November 23, 2022 - Fruity blackberry on the from end. A little bit of a bite on the back end.
June 19, 2022 - Needed am hour to open and come together. Great blue and black fruit, heavy on the cherry and plum. Great sage brush as well. Lovely overall
March 8, 2021 - Needed time to breath. After an hour it was nice. Blackberry, forest floor— complex and enjoyable. Could use some more cellar time.
November 26, 2020 - Got this in a sale for under $40, a good way to check out a well-regarded producer. One PnP it was good, but I got mostly the higher register, including some oak influence, and nice ripe Syrah. This wants air, because it started to unfurl and show spice, meat, bacon, and sweet herbs. The real tell was the third night - a half a glass remained in the capped, but not gassed, bottle and drank very well, showing Christmas spices along with the other mentioned elements. So decant this! 90+
October 3, 2020 - well integrated. Tight. Expected it to open up after 2-3 hours, but really didn't. Not sure if needed a decant or not.
August 1, 2020 - Acquired by auction. Cigar box, spice, Smokey bacon and a hint of truffle on the nose. Not a fruit bomb; very integrated flavor, good acidity, medium + tannins. Finish of vanilla, hint of cloves, smooth spice with some dark plum.
May 1, 2020 - Fantastic. Grilled meat and white pepper and onion jam.
October 4, 2019 - Denner wines have personality, good fruit, earthiness, tart finish, medium bodied, not a quaffer, enjoyed the bottle with stuffed pork chops.
July 22, 2019 - Nice, but high alcohol. Black fruit forward; plum. Still young. Had a wet paper flavor to it, so I’m thinking maybe corked, but no aromas on the cork, sooo... guess I’ll try another bottle.
June 15, 2019 - We did a wine night with a group of friends. We went with three waves.
First Wave: White as people arrived in the afternoon while it was still hot out.
2017 Christian Salmon Sancerre Cuvee Vieilles Vignes. Served very cold; chilled in bucket of ice and water. Excellent nose with citrus and honeysuckle. Crisp drinker. More citrus and honey on palate. Everyone enjoyed it cold. Call it a 92-93.
2015 Ramey Chardonnay Russian River Valley. I might have had it a bit cold. I was shooting for 45-50F but I think is was closer to 40F. Not a ton of stone fruit on the nose or palate; was looking for peach or honey or wet stone. Main flavor that I detected was oak. Not buttery like some California Chardonnays but did not get the wet granite that some French Burgundys have either. Call it an 89.
Clear favorite in the first wave was the Sancerre.
Second Wave: 2012 Denner Horizontal Tasting. Opened up the bottles 5 hours before tasting. Poured wine into glasses an hour before tasting and covered with an index card.
2012 Denner Syrah. Excellent nose. Hints of sandalwood and plums on the nose. Smooth texture with a long finish. A couple of people mentioned that they detected a slight “wet dirt in a barn” smell and taste but in a good way. Tasting notes mentioned sweet tobacco – maybe this was what we were detecting and describing. Excellent wine; call it a 93.
2012 Denner The Dirt Worshipper. Strong white pepper as soon as you removed the index card. One person said wet coals but we think they were influenced by the tasting notes. What does wet coals smell like? A couple of us thought we might have had kalamata olive on the palate but it could have been that we had eaten a couple of the olives. Hints of blackberry were the most prevalent. Also really good; call it a 93 or 94.
2012 Denner Mother of Exiles. Darker color than the previous two. Black current and pencil lead on the nose. Hints of plum and chocolate on the palate. Very smooth with a long finish. Not the strong grippy tannins that some of the Napa / Sonoma Cabs can have. This was smooth from start to finish. Call it a 93 or 94.
Third Wave. Finish up with a couple of reds to keep the night going.
2014 Chateau Tournefeuille La Terrasse. Opened it 5 hours before drinking. Bright red fruit. Juicy. Certainly did not go with the Denners. Probably a mistake on my part adding this as one of the ones towards the end of the night. No one thought much of it. Call it an 88 or 89.
2009 Chateau Poujeaux. Opened it 5 hours before drinking. Darker in color and much better than the Tournefeuille. Smooth but not as smooth or complex as the Denners. Call it a 90.
We ran out so I opened up a 2012 Stonestreet Cabernet Sauvignon Cougar Ridge. I poured it through a venturi into a decanter. Dark inky color. Most prominent feature was the strong grippy tannins. It served as an excellent example of what the Denners did NOT have. It was not as smooth. But, in fairness, it was the end of the night and did not have nearly the amount of time as the other wines.
The favorite wines of the night were the Denner Dirt Worshipper and Denner Mother of Exiles; they tied for most votes. The Salmon Sancerre was also a favorite and had the best QPR of the night.