Tasting Notes 2,763 found

Ok. Don't buy again. (28 views)

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Great Pinot. Ton of structure. (23 views)

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Fantastic summer evening wine. Refreshing, citrus on nose, smooth on palate. Paired well with scallops (17 views)

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One off aand the last of a screamer of a deal of 3 Profiles (this, the ‘07 and a ‘10) and a ‘07 Oakville Grade at an average price of $65. I finished off a half case of this about 6 months ago which fluctuated significantly (93-96, with the weakest bottles, interestingly, coming in the middle). This, like the 6th, was a strong bottle, singing off the pour and throughout 2 nights, both on its own and with food (mixed grill one night, red sauce pasta the second), drinking as if it has years to go in its window (extending mine by 3 years). While these Merryvale cabs and Profiles don’t make the case that Merryvale should be talked about in the same breath as Abreu (albeit a lot more $) or Ovid or that the winery’s price of $350 (maybe even more now?) for the Profile is any kind of sane, at the secondary market price in the low $100s, let alone the mid $60s I paid, these are quite great, almost memorable. Easy 96 on this if scoring. (331 views)

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Holding up quite well. Bacon, dark berries, solid structure. (19 views)

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First of 2 ($43.99@) from the big box wine store a couple of months ago. On the nose and palate, medium vibrant notes of apples, pears and lesser amounts of orange rind and tropical fruit cocktail, sweet white florals, river rocks and lees. Very light gold/crystalline, medium to full bodied, medium to thick legs. Medium acidity, which is well integrated, no heat. VG complexity, persistence and intensity. I’m fond of this producer, particularly its Profile and have had many of its other wines with more mixed feelings, but this is my first go with this cuvee, the white analog to the Profile (get it, Silhouette, Profile?). A lot of what gets CA chards over the hump of acceptability for me is absence as much as presence: lack (or at least minimal) oakiness, vanilla, sweetness and present alcohol. Check, check, check and check. This wine presents with notable balance, with just enough richness so that you’d confidently put your chips on its CA provenance. This gives this a nice glide and delivery, making a really good sipper on its own, and I recall it being solid against a couple of seafood dishes, although writing this TN 2 weeks later, don’t remember what they were. What this wine lacked for me was enough energy and delineation, which could have taken it closer to excellence, and made it more distinctive drinking experience. Since most of my wine consumption is on my own, I rarely have more than one bottle open at a time (dust on my Coravin, alas), but this was the unusual occurrence where I had a glass left of the ‘16 Morlet CdC left from dinner the night before I popped this. That wine is my favorite chard from either side of the Pond, 4x more than I paid for this, and I wondered on opening how this could compete, and the answer was a TKO in favor of Luc, with his wine showing far superior frame, tension and depth. The showing here is solid, and at what I paid, a bit over half of retail (note that with careful shopping, this producer’s wines can be often had at deep discounts to retail/winery prices), a good but unexceptional choice. Glad for one more, but probably wouldn’t be a buyer again at this price. Should be at or around peak but will drink well for at least a few more years. 93+ (221 views)

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Late posting this note.....enjoyed the bottle a few weeks back with Carol and Mary at a cute little Italian place here. I have to laugh a little at the CT drinking window on this one, which apparently ended back in 2013?

This bottle needed only a 15-20 min double decant, for sediment mostly. Back into the bottle and enjoyed over 2 hours with dinner. Medium garnet in the glass. Intoxicating nose of red fruit, florals, incense.....palate is completely integrated with both secondary and tertiary notes but the fruit is still going pretty strong even if the wine is just a tad thin in the mouth. I'd say this could go another 5 years easy, so a new drinking window of 2029! (629 views)

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Five years since I had the first bottle. This is a fantastic Napa Valley red. Left bank Bordeaux style. Dark red. Cherries, berries, cedar and chocolate in the nose. Very full bodied and complex. Softish tannins. (90 views)

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mushy distal cork but came out fine with an ah so; a bit of funk blows off fairly quickly; initial blast of high quality oak out-competes the fruit; the fruit then opens up with plum and dirt, keeping up with the oak; still drinkable but likely better five years ago (60 views)

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Attorney Somm's YouTube channel has all kinds of detailed, pertinent, and well presented information from which I love to shop for wines to both taste and cellar.

Wow! At the right temperature, I can get to Dunnuck's 95. Initially I served it too cold and the intricate details and parsed characteristics weren't present.

Buy more.
Very similar to the occasional Burgundian best!

( I'm always amazed/ashamed (?) that I will spend hundreds for a Burgundy Grand or Premier Cru, but cringe at $100 for a California Chardonnay of equal or better calibre!! I always shake my head when I frequently realize my own bias!)

Pale Straw gold
Flowers.. Honey suckle?
Honeyed Mandarin oranges
Stone fruits peaches pineapple
Overly ripe yellow apple
Vanilla
Silky

Body medium full
Alcohol high
Acid high
Viscosity high tension/mouthfeel silky
Finish long 60s+


Chardonnay 100%
14.5% abv

Atlantic Scampi Sole

PS Drink The Rainbow!! (164 views)

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Drank with Chris at Easter. (53 views)

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Perhaps slightly over the hill (151 views)

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Cabernet Sauvignon vs. Bordeaux 1974-1985 (Lafayette, Ca.): Sweat sox on the nose, red color in the glass, lots of nice red fruit, good taste, hint of glycerin, simple, pleasant finish with a hint of acid. My #8 and Group #6. (115 views)

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Had low expectations for this bottle, which was kept from release until 2014 in a steel lockbox in an unconditioned San Francisco garage, then for another decade in temp-controlled storage. But, surprise surprise, it’s in very good shape. Stood up 24 hrs and then decanted gently, this has good color, ruby to garnet, from the get-go. Takes about half an hour to show anything from behind some remaining tannin, and the first signals are faint, but by two hours in, this is a different wine, with a lively nose that combines a bit of black cherry and currant fruit with tobacco and a lot of olive. The tapenade aroma remains dominant throughout, but each small glass seems more exuberant and a little more complex than the one before it. Paired nicely with Sami Tamimi’s oven-roasted lamb shawarma with yogurt tahini sauce and a tomato-cucumber salad. Fog for the win. (95 views)

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Purchased recently fr Benchmark for $23 as I figured my downside was limited given this was around when Bob Levy was still at Merryvale before moving full time over to Harlan. Anyway, glad I did as the wine turned out great. Still dark fruit (no real bricking at rim), with some tannin, wood, dust and tar and medium+ finish. Not huge but nicely structured w some power left. Great QPR (85 views)

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