Wine Type | Vintage Name Variety Locale | Date Posted Score Helpful Comments More... |
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Red |
2018 Keplinger Hangman'sCarneros Syrah more |
5/19/2024 - VincentStThomas Likes this wine: 94 pointsDeep inky purple in color. On the palate, it’s incredibly rich and concentrated, though not so tightly wound as I was expecting given some other reviews I’ve seen on CT. Charred meat and tapenade, with something slightly floral hanging around in the background and this ever so slight dusty mineral quality. Tannins are still quite firm and structured, though not dominant. This is a heady, ponderous wine that could no doubt hang around another decade or two in the cellar. |
Red |
2012 Keplinger LithicAmador County Red Rhone Blend more |
5/4/2024 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: NRFirst of a recent auction purchase of 3/6 (3 of these, 3 ‘12 Basilisks) having a one off of this about a year ago. Good to go if slightly thin off the pour, this filled out like its across the pond CdP brethren and was just lovely, with a cornucopia of red berries, currants, rhubarb, pomegranate, figs and dark berries, forest floor, sous bois, dark florals and anise with a deceptively potent underlying acidity giving this wonderful lift and length. I’d have guessed on opening that this was at the end of, or even slightly past, its peak drinking window, but it improved, slightly but steadily, over 2 nights so that the last glass was best, and I’m extending my drinking window by 2 years. Terrific both with food (although I’m now scratching my head trying to remember what I drank it with) and on its own. Helen’s Rhones fill a wonderful spot for me, more giving than their cool climate CA kiin, but with more structure and less alcohol than their Paso brethren. Every so slightly preferred over its all Grenach sib of the vintage, the Basilisk. 93+ |
Red |
2021 Keplinger BasiliskRussian River Valley Grenache more |
5/6/2024 - pakabear Likes this wine: 94 pointsThis needs a couple years. Dark red and black fruits, baking spices, milk chocolate, chewy tannins that are a bit pervasive right now. There is upside here after some time. |
Red |
2021 Keplinger El DiabloRussian River Valley Grenache Blend, Grenache more |
5/6/2024 - Franken Berry Likes this wine: NRI gave this 30 minutes of air, with a swirl in a decanter. Still a bit of alcohol on the nose and palate suggesting this could have used a bit more air time. On the approach, this came across a bit darker, blue fruited than expected, a bit masculine if you will, but finished more red fruited and feminine- cherries, raspberries, a hint of watermelon. Loved the complexity here, could use another 1-2 years of bottle time |
Red |
2018 Keplinger Diamond BarFair Play Syrah more |
5/4/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine: 95 pointsVery enjoyable at PNP. Refined tannins and balance make this a very pleasing bottle at this stage in development. |
Red |
2019 Keplinger Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Ranch Vineyardmore |
5/3/2024 - Cablover1982 Likes this wine: 98 pointsTasted this Keplinger side by side with Herold Oakville Ranch ‘19. |
Red |
2019 Keplinger Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill RanchOakville more |
5/2/2024 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 97 pointsThree hour decant. Very deep dark magenta color. Blackberry, boysenberry, bitter chocolate, slate, and Rice Krispies. Dry, satiny, full bodied palate. Firm, full tannins on the long finish. 6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (5) |
Red |
2019 Keplinger Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill RanchOakville more |
4/16/2024 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 97 pointsBrought to VHR winery by MN so we could observe a side by side treatment of the same (relatively same, at least, both in terms of blocks and different vintage) grapes. I had this 2 years ago at Keplinger’s tasting room in Napa, and bought a bottle, and while I don’t recall DJ’s aeration ablutions, it was, for my palate, completely unready to drink, although highly promising. MN opened and slow ox’d this 6 hours before we got to the winery, and to say this needed that, and probably could have used 4x that, would be an understatement. Still, this wine has gone from potential greatness to being near the doorstep of it, as the black currants, plums and dark berries are far more apparent, joining very dark earth, spice, dark florals and rocky minerality in a wine that almost has an LPV tang at present. I’m not nearly as vintage wise as most of my CT friends, so I won’t be teaching any master classes on ‘19 vs. Bruce’s ‘21, but if I had both bottles within reach, I’d pop the cork on Bruce’s wine waaaay before this, as that wine’s wonderful silkiness currently contrasts favorably with the quality, even if much diminished in the past 2 years, of picking sharp objects out of your teeth and so much chewiness you may be checking to see if you’ve exceeded the FDA daily fiber requirement. Still, this reinforces my earlier thought that this will be an absolute banger, and, again, comparing the 2 bottles, at a solidly lower winery price, a very justifiable choice for wine spend dollars if just one bottle is possible. This could ultimately be the better wine of the 2, full stop, but it isn’t for me yet. 96 on this today with 98-99+ potential, so 97 seems a fair compromise. Huge thanks to MN here, as everywhere else, for his generosity. 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3) |
Red |
2015 Keplinger BasiliskRussian River Valley Grenache more |
4/26/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine: 95 pointsTightly coiled at PNP. A gentle splash decant got the show going. |
Red |
2019 Keplinger Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill RanchOakville more |
4/25/2024 - Cablover1982 Likes this wine: 95 pointsIncredible wine. 4 hour decant. Bright fruited, lots of red cherry, concrete, little tobacco, baking spices, graphite and rock dust. Vivacious, boisterous and appealing. Only downside was it kinda felt hot/burning at the finish. It’s rare I ever get that cause I love big Napa wines. I’d love to get more and age them a bit. 4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3) |
Red |
2012 Keplinger El DiabloRussian River Valley Grenache Blend, Grenache more |
4/21/2024 - jdpearse wrote: 91 pointsAfter my last bottle I was very hesitant to open this one. What a surprise. |
Red |
2014 Keplinger CalderaEl Dorado County Mourvèdre Blend, Mourvèdre more |
4/14/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine: 93 pointsI'm really digging the flinty gun oil notes upon PNP. Caldera with some age and really be a beautiful wine. Not the heights of 2010 but not far behind. |
Red |
2016 Keplinger El DiabloRussian River Valley Grenache Blend, Grenache more |
4/12/2024 - AGELVIS wrote: 90 pointsSplash decant. Deep, hazy, slightly faded magenta color. Raspberry, orange rind, caramelized onion, leather, and subtle blackberry. Dry, tart palate, with good acidity. Firm, medium intensity tannins on the long finish. |
Red |
2021 Keplinger Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill RanchOakville more |
4/12/2024 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: NRSplash decant. Deep dark slightly hazy intense magenta color. Meaty, dark fruited (and slightly minty) nose that is currently holding back. Dry, velvety palate, with good acidity. Firm tannins on the longish finish. 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3) |
Red |
2021 Keplinger Fuego y MarSonoma Coast Syrah more |
4/12/2024 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 94 pointsSplash decant. Nearly opaque intense purplish magenta color. Barbecue brisket and blackberry pie sum this up quite nicely. Smooth, dry, dusty palate. Firm, medium intensity tannins on the medium long+ finish. 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (7) |
Red |
2019 Keplinger Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill RanchOakville more |
4/12/2024 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 96 pointsSplash decant. Deep dark intense magenta color. Powdered boysenberry, black plum, river rock, violet, and brown spice. Very dry, gritty palate, with nice, pixelated acidity. Satiny tannins on the longish finish. 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (7) |
Red |
2015 Keplinger LithicAmador County Red Rhone Blend more |
4/14/2024 - AGELVIS Does not like this wine: 82 pointsThirty minutes in the glass before tasting. Very deep hazy ruby magenta color. Raspberry, roast beef, mushroom, and brown sugar. Very dry, smooth palate. Firm, lower intensity tannins on the medium finish. 40% Mourvèdre, 34% Grenache, 26% Syrah 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (6) |
Red |
2021 Keplinger El DiabloRussian River Valley Grenache Blend, Grenache more |
4/12/2024 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 95 pointsThirty minutes in the glass before tasting. Deep and slightly hazy magenta color. Underripe cherry, nutmeg, raspberry, slate, and hydrangea. Super smooth, dry palate, with superfine, dusty acidity. Firm, full, medium intensity tannins on the longish finish. 100% Grenache 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3) |
Red |
2012 Keplinger BasiliskRussian River Valley Grenache more |
4/12/2024 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 93 pointsFirst of 6 (3 ‘12 Basilisks, 3 ‘12 Lithics, $35@) from a recent auction purchase. On the nose and palate, medium to full notes of red currants, pomegranate, rhubarb, sweet cranberries and blueberries, wet earth, exotic spice, orange rind, forest floor, and anise. Dark brownish purple, medium to full bodied, thick legs. Medium+ tannins and acidity staying just a bit separate, slight bit of booziness. VG complexity, VG+ intensity and persistence. I bought a ‘19 of this at a tasting (where I tasted it) at the Napa tasting room, but otherwise, my first go with this bottling, continuing to fill out my dance card with Helen’s Rhones. This needed about 15 minutes to open and sort itself out then was good and good to, staying consistent over 2 nights (I’m not sure where the 5 hours of air from another recent taster was needed). Fulsome and rich but retaining solid structure at the far end of where I typically enjoy the Keplinger red Rhones, this was in a good place, mid to late in peak drinking window. I didn’t give it the best food matches—chicken soup one night, red sauce pasta another—but it should pair well with pork, lamb or saucy dishes and was quite nice to sip on its own. Great qpr at my purchase price. As an aside, I’d not noticed when I bid, but the labels were damaged on the lot, particularly the 3 Basiliks. I’m often a bit wary of that, just because I think it might be a sign of bad storage, but the price was right here, and there was no sign that this was anything beyond an aesthetic mar. Will drink remaining bottles in the next 12-18 months. NB. Yet another sediment dump, so decant or watch your last sip. 93+ |
Red |
2016 Keplinger SumoAmador County Petite Sirah more |
4/7/2024 - silton Likes this wine: 94 pointsThick & purple |
Red |
2013 Keplinger LithicAmador County Red Rhone Blend more |
4/6/2024 - citizen1 Likes this wine: 90 pointsTook a day to really open up. |
White |
2015 Keplinger EldoradoSierra Foothills White Rhone Blend more |
4/3/2024 - dclaggett Likes this wine: 93 pointsCheck in bottle 4.5 years after first one. Acidity has stepped up a notch; remains lightest of gold in color; |
Red |
2014 Keplinger SumoAmador County Petite Sirah more |
4/3/2024 - Ralphie1 Likes this wine: 93 pointsVibrant nose. Bold fruit. Will continue to be great for another few years. This is one of Helen’s great wines! Beautiful! |
Red |
2019 Keplinger Hangman'sCarneros Syrah more |
3/30/2024 - Cablover1982 Likes this wine: 95 pointsFirst Keplinger wine for me. Quite impressive showing for the ‘19 Hangman’s from Carneros. Dense purple color, mild funk turning to smoky bbq, scorched flowers, toasted dark fruits and mixture of spices. 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2) |
Red |
2021 Keplinger Fuego y MarSonoma Coast Syrah more |
3/22/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine: 95 pointsJust starting to sample 21’s and so far I’ve been very impressed with the tannins. This might be the best Fuego Y Mar to date. The structure of this wine should make for an absolute gem if given proper time to come together. |