7/23/2013 - jacamp16 wrote:

This opened up with a nose of wet laundry, rotting wood and red fruit. Not great out of the gate. The majority of the dirtiness blew off within the first hour leaving slightly darker fruit scents. The flavors were led off with sharp acid up front with a bright cherry flavor that would have been really nice had it not been followed up by a ridiculously bitter finish. It was tannic, which is fine, but boy was it bitter. It still wasn't a bad wine, just had higher hopes.

6/24/2013 - jacamp16 wrote:

Perfectly nice wine that does its job very well. This isn't intended to blow anybody away with complexity, and it definitely doesn't. With that said, it's still a very solid $8 bottle of Vinho Verde. I would have scored this a little bit higher but the acid was a bit sharp in conjunction with the oddly more full texture. It also could have benefited from just a touch more CO2.

No relation to the judgment of the wine at all, but a HUGE upgrade on the label from years past.

2/17/2013 - jacamp16 Does not like this wine:

I wish I could say otherwise because I'm usually a huge fan of Pomum but this bottle was flat out boring. Nothing wrong with it and for $11, eh... Flavors were that of prototypical WA riesling, which I normally really enjoy. Nothing offensive in the slightest, but everything was muted.

1/17/2013 - jacamp16 Does not like this wine:

Picked up thiis bottle on a tip from my local bottleshop. For $6, I figured, "What the Hell?" You pretty much get what you pay for, in this instance. Not much on the nose outside of a tiny bit of red fruit aromas and, oddly enough, baby powder. Thin in the mouth with a few drying tannins to let you know that it's still there. An unmistakeable orange oil flavor comes through just after swallowing. Interesting at first, but get old rather quickly, and downright annoying by the end of the bottle.

1/17/2013 - jacamp16 Likes this wine:

Freshly stewed black and blue fruit aromas coming from the glass are accented by just a touch of warming spices; my guess would be from either the oak or the alcohol. Either way, it smelled great and not TOO Californian. :) Flavors came across much like the nose. Ripe fruits and oak dominate, but in as classy a way as possible.

1/11/2013 - jacamp16 Likes this wine:

This wine was recommended to me by a friend at the local bottle shop. So glad I picked this up. Gorgeous stone fruit and floral nose, clean ripe flavors and just the slightest bit off-dry. The acid kept everything in check.

1/4/2013 - jacamp16 Likes this wine:

Opened up a little funky, but quickly blew off into a pretty incredible wine. Grilled lemons, candlewax, and a woodiness that almost seemed like something lighter than oak. Very nice looking goldenrod in the glass. Some may lead you to believe that this is for wine nerds only, but not the case at all. And like another taster had mentioned, this does not show any signs of its age on the palate.

12/29/2012 - jacamp16 Likes this wine:

This bottle immediately reminded me of adult cranberry cocktail. Pure bright red fruit with a distinct Pecorino (cheese) quality, almost spicy. Perfect pinot texture that continued to build in the mouth.

12/31/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

I really wanted to like this bottle and after reading some of the recent reviews on CT, I felt the need to crack one open for NYE. This magnum just never quite opened up. Nice flavors, but just lacking any excitement whatsoever.

12/29/2012 - jacamp16 Likes this wine:

Nose came off as being a little bit shy but opened slightly as the bubbles started to calm down a bit. The flavors on the palate came across as a yeasty lemon curd, some vanilla, and a little bit bready. This was masked a bit by some apparent alcohol that detracted from the experience.

12/21/2012 - jacamp16 Likes this wine:

Still plenty of life here. The wine has definitely softened since the last bottle I opened, but the cocoa/espresso flavors combined with the dark red fruits play nicely off of each other. Very nice texture.

11/30/2012 - jacamp16 Likes this wine:

Picked this up while on a day-trip to Bainbridge Island. Wine was seeping out from under the cork in my cellar. When I noticed this, I thought I'd better pop it that night to see what was going on. Luckily, the wine was in great condition. The nose was huge. White flowers, tropical fruit, and a spice green note, almost like arugula. Entry was much more lean than I anticipated after smelling this wine, not in a bad way at all, just not what I was expecting. Flavors were much more citrus driven than the nose had alluded to. The finish felt snipped with a slightly bitter edge.

11/26/2012 - jacamp16 Likes this wine:

I've had a few of these over the past year and the others were all fine, but this bottle turned out to be really good. Nose of sage, cranberry, warm spices, and light caramel. In the mouth, the wine seemed more full than I had experienced previously. Cranberries, again, were supplemented with just ripened strawberries, damp tree bark, and dried mushrooms. An absolutely complete wine.

11/20/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

The slightly accelerated aging due to it coming from a 375mL is doing wonders. Beautifully textured with cream, oil, and a slight nuttiness starting to work its way to the forefront.

11/20/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Enters pleasantly sweet with amazingly mouth-watering acid on the finish. Flavors of melted apricots, white flowers, and just a little balloon. Great texture, too. Full on the entry but it isn't the least bit cloying. Really really good bottle of wine.

10/5/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Stunning wine. Amazing right out of the gate with aromas of berries that ran the color spectrum, from sour red cherries to perfectly ripened blackberries. Underneath the fruit, sage and forest floor with just a little bit of warming alcohol (in the best way possible). The palate echoed the nose and was absolutely seamless. The finish just kept going as the grin on my face grew. I have the pleasure of getting to drink a lot of wines from DeLille. Though always VERY solid, this wine was great.

8/23/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

This bottling continues to impress. A pairing with this wine that I preach in the tasting room is fried chicken, and I practiced that message last night. So good.

8/2/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Amazing balance. Delicious new world pinot flavors. Fantastic texture.

8/2/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

My first experience with this bottling from Nicolas Joly. Having had the others, this one just fell a little short on complexity. What I will say is that bieng what it is, this is a perfect entry into the style for those that are uninitiated.

6/22/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Had this bottle for a few years in the cellar. Some of the fruit had dropped and the bottle had picked up a really nice yeast/bread profile. Still maintained very nice acid.

6/14/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Extremely solid bottle of domestic bubbles. Everything about it was really pleasant. I wished for some element of surprise that never showed, but wouldn't ever turn down a glass in the future.

6/4/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Amazingly aromatic southern Rhone (inspired) blend. Beautiful red fruit, cardamom, and acid. For me, it doesn't get much better. New world fruit, for sure, but with old world charm.

6/4/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Another very solid showing from this bottling. One of the best values in the rose market these days.

5/20/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

I remembered this bottle being a little bit more exciting upon its purchase. The nose, with all of its dried fruit characteristics, came off almost dessert-like, but a stinging streak of alcohol broke that up. Flavors made for a nice pair with French onion soup, but a lack of acid and mid palate really hurt this wine. Still solid, especially for the price.

5/17/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

A really nice bottle of wine. Lots of fruit as you would expect, but it was held in check with all kinds of secondary flavors. Espresso, blackberry liqueur, toffee, and sage each took their turn at the forefront. Those at the dinnertable would constatntly stop and say something about how good the wine was.

5/16/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Immediate blast of alcohol on the nose. That came down a little bit, but not much and was replaced with massive amounts of oak. Still no fruit to speak of. Simple, boring, and bitter in the mouth.

5/7/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

I will be loading up on this! Bought this after sampling at a tasting and this bottle did not disappoint. I couldn't help but laugh when I read someone saying this was sweet. It is far from it. This rose is bone dry with beautiful acid. Notes of slightly green banana, peach, and barely ripe strawberries on the nose. Super clean acid (think meyer lemon meets ruby grapefruit) paired with peach, watermelon rind, and just a little bit of grain on the palate. Flat out delicious.

5/4/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Oak was showing through a little more than I tend to appreciate. A good amount of sediment has been thrown. A nice bottle, just not great.

4/20/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Unbelieveable wine for the money. Pure fruit with a gorgeous savory quality. Went out the next day and bought a few more bottles.

4/20/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Super solid. This year(+) in the cellar really helped the texture that can be somewhat thin on this wine.

4/2/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Fantastically textured NZ sauvignon blanc. Massive pure fruit but with all kinds of underlying complexities. All that I shared this bottle with agreed that this will be a fun wine to watch over the next couple of years.

3/17/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

Nice wine. Drank a lot like a Cru Beaujolias, but a little bit lighter and more round.

3/3/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

This bottle seemed to be missing the acid that had me excited about the wine when I first tasted it a few years back. Still very nice, especially for the price, but... eh.

2/14/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

TCA. Bottle replaced with 2009 L'Ecole Red Wine.

2/3/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

I had so much hope for this bottle... In the end, it was just hallow. Flavors were fine but nothing exciting.

1/31/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

I got excited by the recent tasting notes on here so I decided to crack it... This bottle was far from great. The nose was strange with dust, old wood, sour fruit, and more dust. The flavors brought just about the same thing.

1/25/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

This is a great entry into Burgundy. Nice acid, clean striking fruit flavors and aromas, and just a touch of earth. Got a few of these at a great price and look forward to opening the others. I would have gone with a better score but it started to fall apart after being open only an hour and a half.

1/25/2012 - jacamp16 wrote:

This bottle was a very nice surprise. I had tasted this years ago and didn't think much of it remembering it to be very unbalanced with sharp/bitter acid. Stumbled upon a bottle in the racks and thought it was time for another go. This has turned a corner and the rough edges have smoothed out nicely. Good acid and great weight. Not changing my life, but good.

12/31/2011 - jacamp16 wrote:

Slightly tamed version to bottles I'd had in the past. Still had great texture, but missing pop.

12/7/2011 - jacamp16 wrote:

The nose on this particular bottle came across a little medicinal. The sweetness was still in the nose and the alcohol was showing as well. Tropical fruit flavors immediately attacked but were backed by an unpleasant astringency. Far from bad, but far from great.

12/7/2011 - jacamp16 wrote:

This is the best rose in the state, if not the country. That's all I'm going to say.

12/5/2011 - jacamp16 wrote:

Got a few of these for a really good price. This wine, especially in a small format, is going downhill quickly. Nothing spectacular to begin with, but all of the acid it once had is now fading fast. Nose of dried pineapple and satsuma (which was actually pretty nice) was not held up on the palate. Boring and bitter.

11/30/2011 - jacamp16 wrote:

I've had this on quite a few occasions and have usually enjoyed it more. Granted it's been a while, but this bottle came through with all kinds of messy oak flavors that just didn't work for me. One really interesting thing on the nose... It smelled EXACTLY like a Baskin Robbins. Weird note, I know, but it was spot on.

11/23/2011 - jacamp16 wrote:

One of the best Malbecs from WA. I'm usually a little tough on this varietal, but this one is really good. The overt pepper than can detract (for me) from the overall experience of Malbec is much more integrated in this bottling. Beyond that, the fruit is flat out delicious with really nice acid backing everything.

11/23/2011 - jacamp16 wrote:

Beautifully textured white. Looking forward to see where this goes. I have a feeling this is just on its way up.

11/22/2011 - jacamp16 wrote:

This was a fantastic bottle. Huge nose, massive flavor, and all kinds of complexity. Combine that with the fact that it was perfectly balanced and there just isn't that much more to say.

11/3/2011 - jacamp16 wrote:

Solid wine and really shows just how big 2009 Cru Beaujolais can be. With that said, flavors seemed just a bit muddled at this time. Very enjoyable funk with underlying red fruit on the nose. I missed some the brightness that I'm looking for from this region. Upon tasting, nice light to medium body, darker flavors than I was expecting, but still missing the acid that I love so much. I'll be sure to pick up some more to see where it heads, as well as some other crus from this producer.

10/24/2011 - jacamp16 wrote:

Really impressive barbera. Decanted for three hours and paird with Osso Busso and risotto. A nose of just ripened raspberries and sour cherries lead into the tastes of more pure red fruit backed with clean (and ample) acidity. All of this balanced out nicely with hints of underbrush and white pepper.