3/7/2015 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Four day Fridge Decant (Open bottle, drinking one small glass each day)

Day one: Closed, nothing.

Day two: Some cool notes of herbs not much though.

Day Three: Starting to become something.

Day Four: Herbs, herbs, oregano, salt, sweet, but dry for for a desert wine. Complex, high quality. Let it open up over a few days though or cellar for a decade.

12/18/2013 - awkwardhaiku wrote:

First glass: Good structure but currently tight and racy. Weighs in at 14%, so I'm going to bottle decant this (in the fridge) for the next couple of days.

Day 2: Still racy the alcohol hasn't integrated as well as I had hoped. The tannin is smoothing out and the structure is still holding strong.
Right now it needs some food to brace it.

Day 3: Finally, the alcohol subsided. The structure is beginning to wain. Put cork in.

Day 4: Holding steady.

11/28/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

I enjoyed it. Crisp boarding on sour apple, honey, big. Calm effervescence. Better as a cocktail or an aperitif than and with food. I thought that this high acidity would be great with food, but the abundence of the apple mingled strangely with the creme brulee I made. Tastes like aged Champagne, and feels like it could mature a few more.

For the price, I was expecting more in the bottle. One has to remember that this is a, relatively, small producer from a cool climate making vintage sparkling wine. There is going to be a lot of cost and probably little, or no, profit on this wine

11/10/2013 - awkwardhaiku wrote:

10 min: Tart cherry, bitter. Almost vinegar.
Unpleasant.

90 min: Nose is still unpleasant. beginning to incorporate,

120 min: some dirt. But just Tart cherry

Doesn't seem like there was much of a point of aging this if it doesn't develop.

11/9/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Still going. Took about 40 min to an hour to open up in the glass. The mineral drives from the nose to the lengthy finish. Steel lemon meringue pie.

After another hour it seems to be fading in the glass. Still drinkable.

10/12/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Rhubarb, by which I mean light aniseed and sour cherry. There isn't much else, it finishes a little tart but well.

10/10/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

I want to strap this glass on my nose, walking around all day only with the smell of 18 year old Fixin in my nostrils. The nose has, lavender and marjoram. Violets and more lavender on the palette with a nice smoky wood. Unlike Burgundies older than this one, it still has life and body. Like older Burgs it has the brickyard red and a bouquet of the earth.

The nose just keeps opening up

7/25/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

A good Sauvignon Blanc in the style of Zepaltas, focuses on the grape and not the style. Tart and a bit of stone fruit. Quaffable and fun.

At $20 the price is too high as an entry point in my opinion for the younger crowd (for whom this wine is perfect for).

7/24/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Cedarwood, Cherry and acid. Nice and light. The '10 was great but the '11 is just as good. I'm going to have to pick up a few more to have around. I don't think that the bottles I purchase will age well (due to consumption).

7/14/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Perfectly stored, clear color and minimal sediment.

Took a few ticks for the funk to blow off, but then bacon. High minerality and savory notes that lead my palate to think bacon. The bacon was overrun by wild flowers on the nose.

Good, not great. May never see another bottle. Happy that my friend shared his great find with me.

6/15/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Bottle decanted. Took an hour to open. It needed that time to put some weight on in the mid-pallet. You get that sea influence mixed with wonderful notes of tomato and pepper only found in better Bordeaux with a few years behind them.
Generous and feminine.

6/15/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Upon removal of the capsule, the scene presented us with dirt. Not the taste of, nor an analogy to dirt but the actual stuff. The cork was free from it, but how and where did that dirt come from?

Brown sugar and almost a bean protean that faded in the finish. It is amazing how well this wine has kept, it showed much younger than my previous experiences with older Burgundy.

Paired with lamb shanks and asparagus.

6/5/2013 - awkwardhaiku wrote:

Tannic in the beginning but fruity, floral and precise. I didn't know what to expect, but I really dug the dried clay minerality. Like that clay ashtray you made for your grandmother in the 3rd grade.

5/6/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Seems like the '99 is beginning to hit its stride.

5/6/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

A great example of Riesling as a sparkling wine. If you are in Michigan and have the urge, $14 isn't much to spend for this quality.

5/6/2013 - awkwardhaiku wrote:

This wine started as a cube on the palate. Little by little it dented the box, rounding itself off over time. No where close a perfect sphere but it could roll down a slope with minimal coaxing.

Developed over 3 hours and held steady after tha

4/20/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Delicous, feels like a dessert wine without the sugar. Custard and and floral nose.

4/20/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

This wine doesn't feel as old as all that. I mean really, it tastes like an '06 or even an '09 of Cali Pinot. It has a weight and depth that transitions very well from the front to the back of the palate. The only low point, that isn't that low is in the second mid palate, if you know what I'm talking about. Fruit forward and a great tang of acidity. Think of your childhood memories of the feeling of tang in your mouth (not the actual taste).

If you find a bottle don't hesitate to purchase it. Also, don't worry about holding on to it. Not outside of it's drinking window, in the least.

4/13/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

It's always enjoyable to drink a wine with 30+ years.

At 11% and a depressed cork I didn't expect the Laffon Rochet to even show up, it did but wasn't the life of the party. Strawberry and an ebbing minerality over two hours. Fun, but not fantastic.

4/18/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Drank over two days. On the first night the Cab overwhelmed the rest of the blend. Night two, basil and earth of the Syrah and the Petit Verdot really showed up. Will be ordering more, especially to bring to cook-outs or for tenderloin.

4/11/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

A great round mouth feel and swirling effervescence.

3/10/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Ended up decanting for 4hrs these are the notes we took down:
1-1:30
After some time the anise fades and the oak grows. Juicy and generous on the blackberry. Tasting a black olive.

2-3hr
Still a tastes like a New World Red but now the anise has soffened to make this wine recognizable as a Margaux.

4hr
A little biter, oak has calmed down and the gravel (sand and rock) is beginning to shine. There is almost a peach flavor and I am still getting that fun black olive.

This wine longs to move out to California, but decided to stick around and help the family.

A great wine at a great price. 2005 is not ready to drink yet but it is fun to open a great QPR.

3/7/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Bright red berry flavors hinting at spice. At first there is a little dirt, then it mellows out. It is light on the palette but not thin and great to look at during commercials.

Drank over the course of two days (vacuum seal) and was much better on the first, but still above par on the second.

Great Value.

2/24/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

There is a good acidity, balanced with the tannin. One can taste bark, clove and pepper, with a nice power of eucalyptus. The mouth feel is like the watery part jelly, not the jam part.

2/27/2013 - awkwardhaiku Likes this wine:

Tastes like an imitation of a Napa Cab. I actually like this much more than I enjoy some Napa cabs. PnP this wine for sure.

2/12/2013 - awkwardhaiku wrote:

Under-ripe cherry, almost a cranberry taste, with a little bit of dirt. It took a little bit of time to get any more notes than just that Pinot Noir cherry that we all enjoy.

After an hour that dirt (which I enjoy) became more pronounced. On the palette the wine is bright in the middle and has a long finish. It does get better with time, however, when one purchases a Michigan wine one expects to PNP.