4/20/2024 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

We loved this wine. Perfectly balanced and smooth. Layer after layer of flavors. We could drink this every night. Outstanding.

4/17/2024 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Awesome.

12/11/2023 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

It is almost exactly the same as the No. 6, except for slightly tighter tannins. Another fantastic effort.

12/10/2023 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Absolutely stunning. Nose of dark pitted fruit, blackberries, and boysenberries. A towering blend of more dark fruit, some vanilla, and velvety tannins. Skyscraper finish. What an amazing wine.

11/28/2023 - TMacpherson Does not like this wine:

We were very disappointed with this wine. Seem very monolithic with some serious alcohol burn. Wasn't a bad bottle, just rather pedestrian. We had with gnocchi in a 4 cheese white sauce.

5/23/2023 - TMacpherson wrote:

A beautiful bottle of wine. Incredibly well balanced while exuding a beautiful ripe fruit aroma and rich body. Just a stunning bottle.

11/30/2022 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

A very nice bottle of wine. We had to use 1/4 cup for cooking. Nose was very seductive and laid back. Subtle red fruit along with vanilla. Incredibly smooth. Compared with New World this was a silky, quiet, yet firm beauty. A gentle giant of a wine. We really enjoyed it with Portuguese Paprika Chicken Chorizo Potato casserole.

11/13/2022 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

A somewhat subdued nose tonite. Hire robust body filled with dark blue and purple fruit. Plums, blackberries, and super ripe berries galore. A delightful 45 second finish. Well done.

9/10/2022 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

A really outstanding bottle showing very well with no hint of old age. The nose is pure black fruit - raspberries and cherries. You definitely know at this point it’s going to be a very strong wine. The mouth is nearly identical - just gobs of dark black and blue fruit with a hint of vanilla oak. Incredibly well balanced. You don’t get a lot of heat from the fruit. The finish lasts a good 45-60 seconds. Well done!

8/21/2022 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

What a beautiful bottle of cognac. The nose is incredibly rich - buttery, caramel, orange zest. Incredibly layered body with coffee, more butter, and viscous. The finish goes on for 60 seconds.

6/27/2022 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

What an extraordinary bottle of wine. Technically it was perfect, but it didn’t have that extra 2 points of undefinable “wow” that makes a bottle absolutely - not just technically - perfect. The nose was a sensuous mix of black raspberry and Fortunato No. 4 chocolate. The tannins were blended perfectly into a multi layered body of more black raspberries, plums, and velvety milk chocolate. Just a hint. Overall we loved this bottle sharing it with family on Little Squam over baked stuffed shrimp. Well done!

6/22/2022 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Hard to imagine, but we agreed that this bottle probably needed another 5 years on it before opening. Don't get me wrong - it was a beautiful bottle of wine. But it was still wound up pretty tight. Even after 5 hours of air time it needed more. Aroma was a truly stunning melange of dark berries, tobacco, and La Fortunato 38 milk chocolate. The body was rich and fully extracted, but certainly not overripe. The finish was delightful and lasted over 30 seconds. Well done.

6/17/2022 - TMacpherson wrote:

A very nice bottle wine. Went beautifully with our honey BBQ steak rips and grilled vegetables. Not a home run but well balanced and easy drinking bottle of wine.

2/6/2022 - TMacpherson wrote:

Could have been good but flawed by now.

12/31/2021 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

A truly remarkable bottle of wine. I should say upfront that if you don't enjoy a more modern-like wine with generous ripeness and being fully extracted, this is unlikely to be a winner. We opened and let this one breath for about 4 hours before dinner. Served with homemade Bolognese sauce and angel hair pasta. Nose was a huge blend of ripe dark fruit (black raspberry, cherry, blackberry) with a delightful vanilla-spice kicker. The wine had layers upon layers of flavors, ranging from more dark fruit to a spicy sandalwood, to lightly toasted bread sprinkled with vanilla sugar. You'd have no idea the wine carries so much alcohol. The finish is incredibly lengthy with a 40+ second blend of smooth tannins, lightly toasted oak, and more dark berries. A truly monumental bottle of wine. Well done!

12/16/2021 - TMacpherson wrote:

Same as last bottle. Relatively monolithic. Slightly over extracted. We tend to like a wine slightly less “wet” if that makes sense. Not that this is a bad bottle of wine. Quite well made but just not ringing it our bells tonite.

12/8/2021 - TMacpherson wrote:

Was a pleasant bottle. Pretty monolithic in our eyes. Slightly acidic with a nice balance between the fruit and the acidity. Lots of green apple and slightly tart underripened fruit. We simple didn’t see the magic that Jeb did, but that’s what makes wine so special.

11/15/2021 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

What a beautiful bottle of wine. Very well integrated. Fruit is ripe and delicious but not over extracted. Finish is shorter than we'd like, but that's really just quibbling around the edges. Highly recommend.

10/23/2021 - TMacpherson wrote:

A very strong fruit bomb. A little too extracted for us. As we’ve gotten older these don’t hav3 as much appeal anymore. Obviously a lot of work, skill and love went into this, but as I said, just not our cup of tea anymore.

10/3/2021 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Everything we look for in a wine. Body, nose, color. All perfection. An incredibly special wine that took us completely by surprise (though we have ranked it highly earlier). Outstanding.

9/4/2021 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Boy, this did this improve since we drank our last bottle in 2010. Everything had pulled together beautifully. Ripe berries and cherries were balanced with the sweet tannins and acidity perfectly. This has probably got another decade easily, but why wait? Highly recommended.

8/27/2021 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

A really gorgeous wine. As much as people kicked the shit out of Miller and his scores, he was spot on with this one in his score and notes. Incredibly well balanced wine with all the characteristics of a well-aged modern Rioja - sweet vanilla, dark berries and a touch of the aroma of fresh turned loam. We really enjoyed this one with cheese bacon burgers and grilled peppers and onions. Outstanding wine. Try it if you can lay your hands on a bottle. This was our last.

7/31/2021 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

What an outstanding bottle of wine. Had a remarkable layer of flavors - apple, peach, berry. It was balanced by a perfectly balanced acidity which made it neither too sweet or too sour. This was one of the best bottles of Chardonnay we’ve ever tasted. Had with summer squash casserole.

3/6/2021 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

What a wonderful bottle of wine. Nose was like a perfect blend of toasty oak and ripe blackberries and dark plums. Overall seamless body with very smooth tannins and a continuation of that wonderful sweet (but not fruit bomb sweet) flavors of black raspberries, blackberries, and fully ripe grapes. Delicious! One of the better wines of the year.

12/30/2020 - TMacpherson wrote:

Not as good as the last bottle. Didn't have that sharpness of flavor or layers. Seemed one dimensional and somewhat flabby. Bad bottle or over the hill? No idea.

11/29/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

A really well integrated wine. Certainly had more oak than the Hartford we had last month. Nose was sweet apple, light vanilla, and a hint of magnolia. Body wasn’t overwhelming like some California Chardonnay can be - well balanced with dry rip fruit balanced well with slightly more tart Fuji apple flavor and wet stone. Can certainly last another 5-7 years easily. Will be interesting to see where this ends up.

11/22/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

We weren't sure what to expect from this wine as previous comments were all over the place -- too strong, rocket fuel, monolithic, best ever, etc. We found it simply stunning. In a perfect place right now (11/20) with a beautiful nose of dark pitted fruits with an emphasis on cherries. It was beautifully integrated yet multi-layered with no single aspect dominating. Fruits, tannins, and wood were all equally tasty and compelling. Not a hint of heat. Tannins were in perfect balance with the fruit. I don't think this will gain much more with more age. That said, I think it wlll coast along for the next 3 - 5 years beautifully.

11/5/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Was pretty flat the first night. Think it was slightly over-chilled. The second night it really blossomed. Rich dark berries on the nose and a wonderful sweet (but not too sweet) body. It needed some air and will likely stay in a nice place for the next 3-5 years.

10/25/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Really coming into its own. Rich but not overextracted. Tannins well balanced with a deep cherry and black current. Sediment galore. Outstanding stuff.

10/17/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

We blew it on this one. Should wavelet it warm up a bit and get some air. Day was closed and lacked any depth. Day 2 was outstanding with wonderful layers of black cherry, boysenberries, and black raspberries. Tannins were fully integrated and smooth as can be. Wonderful.

9/3/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

This bottle was much much better than last year’s. Inky dark. An incredible nose of dark berries, plums, and sweet lilac. Incredible balance with smooth sweet tannins. Seems like everything came together seamlessly with this one. Bravo.

9/1/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Beautiful. Crisp with multiple layers of tart fruit, apricots, pear, and apple. Incredibly refreshing with prosciutto wrapped basil grilled shrimp and Neapolitan stacks. This one has legs to go the distance.

8/13/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Winemaker notes nailed it. "Glass-staining purple. This wine has explosive, alluring scents of blueberry, boysenberry, pipe tobacco, licorice and vanilla bean. Lush and broad but juicy and firmly built, with suave candied dark fruit flavors accented by sexy floral and Asian spice qualities. Finishes broad, juicy and impressively long, with echoing boysenberry and spice notes."

7/31/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Incredible fruit nose and on the body. Borders on over extraction but never crosses the line. Incredibly full body. Beautiful raspberry and black cherry with perfectly balanced tannins. A hint of anise and spices at the end. We had with bourbon steak tips and caprese stacks with 55 year old balsamic vinegar. A fantastic and memorable evening made even better by this stunning bottle.

5/22/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Perfectly balanced. Full nose of dark fruit and sweet perfectly ripe grapes. Mouthfeel is exceptional and bursts from the glass. Creme de cassis and ripe cherries absorb the tannins beautifully. Just an exceptional wine. Wine of the year so far.

4/30/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Very fruity with bold mouthfeel. In a perfect place right now. Drink up!

4/25/2020 - TMacpherson wrote:

Missing the boldness and layers we had about 5 years ago. Maybe passed over the hump. Wasn’t bad wine. Just seemed like an old grand dame trying to dance a polka at 93.

4/22/2020 - TMacpherson wrote:

A little water cuts the rough edges and brings out the fruit. Just a stunningly long finish with the oak - given the chance to overwhelm will - but cut properly brings everything into balance. Well done Appleton! An outstanding sipping rum. We loved it.

4/12/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Ambrosia!

3/28/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Just a pleasant summer wine: sweet, slightly bubbly, and a simple structure to end the day or celebrate at a party. Not supposed to be a blockbuster, this wine is exactly as it was intended to be: fun and thoroughly enjoyable.

3/19/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

A really beautiful bold red that is hitting its prime. Strong - but not overwhelming - the fruit was perfectly balanced with the tannins at this point. Just a beautiful bottle of wine. Well done!

2/26/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Outstanding balance and pure fruit. Tannins were perfectly balanced. Decant a couple of hours before drinking.

2/23/2020 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Full bodied but not a fruit bomb. Flavor was holding up great. Certainly in a good place. Drink up if you have it.

1/11/2020 - TMacpherson wrote:

Much better than our bottle in 2011. Everything came together very nicely. Rich fruit, some nicely integrated oak. Delicious with chicken poppers wrapped in cheese, bacon, and jalapeños.

8/27/2019 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

A well made Claret and not overwhelming or overextracted as I feared. Was like a modern Bordeaux. Goes great with pasta.

7/28/2017 - TMacpherson wrote:

Elegant and bold. Remarkable.

3/18/2016 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

Our last bottle. Just stunning. Perfect in every way.

12/26/2015 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

A stunning wine served with orange turkey. Smooth as silk with multiple layers of taste. A special wine for a special night.

12/4/2015 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

A remarkably smooth bottle of wine. A hint of vanilla and dark berries on the nose. Smooth as silk with several layers of flavor. Very smooth finish. A wonderful bottle of wine. Served with homemade pasta with a sausage porcini sauce.

11/11/2015 - TMacpherson Likes this wine:

A remarkably smooth as silk bottle. Everything fully integrated. Fruit wasn't overbearing or too rich. We had this with, beef florentine, sautéed garlic zucchini, and potato salad. A stunner of a wine.