3/2/2024 - slanum wrote:

Modest amount of varietal characteristics here, for me anyway. More black fruit on the nose than anything else, and pretty simple palate in a very dry, somewhat austere way. Blackberry, though not at all jammy. Nicely low in alcohol. Just not Syrah-like or very interesting.

1/14/2024 - slanum wrote:

Red raspberry fruit to the fore, no tannins, oak, or evident alcohol: really an easy-going, scrumptious bottle of wine.

1/6/2024 - slanum wrote:

(@ 165) In line with the other 2023 notes: marvelous.

12/2/2023 - slanum wrote:

A bottle opened six years ago was, for unknown reasons, a dud. This one sure isn't.

11/18/2023 - slanum wrote:

Spicy ginger and juicy, white-fleshed stone fruit. Racy, too. Grand vin? No, slapped up on the "comptoir" is about right given its ebullience and very tasty straightforwardness.

7/20/2023 - slanum wrote:

Featuring the kind of mineral twang that seems to be a feature of vines raised in volcanic soils. Dry; very slight "sea air" saltiness. Citrus. +++'s for value.

6/24/2023 - slanum wrote:

Extremely pale, as usual. Extremely aromatic, too, as usual. This wine is always a kinda trippy experience because the wan color doesn't seem to match the rest of the wine, which is surprisingly substantial. Plusher in texture this vintage, I think. Atypical in a nice way.

5/28/2023 - slanum wrote:

Last tasted in 2018, I found this overripe in the extreme. Not this time. Can't explain it but I'll go with the flow. This has extraordinarily fresh aromas that definitely include mint, of all things, along with dark fruit. Fleshy fruit flavors, with a stony edginess.

5/20/2023 - slanum wrote:

Very, very apple-forward with a creamy edge. Someone could mistake it for sparkling cider.

5/16/2023 - slanum wrote:

Two days ago a bottle of the Watson Ranch (same vintage) left me pretty underwhelmed; this Trout Gulch is another story entirely. It's peculiarly neon yellow in color (comparatively anyway) with an almost pungent, saline bite to the aromas that really whets the taste buds. It's there on the palate too, along with super bright citrus and a slight sulfurous, matchstick-like quality. Very nice, and the 13.5 % alc. still surprises me, but it's nowhere in evidence.

5/14/2023 - slanum wrote:

Unlike quality Chablis -- to which Chardonnays from this source are often compared -- I don't find that these get better as they age. This bottle was pleasant enough but simple, short, and underwhelming.

5/12/2023 - slanum wrote:

Simple cherry / cherry pit along with a touch of funk. I've certainly enjoyed other vintages much more.

3/18/2023 - slanum wrote:

Lotsa lemon SweeTarts on the nose along with something deeper, really another, might even say plusher, layer. Abundant citrus on the palate, lemon mostly. Very lively; the aromas outclassing the flavors, for me, right now, but I like this a lot.

1/10/2023 - slanum wrote:

Tasted 10 years ago this wine seemed excessively ripe. Even I have a hard time believing what time has accomplished here: this bottle, anyway, isn't overdone at all. Hardly -- the label says 12.5% alc. and that's about how it presents. Cool aromas of olive tapenade; fresh, fleshy, purple fruit on the palate without a hint of over-ripeness, and a bit of remaining tannins. Is it the greatest example of M. Verset's craft? No, it's not, but his personal stamp is in evidence. This is literally the first French wine from this vintage to stir my interest and provide real pleasure. I haven't a clue how he managed it. I truly enjoyed this.

1/4/2023 - slanum wrote:

Dég. 6/17. Remarkably fine, an excellent showing.

12/31/2022 - slanum wrote:

R.16 Good, though not a standout bottle this time.

12/9/2022 - slanum wrote:

60% PN, 30% Ch. and 10% Pinot Blanc, 2019 (80%) + 20% réserve perpetuelle (2010-2018), dég. 5/22. Casually delicious -- is that a thing? Juicy, fresh, spicy (at one point there was ginger), yet laid back and lotsa fun instead of 'serious.' Big winner.

12/5/2022 - slanum wrote:

Don't think the color has changed in 10 years. Nose of light citrus, shy florals, and raw pizza dough in a faintly pleasant way, kind of yeasty. Distinctly saline flavors combine lemon and rock. Lingering finish, hews to the initial impressions -- there's no kaleidoscopic blossoming, not that I expected one. If I had raw shellfish handy that's what this would complement best. Aging didn't hurt this but it doesn't seem to have changed it all that much. Maybe it'll go on for 10 more years, but I wouldn't bet on any improvements, it has pretty much peaked or passed that point by a couple of years.

11/25/2022 - slanum wrote:

(69% Pinot Noir, 31% Chardonnay. Bottled July 2018; disgorged Sept. 2020. Brut nature.) Fragrant with ideally ripe Pinot Noir fruit burnished with just a touch of barrel. Dosage would put this on the road to soda pop. Easily enough substance here to complement food. Impressive. Great QPR.

11/24/2022 - slanum wrote:

Less evolved and therefore notably fresher than the last bottle which was evidently flawed. Here we had grilled pineapple with a saline back end.

11/20/2022 - slanum wrote:

Dég. 3/19. Apple slices rubbed with lemon. Plenty of dosage (2g/l) for my taste. Thoroughly correct, but not very complex and therefore perhaps a little "standard-issue." Rational QPR.

11/20/2022 - slanum wrote:

Spot on fruit and juiciness without an excess of anything (ripeness, oak, alcohol). Mostly Syrah by volume but Grenache seemed like it was leading the band. Very enjoyable, very easy.

11/20/2022 - slanum wrote:

Gobs of issues here: dirty, brettt, and CO2.

11/14/2022 - slanum wrote:

Bright, stony, focussed, youthful, with that flair unique -- in my experience -- to Timorasso. It's more than mere citrus and minerals; maybe it's a touch of spice that makes this consistently intriguing and really enjoyable, even with as oddball a dish as three-bean chili.

10/10/2022 - slanum wrote:

Super bold, from the color through to the aromas and flavors. Underneath the abundant froth out of the bottle there's a golden hue. Assertive, vinous aromas. Barrel treatment is detectable without degenerating into oakiness. Fruit is ripe, there isn't a hint of bland here, and dosage is not missed. Food wine, that's for sure.

8/30/2022 - slanum wrote:

To my taste, completely mature. This 10-year old, cold climate Sonoma County Syrah has softened to the point that the tannins are fully resolved while the aromas and flavors are characteristic of the variety while not complex in the way that a wine from the Rhône might be. A very enjoyable wine, the antithesis of typical California versions. A worthy effort.

7/29/2022 - slanum wrote:

Tasters clearly have varying levels of tolerance (appreciation?) for bretty flavors but I found this way-way-way over the top.

7/7/2022 - slanum wrote:

Aromas are pretty much on point with stone dust at the forefront and then some citrus. Very pleasant. Fairly simple on the palate though, so I don't find the taste living up to the nose, but it's certainly Chablisien; positive points for that. While I think this is good I have to say I found sniffing it more interesting than drinking it. All in all, good.

6/19/2022 - slanum wrote:

Cork crumbled into the bottle. At this age, even though I believe this sees only aged barrels, a bit of oak comes through in the aromatics. Somewhat soft on the palate with not a lot depth or dimension, but no cork taint. The Trout Gulch often gets compared to Chablis in style while this isn't that (though neither is it typically Californian). I feel like I should have opened these a few years ago.

6/14/2022 - slanum wrote:

Quite pale. Textbook aromas of flinty, stony minerality to the exclusion of much fruitiness, just a bit of citrus. Pretty Chablis-like, really. Then in the mouth reserved white, pear-like fruit and a streak of acidity. No fat here. Fans out on the finish with more stones, lemon, and increased volume. This is not a tired wine by any stretch.

5/29/2022 - slanum wrote:

Distinctly orange/gold. Aromas of very ripe stone fruit. Oxidized notes on the palate compete with apricot, yellow peach flavors. Long maceration on the skins shows quite clearly, too much such treatment for my taste. I enjoy his other white wines far more as this lacks freshness -- strikes me as an experiment that pushes things too far.

5/28/2022 - slanum wrote:

Oxidized; undrinkable.

5/8/2022 - slanum wrote:

Puzzling in the extreme, this doesn't smell or taste anything like Chardonnay or St-Véran or any white Burgundy I know of.

5/5/2022 - slanum Does not like this wine:

(Off the list @ Passionfish.) Leans heavily (for my taste overly) towards apple juice in terms of characteristics, and darn simple apple juice at that. Short, and lacking acidity to the point of being nearly flabby. Very disappointing. I abandoned purchases of this a few vintages ago and see no reason to reconsider.

5/3/2022 - slanum wrote:

(S; a K AND L import, not KL.) Very enjoyable, sort of a return to form for me after several vintages that struck me as too ripe to be considered Beaujolais the way it was 20, or even 10, years ago. Pleasingly deft and light bodied with fresh red fruit, notwithstanding the 13.5% alc.

4/26/2022 - slanum wrote:

Darkish in color, suggesting skin contact. Sort of a spiced apple nose, as opposed to citrus or tropical notes. In prior vintages I've found a certain degree of funkiness but didn't here. This is clean, focussed on the white fruit end of the flavor spectrum, a bit like baked apple. Not really long or complex but nice. For me, pushes the value proposition right up to the edge.

4/20/2022 - slanum wrote:

Pale straw; wow, lots of mingled melon and peach in the aromas. Same goes for the flavors, with good buttressing acidity. No shrinking violet, this is fresh and fruit-forward, much more so than I was expecting.

4/20/2022 - slanum wrote:

Light straw with a bit of effervescence adhering to the glass. Super fresh, downright zesty. Citrus on the palate with no lack of staying power, very appealing. No added sulfites (if I have that right) -- quite an accomplishment. Not only merits a re-buy, it got one.

4/19/2022 - slanum wrote:

Looks like a white wine but doesn't taste like one! Sort of.... Aromas of baking spices much more than "fruit," although one note here calls out "bruléed lemon" and that's as good a descriptor as anything I can come up with. Really different in a great way. Big like, though as some note not for everyone due to those differences. As an aside, this complemented an alpine-style cheese superbly.

4/16/2022 - slanum wrote:

Half way between red and white, like a dark rosé. I've certainly had frothier Lambruscos. For a wine with such a light-ish color and low alcohol content this tastes pretty ripe, almost raisin-y. In fact, that's the predominant flavor I'm picking up on. Not in my wheelhouse.

4/16/2022 - slanum wrote:

Ripeness isn't an issue for me here, but band-aid-y brett is. While not overwhelming, I seem to be especially sensitive to it.

4/6/2022 - slanum wrote:

Beats the pants off of most rosés from latitudes further south.

3/7/2022 - slanum Does not like this wine:

Overwhelmed by what seems to be oak influence, at least to my taste. I'm not a Roussane connoisseur but I don't think it typically delivers such a vanilla-like wallop. I couldn't discern much fruit, or anything else besides that.

3/6/2022 - slanum wrote:

As mature and evolved as I would want it to be. This is a very nice, utterly enjoyable old school Saint-Joseph, but the idea that this merits consideration with more exalted Rhône appellations of similarly traditional pedigree leaves me puzzled. Worth every cent of the $40 I paid; at the current going rate some profiteering is going on. In the right hand column of this page I'm presently seeing "where to buy" prices ranging from $270 to $659 and you'd have to be a complete idiot to pay that for this.

2/21/2022 - slanum wrote:

Aromatically reticent. To my taste rather one-dimensional on the palate, without the acidity I prefer in a young rosé. It came across as a bit flabby to me. Maybe the especially diverse blend in this vintage had an impact?

2/15/2022 - slanum wrote:

As a regular and enthusiastic fan of the Verdicchio who knows nothing about Ribona I didn't know what to expect from this. Pleased to note a definite family resemblance: the racy twang is there, along with the citrus-y fruit, though this might be a touch more floral on the nose. Next time I'd like to compare the two wines side by side. This was good enough to have me wondering which one I'd prefer.

12/31/2021 - slanum wrote:

(Dég. 4/20.) Surprisingly creamy (for an extra brut), w/ pear-like fruit rather than, say, apple or citrus. Round and developed. Perfectly judged dosage. Excellent.

12/31/2021 - slanum wrote:

So much brett that nothing else was detectable. A most disappointing NYE development.

12/16/2021 - slanum wrote:

Ethereal aromas of dark plummy fruit, bacon, olive, and spice; utterly intoxicating. Silky palate impression, abundant complexity, and far fresher than its 22 years of age might suggest. Compelling, a magnificent "wow" bottle. (@ Bouche.)

10/16/2021 - slanum wrote:

Indigenous yeast; old barrels; 12% alc. The last time I enjoyed a Malbec this much it was a Côt from Clos Roche Blanche. To say I'm surprised to be saying this about a wine made from grapes grown in El Dorado County, and vinified in Berkeley, would be the understatement of the month.