5/11/2024 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Time to drink if you own it in my opinion. Still good although a bit unbalanced. Blueberry, chocolate on the back end.

5/10/2024 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

3rd bottle I have had over the past 5 years and this was the best. Balanced fruit on the back end, cherry, plum, also black tea. velvety finish. decanted for an hour. Heavy heavy sediment that required cleaning filter before could decant entire bottle.

12/24/2023 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

brittle cork posed some challenges, but hand't impacted wine yet. despite drinking window predictions, seemed like has several years left at least of drinkability. decanted 1/2 hour, and fruit forward made it seem like much younger wine. smooth.

1/1/2023 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Very Bold but smooth finish

12/30/2021 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

well balanced, saddle leather, tobacco, balanced with a tannic somewhat dry finish.

12/30/2021 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Opened 5 hours early per some comments and thanks for the suggestion -- very understated compared to previous years I've had, but silky, perfectly balanced, undertone of black currant and earthy.

12/10/2021 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Solid but unspectacular. Surprisingly warm with a feeling of high alcohol content but not unbalanced..

11/27/2021 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

Drink side by side with 2008, and it shined in compariaon. Decanted an hr which was pretty much on the mark. Isnin its prime right now- smooth and balanced.

11/27/2021 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Drank side by side with 2009, which was much better at this stage. Decanted for 1 hr but needed 2 until started to open up. Was solid, but would have rather let it have a few years.

10/1/2021 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Bold, cigars, smooth finish. Drank because drinking window ending 2021 but could age for several more years

11/29/2020 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Perhaps past a bit— bot as good as other bottles i had of this, but this is my last

9/10/2020 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Drank way better than its price

7/26/2020 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Solid but not remarkable for age and price point.

5/2/2020 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

going to miss this merlot, as this is my last bottle. won over friends WWV with it. Smooth, balanced. A merlot that makes other people question what it because it is so robust, and yet all of the qualities of a merlot that really confuses the taster.

5/2/2020 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

in its prime, drinking well above its price range. smooth, bold,

4/18/2020 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

fruit forward, well rounded but soft cab. pleasant and enjoyable in casual setting, but certainly not remarkable.

4/17/2020 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

Second bottle I have had of this in past week. Tried only because I was prepared to dump it based on last week's bottle. Clearly headed on the same path to degradation as previous bottle as the beginnings of the same flavors are there, however, still worth drinking. As was stored side by side the other and the bottle not bad, appears to just be aging inconsistently. Recommend drinking soon before it is lost.

4/10/2020 - chiefilliniboy Does not like this wine:

Solid Phelps. 2 hours to fully show. Agree with other comments that has plenty of time left, although would say 2-3. Smooth finish.

4/10/2020 - chiefilliniboy Does not like this wine:

has gone way down hill since my last bottle... over ripe fruit. not particularly enjoyable and really disappointed I didn't drink sooner

4/10/2020 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

bottle was pristine and stored appropriately since I have had it, but wine had terrible odor to it and was undrinkable.

4/8/2020 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Favorite quarantine wine so far! Bold but really smooth still. was worried would be running past its time but still getting better in my opinion. unfortunately, was my last bottle.

3/19/2020 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Have to echo some previous comments regarding taste. Stored in ideal conditions and believe I am a year late on this one. improved with time. bold, but somewhat flat and overripe. drinkable, but not as enjoyable as I am guessing it was.

1/1/2020 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

first bottle of WWV I have every had that I was actually somewhat disappointed in. more jammy than expected, especially given that I have drank before and drank Sagemoor for close to a decade. best zone was after 2 hours but finished bottle next afternoon and didn't improve.

1/1/2020 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

Rating this 5 points lower than the bottle I drank 9 months ago. Possible I drank too cool to start, but did not really improve. fruit forward.

1/1/2020 - chiefilliniboy Does not like this wine:

really disappointed. funny aftertaste. cork was hard but otherwise in good shape, but wine was seemingly way past its time. First Barbaresco I have ever not liked. Wanted to blame bottle but no evidence of issue.

12/24/2019 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Won xmas eve wine of the night... clearly has years to go.

12/15/2019 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

gets better every year I sample a bottle...

6/3/2019 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

time to drink up but great dessert wine that had people guessing...

5/25/2019 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

Never lets me down. drank as the second bottle after an older Insignia and frankly it held up well against it especially give the price.

5/25/2019 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are slow. There is moderate sediment in the bottle. The body is medium/full. The wine has satin-like texture. The wine finishes medium. drink within a year I would say.

4/22/2019 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

debating whether it was the perfect time to open or whether should have waiting yet another year or two - clearly has much more time that I thought it would. extraordinarily smooth. finished off bottle 10 hours later and it may have been even better.

12/26/2018 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Was oddly disappointed by this wine, not because it was bad, but because I was hoping for so much more. Was really light and enjoyable, but frankly drank like it was 5 years old. hit its peak after an hour of decanting, but didn't experience any drop off as it sat for a few hours like others seem to have experienced. Despite the 2018 drink by date cellartracker identified, seemed like could wait for many many more years. leather and sour cherry.

10/7/2018 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

black color, strong saddle leather smell and taste that was prominent even after 4 hours. Lacking in some Sangiovese characteristics, and drank more like a CDP. Not my favorite Walla Walla, and yet interesting in its own right. Would encourage drinking remaining bottles of the 2013.

9/22/2018 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

decant for minimum of 45 minutes. well balanced, smooth.

9/21/2018 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

smooth, velvety. fruit faded as it decanted, found the sweet spot after about 3 hours and became well balanced. almost black. probably the most sediment I've ever had in a bottle.

1/5/2018 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

Time to drink up, but thoroughly enjoyable. smooth, rather muted fruit, but complex.

12/25/2017 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Lots of sediment, strong leather smell but less on the palate, found its zone after an hour. After the second hour, become less enamored with it. Solid, but on the decline, and didn't live up to the expectations I had from the previous bottles. Will not wait more than a few months to drink my last bottle.

11/18/2017 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

This is my 5th bottle of the 05, and reviewing my previous notes, I believe it the best. clearly has benefited from the extra time. definitely needed an hour to decant, but then it put an older Silver Oak to shame at dinner. will not drink my last one for at least 6 more months.

11/18/2017 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

not very complex. fruit is subtle and almost hard to find. wish I had drank this 6 months earlier, but still enjoyed.

7/18/2017 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

lacked the depth I would have expected. fruit on nose and at first taste, smooth finish, but was flat despite the general pleasing taste. believe I missed the window.

7/14/2017 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Could not have been happier with the bottle. well rounded yet bold, seemed to be right in the zone.

6/3/2016 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Decant for at least 30 mins- is a completely different wine. Spice. Smooth

5/10/2016 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

The wine looks crimson colored. The legs are medium. There is moderate sediment in the bottle. The body is medium. The wine has polished texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity. drinking perfect and well above its price point.

1/31/2016 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

Need to give this 15-20 mins after opening-- then smooths out quickly. Deep ruby- bold.

12/27/2014 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

smooth and at an age where almost hard to tell is pinot without hints to some of my crowd that shared. Drinks a little "flat", so recommend drinking up as its time is near the end

12/24/2014 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

solid xmas eve wine--alcohol still dominates, but on the end, otherwise smooth. recommendations I read to decant were dead on--might go 30 minutes minimum

9/27/2014 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

Last of my bottle of this vintage--ended on a solid note. great color. perhaps a bit past prime but worth every penny

9/17/2014 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

was somewhat disappointed. flat and shallow, not nearly as good as previous years I've had that caused me to by this one. cork was fine, but perhaps somewhere along the shipping chain wasn't optimal temperatures or something

8/21/2014 - chiefilliniboy wrote:

sort of disappointed by the wine--perhaps waited to long to drink. great color--and had all the hallmarks, but it just sort of falls flat, and shallow. more of a disappointment than anything bad.

7/25/2014 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine:

definitely time to drink before end of the year. robust but smooth, but sort of one dimensional