spectacular. Well worth the wait. Rich, complex, with fantastic fruit. Took it to dinner with Adam and James and we made it disappear in an instant. Really memorable and fantastic. Glad I have one more left.

12/17/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

I thought this was a bit flat and closed down. Not sure why. Maybe because we had an Ovid along side the wine, which was way better. Who knows.

12/15/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

This is wonderful. Rich, deep, layered, with complex and delicious fruit. Very Bordeaux-like in its structure. Perfectly in its drinkability window. Firing on all cylinders. Took this to dinner the Garff Club, and it paired extremely well with wagyu bavette steak, which was cooked to perfection. A magical combination having dinner with our lovely wives and children, as a pre-game to the Steely Dead show at the Commonwealth Room, which was spectacular. Who says Winter sucks. Cheers!!

12/9/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

Reliably delicious!!

12/9/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

Popped this at the last bottle of the night while my brother Kurt was visiting while driving his daughter's belongings across the country. This was lovely, and what you'd expect from an SQN. It is a bit young, and would benefit from some of the tannins blowing off. The underlying fruit is perfectly ripe, with a great flavor profile and finish. I really enjoyed this. My brother and I drank it in less than 30 minutes after a delish dinner of slow-cooked short ribs, filet mignon, baked potatoes with all the trimmings, and a delicious green salad. Winter is the cooking and drinking great red wine season. Last night was sublime. Cheers!!

12/9/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

This did not pack the punch I expected. It might be in a closed-down phase of its evolution. The best I can say at this point is wait and see if things change. At this point, it is a bit flat without a lot of complexity.

11/23/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

A lovely wine. Appears to have just entered a quiet time. Not as big or bold as the prior bottle.

11/23/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

Wow!! Delicious. The entire Thanksgiving family made the entire bottle disappear incredibly rapidly. Wonderful stuff. Lots of sediment in this bottle.

11/23/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

Not a bad Chardonnay, but a little buttery for my taste.

11/23/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was a pretty good wine, but not overly deep or robust. Pretty thin all-in-all.

11/20/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was a lovely wine, which I think has started to fall off a bit. Maybe it was the fact that the 1997 Arietta was fantastic, but in comparison, this was clearly the lesser wine. Lovely addition to Friendsgiving, but not quite up to the magic of the 97 Arietta. Who knew?

11/20/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

A lovely wine that was consumed in a big group of fabulous wines tonight so got a little lost in the shuffle. Was fun to drink at the end of the night after a fantastic Friendsgiving. Cheers!!

11/20/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

I did not have this recorded in my cellar for some reasons. Nevertheless, I found it and took it to Friendsgiving. It paired exceptionally well with the cheese course pre-dinner. Such a lovely French-style wine. It evaporated quickly and no one left any in their glass. A very lovely French-style crisp dry white wine with some lovely underlying fruit.

11/20/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

Wow!! This was spectacular tonight. I sourced this bottle directly from the library collection at the winery. Opened tonight for Friendsgiving. This tasted exactly like a very high-end Bordeaux. Spectacular structure, body, fruit and finish. One of the best noses I've had in a very long time. This really stood out as an exceptional example of a beautiful aged Napa wine. Such a great treat on a fun night with 16 friends. Cheers!!

11/19/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

A friend brought this to dinner tonight. Wow!! A great example of a Bordeaux. The fruit was fantastic. The texture divine. The finish was fantastic. Many years left in this vintage. I think the 2023 end of drinkability is wrong. I would say 2033. I really really really enjoyed this wine tonight. Thanks to Ed for bringing it!!

11/19/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was spectacular. Wow!! Truly a treat. We took this to dinner with friends at Adelaide. I cannot say enough good things about this wine. Truly special. Great fruit. Polished. Smooth. Memorable.

11/18/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

Wow!! What a surprise. This is a delicious wine. Paired great with bone-in Korobuta pork chops, wild rice, and a mixed green salad. Smooth, with great fruit, and a wonderful finish. The wine made us linger a bit before we headed to the Commonwealth Room to soak in the New Pornographers concert, which was great!! A wonderful wine for a rainy, fun, Fall night.

11/18/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

This wine is a fantastic value. It is clean, crisp and delicious. Paired great with a cheese plate served before dinner to my friends. I really enjoyed it, and my friends and I drank it right up. Great value for a great wine.

11/14/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

I took this to my wine dinner that has been going on 10+ years. We take turns hosting and have a different theme each time. Last night was NAPA Cab. Out of 7 bottles, this was WOTN. It is elegant, smooth, vanilla, and luscious fruits. For some reason, I did not have this bottle in my Cellartracker, but wanted to do a review nevertheless. Drinking great now. Lots of time left. Excellent wine!!

11/3/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

What a great wine. Wow. Rich, flavorful, smooth, and a great profile. Paired great with cheese and crackers pre-dinner before the Zach Nugent Dead show. Glad I have a bunch of this. It is delicious!!

11/3/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was spectactular. Perfect time to drink. Wonderful fruit. Deep and rich. My buddies raved about the wine. Paired incredibly well with grass fed t-bones I picked up at the farmer's market, along with french fries and a frog bench farms lettuce salad. Perfect pre-game before the Zach Nugent Dead show at the State Room. I'm glad I have more of this. What a treat!!

10/27/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

Wow. What a treat. Some friends opened this last night as the last bottle of the evening. We drank it up quickly. The wine is still young, but has incredible structure, great fruit, and years left in its drinkability window. Spectacular now. Drink now or in the next 5 years. Loved it!!

10/27/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was delicious. Great flavors. Smooth as silk. Some butter, but not too much. Just right. Delicious juice.

10/27/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

This was a great wine. Big. Bold. Great fruit. Long finish. Deep. Paired incredibly well with the escargot, salad nicoise and sole meuniere our friends cooked at their house. A delightful combination!!

10/20/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

This is an excellent Sake. Smooth. Pure. High quality. Paired great with a variety of Chinese dumplings I made, and with the homemade oxtail Pho I made from scratch. A great way to celebrate a visit this weekend with Adie, Owen, Trevor and Kyra. I picked up this bottle in a Sake store in NYC while visiting Cate a few months back. Damn fine!! Buy and enjoy!!

10/12/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

Interesting wine. The nose is not great, but on the palate, the wine is smooth and has a lot of remaining depth. Brought to a friend's wine night. Paired great with a French beef stew. Drink up. I think this is nearing the end of its useful life.

10/7/2023 - A&C Likes this wine:

A lovely crisp wine, paired great with Ruffles & Clam dip, on a beautiful Fall night sitting on my friend's deck and catching up with his brother about his trip to Scotland for golf. Cheers!!