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Tasting Notes for brinko99

(692 notes on 563 wines)

1 - 50 of 692 Sort order
Red
8/26/2023 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
88 points
Very restrained and quiet. Little fruit or pop. Consider some significant air on remaining bottles.
Red
4/6/2023 - brinko99 wrote:
89 points
Fairly muted, even with significant air. Light on the tongue with a soft structure. Very clean and polished otherwise. Not sure where this is going, but fingers crossed.
Red
12/22/2022 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
89 points
Fun! Concentrated ripe cherry, dusty leathery pepper. Great pop with a long bright finish. Nobody would mistake it for a new world wine. Plenty of interest factor.
Red
9/9/2022 - brinko99 wrote:
flawed
Flawed... stewed. Perhaps exposed to heat at some point. Too bad, my fav Tablas vintage
White
7/24/2022 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Really fantastic, such surprising weight. Complex and viscous, pluot and golden cherry. Bright juicy acid, finishing long. Held up well into days two and three.
White
2021 Tablas Creek Picardan Paso Robles Adelaida District (view label images)
7/21/2022 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Lovely... Sweet indiscriminate white fruit. Clean and pure, taut and bright. Great weight with amazing juiciness. Not complex but oh so pleasurable.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
7/17/2022 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
93 points
Absolutely superb... Generous sweet black fruit, soft integated tannins, plenty of pop. But really it's all about the garrigue! This bottle brought that Old World magic that's oh so hard to find domestically. Cracked pepper and olive, sticky mix of fresh herbs. Lovely.
White
7/14/2022 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Wow, what a development in the last 3.5 years. The wine is bright and expressive with sappy sweet peach and a juicy bright structure.Very generous, lacking only in significant complexity.
Red
7/2/2022 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Really nice showing. An hour in the decanter, steak and pasta ala Norma. Dry, and a bit austere on it's own but sings with a little fat and salt on the tongue. Fine acid pop, pomegranate, a bit of bay. Light, clean finish. Unsure if there's enough there there for significant aging, but fully expect it to hold for the next handful of years.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
11/30/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
89 points
Still showing strong. Plenty of fruit, plenty of backbone. A few signs of mid-life complexity. These Castoros with a little age always impress and surprise me.
Red
2019 Paix Sur Terre Songs of its Own Paso Robles Adelaida District Red Rhone Blend (view label images)
11/21/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
90 points
Very westside Paso. Full fruit, steel foundation, complexity of fruit, maybe not those old world secondary flavors. Regardless, rich, delicious, and bright. Win win.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2018 Domaine Jean Royer Le Petit Roy Vin de Table Français Red Rhone Blend (view label images)
11/8/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
89 points
Continues to delight... Alas the last of our bottles. Where oh where are the recent vintages Jon?
Red
11/7/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
89 points
Excellent, lean and pretty. Quite esoteric out of the bottle but really came into its own over dinner. Easily overwhelmed with food, tread lightly but paired excellently with after dinner conversation.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2001 Château Lestage-Simon Haut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
9/4/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Really lovely and shocking after last note from a few years ago. Here the wine was quite lively with the red fruit still singing and the wine showing clean (no brett). Must have been an off bottle previously.
Red
8/13/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
89 points
Brilliant fruit off the bat, super bright in the mouth. Soft savory tannin. Unfortunately there is an undercurrence of high tone VA that distracts. Unsure where this is going to go with further age.
Red
7/4/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
89 points
Juicy fruity... Bright with fruits that are starting to stew. Tannins are present and still have a bite but are overall well integrated. Enough fruit to continue to hide the alcohol. Drinking at peak or past, no need to hold on to this one.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
3/22/2021 - brinko99 wrote:
flawed
Excessive VA, undrinkable
White
3/25/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
90 points
A lot of interest to be found here and structured very well. Surprised to find some overbearing oxidative notes.
Red
3/19/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
90 points
Underwhelming... Wine felt as if it were in an awkward phase, little aromatics even after two hours of air. Finally structured but the 15% alc remains noticeable. Give this one another 2-3 years at least.
Red
3/20/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Really amazing... Has held up remarkably, especially for a 16% ABV! Perhaps the screwcap keep the freshness. Quite complex and still a forward jamminess. Quite clean, no overt VA or other typical signs of high alc ages wine.
White - Sparkling
3/20/2021 - brinko99 wrote:
90 points
Hard core acids define this wine and demands food. Quite savory, tons of mineral, dried grass, hints of yeast, yet not finding the brioche that others note. No real sign of age, except perhaps loss of forward fruit.
Red
3/11/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
89 points
Very good... Full of fruit, easy to enjoy but very Burgundian still. Touch of brett, which doesn't overwhelm and works in context.
Red
3/7/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
92 points
Drinking beautifully...Olive brine and a savory Thanksgiving stuffing come to mind as the wine hits the tongue. Fully integrated with concentrated deep-dark fruits still providing a touch of sweetness. Super clean and polished. New World winemaking with Old World fruit.
Rosé
2020 Paix Sur Terre Rosé Hollyhock Vineyard Paso Robles Templeton Gap District Rosé Blend (view label images)
3/5/2021 - brinko99 wrote:
flawed
Terribly corked
Red
3/6/2021 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
89 points
Fine wine... Immediate hit of a certain Italian rusticity (read brett), but also immediately followed by those Nebbiolo roses. Structure is lovely with a sense of fruit, cleansing acid, and soft tannin. Drink with food, enjoy the complexities.
White - Sparkling
12/31/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
92 points
Really full and fantastic... Super Rich umami, eye-popping acidity, and a sweet hint of lingering fruit. There is a touch of VA here, but I couldn't decide if it enhances or slightly detracts.
Red
2018 Domaine Jean Royer Le Petit Roy Vin de Table Français Red Rhone Blend (view label images)
12/26/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
88 points
First of the Petit that we've found a bit clunky. All the ingredients were in place, fruit, garrigue, acids, etc. Yet, here they didn't come together. Perhaps an off bottle, or maybe needs more air as other notes have suggested.
White
12/23/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
88 points
Very muted and restrained. It felt like fruit was hiding behind the scenes but was rarely glimpsed. Might the wine be in a dumb phase? The last sips were the best so give the wine some air and cross your fingers.
White
12/19/2020 - brinko99 wrote:
flawed
Absolute trace amount of TCA, not enough to totally kill the wine. What was showing was very precise, sharp, with otherwise obvious but unfortunately muted fruit.
Red
12/18/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Still quite youthful and likely to improve over the next 3-4 years. Deep fruit but light on its feet plenty of rusticity ( read brett). All in all, whole, complex, and a joy with rich savory food (read short ribs).
Red
2012 Vecchie Terre di Montefili Chianti Classico Chianti Classico DOCG Sangiovese Blend, Sangiovese (view label images)
12/17/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Light and precise, pretty, floral, integrated tannins.
Red
12/20/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
94 points
Absolute wow wine... Solid core of so ripe and bright black cherry, slate shavings, bay, and on and on. Really continued to open over an hour. Aeration highly recommended and watch out for very fine sediment.
Red
12/5/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Really nice showing with savory black fruits integrated into the backbone of leather and muddled herb. Opened up greatly in the glass but what remained the next day had fully fallen apart with air.
1 person found this helpful Comment
White
12/3/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
90 points
Very clean and crystalline pure. But also quite reticent and muted. Give this one some significant air or significant further cellaring.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
11/28/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
94 points
Stunning... High-toned perfume of dried roses, figs, and cherries. Grenache like voluptuousness with tight restrain , cutting loose only after some generous air but never in excess or coloring outside the lines. Finishes with some tightness in the cheeks and the tongue salivating suggesting a long life ahead.
Red
11/26/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
92 points
Silk... What a stunner. Silk, velvet, cashmere. Early summer bramble and a bit of stem have integrated into a contemplative whole. Long, stoney, linear finish pairs well with subtly seasoned food or just a warm fireplace.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
11/26/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
92 points
Totally harmonious... Pure sateen fruit, red, black, and blue. Stoney and bright mid-palate, iron. Super clean and vibrant, excellent showing. Fruit suggests continued life. Excellent.
Red
11/20/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Coming along since last tasting, definitely starting to open up a touch, but still very reticent. Continue to give this wine some serious aeration.
Red
11/12/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
93 points
Really fantastic...very bright and explosive. Taut small red berries, ground rock, Chinese herbs. Really opened up over dinner. Give the bottle some air.
Red
2016 Denner Grenache Paso Robles Willow Creek District (view label images)
11/9/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
88 points
Fine and we'll made. A bit awkward currently. Alcohol and a bit of VA are sticking their elbows and knees out. Good but simplistic. Growing pains hopefully.
Red
11/6/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Really excellent... so light and bright. Still fresh red berry, underlying graphite; pure. Not sure what to expect with the age, but very impressed.
Red
11/2/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
93 points
Really nice... Olive tapenade with a bit of pimiento, leather, slate, little fruit at this point. Medium weight, but tannins clear though rather fine. Good showing; continue to open for two hours. Keep giving this one air; plenty of life left...
Red
10/25/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
89 points
What a difference... The fruit and sap seemed to have integrated away or disappeared. Soil and dry leather now predominate with a somewhat austere texture. Wish the wine still had some fleeting fruit.
White
10/22/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
91 points
Really excellent over two days... Sweet first pick nectarine off the bat. A shot of well worn limestone acid next down the middle of the tongue. Finishing with lingering sweetness and perhaps a slight metallic ring.
Red
10/23/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
92 points
Really wonderful... Remarkable melange of juicy late season olallieberry and crazy dried herb blend, slight mintiness, and chaparral. Beautiful showing; hard to imagine where it has to improve.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
10/20/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine:
92 points
Really wonderful. Deep, rich black fruits, leather and wonderful old world garrigue.
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  • Tasting Notes: 692 notes on 563 wines
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