5/7/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

2013 base. Showing beautifully.

5/7/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Beautiful nose, palate like a banner unfurling and snapping in the wind. Still some structure and 2012 edge to resolve. I’d hold a little longer.

5/7/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Took a bit to reveal what it’s got, but holy moly, what a gorgeous bottle. Exoticism with a framing minerality. Gorgeous bottle.

5/3/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Savory raspberry, iodine, iron filings, vine smoke, grilled meat. Plenty sapid with resolving character. Glad I bought a few. Shows the ripeness of the vintage without any signs of torréfaction.

5/2/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Mistakenly opened instead of a bottle of Cuvée 910–it happens. Fortunately, I had a stocked up at the Cheese Shop of Portland. And boy howdy, what a cheese wine! White and yellow flowers, grapefruit pith, and sea spray on the nose, with faint echoes of orchard fruit on the periphery. The palate is racy and loosy goosey with a fine melange of stone fruit, salted citrus peel, and malted mango; with plenty of sapid, salty mineral notes to lend drive and depth to the proceedings. This is excellent, if “atypique.” That said, I’ll visit my local fishmonger and find something to highlight the wine. Just getting going and wow! Re-buy.

4/30/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

So, from all estimations this is the middle of the pack for the Cristom wines, though you’d be hard pressed to say that based to this bottle. Fine color and excellent cork (on a WineBid bottle, no less!). Pale ruby robe with a bit of bricking on the meniscus. The nose offers a few artifacts of elévage and an array of red fruits, crushed (woody) herbs, baking spice, and balsam. The palate is well on the path to resolved, but with fine energy offsetting mature, burnished notes. Plenty of cherry and red plum flavors with enough juicy acidity and ripe tannins to accompany a pan roasted rose veal chop with polenta and a shiitake pan sauce. Fine cut and long expansive finish here. Sensational retro-nasal persistence here—plenty of that peacock’s tail. I like this a bunch. Real flair with all the earthiness. If I can find some bottles, absolutely a buyer. Yum!

4/27/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

So perhaps (definitely) I could drink my rosés quicker—no argument here. But such haste can result in pleasant surprises. “What if a couple years revealed what all the Mourvèdre vineyard sites have to offer in sapidity?” A niche interest, to be sure. But I have to tell you, there's something delicious, albeit a far cry from the fresh melon, salted stone fruit, juicy Lulu-ness of the fresh releases.
The 2021 has a pale pink salmon robe. The nose offers an array of watermelon rind, bruised rose, rosehip, and crushed Mediterranean herb aromas, with a whisper pine needle and dashi on the periphery. The palate is concentrated and driving with a decidedly persistent, if focused finish. Now, I find this compelling, but this is also being enjoyed with a meal of head on spicy prawns, with spring vegetable ragout and polenta. The wine is shining here, though as a cocktail wine, I’d put this down as past its prime; it isn’t, but I’d relegate this to the table rather than the patio.

4/26/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Watermelon salt, garrigue, fine texture and a savory kicker. Surprisingly felicitous pairing with pasta all'Amatriciana. This particular cuvée always seems to benefit from the extra time in bottle.

4/24/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

All the appropriate elements are here but it’s way too early for my taste to be drinking now. Day three showed most coherently, but this needs time for everything to integrate. I’ll try to snag another couple bottles, but this was curiosity and impatience trumping good sense.

4/21/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Now old(er) Dolcetto isn’t most decent folks’ steez by any imagination (lovers of Dogliani please don’t fret, I’m on your side) and the prospect of a bottle 2007 ain’t gonna set a lot of hearts aflutter. But when blessed with a locally raised pork chop leftover polenta and a spring vegetable ragoût that could be used up, maybe search for the good rather than great in the wine rack. And when one finds a bottle of 17 year-old Dolcetto, maybe give it a crack, especially if it’s from Bartolo Marcarello.
And while not the fizzy, fruity (Beaujolais-like) tipple promised by basic wine books, this possesses charm and earthiness that surpasses one’s expectations. The robe is lucid ruby with some garnet bricking along the meniscus. The nose is somewhat effusive with aromas of dried cherry, leather, and “church dust”—incense and dried flowers. There’s a bit of menthol and a bit of VA adding lift. The tannins are nearly resolved and this of offering more acidity than the torrid vintage would suggest. Confitted cherry and red plum and earthy notes mingle with a hint of leather and a bit of tar inhabiting the back-palate. There’s a sense that its youthful sucrosity has gained a lacy quality over time putting this in fine window for me. Good length here and nerve on the finish, even if this possesses more power (and alcohol) than I would prefer. But you take the heat along with the light sometimes. This is enjoyable, though given the weight I might opt for pork shank or maiale al latte rather than a loin chop, but that’s a quibble. Fun, unexpectedly delicious bottle, though Maria Teresa is a gifted successor to her father, so one shouldn’t be too surprised. Re-buy? Sure, though I’d drink a little earlier, truth be told. Lesson here: Save your Dolcetto, just maybe not 17 years.

4/19/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Brief, unscientific note: bright as a new penny, electric koolaid citrus character, vibrant herbal character. Good length. Wish I had more. Spring ragout (morels, asparagus, peas, mint, favas, perorino, shallots) over polenta. Very good.

4/17/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

I’d call this off-dry/Feinherb at 11.5% on the label. White flowers, just ripe stone fruit, hints of honeysuckle, and sorrel on the nose. The palate shows some ripeness, even richness on the attack—isn’t this the classic cold climate underripe vintage the we all clamor for? Is this Hengst or Brand? But surely enough a thread of salty bitterness and stony core emerges from within. A pithy, flinty definition begins to reveal its agenda and there’s fruit here, but it’s peeking from behind mother’s apron. Pretty shut down at the moment and a bit of a decant slams the gates. Hold for a couple years. There’s a shocking amount of material here that just needs to organize itself.

4/16/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Great balance and brightness here with plenty of stony gravitas. Yes, grower. Yes, farming. Yes, right cultivar. But this combines all with great élan. Will buy more. Supasses the category. Highly recommended.

4/12/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Very dry cork and a struggle to open but far more live and precision that most from the vintage. Perhaps outmatched by the spice at Sky Palace, but lovely, lovely stuff. Re-buy in a heartbeat.

4/10/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Black cherry, library book that was last checked out during the Cold War, wild violets, iodine, rouge on your grandmother’s cheeks. Home baked spice cake, dusty iron, baked cherry crisp, with sufficiently graceful age and patina for Downton Abbey, but enough verve and electricity for the arc of a garage band’s ungrounded amps. Momtazi always has that surprising energy and zazz; and in the difficult 2011 vintage it surprises with complexity astride all the power chords. Will hold, but damn, I love it now. Wild Thing—choogle choogle chorale—you make my heart sing!

4/9/2024 - JohnMcIlwain wrote:

From wine fridge. Refermenting. Shitty plastic closure. Figure this was bottled in Spring of 2021 purchased 2021/2022. Kept at temperature. Other bottles were tasty. Not quite exasperating, but tiresome: if you lean natty (not natural) use high quality closures! Like the wines, but 3 years give or take in a wine fridge shouldn’t be fatal. If you got, drink up? Boo!

4/6/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Slated for pan-roasted Maine scallops with puréed peas and morels but a long phone call necessitated a pivot to decidely non-local asparagus served with a crème fraîche mustard sauce and Ducktrap River Farms smoked salmon. Crisis averted and luck for me, the 2020 Boxler Sylvaner is chock full of brackens green notes, just hinting at ripe nectarine notes and a chalky thru-line that shine with the pairing. There’s half a bottle left, so scallops will have to wait for tomorrow. What a fine bottle, even if Sylvaner mostly gets its due in Franken. Fine, punchy bottle that will truly shine once the local asparagus shows up in late May/early June. Meanwhile the dream of Spring persists here in Portland. Re-buy? Oh, yes. These are lovely bottles and a touch more versatile than my dear Alsatian Muscat (also cracking with asparagus).

4/5/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Trying to will Spring into existence. (March not to mention April, and May are the cruelest months here in New England, after all.) I scored some favas at Eataly in Boston, so why not enjoy with some local chicken, baby carrots, and a (nearly) four-year-old Viré-Clessé? The 2020 Héretiers du Comte Lafon displays a pale lemon sherbert yellow robe. The nose is a bit circumspect upon opening—reduction and a bit of CO2 dominating the aromatic profile. With air, some Queen Anne Cherry, Meyer Lemon oil, wet stone, and quinine join the aromatic profile. Plenty of nerve and verve and surprising youth here. The palate is similarly tightly wound and backwards with a hour in the decanter necessary before the pure expressions of white and yellow stone fruit to emerge. But hoo boy, do they emerge. A virtual Carmen Miranda’s hat worth of salted fruits reveal themselves with air and the stony, sapid framework snaps into place to lend gravitas to the proceedings. Plenty of energy her expressed on the nose and long, involved, lifted finish. Great verve here, but I’d be inclined to hold for another 3-5 years to allow this to knit. A potentially grand wine here for the patient, that said if you like your Chardonnay coiled, this will strike your heart. Dang good and worth seeking out more.

4/3/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Dry, acceptably stony, no reduction, good drive, fine ripeness. More salted citrus rind than stone fruit a bit of phenolic bitterness on the finish. Good, if not exemplary with mid-week choucroute. Correct and a solid value. Damming with faint praise, but I’d seek out Dirler-Cadé or Keuntz-Bas at this level. To be fair impending winter weather may be knocking the nose about. Re-buy? Maybe not. I have plenty of Alsatian Riesling kicking around in the cellar.

4/2/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Have to say I agree with previous reviewers. Cherry, rose, (pony) saddle leather. Good structure, savory and floral aromatics, and a generous swath of red fruit/ripe tannic structure. I don’t want to say front-loaded, but plenty of “zazz” here. Perfect Tuesday pasta wine here while you’re lookin’ for that perfect Puglian red to go with the Four Seasons of Pasta lamb ragu. Good enough that a six bottle order from Chambers is in the cards. Yum!

3/31/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Wouldn’t call this squeeky deeky—there is some stank and spice on the periphery. Black cherry, Hail Mary (full of mace), raw meat, and a bit of earth on the palate. Also some bandaid. Okay a mess of bandaid. But there’s a good wine here even it is a sum of its flaws. That said, a second showing may justify a less enthusiastic review.

3/30/2024 - JohnMcIlwain wrote:

Just a bit off. No review. Certainly drinkable and ready with better bottles. Bought on release, temperature controlled, professional storage.

3/29/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

I know it was rainy and cold and miserable in most of France in 2021 but Alsace is drier and warmer all thing being (un)equal. And this surprisingly structured Weinbach 2021 Riesling Cuvée Théo belies the vintage reputation with quiet power and not insignificant structure. The robe is a pale lemon curd yellow—hinting at Krsna robe saffron. The nose is circumspect upon opening with bergamot, matchstick reduction, and wet granite aromas, giving way to salted peach, preserved lemon, and orange blossom honey. The palate is similarly backwards with reduction driving things inward. With air stone fruit and citrus oil flavors skirmish with salty, zangy mineral notes with soil character leading the march to sea. Fine persistence and verve to the finish, though this is clearly in its callow youth. Hope springing eternal, even if Maine ignores that springing part of the equation, this accompanied homemade ricotta toast with peas, mint, chilis, and olive oil. Sylvaner may have been a more felicitous pairing, but chalk one up for curiosity. There’s plenty to digest here wine-wise and I’d be inclined to tuck away for a few years—and I ordered some additional bottles for just this purpose. Quite good, has upside. Yum.

3/23/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Pale burnished gold robe. Soft mousse and fine bead. Orange oil, brioche, and Pinot spice and floral its on the nose. This has knit admirably and I’d be inclined to drink in the next few years, but quite the bottle tonight.

3/21/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Beautiful bottle gorgeous nose—bright aromatics and fine violety tertiary notes. Palate is resolving nicely, vibrant acidity and resolving tannins. Fine brush of black fruits in the palate. Bit of graphite soil tones on the finish. Fine expression of old vine Carignan.

3/21/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Savory and a bit herbaceous in a good way. Elegant rather than sinewy or broad. Top flight with cheese course at Eulalie. Gorgeous nose and fine length. Delicious.

3/19/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

When it’s real in the feels… So I may have posted a note or two about Laguerre’s Le Ciste but this is a somnambulant as it comes for recs. This is on the cheap-ish side (sub-$25 for sure). Yet it ticks the totally ageable/character actor versatile boxes, as well. And friends, the farming is peerless. And while I’d love to give and embarrassingly detailed note, my dear friend @brother_bandy hit a home run with her note a few years ago and I know when to give a gal her due. Still, all the salt, all the stone fruit, all the green almond, and the soil notes are present but whispering sexy, loving, supportive things as one enjoys this peach pit, gravel spit, marzipan but lifted, profile. Sensational with local pan-roasted chicken thighs with a pan sauce of preserved lemon, Lucques olives, and stock. The reserve of the cool 2021 vintage works with the asparagus vinaigrette as well as the Brazilian feijaoda (black beans and rice). Cracking stuff, even if the 2021 could use another few years in the cellar. Re-buy? If only I could.

3/17/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

When you are in the midst of mud season/fools’ spring and the biodynamic calendar gives you a flower day, maybe open a Pinot Noir. And if it’s one from criminally under-appreciated Eric Hamacher, so much the better! Upon opening the robe is garnet to ruby hue, though with air this veers more on the ruby spectrum. The nose similarly shows some age and a bit of backwards oxidative ferruginous character, but 45 minutes in the decanter brings out red fruit, spice, balsam, and a whiff of rosehip. There are sotto whispers of nutmeg, and cola from the wood, as well but air remedies this as the pretty florals and red fruit aromas take precedence. There’s some richness here that belies the reported 13.6% abv (no heat, but enough glycerin and texture on the mid-palate), though the tannins are resolving nicely and there’s plenty of acidic verve driving the finish. I suspect another five years will allow all the elements to knit—though I hasten to attest this is very good to excellent. Shining with feijoada (Brazilian black beans), picanha steak, and a salad with a bitter orange vinaigrette, of all things. But I’d be comfortable serving this with braised duck legs or pork belly. Real fine Pinot Noir from one of the nicest winemakers in the Willamette Valley. Decant if drinking now, but seriously, no hurry. Re-buy? 6 bottles clearly wasn’t enough.

3/14/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Been struggling to write a note, but also haven’t opened a bottle in a minute. But Le Passage from Domaine Laguerre begs for notice as their wines manage the trick of terroir expression and value (never skimping on deliciousness). And in 2019 Eric released his 100% Mourvèdre “Edition Spéciale.” Violets, game, dried Mediterranean herbs, iron, cosmic dust on the nose. Deep purple, turned earth, leather motorcycle vest, violet smoke and a mint vinyl copy of XTC’s “Mummer” on the palate—pastoral pop descriptor unlocked. What was once carbonic gloss has gained some gravitas. You can take joy in big things like love, but take the time to be rewarded by the small things: “shilling for the man who brings the sheep in…” And to stretch the metaphor further still, this (magnificent) country wine can be had for a pittance and it ennobled local pan-roasted lamb chops with a sauce of sizzled garlic, orange juice, thyme, Lucques olives, and parsley with a splash from the wine glass. A fine pairing that hints at spring even if we are deep into fool’s spring in my neck of the woods. Re-buy? Absolutely. Shoulda bought a solid case. #mouvedretotheheadre

2/29/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Enjoyed with BD & JR at Anis in Atlanta. Lovely bottle that gained focus and freshness with air. Plenty of red fruit and burnished texture to start, white florals emerged and lifted things. Last bottle and a beauty.

2/25/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Pale golden robe, more stone fruit that citrus inflected on nose. A touch of honeysuckle and yellow flowers as well. Yellow fruited and supple on the palate. Ripe, certainly. With good acid and a bit of phenolic bitterness on the finish. Call it zaftig rather than flabby. I’d drink up at this stage. Very good with crab (and shrimp) Louis, but has the stuffing for richer dishes. Quite good and just shy of very good. I love Varner from this era; the 2014 is satisfying, but cut from sturdier cloth in the vintage.

2/24/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Lithe and chalky. Lovely white fruit and lemon skin on the nose. Good length and energy. Fabulous with shrimp and grits.

2/22/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Takes a bit to get going, but what a nose! Dark fruits, spice, garrigue, maybe a faint hint of iodine in a compelling way. Lovey hedge fruit and dark cherry on palate with wash of savory note gathering around the fruit before receding and leaving a persistent dusty soil note on the finish. Tannins are still present, but knitting. Mouthfilling, but by no means heavy. Good now with air, I suspect there’s plenty ahead. Lovely bottle.

2/21/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Miss-pull. Very good with an array of desserts at Eulalie. There’s class here, but the Suduiraut maight have surpassed. Need to dot my I’s with pickups.

2/20/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Went from 0-60 in about an hour, but what a transformation. Lifted and just hinting at the bright future ahead. Lordy, what a wine. If I had a notebook with me, the cover would be all hearts and stars. Drafting a letter to the white Rhône fan club right now. So, so, so dreamy…

2/20/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Flamboyantly good. With a decidedly small sample size (not even a dozen bottles) the spritely 2012 was inspiring in a field of terrific whites. Luxurious, nearly salacious, richness. A nose worth of Helen of Troy’s perfume collection. And a textural umami that wasn’t outclassed by 2004 or 1994 Chave Blanc. Truly gorgeous bottle. Wish I had more. 1105 pts.

2/21/2024 - JohnMcIlwain wrote:

Corked AF, sigh

2/17/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

From half bottle. Took an hour to get running after a brief decant but this continues to be a bit circumspect. Black and red fruit, a hint of licorice, and plenty of savory earth and herbal notes dominate. Appropriately sinewy for Montazi and the vintage, but there’s sufficient ripeness and sucrosity within. Fireworks aromatics in the mouth—well, I’ll be a Yankee Doodle Dandy! I sense the wine is just ready to plant its flag and bellow its screed, but the “yawp” awaits. Hold if you have a few. Very good wine in a tough vintage. And certainly enjoyable tonight but I sense its opportunity to contain multitudes is still a couple of years of cellaring away. And now to brush up on my Whitman…

2/15/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

I feel like drinking this is like reading the old one -sentence tragedy: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” And in a way it kind of is, though it hints a lot a happier resolution a way down the line. Not much in the way of charm or generosity, but there are hints of charm and grace and character, despite a somewhat mean showing. The robe is more ermine cloak (royal purple) than ruby slipper. The nose is similarly dark-toned with aromas of wild black berry, plum skin, and bruised violets with an undercurrent of turned earth, iron railroad spiked and a fist full of bruised savory herbs. The palate also shades dark-fruited and a bit stern with cherry pit, builders’ tea, vine smoke, and cherry pit dominating with notes of anise and loam bringing up the rear. There’s plenty of punchy acidity and firm, but decidedly ripe, tannic structure framing the fruit but this shows young or stern rather than underripe or out of balance. Sure, this needs 5 to 7 years of cellaring to shine, but the balance hints at brilliance rather than brutality. Hold for sure, but I’ll buy another couple of bottles and hide behind the Baudry Rosé at minimum and Domaine to just hit the sweet spot. *Double decanted an hour ahead of service and paired with poulet Dijonnaise, spinach, and farro.

2/11/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Flamboyant aromatics and excellent texture here. Glycerol gives the impression of RS here. Loads of spice but framed by a toasted almond /phenolic bitterness that lends dimension. Very good with choucroute. Wish I had a couple more bottles. I can see why this is controversial with others—it’s a lot. But if you enjoy richer, aromatic and textured wines there’s plenty here to love. And the dish you serve it with should have some heft. Think smoked/cured meats, maybe even smoked sturgeon, and though clichéd spicy South/Southeast Asian foods, or best still, washed rind cheese with a bit of stank. I dig this, but I’m not afraid to admit my love for Condrieu either…

2/11/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Drinking well. Plenty of development awaits. More phenolic bitterness informs the structure than overt acidity, but this has fine balance and doesn’t suffer for the warmth of the vintage.

2/11/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Young but gorgeous. Stone fruit, spiced apple, salty, great lift and fabulous length. Really lives up to Grand Cru class. No rush here. Sensational with choucroute garnie. Yum.

1/23/2024 - JohnMcIlwain wrote:

Drunk at Ping’s with JR, CB, AB. Excellent bottle, plenty in the tank still.

2/10/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Given that I live less than a mile from the ocean, I really ought to drink more Muscadet, especially considering how much I’ve cellared over the years (a lot). And with that in mind and a chance encounter with some beautiful looking halibut cheeks at the fish market, I pulled a bottle of Luneau-Papin 2002 L d’Or from the wine fridge. And I’ll be goddamned, this is a beauty! Forsythia yellow/just hinting at gold robe. Upon opening the nose is pretty, dynamic, and pure—no, is-it-corked-or-old-Loire here, thank you very much. Aromas of wet stone, just barely ripe orchard fruit, and preserved lemon on the nose, with just a whisper of petrol, but more sweet summer lawn clipping and lawn mower gas than Formula 1. The palate shows nervous tension and is just uncoiling with salted pear, bits of iodine and Meyer lemon flavors vying with notes of quinine and bee pollen. This is ripe and nearly round (for Muscadet) but there’s a satisfying cut and precision that moderates the ripeness, as if gaveling the yellow fruit to order. Splendid with pan-roasted halibut cheeks with brown butter and capers, and carrot purée with honey, and Cara Cara juice, as well a charred broccolini with lemon and anchovy. But if you have a chicken needing roasting this will perform with élan at the very least. (Maybe highlight the bird with a piquant salsa verde.) Fine, fine bottle purchased as a young(er) wine professional quite a few years ago. Thanks David Lillie and perhaps Lyle Fass(?). Age your Muscadet, friends!

2/9/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Resolving nicely. Black raspberry, loam, and (hints of) all the green things that scare off Cali wine drinkers. Fine balance and ripeness, but there’s some classic herbaceousness. This is no bruiser and offers just-ripe black fruit flavors, more earth tones, and bit of game on a lighter mid-weight palate. Nice acidity resolving tannins, with a little grain still. Double decanted for sediment. Very good with venison with a blackberry red-wine pan sauce, farro, and braised kale. This could stand to knit a little longer in the cellar depending on one’s taste. Good plus, but headed towards very good. I’d pony up again.

2/7/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Lord, what a nose! Gorgeous aromatically. Soaring red fruits, florals, and rose petals with just enough iron and animale. Palate still needs time to resolve. This will be a spécial bottle with further aging. Still quite pleased with showing tonight. Drunk with CM at Alna Store.

2/6/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Drunk with David H with Palestinian food. Stellar bottle showing surprising youth. Fine balance and resolving structure. Lovely bottle.

2/6/2024 - JohnMcIlwain wrote:

Drinking great. More savory than overtly fruit-driven. Excellent with Palestinian food at Al Badawi.

2/3/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Very good if ripe. Dark cherry, African violet, plummy on the nose with hints of anisette and turned earth. The palate isn’t demurring with more of a plummy cast than necessarily hedge fruit, maybe a bit of black cherry too. Good acidity though it doesn’t stand out rather than buoy the ripeness here. Good purity of fruit and a some deep soil tones here. Very good persistences here and more than adequate complexity. Listed at 14% abv but not sure if that is a tariff 14 degrees or perhaps minimizing the warmth of the vintage. Not a perfect pairing with bucatini all’Amatriciana (the chiles) but shows enough freshness and texture to handle the richness and umami of the dish. No complaints here, though I may have saved this for maiale alla latte, which would handle the weight a bit more assuredly. Still, I’d re-buy in a minute. Cascina Disa is a fine estate and worth buying (especially the Dolcetto) every vintage.

2/2/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

A little more muted and showing its age than my last bottle. A fine aged Syrah of character but alas, not distinction. Some dark hedge fruit and stank on the attack, blue fruit and earth emerge on the palate, a touch more oxidation than is ideal. And a bit of drying on the finish. The suppleness of the fruit is losing ground to a some of the tannic structure and tarry notes. There may have been some blocked maturity due to the hot vintage. More than drinkable now but I wouldn’t rush out and trade my Hermitage bottlings for this particular bottle. Quite passable, but not quite transcendent with pan-roasted lamb chops with green olives, Borlotti beans, and wilted greens. Good, but not quite what I expect given the vigneron. Will see how this shows with cheeses tonight, but I suspect this will drop off on day two.