4/17/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Red cherry and blueberry fruit, round bready mid-palate, rich and concentrated, nice velvet tannins texture. Balanced acidity. Very good cab!

4/16/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

Quite briary and unfocused. High acidity prevents fruit flavor to show. Licorice flavor with confused fruit Medium tannins.

4/16/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Great balance. Dark red fruit but not jammy, with a complex blend of licorice, stone and earth. Nice acidity but not overpowering, medium tannins, not at all grippy.

4/16/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Well balanced. Dark red fruit, a little licorice, and earth balanced by medium acidity and moderated tannins. Drinking well now and will go longer.

4/12/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Good wine, not great. Washington fruit forward,cherry, raspberry, a little licorice, wet stone, lacks the Rhone earthiness. Medium acid and tannin. Very pleasant, not complicated. P.S. On day two, the fruitiness is more in balanced, acidity emerged, altogether better balanced.

4/6/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Jammy style. Full body red Rhône blend. Lots of red fruit, wet stone, dusty tannins, medium acidity. Day two, the jam receded, allowed the acidity and tannins to emerge for a more balanced wine, still black cherry and wet stone, but with a little lychee.

4/3/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Pretty wine. Strawberry, raspberry fruit, some underlying spice, earth and mineral. Soft tannins and acidity. Semi fruit forward style, a little more than I like, but still delicious.

3/27/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Balanced. Round texture with pear and citrus notes and flint. Delicious. Buy every year!

3/25/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

drinking nicely now. black cherry, a little cedar, some licorice and mineral. medium tannins and still firm acidity. will go for several years.

3/25/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

a little bland.

3/22/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Delicious and balanced bordeaux blend. Cherry, chocolate, cigar, cedar and licorice notes with polished tannins and now somewhat calmed medium acidity.

3/21/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Shared a bottle w Herb. Grenache. Medium body. Balanced red fruit, medium Acidity, medium tannins. Nice funkiness/earth which emerges as it opens up in the glass. Good wine. still young.

3/19/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

Drinkable, but uninteresting. Light body, apple flavors...

3/19/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

Authentic Sancerre profile and flint, but very light in body and short of finish. Wouldn't get more...

3/19/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Opened 4 hrs ahead and decanted 2 hrs ahead of dinner. Delicious cab. Dark cherry and prune fruit, earthy and stony minerality, cedar, tobacco, balanced by polished tannins and medium acidity. Wonderful Napa cab!!!

3/19/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

14 yrs old vintage at this point. Opened 4+ hrs before dinner, decanted 2 hrs before dinner. At start of dinner, it was perfect, smooth, with dark red and prune fruit, earth, mineral, balanced with medium acidity and wonderful elegant chalky dusty tannins. After 2 more hours, the fruit continued to emerge, to add a lustful element.

3/17/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

Harsh at this stage. Almost undrinkable upon opening—tight and rustic. Second day not much better. Then sat in refrigerator with vacuum cap for 2 days. On day 4, quite nice. Dark red fruit, background mineral and earth, medium acid, nice dusty tannins. So I assume it needs time!

3/17/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Pet nat, not sparkling. Susan wasn’t impressed. I thought ok

3/17/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

Still Somewhat tight and tannic. Too toothy without food, but went well with eggplant parmigiana. Could use more time

3/12/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Still good, in balance, maybe a bit softened. Good red and prune fruit, controlled. Low medium acidity, not much minerality, moderate tannins. Pleasant tasty merlot.

3/7/2024 - Tomportwine Does not like this wine:

Disappointing. No northern Rhone Syrah qualities here. Lacks earthiness, tannins, savory profiles. Starts with a candied quality, leads to medium bodied red with unfocused flavor. Drinkable, yes, but just barely.

3/2/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

Different take for this bottle. ordinary. Medium body. Fruit in balance along with some mineral. Medium tannins and acidity. Unfocused flavor.

3/2/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Delicious well balanced Rhone. Creamy texture, with notes of pear, peach, brioche. Full body. Firm but not overpowering acidity. Wish I had gotten more.

2/21/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Delicious medium body bord. Dark red fruit and background notes of brioche and leeche with moderate acidity, and nice dusty tannins. Only needs an hour after opening to be ready. just delicious. Enjoyed with some Roquefort cheese but would pair with steak, burgers or roast beef.

2/18/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

Red fruits,some wet stone, graphite, medium acidity, with dusty tannins. As usual for petite Sirah in my experience, the tannins are the feature here. They have a nice dusty, slightly chalky quality, very nice. Pleasant wine, not complicated.

2/15/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Day 1: Seems a little more fruit forward than I remember. Did I wait too long? Or is it that the 2018 year in Walla Walla is that way? Nice fruit though, mixed with notes of graphite. Still firm acidity and nice dusty tannins. Tasty, but more fruity than I would prefer.
Day 2 after vacuum seal and refrig: fruit became more prune like. Graphite a little more prominent. A nice umami present. Acidity still firm. A good wine overall. Next time open it a couple hours ahead of drinking.

2/13/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Still going strong at age 9. Full bodied for a WV PG. Mature fruit, a little oak, and umami. Very satisfying just sipping with some Gruyère.

2/9/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

Opening day, dry tannins pull against subtle red fruit on a tug of war. Second day after vacuum and frig, same. Third day better balanced but still just ok, fruit emerged but tannins still overly grippy. Might improve with time?

2/8/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Delicious and sexy cdp. Not complicated, but approachable now and balances on the fruit driven side. Light on tannins, medium body, but nice cherry and cranberry tones, with fairly high acidity for structure. A great weekday cdp for under 40 bucks. 2021 was a difficult cool rainy year in Rhone Valley, yielding lean wines. Maybe why this one lacks tannins.

2/4/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Fruit forward but not jammy. Black cherry with a little licorice. Soft tannins and medium acidity. Good value wine

1/30/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Medium body. Balanced, simple red wine.

1/30/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

Pleasant medium to full body merlot. Balanced, red and prune fruit, licorice and graphite notes, silky tannins, medium to full acidity. Not as fruit forward as when younger.

1/20/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

As always, well balanced, red fruit, a little steel, medium acid and tannin. Great value everyday wine

1/17/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

Waited too long. Over the hill. Has a sherry overtone, medium body, controlled red fruit, mild tannins. Should have drink a few yrs ago. Note…it was better the second day, the stale taste was a bit less and the fruit and tannins emerged some. But still stale.

1/15/2024 - Tomportwine wrote:

Past it’s prime. Compared to one I had a few years ago, rated 92, this is bland. Drinkable, but uninteresting. More blue fruit, low acidity, low tannins.

1/10/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Lots of depth. Rich red fruits, medium acidity, medium to full tannins. First day a bit of asphalt on the finish. Second day after vacuum and refrigerator the asphalt turned into a pleasant licorice and wet stone accent. So this should be better in a few years or with a few hours of decanting.

1/6/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Dark red and prune fruit, not overly ripe. Lively prickly acidity, dusty tannins. Powerful wine, not a shrinking merlot. Delicious and would age for another 5-10 yrs.

1/4/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Full body cab. Still young, lively acidity and firm tannin. Red fruit and a little licorice and tar.

1/4/2024 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Delicious. Med-full body, stone fruit, a little earth. Great value chablis.

12/30/2023 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Still full of life at age 9. Merlot-Cab Franc blend. Delicious red and prune fruit with a strong licorice/tar undertone, with some complexity. Fairly high acidity.

12/26/2023 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Delicious cherry and raspberry fruit with fuller tannins than most WV pinots, but not too much--more like a good Burgundy. Red berry and prune with some earth and mineral notes. Really really good!

12/26/2023 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

elegant style, medium tannins, medium acid, delicious perfectly balanced red fruit and a little bit of oak showing, adding depth

12/26/2023 - Tomportwine wrote:

pleasant, medium acid, balanced with medium body and soft lemoncurd fruit

12/26/2023 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

very nice...well balanced, stone fruit, a little mineral/chalk, nice medium body. Neither bubbles nor acidity don't overwhelm.

12/24/2023 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Nice balanced Rhone blend. Medium body, red fruit, a little earth and stone. Medium acid, medium velvet tannins. Not simple but not too complex either. Dense and rich.

12/19/2023 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Big Napa red, still big after 13 years. Full tannins and acidity, with controlled red fruit and iron. Not particularly nuanced, nor complex.

12/18/2023 - Tomportwine wrote:

Surprisingly, a drinkable Grenache at such a low cost but made by the great saint cosme. Easy going, balanced and uncomplicated sipper.

12/16/2023 - Tomportwine Does not like this wine:

Notably light bodied. But if you can take that, the flavor profile is pretty with red berry and a little minerality. Misses mid palette and finish entirely. Unsatisfying but drinkable.

12/11/2023 - Tomportwine Likes this wine:

Good as always. dark red fruits, a little licorice and iron, medium-high acidity, medium tannins.

12/8/2023 - Tomportwine wrote:

Subdued fruit, mushroom, earth, tar notes. Dusty tannins, medium acidity. Lacks mid palette. Linear profile and short finish.