3/1/2023 - Shrages wrote:

A bit over the top. Lots of black licorice and glycerine. Out of balance for me. But hey, it’s Napa. Might be a 93 if it said “Port” on the label.

3/1/2023 - Shrages wrote:

Musty, sweaty, and real. Not for your technical perfectionists, for sure. Layered with potpourri and clove.

2/16/2023 - Shrages wrote:

Outstanding. Rich, but also very pure, with well delineated flavors. Not over the top as i expected it to be by reputation and region. Nearly a 93. Tastes like a 2nd or 3rd growth St Julien.

1/25/2023 - Shrages wrote:

A nice clean, classic medoc. Lovely sheen after decanting. Hint of red to the purple color. . Nose is a touch closed but with intriguing leather, grape, mint, graphite. Has s cool aspect. Well-delinated and with a nice Margaux-sized femininity. Finishes firm and a hair green, but with promise for future excellence. I’ll open next in 3 years. Expect peak 4-7 years if you're not too much of a tertiary fan.

1/21/2023 - Shrages wrote:

Exactly a 90. A true blue chinon that fully reflects the quality of the vintage. Authentic. Just beautiful with my burger, fries, and Eagles football.

1/19/2023 - Shrages wrote:

Great. Square-shouldered and inviting. Solidly in its drinking window, if you like a bit of bite in your bordeaux. Will probably remain great for 8-10 more years.

1/17/2023 - Shrages wrote:

I just loved this wine tonight. You know how sometimes the wine, the food, and the mood just meld into each other to perfection? That was this wine tonight with oven-roasted Italian meatballs (NO red sauce) . It’s a cool, minty, sleek, and compact glass of wine. A lot of cleanly delineated stuff going on here. Really well put-together! Peak 2024-30.

1/15/2023 - Shrages wrote:

Not a bad wine, just not what you’re looking for when you pull out a Bordeaux. This wine is all red fruit, primarily strawberry. Also, some cranberry. If it were not for the medium wood element, I would have called this a Beaujolais, blind.

12/19/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Enjoyable. As i recall from a visit, this vineyard sits basically across the street from Cos D’Estournel!! Berry-driven, moderately rich, less tannic than many St-Estephes, nice balance, approaching readiness to drink. Ill keep my other bottle 2-3 more years.

12/8/2022 - Shrages wrote:

This great value wine has about 40% cab franc, and it sure smells and tastes like a high quality Chinon from a good year. A bit of green pepper and green on the finish, which take it a little below 90 for me currently, will resolve in 2-4 years.

11/22/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Loaded with flavor and character. Dense and peppery. A ripe vintage, maybe uncharacteristically strong for some…

11/3/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Will keep your interest. On nose and initial palate it’s all coconut and gentle vanilla. But then it dives into a deep sour asphalt phase towards the end that may or may not be your pinot thing. Texture similarly starts soft then goes firm. I’m guessing it will improve over a few more years. I kinda dig it.

10/31/2022 - Shrages wrote:

My second bottle.See last note from 2019. Confirm here that this is outstanding. Apart from a bit of clumsy deep tar that enters at mid-palate, I’d have put this at a 92. Revise my peak to 2025-2029.

9/27/2022 - Shrages wrote:

A bitmore forward and sweeter than the 2018. Still a nice mouthfull of fruit, but a shade over the top for my taste.

9/23/2022 - Shrages Does not like this wine:

Horrible. Thick cherry cough syrup. Absolutely for cooking only.

8/30/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Last tasted about 3 years ago. Decanted 2 hrs as i guessed it would still be a bit tight. A dark-fruited , high-acid beauty, now. The “wall of pain” has mellowed substantially, and i now declare this wine the PERFECT wine to have with a fatty, juicy T-bone that you treat yourself to when the wife/healthy-eating police is away. Just cuts right through the fat and makes you feel like, on balance, you’re eating healthy. It probably carves out the fat in your coronary arteries too! I love this wine.

8/23/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Not going to call this wine “ beautiful” as others have. For me, classic leftbank nose, deep fruit, and very nice balance (in fact, surprisingly non-tannic at this early stage). However, dominant for me is a very strong charcoal flavor emerging abourt 2/3rds of the way along, then overwhelming all else. This wine must have been matured in the most darkly roasted barrels that could be found. Faded a bit over 2 hrs so may mellow with time, but only a 91 for me now because of this.

8/1/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Ditto Bianca15’s note. Plus, enough fruit and tannin to improve for several years. Peak 2024-2029.

7/30/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Solid but on thinner, higher acid side. More trsditional. Mild funk adds interest. Good with food but not the style of wine that's great alone. From a Magnum.

7/7/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Re-tasted about a year later. Even better than last year. More legs than youd expect from dry chenin. All lovely lemon verbuena on nose. A touch of melon and honey too. More honey element chimes in on palate. Great acid but also super smooth mouthfeel. Really enjoyed this bottle outdoors on a 75 degree evening.

7/5/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Agree with others. Proper but a bit hollow.

5/23/2022 - Shrages wrote:

89. Really surprised by how solid this is. It’s a private label cuvée made by Clos de la Chance for the adjacent, beautiful, private resort and golf course called Cordevalle. The bottle came with your room there in 2017. Still feels young and brimming with fruit, but tannins are well on their way to resolved. Cannot tell from bottle, but I wonder if this is a cab-Syrah blend. Dark and rich and full enough for sure. Elegance is not the word here, but it’s not over the top either. Maybe a hint of VA, but that does not detract from overall good lamb chop wine.

5/20/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Very impressive in its highly musky and earthy, old-fashioned character. Opaque and almost cloudy even after a decant. Tons of musk, leather, dark fruit, stewed fruit, and clove on the nose and through to the palate. Tannins present but nicely evolved. Just enough acid to keep it from getting muddy. Definitely has entered its drinking window I’m thinking peak will be over the next 5 years. I’m going to drink 2 each year. There are indeed some really good 2014s out there!

5/10/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Barely browning at rim but overall still looks and smells young. Still a restrained, clean nose. Very good balance between fruit and acid. Dominant (and very attractive), well delineated flavors of cranberry, tangerine and orange peel, a touch of nutmeg, balsa. Pretty complex but needs a bit more time for full spectrum to emerge. Medium finish. Fine. Peak in 3-5 years.

4/11/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Terrific. Lovely, clean citrus, apple, pear, with just a hint of butter. Beautiful mouthfeel. Long. The perfect lobster wine. Great now but probably good for 6 more years.

3/26/2022 - Shrages wrote:

A great surprise for a 9 euro supermarche purchase in chamonix. This is a mature, serious bordeaux. Bricking at edges. Has lovely secondary nose that is clean but offers a hint of barnyard that adds complexity. Similar secondary flavors, with quite a bit of tobacco and pencil lead on top of elegantly fading fruit. Call me crazy, but if someone gave me this blind and told me it was a 17 or 18 year old Vieux Chateau Certain, I would not challenge them!

3/14/2022 - Shrages wrote:

See my note under simply “chateau Lamartine Cahors”

3/14/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Deep, rich, and fresh. Could only be faulted for being faultless.

2/11/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Rich yet elegant purple flavors. Nailed the fruit/acid balance here. Tight and streamlined yet giving. Amazing with a roast chicken tonight.

1/3/2022 - Shrages wrote:

Decent fruit, but pretty flat, overly oaked, and without even average grip or definition. A poor showing for this winery. Poor value. Almost generic.

12/18/2021 - Shrages wrote:

A powerful wiff of surprisingly mature petrol on the nose, followed by gravel and a touch of lime. Flavors are deeply mineral. Far richer than a German auslese (13% alcohol too), with almost a Chardonnay texture. but less fruit/more mineral and petrol. Has a natural, earthy vibe. I enjoyed it. Probably best now and over 3 more years.

12/16/2021 - Shrages wrote:

This is a pretty solid cab, with some character. Blind, I would have guessed a 4th or 5th growth Pauillac. Solid core of mostly dark fruit. Moderately high acid and firm, but not particularly powerful, tannin. Less overtly fruity than most Napa cabs — but by no means lacking in dark berry flavors. doesn’t have that extreme polish and sheen of high end Napas, so if that’s your grail, look elsewhere. However, a very good dinner wine, with a peak in 3-6 years as acid eases a bit. Would never pay retail for this ($100?) but at $28 I think it was a fair deal.

12/10/2021 - Shrages wrote:

This wine is superb. Maybe the best $15 wine (on WTSO) I’ve ever had. Rich and satisfying, yet with a spine of acidity thst keeps it precise, tight, and keeps you coming back for more. Looking for a case at anything close to that price.

11/25/2021 - Shrages wrote:

2nd try. Thanksgiving. Simple without complexity. Meh (again). I’m done with duckhorn I think.

11/3/2021 - Shrages wrote:

Super with roast hen tonight. Outstanding food wine. In a great place now, but still with the acid (if not quite the fruit) to go 4-6 more years.

10/30/2021 - Shrages wrote:

A little hot. A little clumsy. From this maker, disappointing.

10/18/2021 - Shrages wrote:

Decanted from a Jeroboam and shared with a roomful of Surgery faculty and trainees. In a great place now, if you like secondary but not tertiary. Peak for my taste will be in 3-6 years. Gives you everything you hope for in a good Left bank Bordeaux.

10/13/2021 - Shrages wrote:

More than an everyday wine, but at everyday price. The positive vibe starts with a real cork. The wine has less Grenache and more Mourvèdre and Carignane than most southern Rhônes, and it shows. Dark and sheeny. Polished nose of graphite and dark berry. Grainy, rich fruit. Dirt. Power. Not very long at this time but feels like it will soften and lengthen over 3-5 years.

10/5/2021 - Shrages wrote:

The acid has faded quite a bit now, and this previously nasty and underwhelming wine has become at least little bit interesting as a slightly musty, middle-aged Burgundy.

9/22/2021 - Shrages wrote:

Dark and opaque, even with decant. Good nose of a rich Bordeaux approaching maturity, but not there yet - saddle starting to emerge. Very charry on the flavor profile — heavily charred wood, though the oak flavor itself is not overwrought. Black fruits entirely. Low medium tannin and acid, so can be enjoyed now. Overall a pretty decent if heavy handed Bordeaux. Peak in 3 -4 years.

9/21/2021 - Shrages wrote:

Very nice. Rich , with wonderful mouthfeel, yet not hot with alcohol or heavy with oak. Bright like a Puligny. Really enjoyed this wine.

9/18/2021 - Shrages wrote:

Big but characterful, with a deep bass note, crank-case oil quality. Some soy and balsamic too. But still with some acid, keeping it food-friendly and clean.

7/25/2021 - Shrages wrote:

This wine has really (finally) broadened out and smoothed it’s rough edges. Not at all like the wine I commented on 5 years ago. Still cool, firm, and mineral driven. Lots of graphite. The fruit is tight and black. But now perfect with a fatty rib-eye. At peak and will likely sing for 3 years.

7/14/2021 - Shrages wrote:

I’ve followed this wine’s evolution closely, and it has truly come into its own. Rich and sultry cigar box, cedar, and deep autumnal red fruit. Incredible value at pre-release price I got it at. Great now. Peak in 1-4 years.

6/22/2021 - Shrages wrote:

Even better than 1.5 years back. Impressive nose of sandalwood, potpourri, berry, saddle leather. That and more on the flavor profile, with a very perfumed element coming to the fore in the mouth. Mouthfeel nothing particularly special, and it’s not especially long. But this wine is complex and satisfying. A really great wine for the price. Peak in 2-6 years.

6/14/2021 - Shrages wrote:

Quite amazing quality for a crianza, with a sweaty depth, rich earthy texture, and idiosyncratic beauty.

6/2/2021 - Shrages wrote:

Nice raspberry and kirsch nose. Very warm snd open-knit. Nothing to complain about from a sunny southern French wine, but I’m not writing home about it either.

5/19/2021 - Shrages wrote:

Last tasted 2 years ago. Nice deep robe. Medium body. Nose finally gaining some interest with mostly saddle leather and cigar box. However, this is still very stemmy and high in acid, like a too-young Barolo. Finishes short. I’ll try each of my last 3 every 2 years or so, but nothing magical is going to happen to this wine I’m afraid.

5/15/2021 - Shrages wrote:

Lovely wine and a welcome change of pace. Getting to a really eye-catching golden, honeyed color. Nose of honeysuckle, lime, just a touch of butterscotch. Honey and honeysuckle flavors with a touch of melon-rind bite. More body than you’d expect with even a little glycerine silk. A solid bit of acid toward the end keeps it honest. Great wine for sipping outside in the evening before dinner.

5/6/2021 - Shrages wrote:

This wine never disappoints. Nose jumps from glass. Sexy, sleek dark berry. Just make sure you like American oak (it’s Rioja after all). Peak now and for 4 years.