1/17/2022 - losososjoe Likes this wine:

This is what the gods drink after a long day of tormenting humanity.

2/5/2022 - Immigrator Likes this wine:

Dark garnet color--nearly opaque, with aromas of blackberries, cherry, and leather. On the palate, I note blackberries, red fruit, and hints of herbs, olive juice, and mineral/limestone. Nicely full bodied with medium-firm tannins, medium acidity and a finish that lasts and lasts; really well integrated. Based on the relative strength of the tannins, I think this will continue to offer rewards for another 7-10 years--but it's drinking beautifully right now. We enjoyed it with a Flannery California Reserve New York Strip (Berserker Day!), reverse seared and medium rare. Yum!

1/11/2022 - Swaggering Beaunie Likes this wine:

Another bottle ready to go without a decant. These are going quickly at my house. Good QPR @ $33 from WTSO.

1/17/2019 - guitarguy wrote:

I was disappointed by this wine given JB’s critical acclaim. It was boring, muted, didn’t give much at all. I’m thinking Saxum’s may be best in their infancy. Just had a decent Paderewski but again, maybe less a mouthful than I expected.

12/20/2018 - RWG Likes this wine:

Nice young Rhone. Would like to see how this evolves over time. Over the course of 2H it opened up and resolved a bit. Blackberrys, cassis, rocky soil. Liked it.

10/26/2018 - neruda11 Likes this wine:

Mamma mia, sublime! First Huet sec we’ve ever had and we both have a new favorite white wine! Can’t wait to try another of Huet’s vineyards to compare!

7/20/2017 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:

So, so good. From the first smell and taste you pretty much know you're in for a treat. But, for me, it's when those aromas carry over to the palate, just as they should - but then they get turned up a few notches, and it's all just heavenly. So much freshness on the palate, the energy of mineral, strawberries, tingly kiwi - even the dusty earth is exciting. It's many things at many different temperatures, and I fully encourage you to explore. 85% Nebbiolo with 15% Vespolina. This is the total package; stock up before they're gone. 13,0% abv., thru 2020. recommended+

https://www.ItalianWine.blog

1/13/2016 - cbuhlman wrote:

magnum, decant.
Saturated garnet, medium- full bodied, high quality cabernet fruit with currant and tobacco and graphite. Really singing.
This is traditionally made and faithful to the terroir. This producer represents the kind of wine that got me interested in Bordeaux. It's a testament to what kind of owners they are, where they completely ignored the fruit bomb trend of the past two decades and did their own thing.
Evolved into something more as the night went on, taking on secondary notes of spice and slight garrigue- which tells me it still has a lot of stuffing to go another 10 years.
90-92

5/6/2015 - johneagle Likes this wine:

OK but given how good 2001 is, far from the heights of Rieussec or Suduiraut. A bit one dimensional. Don't leave these too long

7/5/2014 - Redguy wrote:

Decanted 20 hours. Opened up quite nicely. A bit simple from a flavor standpoint with its dark blackberry and plummy fruits and flashing earthy and herbal veins. Woven in is a pleasant streak of integrated acid that keeps the wine fresh. But it is the mouthfeel where this shines with its completely round and generous presence, where the silky texture belies the full body, concentration, and power. Nothing wowed here, but a well balanced big ole boy that drank quite well after the decant. Hopefully additional cellar time will add some complexity.

2/28/2014 - SMZ wrote:

Spectacular. Beautiful nose of vanilla and berries. Everything is in perfect harmony. I've now had the Talley Rincon and Rosemary's vineyards ... Both excellent, really high end, bursting with flavor.

12/1/2013 - fdaner wrote:

2nd one that was full of spritz and VA. Undrinkable and down the drain. NR

8/29/2013 - Redguy Does not like this wine:

Huge, fat, and sluggish...massive extract, lots of wood, and the warmer aspects of the vintage are taking over and pushing this into Willy Wonka land. This is a 10+ on the richness scale, and shows little poise or balance and even less freshness. At this point the profile is dominated by brown sugar, dark wood, basalmic, and earthy notes. Similarly port-like and portly as the '09 Larner Grenache I had a month ago. Loved these 2009 HS wines on release but I do not like they way ageing...at least the grenache based ones.

All that being said is not enough to tarnish my overall appreciation for Russel and his wines. A top flight producer of outstanding wines that are a great value and pale only to the warmth, friendliness, and generosity of the man himself. One of Paso's finest.

8/21/2013 - The Wine Write wrote:

Popped and poured. A bit disappointing. There just wasn't the oomph I expect in HS.

1/23/2013 - TSBWine Likes this wine:

91+ Points. Honestly, this wine was a real trip and very enigmatic in the glass. Serially tasted over about 3 hours with ever-changing characteristics and seriously dynamic fruit characteristics. My view is that this is a quality wine that is not quite resolved in the bottle. There's a power struggle here between the Syrah and Grenache that feels like a constant wrestling match. At this point neither grape is quite complementary to one another and until the Grenache takes a back-seat with bottle age the only real enjoyment of the wine will come as an academic exercise.

At first pour the wine is intensely "grapey" on the nose with some pleasing meat/animal notes behind it. On the palate the wine the Syrah is very dominant with intensely dark fruit, dusty gravel, graphite and a fine limestone sinew running throughout. Clearly very primary, the fruit can't seem to get out of its own way and pushes off some of the secondary characteristics that seem to be lurking on the midpalate. With some additional aeration the fruit takes on a very wild character that speaks of both ripe blackberry and raspberry. The wine touches briefly touches on some baking spice notes but the wine is a bit brawny to show any sophistication.

Over time the wine evolves in a somewhat unstable way. Fruit notes drift back and forth between wildberries, blackberry, grape, black currant, raspberry, red currant and black cherry. On the mid-palate the gravel notes came and went along with characteristics of limestone, graphite/iron, faint notes of licorice, cola spices, thyme and oregano (never got to "garrigue" for me which is far more distinctive). With extensive aeration there were also some notes that were difficult for me to decipher on the palate. My best approximation is oil cured black olive but at that point many of the characteristics weren't quite delineated.

My perspective is that this is a quality wine with lots of potential but isn't quite "there" yet. It's overly primary at the moment and it needs some bottle age before it comes together in a harmonious way. It's too disjointed and suffers from a lack of focus. At the same time, it has a fine textural elegance that speaks to a finer, more sophisticated wine. There's enough acid here to keep it fresh and a vein of limestone that helps lift it from being too heavy on the palate. An intriguing wine that could be going places. I would give it another 2 years for the Grenache and Syrah to come together in a more harmonious way. Possibly a much better wine with maturation, right now though it comes across as an angst-ridden teenager.

12/22/2012 - gmbdds wrote:

Oxidized. Apple cider color upon pouring was the first bad sign and the taste was just not right. Too bad.

11/28/2012 - beezer6 wrote:

Yummy pink peppercorns, balanced palate. Feminine character.
Some sweet modern styling with softer tannins. Drinking well now.
Great fruit on the attack then lends a more rustic back end. Really nice showing of an underrated vintage in my opinion.