1/20/2024 - DarinC Likes this wine:

PnP and consumed over 2 hours with dinner. Beautiful aromas of dark plums, blackberries, and traces of herbs, tobacco, smoked meat and olives. Took 30 minutes to open up in the glass. Full bodied with a long slightly tannic mineral tinged finish. Great balance without being full-blown over the top new world Syrah. Early maturity and ageing gracefully.

2/15/2024 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Still drinking well with plenty of orange stone fruit but won't improve from here. Drink up, preferable with food.

2/15/2024 - DarinC wrote:

Mature. Lots of integrated wood notes, dried red and black fruit and a bit of herbs. Fine tannins on the medium finish. Classic Barolo aromas and mouthfeel but on ripe rustic and oaked side of the spectrum.

2/15/2024 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Rich dark fruit, potpourri and earth. Wonderful balance and a great value at ~$25.

2/15/2024 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Perfect cork and fill. Shockingly young initial presentation. Crimson to rusty red with minimal bricking. Bright red cherry, brambly berry fruit and a hint of green tobacco. Needed 2+hours to mellow and drank very well the following 2 hours. Plenty of acidity, fruit and a fine grain tannins remain. Impressive for its age. This particular bottle could have easily aged and improved another 10+ years.

2/15/2024 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Lot # L06-20. Rich mature and moderately complex. Plenty of nutty and oxidative notes accompanied by straw, biscuit and some fading fruit. Enjoyable but not memorable given the Terroir. Improved slightly with air but it's a good PnP. Drink soon.

2/15/2024 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Dark red and black fruit profile with abundant creamy vanilla oaky notes. Plush and round on the palate. Enjoyable for those who like this style.

2/15/2024 - DarinC Likes this wine:

PnP. Expressive aromas of leather, tobacco, brambly dark fruits and graphite. Fourth consistent bottle out of a well-stored case and they continue to mature and improve. Great balance with a few tannins in reserve. Drinking very well now and should hold for ~10 years.

12/2/2023 - DarinC wrote:

PnP and consumed over 4 hours. Some brooding red fruit but mostly closed on the nose. Disjointed acidity on the palate. Balanced a bit with three hours of air but I'd wait at least 5-10 years on this. Overall disappointed for a Volnay, especially given the wine club price.

12/9/2023 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Red cherry, cranberry, bit of green herbs and crunchy minerality. Complex and expressive on the nose and palate. In a great spot. Will seek out. Impressive and excellent QPR!

12/16/2023 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Bright cherry, strawberry and a bit of biscuit. Drinking very well, atm. Showed best after a bit of air and chilled.

11/11/2023 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Decanted in Reidel Cabernet decanter and consumed over 3 hours with dinner. Stunning complex bouquet immediately after pouring into the glass. Gobs of black fruits, licorice, dark chocolate and spices. Seamless rich texture on the palate with almost no perceptible tannins. Long, mineral and spice tinged finish. Exceptional the first 30 minutes before it quickly fell apart and leveled off the rest of the evening to show more alcohol and simpler notes with disjointed acidity. The table agreed. Highly recommend not decanting. At peak, IMO.

11/14/2023 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Acquired from the K&L offer in 2012. Decanted and consumed over two hours with dinner. Absolutely gorgeous classic Barolo notes of tar, roses, sweet red fruit, with new leather, and a hint of menthol. Still youthful in color with minimal bricking. Plenty of richness and mellow acidity. Tannins are sweet and mostly resolved. Paired well with a variety of foods. Truly great from nose to finish. Was great right away and didn't need the decant. Don't hesitate to open one soon!

10/26/2023 - DarinC Likes this wine:

PnP and consumed over ~10hrs. Very showy right out of the gate! Absolutely massive with complex aromas of black plums, berries, chocolate and spices. Lush and full on the palate with fine, mouth coating tannins on the long finish. Some earth and graphite as well. Drank beautifully the first three hours then started to close in showing more tannins and structure at the end of the bottle. This could continue to pleasantly evolve but is in a great place now. Don't hesitate to open one.

10/26/2023 - DarinC wrote:

PnP and consumed over ~10hrs. This bottle was clearly shut down. Did not evolve much with air. Very primary with high acids, bright red fruits. Some cocoa and spice in the background with an acid and mineral laced medium finish. This should age well and I plan to give my remaining bottles at least 10 years.

9/11/2023 - DarinC Does not like this wine:

Drinking well atm. Much better than on release. Components integrated well.

9/11/2023 - DarinC wrote:

Plenty of secondary characteristics with some remaining fruit. On the downhill. Drink soon.

5/11/2023 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Surprisingly, still drinking very well. Subtle secondary notes with dark red fruit and spice. Drinking way above its price point.

4/30/2023 - DarinC Likes this wine:

No detailed notes but drinking very well, ATM. I don't foresee improvement from here.

10/24/2022 - DarinC wrote:

One dimensional. Not offensive, but better shortly after release. Drink up.

8/19/2022 - DarinC wrote:

Oxidized

7/26/2022 - DarinC Likes this wine:

First Coravined this bottle 6 years ago and just finished the last few ounces on 7/23/22. Still impressive. The tannins are smooth as silk.

7/26/2022 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Big, modern style. Uncertain if this will improve from here. I'd drink in the next few years.

7/19/2022 - DarinC wrote:

Tired. Drink 'em if you got 'em.

1/2/2022 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Fabulous! In early maturity and drinking very well. Wonderfully balanced in an extra brut style. Don't hesitate to open now.

1/2/2022 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Peak maturity for my taste on this wine. Very good value.

7/11/2021 - DarinC Likes this wine:

In a great spot. Drink em if you got em.

4/24/2021 - DarinC Likes this wine:

This particular bottle was exceptional. Complex, with great balance. Still some freshness with secondary character. At peak, so enjoy these now.

2/2/2021 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Massive with mostly black fruits, along with blue fruits, smoke, flint and dusty minerality. Hides its alcohol well.

2/2/2021 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Very expressive and in a good spot ATM. Integrated and balanced. Doubtful it will improve with more time.

2/2/2021 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Still drinking well. Rich and fruit forward. Great QPR! Drink up.

2/18/2020 - DarinC wrote:

Raisins, iron, violets. Needs air to blow off the excess heat. Overripe.
Drink now.

1/1/2020 - DarinC Likes this wine:

For the money, there's plenty of potential behind a lot of oak that needs to integrate. Time will tell. Give this at least a couple more years.

1/4/2020 - DarinC wrote:

Supposedly well stored bottle from auction. Showing some secondary on the nose and clearly on the decline. Lots of dark plum, some prune and spice. My singular bottle experience aside, given they style, I'd drink these ASAP.

1/27/2020 - DarinC Likes this wine:

I Coravined this bottle multiple times, stored it at 50F for two years and opened it a few days ago. Other than having a softer profile and losing some slight details around the edges, it was an excellent drink and very similar to the initial pour. This is an excellent Cote Rotie that's showing very well. If you're fortunate enough to own a few bottles, don't hesitate to open one.

1/11/2020 - DarinC Likes this wine:

I was a little worried this might be on the decline but, boy, was I wrong! It's at absolute peak! Slightly better than the other two excellent bottles I enjoyed several years ago. A lot of complexity on the yellow fruit and white flower spectrum. Full in the mouth and across the palate. Medium to long finish. Perfect balance and nothing out of place. Spectacular on its own and paired well with the cheeses we served. Drink NOW!

1/4/2020 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Another solid wine from Calabretta. Needs some air to soften and best paired with food. A great value. Should age effortlessly for 5 years or more. Everything we tasted from the 2014 vintage here was very good.

1/17/2020 - DarinC wrote:

PnP and drank over 3 hours. Classic big Napa Cab aromas of vanilla, cocoa and coffee followed by lush dark fruit. I couldn't get past all the heat on the mid palate and finish. This thing is needs at least a couple years or more to settle down and integrate. I admire the story of the Renteria family and what they've accomplished.

1/26/2020 - DarinC wrote:

Lots of VA. The first flawed bottle out of nine. The others were consistent and very good.

1/1/2020 - DarinC Likes this wine:

An absolutely delicious and refreshing low alcohol crowd pleaser. Can be served with dessert or on its own.

1/26/2020 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Wow! Still primary, but give it 30 minutes in the glass and it really opens up. Perfect balance! Dark red cherry, plum, spice, licorice and everything you'd want in a ripe, richly styled Brunello. Layered and really well-made. This will be interesting to follow over the next decade.

1/26/2020 - DarinC Likes this wine:

No detailed notes, but the last few ounces drank extremely well after being Coravined over a year ago. Was stored at 52F.

10/26/2019 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Some secondary with faded fruit. Not quite at the same level as the '95 but still a solid wine. This particular bottle still had some structure remaining, but I wouldn't wait more than 5-6 years to drink these.

3/30/2019 - DarinC Likes this wine:

PnP Loads of boysenberry, roasted wild blackberry, pepper and some black forest ham. Huge, intense and mouth coating. Plenty of Shiraz character. Very few tannins and a bit of heat on the back end. This bottle was drinking at peak. Continue to age at your own risk.

3/30/2019 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Leaner than the bottle I drank in 2014, but still excellent. No signs of oxidation. Drink now.

3/3/2018 - DarinC wrote:

BN fill and partially stained cork. This bottle came across a bit tired initially, but not obviously cooked or heat damaged. It did become a pleasant drink after being opened a couple hours. Probably less than ideal storage before I acquired it.

3/2/2018 - DarinC Likes this wine:

BN fill. Perfect cork. No detailed notes, but this bottle showed extremely well after 20 minutes in a small decanter and held throughout the multi-hour dinner. In the middle of its drinking window, IMO.

6/2/2016 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Near perfect fill and cork. PnP Initially, heavy barnyard, earth and dark fruit. The animal aromas receded after 10 minutes in the glass to reveal a complex bouquet of plums, black figs, mushrooms and pepper. Slightly sweet and intense mouthfeel. Very few tannins on the finish. Excellent bottle!

2/28/2014 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Just entering its drinking window. Expressive nose. Lots of layers. Graphite, tobacco, black currant, cocoa, dried red cherry. Still some dusty tannins on the long finish. This one still has some room to grow, but insanely enjoyable now.

2/28/2014 - DarinC Likes this wine:

Perfect cork and near perfect fill. PnP from a clearly well-stored bottle I purchased at auction. Mature, with loads of ripe black and dark red fruits, cigar box, leaves and spices. A hint of minerality. Fully integrated and fills the palate. So much rich, ripe fruit that it deceptively drinks more like a 90 than 89. Really an awesome wine. Hard to find any flaws. Drink now.