Search Results - Save This Search

Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments Comment Date Community Score More...
White

2016 Batono Qvevruli Tetri

 Kakheti White Blend more
Options

3/14/2019 - TexasBob Likes this wine: 88 points

Pretty yellow-orange color. Cloves, cinnamon, and orange peel on the nose. Typical mineral body you find in quality amphora wines. Citrus notes with strong dried apricot. Very dry and quite delicious; reminds me of a dry version of certain Sauternes I’ve tried.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    2/12/2022 5:33:00 PM - Why the 78 rating?
Red

2007 Chateau Musar

 Bekaa Valley Red Blend more
Options

7/4/2021 - Stoic Warrior wrote: 85 points

Mixed impression. I have had a dozen or so vintages of Ch. Musars over the years. I had high expectations of this 2007. I judged this was too young 4 years ago but it seems almost over the hill now (fwiw, proper cellaring). I agree with prior reviews that the aroma is appealing, with some tobacco and celery leaf present, and I agree with a hint of ripe red fruits on the palate, but they are dominated by the VA. There is just too much hot VA. It detracts.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    7/9/2021 1:58:00 PM - It's in a shut down "teenager" phase. Typical of Musars. Wait a couple years.
Red

2011 Blackbird Vineyards Arise

 Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more
Options

2/7/2020 - WinesnobZA wrote: 88 points

Not the best red blend I’ve ever had. Taste was flat with hints of being corked and somewhat sour finish. Would not purchase again.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    9/8/2020 6:35:00 PM - Sounds flawed
Red

1999 Chateau Musar

 Bekaa Valley Red Blend more
Options

2/22/2020 - drfischer wrote: 89 points

now a little bit too old

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    2/25/2020 1:15:00 PM - Actually quite youthful and in a 'nap' phase. Musar's are known to age very, very long.
Red

2012 Viña Gormaz Ribera del Duero 12 Linajes Roble Reserva

 Tempranillo more
Options

8/2/2018 - CWilliam wrote: 84 points

I am a sucker for well priced wines at Costco that are highly rated (especially Termpanilo based wines). This is the second time that I have been extremely disappointed (especially given this was a $27.00 bottle of wine).

On pnp this was nearly undrinkable - an alcoholic mess.

After letting it sit for a few hours:

Dark red/black color. On nose, black cherry, strong alcohol, red licorice. On palate, medium body, medium acids/tannins / finish. Fruit primary - tart cherry, strawberry & cherry.

Not a lot here. Would not buy again - drinks like a $10 bottle of wine. 84+/-

[edit] Drank a glass 24 hours - the wine had come together. More 90+/- today. Decant for a few hours if opening now. Still not a rebuy but thought I would post this.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    4/15/2019 12:13:00 PM - Sounds like you need the wine to lay down a few years (typical with this region).
Red

2010 Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

 Corvina Blend, Corvina more
Options

2/21/2019 - boomecho Does not like this wine: 84 points

Vinturi aerated followed by a 90 minute decant.
Alcohol overwhelms the nose. Not much fruit on the palate either with only the barest essence of prunes. A simple wine that is on the light side for an amarone. It's best attribute is a smooth mouthfeel and nicely integrated tannins. The short finish is mostly heat again. This wine should be drinking really well right now and it is clearly not. Past it's due date...perhaps? Save your money.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    3/7/2019 12:09:00 PM - the 2010 is going through a shut-down phase right now. Sit on it a couple more years
Red

2001 Faustino Rioja I Gran Reserva

 Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
Options

10/13/2018 - ZachF88 Likes this wine: 92 points

This is a great Rioja that is drinking really well right now. After 30 min decant, tart red fruits (cranberry, cherry, raspberry, currants) gives way to leather, graham cracker, wet rock, toasty oak (but not overbearing) and violet. Med+/ long finish. Very good for the price paid. Sort of a hybrid of old school meets new school.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    10/27/2018 10:27:00 AM - I think so!
Red

2004 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Bosconia

 Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
Options

9/15/2018 - Kirk Grant wrote: NR

Mother of God...this smells AWESOME!! There are multiple earth-based notes of soil, mushroom, clove, and something that reminds me of old wood. Like an old railroad tie that you found in your grandfather's garage that's been there for decades, those kind of old-earthy smells...and they're glorious!! The palate is medium weight but the resolved tannins seem to give it a roundness almost as if the acidity barely provided a framework for the wine and then the acidity comes in and the mouth starts to salivate as waves of dried cherry, orange rind, clove smoke (yep the taste you get after smoking a clove), and a panoply of spice and mineral that seem difficult to wrap my head around. This is a wine I should have bought more of. Wow...way better than I was hoping or expecting from my last experience. Outstanding!!

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    10/6/2018 11:22:00 AM - 100% agree with your note!
Red

2012 Blackbird Vineyards Arise

 Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more
Options

9/9/2018 - BigBoy_Sonoma Does not like this wine: 70 points

Black fruit, pepper, more pepper, cedar, earthy notes with unbalanced acidity. Pepper overwhelms the wine it’s on the front, mid palate and finish. It was decanted 3+ hours and the pepper is still dominates. I am fan of blackbird but this is a huge disappointment. C-

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    9/12/2018 3:38:00 PM - 70 a bit harsh though
Red

2009 Alienor Grand Vin

 Lake County Red Bordeaux Blend more
Options

5/1/2018 - BigGDaddy Likes this wine: 92 points

Very nice wine. Surprised me. Very smooth.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    5/3/2018 10:25:00 AM - why the 82?
Red

2012 Blackbird Vineyards Illustration

 Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more
Options

5/2/2018 - msuwine wrote: 91 points

This savory Right Bank blend offers a more earthy and backward Old World profile than I had hoped for at the six-year mark. Cherry red in color, full in body, nose of blackberry, leather, and herbs. Tastes of boysenberry, crushed gravel, tar, and cedar, with a prickly and grainy finish that carries a hint of olives and pepper. 14.7% alcohol. Blend of 64% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. This most likely needs another year or two in order to integrate.

Perhaps it is the large amount of Cabernet Franc, but this wine is too grippy and spicy to be that enjoyable to me. There is Merlot fruit here, no doubt, but it still tastes a bit dark and inward, something that is a bit surprising in a CA vintage that generally is drinking well right now. Even though I've enjoyed the Arise in the past, my guess is that this blend just isn't my style.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    5/3/2018 10:23:00 AM - It still needs more time down to integrate
Red

2008 Chateau Musar

 Bekaa Valley Red Blend more
Options

4/25/2018 - Zorg wrote: 88 points

Still too young. Will try again 2020.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    4/26/2018 11:38:00 AM - try waiting until 2025 if you can. Musars benefit hugely from aging.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    4/27/2018 11:46:00 AM - I've talked with Marc Hochar and he told me most vintages go through a 'weird teenager stage' where they tend to close down and behave oddly. It typically lasts a few years but once it's over, the wines are amazing. Very odd way to talk about wine, but heck, my family has not been making awesome wines for years.
Red

2012 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 40th Anniversary

 Napa Valley more
Options

4/9/2018 - Bshoop wrote: NR

Absolute crap

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    4/12/2018 8:28:00 AM - Best review on here. Accurate, to the point, and 100% true! lol
Red

2003 Chateau Musar

 Bekaa Valley Red Blend more
Options

4/1/2018 - InVinjeVeritas wrote: 85 points

No fruit. Might be damaged from heat, a regular problem with Musar.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    4/2/2018 8:41:00 AM - Sounds flawed. 85 rating is unacceptable.
Red

2010 Eagles Trace Latitude 38

 Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more
Options

3/9/2018 - thesternowl Likes this wine: 92 points

Decanted for sediment. Whoa! There's a touch of brett! Dark cherries, cassis, raspberries, and horse blanket on the nose. Tart cherries and earth on the palate. Was really awesome with our meal. So old world that I would have never picked this as a California meritage, had it been served blind. Wonderful work from Gus Anderson...even if the brettanomyces wasn't intended. Charming stuff. Drink now or hold through 2025...possibly longer. Wish I had more.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    3/14/2018 2:56:00 PM - 100% agree with your note
Red

2012 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 40th Anniversary

 Napa Valley more
Options

1/27/2018 - ealboliras Likes this wine: 99 points

One of the great Caymus productions. Ripe fruit yet dry, like a Cuban cigar without the nicotine, long finish.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    2/1/2018 1:56:00 PM - 99, really?
Red

2005 Château de Reignac Balthus

 Bordeaux Supérieur Merlot more
Options

1/10/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 points

Lush, round, ripe, fat, dark, juicy fruits, licorice, smoke and espresso notes are all over the place. Concentrated, full bodied and rich, the wine is long, with intensity of flavor in the chocolatey, black cherry and even blacker licorice in the finish.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    1/10/2018 8:54:00 AM - Do you think it's drinking well right now or needs more time down?

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    1/10/2018 9:00:00 AM - Great! Thank you so much for the feedback. I really appreciate it.
Red

2011 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabajà

 Nebbiolo more
Options

12/12/2017 - forceberry wrote: 92 points

A traditionalist Barbaresco by all accounts: made from old-vineyard Nebbiolo located in the Rabajà cru. Fermented and macerated in stainless steel over a period of 3-4 weeks. Aged in new to 9-yo Slavonian oak casks (1700-2600 liters) for 22 months and for a further year in bottles before release.

Pretty deep, moderately translucent dark ruby color that turns a bit paler towards the rim. Obviously much deeper color than that of 2012 or 2013 (which are sitting in the neighboring glasses). Very ripe and brooding nose with dark-toned and somewhat restrained aromasof wizened black cherries, opulent dark fruits, some overripe forest berries and a little bit of tobacco. The ripeness of the fruit is quite obvious here always from the beginning. The wine is full-bodied, dense and chewy on the palate with very ripe and complex flavors of ripe black cherries, succulent dark plums, some sweet boysenberries, a hint of pruney dark fruit, light cherry liqueur character, a hint of peppery spice and a touch of pipe tobacco. The wine is very firm, structured and stern with high acidity and very ample, potent and noticeably grippy tannins. The finish is ripe, intense and somewhat warm with noticeable tannic grip and bold flavors of sour plums, sour cherry bitterness, some boysenberries, a little bit of blackberry marmalade sweetness and a hint of raisined and slightly pruney fruit.

This is a very big, firm and opulent Barbaresco from a warm vintage and it shows - but only in fruit. The structure is very impressively firm, tightly-knit and quite unyielding at the moment, so the wine is still pretty unapproachable right now. Overall the wine shows pretty classic old-school Barbaresco style, although in a quite ripe and fruit-forward fashion. Most likely won't start offering its best before its 10th birthday and will require more than 15 years of aging before starting to show really well. A lot of potential here.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    12/14/2017 10:16:00 AM - Excellent review. Thank you for the time and effort you put into it!
Red

2012 Château Teyssier St. Émilion Grand Cru

 Red Bordeaux Blend more
Options

3/12/2017 - Mrp2008 wrote: 87 points

Forward, easy drinking young Right Banker. Moderate complexity, good for a decent tariff.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    3/17/2017 11:24:00 AM - See any aging potential?
White

2010 Stony Hill Chardonnay

 Napa Valley more
Options

2/8/2016 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 93 points

Done in a style similar to Chateau Montelena, Stony Hill's Chardonnay is not taken through malolactic fermentation and is aged in oak barrels that, for the most part, are neutral. As such, it tends to be vibrantly acidic and shows little oak influence. The 2010 iteration is no exception. Pear, green apple, lavender and wet stone aromas are followed by a medium-bodied palate with similar flavors. The alcohol (listed as 13%) is nicely integrated and the middle stays solid. Closing with a lengthy, mineral-laden finish, this could easily be confused with premier cru Chassagne-Montrachet. Well-cellared bottles can be enjoyed over the next 7-9 years, which may seem long for those unfamiliar with the aging potential of Stony Hill Chardonnay. Drink now-2025.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    2/10/2016 8:11:00 AM - Great review and very informative. Knew very little about Stony Hill, but saw the bottle and bought it.
Red

2012 Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

 Oakville more
Options

1/28/2016 - croftar0 Does not like this wine: 87 points

Too acidic

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    1/29/2016 3:09:00 PM - too young!
Red

2012 Turley Zinfandel Old Vines

 California more
Options

12/17/2015 - aagrawal wrote: 85 points

Journal Club: Moderate intensity nose with spice, black fruit, some pomegranate; palate is full bodied, high alcohol, ripe black fruit. A bit high on the alcohol, could use more complexity. 85-86

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    12/18/2015 11:58:00 AM - Give it time.... it's still a young wine that is very tight.
Red

2013 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile

 California more
Options

12/15/2015 - Papies wrote: 80 points

By the glass at the BA lounge NYC.
Quite a sweet almost new world Pinot noir feel. Ripe and sweet but with medium bodied and one needs to like this style to be able to approach this wine. 80 and don't need to say more. Medicinal sweet.

  • Comment posted by ZachF88:

    12/16/2015 3:32:00 PM - sounds like you got the wrong wine!

Loading wine details...
loading

×
×