1/17/2024 - gresch wrote:

I remember more sous bois a couple weeks ago from coravin. The last glass has a more herbal/ potpourri nose. Plush, but with plenty of acidity on the backend - though they aren’t in sync yet. This has a fleeting glimmer of complexity during the long pleasant (if one dimensional ) finish. It vaguely reminds me of an approachable Vosne (not that I have that much experience with that appellation). This feels like it could develop into something more.

12/15/2023 - gresch Likes this wine:

Supple/Plush. Very easy to drink. Probably right in the middle of its drinking window

9/2/2023 - gresch Likes this wine:

From a half bottle that was coravined probably more than a year ago. Opened this up for dinner with steak, leeks and shishito peppers. Like all Favia wines I've had, it's a good contemplative wine, but still a bit too tightly coiled and enigmatic to be casually "just enjoyable".
I'd think that the best idea would be to give this plenty of time & not to bother with food.

7/4/2023 - gresch Likes this wine:

Very pleasant, full-bodied CA Pinot with enough age to get it past its awkward youthful phase. Muted nose (compared the the Kelley Fox Mirabai), but this had a nice mouthfeel and presence that make it a good fit for a lot of foods. I continue to be happy w/ the quality and approach from Kutch.

7/4/2023 - gresch Likes this wine:

Drank alongside a 2009 Jonata El Alma, which had an edge over this. I left this get about an hour of air. On this showing, it was lacking some of the elegance that I recalled it having (might have been because half the bottle was already sucked out via the coravin, leaving less wine to absorb the remaining oxygen & accelerating its growth curve).

6/13/2023 - gresch Likes this wine:

Left a half a glass get a couple hours of air. The nose on this is great. The palate doesn't quite live up to it though. Its weight is medium-light and from the nose, I was hoping for a bit more concentration and depth. That said, the flavor profile is pleasant, straddling strawberry with hints of licorice. It's well-balanced now, soft but touching, with a surprisingly long finish.
I continue to enjoy these wines & I'd mark it as a good QPR at the going rate of < $50.

5/28/2023 - gresch wrote:

There's a bit too much in the black-fruit spectrum for me to really enjoy this, though it's pretty well balanced.. Those profiles should go well with a grilled steak though.

5/28/2023 - gresch Likes this wine:

Just enough to taste from a previously coravined bottle. with the rest drank by others. This was fuller/rounder than it was years ago, with a nice amount of complexity.

5/21/2023 - gresch Likes this wine:

Last glass out of a Coravin'ed bottle that had been punctured ~4 months earlier + 3 hours of air before drinking it. This is in a great place for its level. Nice cooling presence on the nose & feeling fresh on the palate. Well-balanced & nicely done (was distracted while drinking this to leave better notes).

4/25/2023 - gresch Likes this wine:

Fantastic. Rose petal and slight hints of tar on the nose. This is such a versatile wine, not middle of the road... more like accessible - all the things that you love in Nebbiolo w/out the wait.

4/22/2023 - gresch wrote:

Drank without food after 2 hours of air in the glass. Great spiced nose w/ a hint of charcuterie. More elegant all-around than most of the other Gevreys that I've experienced (this is my first CdB). Reading other notes about black fruits, they're still in the background, but balanced with some redcurrant/raspberries. Worth seeking this out. Great place now and probably for at least a number of years.

Upon finishing the bottle (that was coravined for > 3 months), this finished great. Red laced fruits with hints of spice. Really great contemplative wine.

4/8/2023 - gresch Likes this wine:

Very good & fully resolved.

4/2/2023 - gresch Likes this wine:

The weight of this is in between new world and the Loire. I could see this going either way depending on the context. Either way, pleasant but not extraordinary. Tannins were resolved, lots of sediment. Time to finish them.

1/30/2023 - gresch Likes this wine:

From memory over 3-4 different coravin'ed glasses. Good, but not a good QPR.

9/30/2022 - gresch Likes this wine:

Would buy again.

9/21/2022 - gresch Likes this wine:

From memory. The last glass out of the previously coravined bottle. After 6+ hours of sitting in the glass, this shed its harsh tannins and revealed a soft fruit core that made the wait worth it.

9/18/2022 - gresch wrote:

Pretty generic red wine. I'm not sure if I would have pegged this for Nebbiolo.

8/25/2022 - gresch wrote:

Drank a glass of this over 3 hours. The nose has a hint of vanilla and strawberry/cherry. The acidity is a bit rough without food, but it does give the wine a lighter feel, even w/ the tannic kick at the tail end. Some blackberry/licorice flavors are lurking on the palate that remind me a little bit of some Vosne bottles.

7/29/2022 - gresch wrote:

It's been a while since I've had a Tempranillo, but it just didn't have enough fruit to hold my interest. Definitely not worth the price or label.

7/6/2022 - gresch Likes this wine:

From memory. Good quality, not the most complex. It was also lighter and more approachable on its feet than some Vosnes that I've had.

3/12/2022 - gresch Likes this wine:

Drank this alongside a 2008 Barolo Villero for comparison, w/out food.
The first impressions after an hour or so of air are a great sous-bois/funk on the nose & a firm black fruit spine in the finish. However, the nose/pallete open up much more over the next 4+ hours.

This is a wine to ponder, but too brooding to be a crowd pleaser, which seems to be exactly what this wants to be.

3/12/2022 - gresch Likes this wine:

Drank w/out food. Good, but still pretty tannic & fruit hasn't started to develop too much yet (drank this alongside a 2001 Epeneaux from Pommard). This is pleasant on the palette, beneath the tannins, but it comes up w/ less goods than what the nose was advertising.

2/20/2022 - gresch Likes this wine:

Cool on the nose & the palate. That harmonizes very well to the medium weight frame, w/ nothing out of place. I wish that more CA wines could show this kind of restraint & let the nuances come through. On the palate, there are some brambly undertones+sour blackberry. This feels more like a Loire Valley Cab Franc than a Napa red.

This is my first Arietta. I would personally consider the value of this to be ~$50.

2/12/2022 - gresch Likes this wine:

Agree w/ the other comment "power" & "elegance".

2/2/2022 - gresch Likes this wine:

Needs at least an hour

11/14/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

In a lovely place right now.

8/12/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

Pretty good Priorat for the price. High acidity gives this a lot of tang over a spine of black fruits. Substantial, but pleasant tannins. While not complex, this could please a lot of people, especially when accompanied with something off the grill.

8/8/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

Medium to light body but lots of concentration. Slightly too much acid on its own. When I had let this go 6+ hours, it seemed to go dumb, but it also feels primary before that. Still, this is pretty pleasing to my palate. I usually prefers a Volnay, Chambolle or Morey to a Vosne.
Drank this w/ some taleggio cheese after a couple hour decant. Drank the rest of the bottle through coravin a couple other nights (with anywhere from 2-6 hours in the glass).

8/3/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

From memory. Fine mousse. Very well balanced with hints of cream. A wine w/ body and verve.

6/21/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

From memory. This was quite elegant. My first bottle from the producer.

6/21/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

Left this in the glass for 5 hours. The strong tea notes subsided and the wine smoothed out much more to my liking. Drank w/out food.
This was slightly cloudy, not that I care. This had a heavier weight than expected. Fine tannins. The acidity was there but not providing enough lift. Maybe disjointed from age, maybe it didn't get enough air?

5/2/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

From memory, but very young still.

6/5/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

From memory... Good 'everyday' Nebbiolo.

6/7/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

Definitely California, but also definitely Pinot - not an anonymous fruit bomb. This is still excellent stuff, but doesn't have the texture of the Littorai bottles that I've enjoyed from the same vineyard.

6/7/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

Plenty of life left. Medium+ body. Performing where it should be for the year and designation, but it wasn't carrying the elegance or complexity of a great Volnay. Drank over ~4 hours. I'll leave the other bottle sit for a while & hope for some more tertiary development. Paired very well w/ Wagyu steaks.

6/4/2021 - gresch Does not like this wine:

California fruit bomb. Only my second of Steve Kistler's Pinots and very different from the last one (which, I believe was a different vintage).

4/11/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

Not as the bottle that I had 3-4 years ago. With time, this settled down after being pretty disjointed the first 30 minutes.

4/9/2021 - gresch wrote:

Good. After about 4 hours, this was in a better place, which was surprising since it seemed way past its prime upon opening (and at cellar temp). Simple, but pleasant. Light-medium weight, sour cherry on the palate. It could use more acidity.

3/24/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

I agree w/ other recent notes... Medium weight. This has a delicate spine of green that that gives it a nice lift. Long finish. Should be good complement for a lot of dishes.

3/24/2021 - gresch wrote:

Needs at least two hours to deaden the medicinal fruit-bomb nature upon opening.

3/17/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

Ready w/ little air.

1/1/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

I had some of this after a long decant (6 hours in the bottle & 2 in a decanter), then 3 days later (sealed away from air). This was excellent either way.

1/1/2021 - gresch Likes this wine:

Great wine w/ a great finish.

9/2/2020 - gresch wrote:

90-91 Medium to lighter weight for a pommard but with good concentration. Crunchy red fruit and a long finish.

8/9/2020 - gresch wrote:

Good value for its level

8/9/2020 - gresch Likes this wine:

Drank this over two nights. A bit too austere at the moment. Definitely needs food, or a lot more time for the tannins to smooth out. This left a different impression than prior bottles.

8/9/2020 - gresch Likes this wine:

Very complete and in a good place now.

8/9/2020 - gresch Likes this wine:

Very good by itself after a couple hours. I’d expect this to go for quite a while longer (10 years). First clos st denis for me, but what I would expect from the appellation. Approachable with friendly spices and a beguiling, long finish.

7/14/2020 - gresch Likes this wine:

Drank without decanting. This still has a long life ahead. Will wait 5 years for the next one.

6/14/2020 - gresch wrote:

Judging not against CA sparkling wine, but quality Champagne.