4/21/2024 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Wow what a great window this is in now. Pure joy. The nose sings with fruits and flowers, and then the palate is fantastic. Dark fruits, cassis, a sneaky vegetal note, and flowers again. Great minerality and long finish. On pop and pour there is a touch of punishment from the tanins but that goes away so quickly. Balance is superb. I would guess this has stuffing to go awhile longer but I am going to start pulling these now, life is short and this is too much fun.

4/20/2024 - lundmc wrote:

I think this is the 2019- back label is off! Dark cork and dark purple, everything about it is big and bold. Blue and black fruits galore. Some charred meat and earthy notes, and cassis. Give it some air if drinking now.

4/7/2024 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Fun! I think it would be a crowd pleaser but just a crowd of one tonight. Black cork and brooding nose made me think this was going to be a bruiser but not so! Springy acidity, forest fruits and red berries are laid in against the darker fruit, plus some oak and caramel. First time trying this wine, I would get it again.

3/7/2024 - lundmc wrote:

91 points as a young wine, and I would open one tomorrow and happily drink again. I think it will gain points over time as the structure is good. Right now it is a little bright, and I fully expect that acidity will recede a little with a long long decant or years in the cellar. For now, starts with some redder fruit transitioning to darker all the way through the palate. A slosh of leather/jerkey peeking out that may become more pronounced later.

3/1/2024 - lundmc wrote:

Wine worthy of the barrel and the story. Tremendous nose of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, flowers, and some spice. Sings on the palate, lighter on its feet than expected, with red fruits, fine tanins, some savory elements, and a long long finish.

2/12/2024 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Very nice at this stage. Nice complimentary flavors of red and dark fruits, leather, a little wood and some tannins. Maybe some rocks too. This wine is well integrated at this point and not too over the top.

2/6/2024 - lundmc wrote:

Not going to give a score, it’s not ready yet. A little closed at first, with some not wholly pleasant notes- alcohol and a skosh chemically on the nose and at first quaff. With some time got into some black fruits and black licorice and meat. Took a lot of air to get to drinkability and by then was a little muted. I think it is going to be good with time - I hope it is not a handling issue - I’d say 2026 or later.

2/4/2024 - lundmc Likes this wine:

On pop and pour, somewhat closed off and tannic up to the edge of astringency. Going do let this sit awhile. Many Paraduxx offerings are ready to rip out of the gate and I thought with the bottle age this would be true.
After some time the tannins calm down and it’s a nice bottle, not so great for QPR.

1/24/2024 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Pow, the payoff is there. Have been waiting to open this, drank some a few years ago in Napa and remember it being great, was afraid it would not live up to my memory, but it is superb. Starts with a spicy nose then is somewhat rascally on pop and pour, with wood, spice, rocks, and underbrush. Smooths out so nicely so quickly after that- great pure fruit, red and black, with sublime mouthfeel and a trailing finish. Love it.

1/20/2024 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Opened and immediately went through screen/aeration funnel into the decanter. Lots of sediment in the screen plus finer sediment in the bottle. After 30 minutes poured off a glass and rest went back in the bottle with no stopper for some slow ox.
After 90 minutes first taste. Red fruits on nose and some in the glass. More dark fruit though and some vegetation/herbs, plus some baking chocolate. Super nice mouthfeel- a little creamy, but also a little grip.
Two hours, smoothing out. Nose is fun now, like rhubarb and strawberry, and the palate has a little brightness, but turning darker and maybe even elegant (or a little closed off?) surprising for mountain fruit.
2.5 hours ok now this is a window, I like this. Pedigree showing now, the Howell mountain and TRB beaming through. More rounded, vegetation receded, fruits across the spectrum.
In the end, very good and I enjoyed the trip! Maybe needs to decant longer. Very enjoyable but I don’t know if it’s got much more to go.

1/18/2024 - lundmc wrote:

Bright and nimble, not as terroir driven as usual. Spicy nose but then not on the palate. There, red fruits dominate - cherry, raspberry, acidity there but also a little bit of creeping dark fruits. I doubt it will evolve too much but pretty good now, especially with food.

1/11/2024 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Pop and pour. Cheerful nose of fruit and forest floor. Some red and black fruits on the palate and an unexpected (for Zin) mossy funk that is not at all unpleasant. Somewhat bracing tannins at this point. I like this wine now and wish I had another bottle to compare in a couple years.

12/8/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Love it. The grapes do all the work here, just pure unadulterated fun. Clean clean clean, with bright rays of acidity, a great lightness that pops through the complex mix of red fruit, grass, root beer, cork, and apple. I tasted this at the winery (go there if you can) and don’t remember this great ride.

12/2/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Fourth bottle and wow I have to say this is spectacular. I'm sure this could be laid down for a while but the drinking window is so good right now. The fruit is so pure and beautiful, and the secondaries and tertiaries are gorgeous. I am doubling down on my chocolate and flowers callout from previous bottles, and adding a point for the chalky minerality that carries through such a long finish. Great.

11/14/2023 - lundmc wrote:

I did not expect this to be ready to go but wow on pop and pour this was super. A few rough edges but not in a bad way, and probably actually adds rather than subtracts. Red and black fruit, some straw, nicely behaved tannins. Will update after a few hours if the bottle makes it there.

11/4/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Score 93 with minimal air time. Opened up (had to knife that wax a little it’s super thick! Couldn’t just drill my beloved bumblebee olive wood waiters corkscrew and pull it through. Good thing it was the first bottle of the night- wax cutting can be dangerous!). Decanted through screen and funnel aerator, glad I did, some sediment on the screen.
2017 as a vintage was famously challenging, and to me the Modus Operandi (how perfect is that) on this one -reverse sangier- resulted in an extremely restrained wine. There is fruit for sure but in the first hour the backbone is very firm. Somewhat relentless. The tanins are fine, so it is not punishing, but I think this needs to be revisited after some air.

Added a point after 2 hours. Shocking how fast this smoothed out. Still a little restrained versus other Antithesis bottlings but very nice.

10/19/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Kudos to Jason for this assertive GSM. Some moxy here, with a base of round red and black fruit, plus buttered popcorn, cranberry, and meat. Sustained enjoyable finish. Interested to see how this evolves.

9/25/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Another unequivocal winner. QPR is great. Give it 45 minutes and then spectacular balance of red and dark fruits, belt leather, subtle herb or vegetation, and great mouthfeel. Oh black raspberry on the nose that hides on the palate. Longish pleasant finish. Drink it alone or with food, it can stand up or stand back, this beauty is just up for fun.

9/15/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Needs at least an hour. Love this stuff, maybe my favorite single vineyard from Modus. So I will try not to be hyperbolic. As with past vintages, nose is a little shy, belying that which is underneath. On the palate brilliantly nuanced yet expressive fruits- think red and black cherry both, some flowers, a little chocolate and a firm but not punishing backbone that tells me this has some stuffing. Comes back around at the end with a little slap of sweet tart or razzles- just a pop like the green flash at sunset. Lovely.

9/13/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Delicious. Some stewed notes on the nose that dissolve on the tongue. Comes through clean, taut, and round. Chocolate, plush fruits, and understated spices give the wine balance and a less bombastic overall impression than many Malbecs. Pleasant enduring finish.

9/8/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Very expressive nose of bright fruits and citrus. Zippy acidity on pop and pour that gave am almost vibrating sensation. High-toned red fruits, blood orange, some sticks and straw and bread and kirsch and plum. I liked this with food (pizza) and liked it overall but would probably hold for another couple of years. I think this is going to fill out and find even more secondaries.

8/27/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Shewee I haven’t been drinking a lot of French wine or even much wine of this style lately and I wonder why. This is so gorgeous right now after minimal air. Nice fruits and a little bit of mineral but the stunner is the mouthfeel. Silky and plush and sustained through a long finish.

Over the couple few hours I have had this open if has moved to the darker of the raspberries and black cherry and cucumber. So nice.

8/25/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Will add notes later this is really good and drink now but can’t rate or give good tasting notes , drank it too fast 😁. Go for it now and enjoy !

8/19/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Really good and pretty different from my recollection and notes from the 2010 I had a few weeks ago. This has a little perfume and hits the palate first with some black raspberries and red fruits. A little bit of herbs and grippy tannins. Seems like you can pick up the sugar acid and tannin all distinctly, but the wine is not disjointed. Could definitely go more years but excellent now, I prefer it to the 2010 but like them both .

8/12/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Pleasant nose of candy flowers and fruit. At pop and pour a little bit of bitterness on the palate that was concerning but after four hours slow ox this was singing. Gorgeous fruit- cherry prominent, and blackberry and then some subtle caramel, a hint of nettle, and just lovely perfectly balanced tanin that supports a great finish. Gotta get more.

8/2/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

No rating yet. Big nose but then subtle fruit- more refined, maybe even closed yet. Tanins are too pronounced now, needs at least 3 more years or so before consuming without a significant decant. I like this vineyard and think this will be good but needs time.

7/30/2023 - lundmc wrote:

About 2 hours of slow-ox in the bottle then down the hatch. Nice nose, somewhat expressive, flowers and grapes and a coastal breeze (I swear). Comes in with a little high-hat raspberry before quickly ceding to more plush red fruits. Not a ton of dark fruit. A skosh of caramel, or maybe cola or black licorice, especially after some air. Really lovely mid-palate and pleasing finish. I tasted this at the winery and only vaguely recollected, not as I remembered/expected. Good grapes, I opened it for a filet mignon dinner and it went well, but I was expecting something with more power an less finesse.

7/25/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Clean, polished, straight-shooting Napa Cab. Flowers on the nose and palate, to go with pure fruit and some minerality. Very balanced, very well behaved right out of the bottle. Nothing here to criticize.

7/1/2023 - lundmc wrote:

If you can get one, buy it, open it, and drink it. It is ready right now. Secondaries are up front, with the fruit tamped down a bit. Some cherry, menthol, cork, subtle herbs. Very long finish.

6/21/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Goes down easy. Cherry, tobacco, and some zingy acidity and fine tannins. Seems a little thinner than previous vintages. May need a little time to integrate, hopefully has the stuffing to last while it works itself out. That said, I did enjoy drinking it on the longest day of the year!

6/7/2023 - lundmc wrote:

I picked up a few bottles so took the liberty of having one early. It’s a baby now for sure, full of ripe fruit on the red and black scale, tilted towards red. Not as tannic as I thought it would be. Actually pretty well behaved for something this young, good mountain grapes coming through. Not too many secondary notes right now. Maybe a touch of savory mint but not pronounced to be sure. Looking forward to comparing over time.

5/23/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Second bottle, I like this vintage. Totally agree with MARK1 on the way it fills out with air- I had exactly the same impression of fruit and structure filling in after a somewhat underwhelming pop and pour. Redder fruits and acidity moving to darker fruits and some wood notes.

4/29/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Year over year such great product and great value for this quality. Pure joy. Complex, silky, spicy. Smells cedary but then only faint wood on the tongue. Spiraling finish that goes on and on.

4/23/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Totally crushable right now with minimal air time. Right out of the bottle it’s firing with fruit, a little savory, some spice, and backbone that is there but not stinging. If you need something that is refined right now that won’t break the bank, this is your huckleberry.

Second bottle November 2023. Consistent with prior note. Will try to pick up more, they nailed it with this vintage.

4/7/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Undeniably smooth drinking, this plush beauty went down without a fight. So smooth , so integrated , was superb without food and then with lemon caper chicken. Artfully blended, there is fruit, leather, chicory, deli meat, and a rambling, surprising finish. If there is a graduate level tanin course, this would be a case study- so tuned in to hit the mouthfeel without the pucker. Really nothing to fault here, but also nothing that jumps out. That is not a bad thing, could drink this all day.

4/1/2023 - lundmc wrote:

The nose is sensational - violets, spice, softly enticing. Kept sticking my nose back in while I was drinking. A little licorice that I didn’t get on the palate. Then red cherry, black cherry, garrigue, gravel, a tiny bit scattered on pop and pour then snaps into focus. Nice mouthfeel and medium - long finish. This is labeled as Howell Mountain and I totally get that, it almost seems like a little bit of Rutherford is in there too.

As of April 2023, this is ready to rip on pop and pour.

3/29/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Quite tight out of the bottle, a little puckery and tannic. But I like it. Far far from a flabby Zin, this is oaked up and ready to fight. I probably opened this way too early or did not give enough air but it suits my mood and my food tonight.

3/19/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Tasted at Pigs and Pinot 2023. Sought this out as my first wine and it ended up being my personal WOTN. Singing acidity holds up the red fruits which are prominent - cherry, pomegranate - nicely wound together with light oak and mild spice and some leaves. Nicely layered and complex. Went great with the awesome sopes of Chefs Mulligan and Alvarez from Spoonbar, conveniently placed in the same section of the event!

3/3/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Spice, wood, dust, rocks. Fruit is in the backseat. Somewhat rustic for a Merlot.

2/25/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

I love this. Big bold nose of flowers and cherry and spice, then just joy on the palate. Juicy fruits of black cherry and red cherry, some baking spice, blackberries. With all that punch, it’s still very refined and integrated. Nailed this one this year! Would please a crowd as well as your snobbier wine pals.

2/4/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Very powerful nose of flowers spice and berries. On the palate, red and dark fruits, tobacco, spice, some cedar. A little bit of meat/jerky. Great complexity. Long finish.
Just got my adult braces this week and the orthodontist said red wine is going to stain the brackets. Cheers to purple brackets- wines like this make it worth it!

1/28/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Decanted, some sediment in the screen. On pop and pour it’s very expressive with black fruits, graphite, and a growl that I am definitely going to give a few hours to tame.
After 30 minutes edges are off, and now some herbal notes. Sage! I don’t get that one too often, but it’s there.
At two hours really singing. In balance. Fruits, tannin, that little bit of crushed rock. Would bump it two points if the finish was just a little more satisfying but I don’t love the outro. Otherwise- great.

1/26/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Really great , really uncharacteristic . Cherry loud and clear, clean and pure. Secondary licorice notes and very easy drinking . Love it.

October 2023- Bottle 2 similar notes. But went to day 2 stores off in small bottle for low ox and developed a note that was unusual- like a pine board. Not oaky or cedary but piney. It is not unpleasant but it is unusual. Drink all day one.

1/22/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

My first trip to the Moon. Mountain. Everything about this wine is purple. Purple in the glass, and purple flowers on the nose. Intense purple fruit- blackberry , blueberry , and some red cherry. Very soft and plush from the get go. A little Merlotish. I like it and I think my dinner guests would love it. Not great QPR.
A couple of hours of air actually did this no favors. Developed a little bit of an alcohol note that I would expect would go away, not develop.

1/20/2023 - lundmc wrote:

Meh. Lacking the robustness and plushness of typical Paraduxx offerings. A little red fruit and rhubarb and some wood but distracted somewhat by the imbalance and harsh tannins. Harshness resolves and smooths out with some air but still not in balance.

1/6/2023 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Fun to drink. Meaty, fruity, some structure but no overwhelming tannins. Ready to go now.

12/18/2022 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Another triumph. You know a lot is made of the Vicarious and Vicarious Cab. And rightly so. But this Noctus is always flying under the radar. It must be able to do that because it is like a bat, creature of the night. Though it is of the night, do not sleep on this bad boy. Boisenberries, other random dark fruits, structured tanins, spice, and great QPR.

12/13/2022 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Muted flowers on the nose then a pure, singing, unabashed cherry note coming straight through on the palate. Simple, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Some secondary notes of cassis and other bright red fruits come in then, and the finish brings a little wood.

12/11/2022 - lundmc Likes this wine:

Bright, crackly, with a pop of acid at the front. Has bacon again, plus baking spice, tobacco, and rhubarb. Longish, bending finish.

12/4/2022 - lundmc Likes this wine:

The Merlot is famous, and I am a fan. I know I tasted the Cab at the winery 3 or 4 years ago, but had no recollection what it was like. What a nice re-discovery. It is ready to go right after opening. Subtle nose with some apricot. Flavors are assertive but not aggressive- darker fruits play with red fruits, a little bit of red licorice , and some Belgian waffle. There is black raspberry here and blackberry, and black and red cherries. And some minerality/dust. The standout here is the mouthfeel though. Pure velvet- makes you want to just keep drinking it to get that plushness. Finish is medium-long. I would open this and drink it soon.