4/1/2010 - jryoung wrote:

Ripe blackberry, blueberry, light oak on the nose. Rich dark fruit, silky mouthfeel (1 hr decant), medium finish. Drinking wonderfully now, my second bottle in the last couple of months, new world but not over the top.

10/12/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Dark garnet in color, nose of red fruits, mushroom, leather. Tart red fruits, spice and woody earth, medium finish. Excellent on day 2 as well.

10/10/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Big, structured, dark fruit flavors, long finish...put it to sleep for 10 years, will be worth the wait.

4/19/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Herbs, dark fruit and a touch of funk. Bramble, spice and blackberry palate. Balanced, tasty and drinking well. Classic CdP.

4/14/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Nice find from Mr. Rimmerman, no detailed notes but a good cool climate syrah, hopefully they'll be more in future years.

3/27/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Tasted single blind and I thought this was for sure the 2001 Le Vieux Donjon CDP in the line up. I was very pleasantly suprises this was not "Napa Cab". Initially it did not have cab notes, then it evolved with notes of black currant, a bit of oak and a touch of vanilla. Well made wine, and a fun suprise.

3/22/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Rich dark fruits, anise and tar. Light mouthfeel, delicate fruit, good acitity. Short to medium finish. Interesting wine, ripe new world nose, but delicate almost thin palate.

3/22/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Nose; dark fruits, blackberry, boysenberry, oak. Smooth mouthfeel, blackberry, chocolate, balanced acidity. Short to medium finish. Pleasurable to drink

3/8/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Muted nose, simple tart red fruit palate, not overly complex, but very drinkable.

2/22/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Classic Napa Cab, easy drinking, fruit forward, flabby, boring, and overpriced by $25-30.

2/15/2009 - jryoung wrote:

citrus and road tar/burnt rubber. I know it doesn't sound the most appealing but it was an decent wine. It is certainly manipulated, and maybe a bit overdone, but intriguing. Not much value in it, but fun to taste. Full bodied mouthfeel with nice finish to it.

2/10/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Tight nose, glimmer of bright red fruits with herbs du provence, but the palate is tight. Slightly bitter finish, give it a couple years (4-6)

2/10/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Significantly different than my tasting a year ago, so much I thougt it might have been flawed at first, but that passed. That said, tart rasberry nose with a hint of spice. Rich, full palate of red fruits with a medium finish. With as much as the fruit faded from a year ago (to much more reasonable levels) I'm not sure where these will go. I fear it will continue to fade, and it drinks well now so no need to hold on to them

1/18/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Tasty rustic expression of grenache. Nice blackberry, anise, bramble notes, good find from Jon.

1/12/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Rich orange color, orange marmalade with lemon zest nose. Suprisingly bright, and not as sweet as I had expected, tart orange palate. Wonderful with foie, the acidity was refreshing with the richness of the foie.

1/5/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Wonderful tar, blueberry and floral nose which gives way to a rich palate of blue and blackberries with a touch of anise and vanilla. Tannins are smooth, lifting acidity and medium plus finish. Fared extremely well with shortribs smoked on a Big Green Egg. 92+ (Having had the '05 I may need to crack one soon, as it was significantly better than the '04).

1/5/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Great everyday champagne, not sure why people drink Veuve.

1/5/2009 - jryoung wrote:

Mature SCM cab nose, leather, cassis and cedar. Rich full bodied palate with cassis, leather, mushroom and anise. Good acidity, medium finish. Would have been a great ringer for a Pauillac flight.

1/5/2009 - jryoung wrote:

The nose on this wine continues to be fantastic, cedar, leather, mushroom and dark fruits. The palate was a bit light compared to my previous bottle. Leather and cassis on the palate, with good acidity, medium finish.

12/20/2008 - jryoung wrote:

corked, fortunately the other bottle we opened was fantastic.

12/20/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Another fantastic left bank '85. Dark fruit, cedary nose. Smooth mouthfeel, with nice acidity, leather, cedar, mature cab flavors.

12/16/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Fantastic value from Jon. Anise and black current bud on the nose with some fresh herbs. Active palate with fresh acidity, this is a food wine all the way. I think the cab franc is a bit more expressive on the palate (flavor wise), than on the nose. Medium finish, nice wine.

12/5/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Wonderful aged Cote-Rotie, light ruby in color, cut hay and peppercorn nose, red meat and roasted herb. Drank with '85 Leoville Barton, and '90 Lagrange.

11/27/2008 - jryoung wrote:

No Rating - I did not decant and paid the consequences...well not consequences it just wasn't as good and I believe it to be. However, a few hours after I awoke from my turkey induced coma I found a touch left in the bottle. The wine had some nice cherry aromas with a bit of baking spices. The palate was much more stable, tart cherry, with a smooth finish. Unfortunately this was only one sip. I'll let the rest of these go nighty-night for a couple of years.

11/16/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Ruby in color, wonderful nose of fresh red berries with a bit of baking spices. Palate was very bright, almost a bit too acidic, although with a smoked pork rib-chop it cut the fat beautifully. I'm not sure how wines like this in the long term (assuming the fruit will fade), but it is drinking very well right now, especially if paired well with fats to balance it out. A very refreshing CA pinot, looking forward to many more vintages.

11/14/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Color is incredibly youthful, deep purple with very slight bricking (empahsis on very). Nose was a wonderful assault of tobacco, earth, morel mushrooms and a hint of spice. It evolved beautifully over 2.5 hours in the decanter and glass. The tobacco faded a bit into more leather, but it was captivating the entire time. Rich, mouthfeel, and amazing there were tannins still present. Wonderful flavors of earth, mushroom, tobacco with some lovely dark fruits hiding in the background. While never having this vintage before I would say that it is at it's peak and has 5 maybe 10 years left. There is still wonderful structure holding it together, the tannins have a subtle grip, but the acidity kept it lively and fresh. Finish was medium which I had hoped for a bit more, but honestly this wine is incredible.

9/1/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Very pleasurable, easy to drink. Probably not the best QPR, but having tasted the '05 and this side by side the potential is there. Rich dark fruits, a bit of oak, and a some leather on the nose. Ripe dark fruit on the palate with a medium length pleasant finish.

6/19/2008 - jryoung wrote:

A bit young, but a nice wine nonetheless. Beautiful ruby color, strawberry and tea spice aromas, rich red fruit palate. Shows a bit of heat, but I'd like to see where this is headed in 2-4 years.

6/15/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Nice nice earthy licorice nose. Palate filled with mushroom, licorice followed by red fruits. Medium finish, nice showing from a 9 year old Napa cab f.

5/19/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Wow, talk about taking it right to the edge and not going a step further. As muscular as this wine is, there is amazing grace in it. Sure there is plenty of oak in it still but I can only imagine it is fading (my first time with the wine). Rich nose of asian spices, nutmeg and oak. Full, rich dark ripe fruits and oak on the palate. Finish was amazing long with the spices lingering. I like shitty, barnyardy Loire cab francs, and hate Aussie fruit bombs, while this is certaintly ripe and fruity, it doesn't take it too far, fastastic wine, and anxious to see the oak integrate a bit more.

5/18/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Wow, incredibly tannic, there is some fruit hiding and it opened up after a bit, but I'm not going to touch another bottle for at least 3 years. The PV gives it an amazing inky color.

4/28/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Meh, not overly exciting, a bit too much oak/vanilla. Nice tart red fruits on the palate, but it was a bit too sweet. I like a bit more grip.

4/24/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Bittersweet opening for this wine, it needs some time to come together. Closed nose, with glimpses of cherry, lavender and a bit of truffle. Tight and tannic, it really locks down the tastebuds. However, there is a beautiful wine in waiting. You get a flash of the fruit, with the acidy that presents a wonderful tartness. Let this baby sleep, I think in 5 years it will be somewhere special. This will be a great ringer at an offline someday, and you'll have everyone floored with a 100% Fer Servadou.

4/17/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Drank side by side with the '82 and '86. While the '82 and '86 were certainly better, I believe this bottle held it's own against them. Dark color, big dark fruits on the nose with some oak still present. Rich full palate with notes of anise and leather, nice acid balance with a pleasant finish.

4/11/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Nice wine, a little funky, herby nose. Tannins are a bit rough at this point but there is some nice fruit on the palate, time to let my second bottle sleep for a while.

4/3/2008 - jryoung wrote:

A bit tight and tannic right now. There seems to be something floral hiding in the background in the nose. A tannins make it a bit dry and reserved now, but I think this will come around in time.

3/28/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Nice mountain fruit, balance and complexity. Dark fruits, smooth mouthfeel, short finish.

3/16/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Similar to my previous bottle, not a classic Hermitage IMO as it has a wonderful delicateness to it. Pleasantly funky nose of cut hay, earth, and cherry. Ripe tartness on the palate makes this an excellent food wine, and with a dry aged rack of lamb lastnight this was fantastic.

3/16/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Always fun digging deep into the Ahlgren library. At 22 this wine is in a great spot, I think our previous bottle was a bit better but this one had great mountain fruit, with wonderful depth of secondary flavors. Wonderful aromas of dark fruits with some earth, mushroom and a bit of cut hay. Full bodied palate, with tobacco, cassis and earth again. Looking forward to drinking my third.

3/5/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Old and earthy, no bricking but there isn't much fruit left. Interesting olive nose, a pleasure to drink.

2/22/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Consistent with prior note, it has softened a bit, but seems to be showing more vanilla.

2/18/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Somewhat dissapointing given that I love Saxum, but as with many of the '04s the acitidy is a miss. Thankfully I have two more and am anxious to be proven wrong. Wonderful blueberry nose with a hint of old world rusticness (if that's word). Rich saturating dark fruit palate but one dimensional. It won't stop me from srinking more Saxum though.

2/18/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Not bad on it's own, but really shined with the cheese sent by Justin as part of their Wine and Cheese program. Cherry and red fruits on the nose, with a bit of vanilla, a bit odd for a cab/syrah blend. Smooth mouthfeel, graceful tannins just a bit too tart (red fruits again), however the acidity did well with raviolis in tomato sauce.

2/18/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Seems to be a bit shy right now, which is fine with me, I just couldn't resist the urge anymore to hold out on an '03. Cassis, lead pencil and cedar, and blackberries on the nose. It has a subtle old world feel which I why I love AlamaV, and with time I hope it really comes out to express itself. Full bodied, a bit less tannic than I would have expected and primary. I think a few more years should treat it kindly, but am unsure if it will shine after 10-15.

2/13/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Not a bad wine, but not a wow wine. Easy drinking, red fruit dominated, no real hard edges.

2/8/2008 - jryoung wrote:

This is young, and has a ways to go, but I think it will be fantastic. Split a 750ml between courses. First with a foie gras appetizer, then with creme brulee. Honey, apricot and a lemon zest nose. Rich full viscous palate with a touch of heat, but I think that is just because of it's youth. Long, rich sweet finish. It did well with the foie (also served with a pomegranate reduction), but really shined with the creme brulee. The fats of both courses aided the wine, but the bitterness of the pomegranates and foie didn't do as well as just the creme brulee (don't get me wrong, they were still fantastic.
I also had the 1995 recently and I believe this will head in a similar direction adding orange preserves to the flavor profile.

1/28/2008 - jryoung wrote:

This one shocked me, after reading the Aussie bomb note below I was skepticle. At first whiff I would have guessed CdP had I not known. Rich dark fruit with a bit of barnyard funk to throw in and old world curveball. Who were these Rhone imposters? Aussie like? Not from my experience in the land down unde, this is a great blend of old and new world. On the palete it was big and heavy but not over the top, the lingering funk really gave this some nice complexity and a medium finish.

1/25/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Infanticide, you can tell there is a lot there, but it's just not ready to reveal itself. This should improve significantly of the next decade +.

1/25/2008 - jryoung wrote:

I'm a sucker for the apples dipped in petrol old dirty riesling. Great find by John.

1/25/2008 - jryoung wrote:

Really pretty champagne, numerous tiny bubbles, carmelized apple and toast nose. Caramel and nuts on the palate with a refreshing finish.