3/18/2024 - Wardad Likes this wine:

This was fantastic. Opened and expected it to need to develop a bit, but it was great 5 minutes after pouring. A heavier stronger PN. Went great with our Publix subs, but would be great with a wide variety of foods, and on it's own. I'll sure grab a ton of this if ever available again.

1/18/2024 - Wardad wrote:

supposedly like a Pinot Noir. Light bodied, but certainly not delicate. Held up well with burger. Not impressive pop n' pour on it's own. Much better with food an hour later for lunch, and better still that evening. I'll let my last couple bottles rest a year or so.

12/21/2023 - Wardad Likes this wine:

More Pinot Grigio than Chardonnay. Supposed to be like a Sauvignon Blanc; maybe it was in the citrus, but I didn't get any tart like from an SB. A full flavor that borders on sour, but maybe is more 'minerality'. Bottom line, I like it. Got more.

12/21/2023 - Wardad Likes this wine:

On initial opening, a bit like a Nebbiolo. Light but with some tannins. Was pretty good with spaghetti with red sauce. Really really good with chocolate chip cookie afterwards. Not much nose. Nice long finish. Red fruit. Cherry? I want to save half the bottle for evaluation tomorrow, but it's going quick. Finish makes you want to come back.

6/3/2023 - Wardad Likes this wine:

This was good. Quality Dundee Hills. The half sitting on the counter for 27 hours was a little better than day 1

5/29/2023 - Wardad wrote:

Very nice. Powerful. Definitely decant. No rush to drink. The last 15% left in the bottle 28 hours later was great.

5/19/2023 - Wardad Likes this wine:

(at dN meetup event) nice.

5/13/2023 - Wardad wrote:

(at dN meetup event) Still so young. Enjoyable, but with each sip I found myself pondering how good this will be in 5 years. Which my guess is: very good.

4/9/2023 - Wardad wrote:

with grilled chicken and rib roast etc. Decanted 90 minutes. should have decanted more, but still good.

2/26/2023 - Wardad wrote:

Just a couple weeks off the boat, literally, and probably not even over bottle shock yet. Winery (of original label) is unlikely to have release d this yet.

Opened, poured a little to put some surface area on contents of bottle, and waited. By day 3, was tasting recognizably as something that would be a good wine. When finished on day 4, disjointed, but certainly not going bad. A new experience for me. I should have waited. Will try again in Summer, with substantial decant; it will still be very young, but should be over bottle shock by then.

2/13/2023 - Wardad wrote:

This was ready to drink, but clearly would age more. I liked this more than some Piedmont Nebbiolo's. Probably more than any Langhe's I've had. If I ever get a chance to get more like this, I'll stock up for when I need the light-but-tannic Nebbiolo effect. Wish I'd garnered more when I had the chance.

2/9/2023 - Wardad wrote:

It was okay. I'm thinking I'm maybe not really a Nebbiolo guy.

2/8/2023 - Wardad Likes this wine:

this was interesting. If you drink it as a special wine, slowly, you appreciate it much, much more. If you heard your host paid $60 for it, you'd not be surprised but think probably not worth it. But if you drink it as a weekday pop n' pour budget wine, If you won't be as happy. I guess it drinks like an expensive wine that didn't Quite hit the high mark, but is still interesting and classy.

5/31/2022 - Wardad wrote:

Yummy juice! Not long after opening, spicy smooth balanced Grenache. Our first McLaren Vale Grenache. We love Grenache, and we love Shiraz, so I had high hopes, that were fulfilled.

11/25/2021 - Wardad wrote:

Great with Thanksgiving meal (we're GSM fans, so this would be great with most thing. Maybe not breakfast cereal.) Still young to our taste. Give it air of course.

12/22/2021 - Wardad wrote:

Better than a year ago. And much better after a few hours open. Let it be, or let it breath. Great with pizza, great just drinking, probably great with a lot else.

12/15/2021 - Wardad wrote:

Hint of sour from going downhill, to me; though I realize opinions and tastes vary in this regard. Very light. You really need to think of this as a Pinot-lovers Syrah, or Syrah-overs Pinot, to be pleased. If you think of it as a standard Cali Syrah, you'll be disappointed. If I had any more, I'd be drinking them over the holidays, with Pinot-food.

9/14/2021 - Wardad wrote:

This was quite good! We didn't know what to expect, and didn't know if Chilean Carmenere was good 8 years after vintage. Turns out, it is!

9/14/2021 - Wardad wrote:

Okay on pop 'n pour. After some minutes had a little strange burnt taste. Later, after some air, very good. Better with food, but also good without food, after some air.

6/27/2021 - Wardad wrote:

bricking, but very tannic. If I had another one I would drink it soon, with something that goes well with tannic stuff.

6/16/2021 - Wardad wrote:

Very nice. We don't go for more Bordeaux blends typically, but this was quite fine. Smokey, coffee, in a great place. Would probably be fine for a few more years but I have no regrets opening our single bottle this evening.

4/6/2021 - Wardad Likes this wine:

Enjoyed. Didn't click with the ham as I'd hoped, but was dynamite with good dark after dinner. Wish I'd saved more of the bottle for that. For this bottle, glad I didn't wait to open; definitely ready.

3/24/2021 - Wardad Likes this wine:

It was good. Decanting important.

3/15/2021 - Wardad wrote:

like a previous bottle, seemed prematurely aged. No indications from the cork. I'll "sneak preview" a just-opened wine sometimes with a vinturi, and in this case preview was not good. I put away the decanter and kept the wine undecanted for dinner, where it was adequate. Definitely on it's way out and decanting would have made it undrinkable. Different bottle of this (from the same case) have aged differently.

I would open these this year, 20 minutes before dinner, and give it a taste. If it tastes young, decant away. But it might taste over the hill; cork it up and don't waste time drinking it.

3/15/2021 - Wardad wrote:

To me tasted yeasty, expensive, with great finish. My wife is big sparkling fan, said best she's ever tasted. (though now, with more experience, we should taste another Krug, and give this some competition.)

2/10/2021 - Wardad Likes this wine:

This was good. In Virginia they don't typically grow our favored varietals. This was our first Virginia syrah. A winner. Not a part of their tasting, but if you're a Syrah fan, when at the winery, get this to have with your picnic lunch. Now I need to seek out some other Virginia syrahs to see if they can keep pace with this.

I'll also snag a bottle to compare with some good Cali syrah, maybe blind, with some friends.

2/1/2021 - Wardad wrote:

These are quite good and flexible. Will look for again

1/21/2021 - Wardad wrote:

Very good (of course). After an hour or so of decanting, less fruity than I like. Some other Domaine Serene's seemed to be more my style than this. Next day, just as good I think but not much improved. My wife loved it more than I did, it seems; more her style. This might be more of a food wine. And of course this is made for a lot of development in the cellar.

For me, for the same money, I'd prefer having 2-3 bottles of their Yamhill Cuvée. But maybe after 10 years, I'd sing a different tune?

12/26/2020 - Wardad wrote:

A little hint of sour (not too much), wasn't quite our style. Opened for "cooking wine", I realized we'd better save most for (Christmas) supper. As predicted, much better for us with ham and sweat potato. Of course, it's had a couple hours of air by then too.

12/7/2020 - Wardad wrote:

Had several of these over 2020, gifts from my boss who found them in the back of his cellar. (He knows my wife love's Syrah). They were all certainly "aged", but consistent and very, very good. A testament to both the aging ability of these wines, and the corks!

11/10/2020 - Wardad wrote:

after some air for a few hours, this was sure great with a steak. I'm not a big Bordeaux fan, but this was solid wine drinkin'. My brother Jim, who is more amenable to Bordeaux blends, thought it was quite dandy.

9/27/2020 - Wardad wrote:

This was absolutely fantastic. I'm finding that I'm liking aged west coast Grenache, and this was my favorite yet.

7/25/2020 - Wardad wrote:

Enjoyable, as were the previous. Not going bad, but as this one was getting oxidized, and my cellar is mostly things that need to wait, I'm going to move my remaining two bottle into "drink soon" place. No emergency, but these won't get much better. Will enjoy my last 2 this year probably.

4/22/2020 - Wardad wrote:

Really nice. Powerful. Nose was concentrated red fruit, licorice, and coffee. You won't chug this. A bottle goes a long way. Swish it in your mouth for a real flavor blast.

3/8/2020 - Wardad wrote:

Previous Torcido I'd tried really caught my attention, and this one did not disappoint. Very enjoyable. My main thought is, "gimme more of this".

3/24/2020 - Wardad wrote:

This was great, my first Barbera. Very strong, but nothing offputting. Gave it plenty of time in the decanter. Best after 6 hours as we finished it. This should age a while and get better.

3/10/2020 - Wardad wrote:

Was bringing to a nice restaurant in the evening, so in the morning I pulled the cork out with an ah-so, poured a little out for preview, and put cork back in. So with about 7 hours under a little fresh oxygen: this was fantastic. Powerful, with a lot of great fruit, but nothing out of balance or too much. So much balance it still felt a subtle. A lot of flavor but still felt like an elegant PN.

Now, this was in a great setting with great food, with a beautiful woman I adore, so maybe that influenced the wine experience. But, dang! this was good. Most enjoyable PN I've had, or maybe enjoyable wine? And I've had some good ones. Will save my nickels to try to get some more.

3/1/2020 - Wardad wrote:

I'm a fan. Decanted a lot. Last sip was after 28 hours sitting on the counter and through Vinturi. Still great fruit, pleasing finish.

12/4/2019 - Wardad wrote:

Several bottles, never up our alley. Last bottle had a sour note, seems past time to drink, but maybe that's the style?

11/28/2019 - Wardad wrote:

Great with Thanksgiving meal, our first Gamay. Light, good fruit. Better with some air, and much better with food than on it's own. Chatting after dinner, wasn't as good without food. Will keep my remaining couple bottles a few more years.

9/6/2019 - Wardad wrote:

My previous tasting note indicated that this should be drunk soon, but, that bottle was oxidized, bottle variation, which I'm learning about. This bottle not so. Improved by Venturi and decanting, and great the next day. I will not rush to drink any of my 3 remaining bottles. But if a guest says they like Tempranillo, I'm ready, oh yes.

9/11/2019 - Wardad wrote:

My first Charles Smith "k" high end Syrah. (Although this one is over half Cab) Fantastic, powerful. Blew another quality Walla Walla syrah we had open out of the water. My wife loves Syrah and dislikes Cabernets, but she sure loved this.

The last bit was still good the next day, but maybe not quite as good.

8/21/2019 - Wardad Likes this wine:

To my surprise, 15 years after vintage, this inexpensive wine tasted fine. I had opened to test as I was making tacos, expecting vinegar, which I would then pour into my simmering beef. I poured a glass into the beef but enjoyed the rest of the bottle with dinner. We'll use the other bottle soon.

8/3/2019 - Wardad wrote:

Put the first two glassed through the Venturi, ended up being a mistake. Tasted a little going-down-hill. Next 3 glasses were straight from bottle, was better. Had meant to save half the bottle for tomorrow, but that didn't happen. Good as always, but based on THIS bottle at least, I slotting my last few bottles for the next year or so, and not going to save any for long(er) term. El Jefe says he makes wine to be best when there best, not particularly to age, even though high quality tempranillo. This one might not be for the super long-term.

7/27/2019 - Wardad wrote:

Going downhill, but not yet vinegar. If you find an old bottle, and cellar conditions were good, give it a try worthwhile with food. Good Roussannes can be fantastic at 10 years, but 14 was pushing it. We finished the bottle with a cream sauce dish because we ain't made of money, and it was interesting. If you have a Roussanne Doyenne 10 years old, drink it now!

7/10/2019 - Wardad Likes this wine:

This was great. I would certainly considering purchasing again. Not as great the next day vacuvinned in the fridge. That tells me: enjoy in the next year.

7/10/2019 - Wardad Likes this wine:

Wonderful, elegant, balanced bottle of wine. My first and only of these. 30 seconds after opening: fantastic. After 3 hours, it may have been falling off a bit. If you have any of these in 2019, there's no emergency, but no reason to wait;

6/4/2019 - Wardad wrote:

started drinking 10 minutes out of fridge, mistake. After 45 minutes it was so much better, whether from air or warming I know not. Excellent. First two cold/new classes we had were wasted.

4/14/2019 - Wardad Likes this wine:

Drank over 4 calendar days. The last bit, after sitting on the counter with a cork for 76 hours, was great.

4/23/2019 - Wardad wrote:

It was good. Bordeauxy, which my wife does not like. Improved sitting on the counter for a couple days.