3/9/2024 - vino_per_tutti wrote:

As others have noted, 2014 was not a great year, and sadly, this Giscours reflects several of the shortcomings. While the nose was characteristic, the palate seemed a muddle of flavors, with very little delineation. Mid-palate is flabby and finish unremarkable. Thankfully, enough acid and tannins to make this much more enjoyable with grilled steaks, but the wine was clearly a bit player. Perhaps a "dumb" stage?

2/17/2023 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

Final bottle of this particular '19. Fully loaded at the pnp....rich red cherry, strawberry fruit with a wonderful clove spice nose and perfectly balanced acidity. Easy 94 at the pnp, but faded a point or two over the next 2+ hours. Still quite good with black tea, a trace of oak barrel and a touch of orange rind on the back end. Nice finish of 30+ seconds. 94 at the start, 92 at the end. This is the oppo of my last bottle of this about 8-9 months ago, which needed an hour to fully play out. If you want the most bang now, drink this one within the first hour of opening. My personal drinking window preference for Turley zins is consistently around 3-5 yo and for these Sojourn pinots right at around 3-4 yo.

6/26/2022 - xjtian Likes this wine:

Color deep ruby. Nose is very light on fruit - cedar, chocolate, some faint black fruit. Palate wet slate, leather, black pepper, and some cassis. Big bold tannins and a medium finish.

2/8/2016 - Foxbat25 wrote:

I really love W-S wines, but not this one. Something was definitely wrong, I am not expert enough to be to describe it other than to say as one who drinks at least one bottle of W-S pinot noir per week this was bad. Perhaps it was bacteria. The bottle was fine (no sediment issues or other obvious flaws) and cork was in excellent condition, minimal penetration up the long cork. Odor seemed slightly off, rather sharp. The wine was purchased direct from W-S and cellared in a concrete vault in San Francisco. I am hoping the other bottles of this I purchased are better, this was definitely not up to W-S standards. It now goes to be used as a ~$70 cooking wine.

6/13/2021 - Harley1199 wrote:

By the glass. Demanding bottle that requires patience on one hand and full enjoyment on the other. The nose is deliciously aromatic, with fruity and spicy notes. The palate needs to be rounded and show the characteristic fineness of this terroir that seems abandon this current closed texture that seems to need knife and fork and a tannic texture that hides its true potential. Matter of style.

Por copas. Una botella exigente que requiere por una parte paciencia y por otra pleno disfrute. En nariz es deliciosamente aromática, con notas frutales y especiadas. Al paladar necesita redondearse y mostrar la finura característica de este terruño y abandonar esta actual cerrada textura que parece necesitar de cuchillo y tenedor y una tanicidad que oculta su verdadero potencial. Cuestión de estilo.

12/17/2021 - vino_per_tutti Likes this wine:

Napa meets Loire meets Toscano. Lush, rich aromatics of red fruits, cassis, dusty leather (cab franc is singing!), field herbs and sweet oak; palate is expansive and sweet, with black and red fruits, well behaved tannins, and more sweet oak. Short, but satisfying finish. Wife has this about right: "not much about this seems Italian, but its delicious just the same!" Drinking well now without a decant.

10/7/2021 - vino_per_tutti Likes this wine:

Dark crimson color. Good on Day One; home run on Day 2. Bordeaux meets Sangiovese. Lots of dark black cherry, herbs, terroir, along with the cranberry/raisin flavors one would expect from Toscana. Medium bodied, with great acidity. Fabulous with a Bolognese sauce. Costco find. Great QPR.

7/31/2021 - vino_per_tutti Likes this wine:

Crimson color with no bricking. 2 hour decant before tasting and it really needed 4. First glass short on fruit and rough around the edges. Found its stride in the second glass, with characteristic aromatics and flavors of black and red berries, cassis, tobacco and herbs. Medium bodied with a smooth finish. Good, but not great. Hoping for better in next bottle.

7/25/2020 - lucaslabelle wrote:

After a long run of AVERAGE Saxum bottles this finally broke the mold and showed quite well. I think these wines need a long time in bottle to unwind and this was no exception. Beautiful wine, that reminded me what I love about Saxum however my palate has changed and I no longer desire these high alcohol full throttle wines that much.

2/24/2021 - Labrador Likes this wine:

No formal notes, but I continue to enjoy this wine. But, of course, it is from Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. It was a great match with lamb chops (cooked on the grill) that were extra special now that the snow is gone.

11/10/2020 - msuwine wrote:

I decided to taste Chardonnays from two of my favorite California producers side-by-side tonight: it's Sam vs. Mark, each working in the 2017 vintage, drawing from a Sonoma Coast vineyard named for Ulises Valdez (may he rest in peace). And it was a tale of two styles, one hewing more full and another more pure. I appreciated both, but the Maxem clearly won the night.

- Aubert UV-SL. More yellow in color and full in body, the Aubert offered enticing and warm aromas of brioche, lemon meringue, and toast almond. The flavors were similarly full, with notes of honeysuckle, Meyer lemon, cantaloupe, and vanillin, followed by a lifted yet creamy finish. 15% alcohol. 94+ for now, with upside in another year or so.

- Maxem UV. More clear in color and medium in body, the Maxem offered more nuanced aromas of Bartlett pear, lemon rind, and ocean air. The flavors were more chiseled, with notes of grapefruit, green apple, and crushed rock, with a pure and lingering finish. I enjoyed this wine more a year ago for its sheer tension (12/19 - 97 points), but this is still sophistication in a bottle. 14.2% alcohol. 96 at the moment, with upside in another 6-18 months.

And now for the parade of adjectives: the Aubert was more full, oaky, ripe, and creamy, while the Maxem was more nervy, pure, nuanced, and lively. These are each bargains at $85 direct. Each tilted modern - i.e., there are no ascetics here (e.g., Hirsch, Rhys) - but the Maxem walked the tight rope more convincingly tonight, with energy, depth, and aplomb.

11/20/2020 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine:

Prior bottle was almost exactly two years ago and the wine has improved in that time. Black cherry, plum and spice notes on the very pretty nose. Between medium and full bodied with all blackfruit notes both upfront and through the middle (especially black cherry and currant). Backside shows darker fruit (plum) and it finishes with mineral and spice notes. Acidity and tannins provide the structure, but very much in balance with the fruit. The wine came off as noticeably better than my prior bottle in terms of balance and mid-body depth. Very elegant fruit with a good backbone. This has a number of years in front of it and I'll plan to open my next bottle in June/July 2021.

6/30/2020 - danielbleier Likes this wine:

Rich and bold Paso wine, full of black fruit, olive and licorice. This is a great wine for those who do not mind power and fruit forward wines. Do not serve to lover of French and Spanish reticence.

5/25/2020 - vino_per_tutti wrote:

Consistent with prior notes. This is now past its peak. Sweet red fruits and blackberry on the nose. Single sweet, syrupy note on the palate. Long but dull finish. Drink up!

12/9/2019 - Wine Gent wrote:

Thanksgiving dinner and leftovers for several days. Nothing notable, would not buy again. Not nearly as good as Louis Latour Pouilly-Fuissé we had 2 years ago. Floral, fruity bouquet. Some hint of moderate buttery finish. Simple, refreshing, but not worth the price point. Better wines available.

3/5/2020 - vino_per_tutti Likes this wine:

Lovely garnet color with engaging aromatics: ripe black and red cherry, cola and sandalwood. Plush and round on the palate with layers of ripe red fruit, sweet oak and tart acidity. Extended, flavorful finish. One of the best in the Sojourn line-up.

8/30/2019 - vino_per_tutti Does not like this wine:

Just awful. Primary and secondary flavors of oak overwhelmed the fruit. Second glass only slightly better. None of the characteristics of Barberesco; more like a New World fail where the producer smothered the grapes with oak. Avoid.

3/14/2016 - JJB007 Likes this wine:

hints of blackberry and blueberry and strong tannins

2/3/2020 - bugdoced Likes this wine:

early drinking window
remained tasty after 6 days in the fridge

2/1/2020 - e-r.portzline wrote:

Deep ruby color, fruit and pepper on the nose from the beautiful Syrah. Decanted, enjoyed after aerating and allowing to open for 30 mins. Over the course of a 2.5 hour dinner, the wine had plenty of time to open. It tightened up, restricted, became hot alcohol and chocolate. Regretfully, we didn't have time to allow it to open more. Perhaps that would have help it. It ended dark and heavy, overpowering everything else with oak and alchohol.

3/23/2019 - vino_per_tutti Does not like this wine:

Another example of an Unti wine that you must drink young to enjoy. Very little left on the nose besides barnyard funk. On the palate - wine is refermenting, with that annoying, carbonating sensation. Cooking wine.

7/5/2019 - wilypod Likes this wine:

Dark red with a blue hue. Changed after 90 minutes of air. At first, dark smooth flavors of blackberry and cassis, then it brightened up with intense red fruits (cherry, griotte, cranberry -- no strawberry) and minty spice, but not the typical GSM Christmas spice melange of dried cherries or raisins suffused with vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and orange zest. More like raspberry essence, accented with clove, and cedar. Seamless, integrated tannins. Wonderful sense of proportion -- medium bodied but with a long resonating finish -- and red fruit of intense purity, where all that has gone into it has resulted in a single identity, uncomplicated by any distracting partisanship of un-integrated components, flavors or aromas. What a wine for the Fourth of July: e pluribus unum. Delicious now and even better the next day. 93-96

3/2/2019 - PMJak11 Likes this wine:

What a lovely find today!! Was in search of a half bottle to pair with a half bottle I already had and found this gem @ £25! Now you have to like that classic, powerful French Bordeaux smell or you’ll absolutely hate this.

30+ minutes open in the bottle. Dark red color. The nose smells like you just walked through cow shit and then past a herd of horses on your way to Paris! Love it! Wine has depth and structure, but finish is medium at best. Excellent QPR and I plan to try more of the better vintages. Love when things like this happen!!

12/13/2018 - vino_per_tutti wrote:

Pnp'd. Really green, tannic and almost sour in the first glass. Improved with aeration, but still pretty spare and lean - not a lot of fruit on the nose or palate. Understand that this is a second wine, but doesn't really hold a candle to the first.

1/16/2016 - winejnky wrote:

Even after three hours decant this wine is still pretty dense and tannic; nice with food but a bit sour and astringent solo; black cherry, blueberry, currant, and a hint of menthol. Still lines up with my 2012 note, seems to have only evolved modestly since then, very classic Spring Mountain Vineyard wine.

4/11/2015 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote:

Very dark red violet color; savory, tar, reduction, roasted berry, roast coffee nose; tight, dried berry, tar, mineral, roasted berry, tart blueberry palate; needs 6-7 years; long finish (75% Mourvedre, 14% Grenache, 9% Cinsault, 2% Carignane)

12/7/2014 - mtollini wrote:

Medium-bodied, well balanced - the epitome of a mature fifth-growth from a solid year. As curious as everyone else how costco (at least the one in Novato, CA) came across these but glad they did. Will drink the other one in 2015.

9/28/2013 - SLIMES wrote:

I'm a big Bollinger fan and normally find a rich yeasty champagne in each bottle. Not tonight. This had the more youthful side of Bollinger: Red apple with plenty of acidity but not much more than that. This was actually quite thin and I enjoyed the Piper Heidsieck of a few days ago a lot more (!).

The lot number on the foil reads: L1311601 suggesting that this was disgorged earlier this year. Maybe it's too young? However I look at it, this is a pretty crappy effort, and I wouldn't be amazingly impressed if served this blind. It's tempting to search for excuses as I'm normally such a fan, but I don't offer that to lesser brands. It's interesting to note that the older halves I had recently were much better; I hope that this reflects the immaturity of this bottle rather than a dip in standards at Bollinger.

I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt for now and I would hope that they start to print disgorgement dates; if Lanson can do it, it can't be that difficult. I'm going to watch this carefully though, Regis Camus is raising standards at Piper (cutting production by about 20%) and if I what something special, Charles Heidsieck has some great offerings now that they're increasing the average age of their reserve wines from 8 to 10 years. In terms of other competition, I would have been happier with Drappier tonight. I'm not going to buy Bollinger out of habit, so I hope my next bottle is better.

Night 2 edit: Not much improvement. I might lay some down. See how these turn out.

10/4/2011 - numen wrote:

Have tasted multiple times, and, each time, am hoping to be wowed, impressed, or at least satisfied with the spirit. Instead, I have been consistently disappointed. The backbone is good -- a winey, floral, and light spirit. The execution, however, left much to be desired for me. The palate is thin, and the finish is short.

12/14/2012 - JJA Likes this wine:

It's a bit early to drink this 2005 Pontet Canet. All the 2005s seem to be taking a long time to develop, and this wine is no different. It started out a bit thin, but opened up nicely over the course of about an hour. The wine really shined when we started eating. It went very well with the lamb dish at Cafe Basso in Norwalk. While the wine is a bit light bodied, it is smooth, elegant and complex. In an word, it was gorgeous and will clearly improve with some age. My 94 rating doesn't reflect the upside potential in quality here, so I would expect the rating to go up. While I didn't buy this for investment purposes, it has done quite well - up 70% in value since 2006! I will try the next bottle in one year.