4/3/24, 11:40 PM - Yes give it a couple of hours. Cheers
3/20/24, 2:03 PM - 2-3 hours would do wonders. It was showing well but clearly closed. After 2 hours it was in a good spot without a decant so I would recommend a 2-3 hour decant, yes.
2/25/24, 8:42 PM - VHR is one of my favs and I think so highly of the Philips so all conditions set for me to want to love this. It’s good but not a baby VHR
2/19/24, 5:25 PM - Heather is also fantastic
8/12/23, 1:00 PM - Hey Chris, we were tasting with Maayan today, one of the nicest guys we’ve met. He mentioned you were having dinner tonight - enjoy. This alluvian was fantastic, there is an elegance and purity of fruit with restraint that makes it a real treat. Once the tannins settle a bit it’ll be fire.
8/12/23, 1:21 PM - Completely agree on all points especially QPR in a sea of Napa wines that are constantly pushing prices. We’ve only had the alluvian and reserve thus far but look forward to trying more wines in the lineup. Have you tried the pas de cheval? Also a Maayan wine partnering with Vanessa Conlin. I love the oakville and although different you can see the through line between the wines.
1/21/24, 1:58 PM - I think the Alluvium is tasting great right now, very open and expressive, go for it. The reserve I am super excited about but feel like it needs a bit more time, as Chris says, give it a lot of time and you'll see what the fuss is about but I bet you'll wish you gave it another year to have it chill out a bit. Of course, you could hold it much longer, I just feel like it's in a stage of development where a year will have a profound effect.
8/12/23, 10:32 PM - Tasted with Maayan, he had it open 3 hours
6/20/23, 10:00 AM - My opinion - this is not in the camp of Corison, Mayacamas, Ashes & Diamonds, Dunn, Seavey, etc. that need a ton of time. I will also say that in 2018 and hopefully we'll see this moving forward that Ulysses upped their game, could be more age and experience with the vineyard but I'm guessing. I feel the same for Continuum starting 18 and continuing in 19 - stepped up. To me the 18 Ulysses is more like a Diamond Creek, good to drink now, and will hold up well over time. (but not as good as DC IMO).I do think time will benefit, so no problem holding either.
4/12/23, 8:57 AM - It’s definitely helpful, I would say 2 hours although not required. Incidentally, we are finding a fair amount of bottle variation for whatever reason and decanting helps reduce
3/29/23, 8:49 PM - Oh yeah I know this problem 😀
12/9/22, 5:06 PM - 3day I didn't find the wine sweet at all, it actually wasn't very expressive. I don't know if it's the worst value, but I do feel like the wine is not set at the right price point so mostly agree with that statement :)
12/3/22, 2:03 PM - IMO the Oakville. My wife, a friend of mine, and myself drank a couple of bottles and they all were consistently showing extremely well. The St Helena is the least ready in my opinion.
11/14/22, 6:29 PM - Yes, I have liked all vintages of O'Shaughnessy that I've tried going back to 2009 aside from 2011, 2017, and the 18 the verdict is still out. Right out of the gate, the 19 is back to everything I love about O'Shaughnessy, which is a lot.
11/6/22, 9:11 PM - I met with Heather Phillips yesterday and she mentioned this label is only available on prem and through retailers.
11/3/22, 12:23 AM - Of course! I do think they have a good qpr. If you like Mark Herold as a winemaker, you will enjoy these and they are hitting their stride
9/19/22, 8:39 PM - For what it’s worth I dropped out this year as well after 10 years. I like the wine, it ages well but they are getting into a price point where there is stiff competition.
9/22/22, 10:10 PM - Yes, completely agree sfwinelover - the secondary market point is a really good one. It takes a couple of years to come down but it's pretty easy to find in the $130 range. I have no doubt the pricing will sustain but I'm guessing CM will take a hit before they recover.
8/26/22, 9:45 PM - Couldn’t agree more, one of the best qpr wines even at $100, Love how in cobra Kai Kamen was featured in terry silvers cellar (and not the bottle he broke). Beautiful property and wine to match.
7/31/22, 9:09 PM - You and me both -- this is a great wine, I have had good luck with wines from Tench vineyards, it doesn't hurt that I've met the Tench family and visited the vineyards and they are great people.
6/1/22, 5:46 PM - Couldn’t agree more, Rudd makes absolutely beautiful and soft wines. Some of the best around.
4/21/22, 5:04 PM - badmonkey - I believe it will benefit from time, bringing the fruit into better balance and softening. I agree with you that most 2018s do need more time although still tasting pretty darn good. The 2019s seem to be much more open and approachable out of the gate, I'm very excited about the 19s as it reminds me of the 14s which are tasting amazing right now as a whole.
4/7/22, 10:36 PM - Yes, definitely worth waiting on and I will also say this is probably one of the best vintages in a while.
2/18/22, 11:14 PM - Definitely would benefit from a decant. We were in whistler and decanting wasn’t possible but still tasted great pop and pour.
2/5/22, 9:01 PM - Agree with both of you. This wine is not showing well at the moment but some upside
12/29/21, 8:25 PM - I would never mistake any Napa wine under 20 years old for Bordeaux. Napa has an unmistakable fruit component you just cannot get in bordeaux. That said, most people talk about the style in a relative sense.
12/12/21, 2:40 PM - Will improve year by year but I’m guessing 3 years and will need a multi hour decant
12/10/21, 8:47 PM - It was straight out of an oenomatic machine at the Napa Wine Museum. Those machines do slow expose the wine to air so it was more open than I would expect from a pop and pour
10/31/21, 8:41 PM - $139 at benchmark at the moment. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, proud Canadian, but am thankful I don’t pay Canadian taxed prices for wine.
10/17/21, 8:06 PM - Tasted this for the first time at the taste of howell mountain event yesterday and it stood out from the crowd as did O’Shaughnessy, Adamvs, and a new label called AMPL.
10/18/21, 12:16 AM - Nice! We seem to have a similar palate so I'm super hopeful on the Selah, have 3 bottles on the way (2018). It's a good find and as you say a solid QPR.
9/21/21, 9:22 PM - I’m surprised no one mentioned the blocks are right on the front label. The dots. 2018 was 1, 3, 4, 6 and they have harvest dates and yields tons/acre. 1100 cases of the 2018
9/21/21, 9:23 PM - I will also say VHR is my favorite expression of this vineyard but I am very partial to the elegant, restrained style.
9/11/21, 11:43 PM - Great way to describe, I feel the same.
9/8/21, 9:16 PM - I’ve had a few bottles of the 2015 within the last year and am going to say it was an off bottle, as you say oShaughnessy rarely disappoints.
7/18/21, 7:40 PM - Sure did Mark. Such a beautiful facility and the wines are very good. Only complaint is that the prices are going up too quickly
7/17/21, 5:06 PM - Yep, same Mark.
7/10/21, 6:16 PM - I hope you are right sfwinelover1, I've just found this same pattern with the 2017s all up and it makes sense relative to the heat spikes in early September that prompted a rush to pick. I hold my Montelena estates so I won't be touching for a while (this was at the winery) so we can chat again in another 6 years or so (like to start trying at 10 years)
7/11/21, 1:53 PM - 16 I have been very happy with and 18 is looking good so far but limited experience. 1t has been a bit hit and miss for me. I think they need much more time has been my conclusion so far. Can be reticent otherwise. 11 was terrible lol.
6/13/21, 5:00 PM - Mark, I tasted it at the Napa Wine History museum next to Oakville Grocery. If you haven't been there it's well worth a stop, they have about 20 wines "on tap" via an enomatic, from every day to special occasion. Rotating lineup. Best part is it's retail pricing for tasting including a 1 oz, half glass, full glass pours, just divide into the retail price. Pretty darn cool.Anyway, that is where I had the Togni, those machines do give it some air (and the wines do get a bit flat if sitting in there too long) so really hard to say how much air it got. I will say it was quite enjoyable for what I agree with you is generally a wine that needs time.
4/20/21, 8:28 AM - Badmonkey - interestingly I'm feeling like the 2018 Kamen is built for age a bit more than previous vintages and I've had 10-15 year old Kamen that has been fantastic. My crystal ball says that this wine will be absolutely gorgeous at 10 years but will hold much longer. At the same time, drank this one a bit early but I'm going to say even in 2 years this wine will be ready to go if you like wines in their youth. My crystal ball has also been wrong a lot, keep that in mind LOL
4/10/21, 9:35 PM - Just had the 2018 outpost cab last Thursday alongside the 17 and the 18 immigrant. Immigrant was the winner but the 18 cab was tasting better than the 17 which was somewhat muted and more earthy. You said the 18 was being called out as having smoke taint, did you mean the 17?
4/10/21, 9:31 PM - Agree. Tasted at the winery last November and the 2017 was disappointing compared to my experience with every other vintage. I find that generally true with the 2017s although like all vintages there are gems out there.
4/8/21, 7:47 PM - I was at the winery, they opened in the morning w/o decanting and we tasting at 11AM out of the bottle. So minimal air before tasting (since Covid, I haven't seen any decanting, not certain if it's a regulation but it's certainly a practice).It'll definitely benefit from a few years of bottle age.
4/5/21, 7:29 PM - MJP from my experience, no. Would be interested in what you and others have found.
4/5/21, 8:53 PM - It’s definitely a stylistic “green” versus an undesirable one, I’m somewhat sensitive to it so keep that in mind. For example I don’t drink much cab franc even in blends. The wine had really nice balance and a nice finish. I can definitely imagine others feeling quite differently about this wine.
3/31/21, 9:22 PM - Definitely. I've been very happy with the consistency year after year as well admittedly I haven't tasted every vintage.I will say that the 2018 ranks up there as one of the better vintages for a wine that is really quite exceptional and underrated in my opinion. Flies under the radar when it really shouldn't.
3/29/21, 8:07 PM - Yes Lit, I would delay your drinking window, you won’t regret it, this wine is so made for the long haul.
3/19/21, 12:42 PM - I love this wine too. It’s a bit of a hidden gem too
3/21/20, 8:58 PM - Thanks for the notes mark. I’m sitting on 3 bottles and have extremely high hopes after tasting last year with Bruce and his wife who are incredibly wonderful people. I plan to wait for the 10 year mark.
3/11/21, 1:32 PM - I don't have experience with Tor VHR either but have experience with VHR and it is not vine-y or green, it's a very elegant, restrained, floral with red and slightly under ripe black fruit kind of wine. Very beautiful wine. It's an ager as well. Just received my 3-pack of the 2018 today and I'm very excited.
3/6/21, 8:45 PM - At Costco for $89 it’s a great qpr in my opinion. But hear you on the engineering
2/28/21, 1:13 PM - Isn't that always the case Mark lol. I decanted for 1 hour and drank over 2. A couple of years ago I had a 2001 Merus which had aged beautifully well. Easy to forget about Merus with all the wines out there but it's a great label.
11/12/20, 2:16 PM - #1Winelover, I am a big fan of the Vine Hill Ranch vineyard and even more so of the wine made by the proprietors the Phillips family who source grapes to the likes of Harlan (Bond). Winemaker is Francoise Peschon. Really wonderful wines I recommend you seek out.
2/15/21, 8:19 PM - I’ve heard good things about the 2019s, lower yields than the 2018s which I think is a good thing. I love the 2016s more than the 12s 13s definitely 15s. I’m hopeful for the 18s to be similar and what I’ve tasted so far has been good. I remain curious and interested in the 19s. I have not been impressed with the 17s and have been avoiding, the heat spike in September really did a number on the grapes. I know already I will avoid the 20s.
12/18/20, 4:40 PM - Nice sleuthing laz4wine! I've had good luck with the producer, David Arthur, so I picked up a few bottles. Hopefully it works out.
12/8/20, 7:41 PM - Agree!
11/24/20, 8:50 PM - Completely agree about drinking above the price point. I’m a big fan of kamen
11/13/20, 8:52 PM - Seems like we are following you around Mark 😀 great tasting overall. The social currency was super good.
11/14/20, 10:39 PM - Heading back home unfortunately but it was a great trip, felt safe with private outdoor tastings. Maybe it was self-selection but I do feel like Napa wines are getting more restrained as a whole which I think is a very good thing.Prices have always been high but are getting a bit outrageous at this point. Working harder to find the gems with high QPR.
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