3/28/2024 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Thin far a Napa Cab with a “could be anything” quality of a random, though perfectly fine,table wine. Would never guess this was a Napa Cab from an esteemed producer. The least pleasurable of the SH cabs I’ve tried. Drink now.

1/1/2024 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Loving Saxum’s 2014s. Beautiful freshness to fruit here - structure and depth w/o heaviness. Probably in a perfect spot.

11/26/2023 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Solid table wine at this point, not something to sit with other than to scratch the carignan itch. If that’s something you’re dealing with.

11/9/2023 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Superb, probably 2nd favorite domestic chard this year next to RM Platt. Clean, focused style with acid/fruit friendship.

11/8/2023 - Aunt Esther wrote:

First Epoch in a long time and it’s nice. Thought I’d waited too long, but this one’s still in it’s prime.

8/21/2022 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Drank with ribeye. Super dense, dark fruit and friendly tannins, everything you could want if you’re looking for a luxuriant Napa cab.

8/21/2022 - Aunt Esther wrote:

This just isn’t there yet. Perfectly enjoyable but somewhat restrained after hr decant.

8/21/2022 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Gorgeous right now. Tasted like good Cote Rotie.

12/28/2020 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Delicious wine! Savory Northern Rhone palate with Cali nose of blackberry and a distant green mint. Slightly dusty tannins that seemed to mellow after an hr or so, even as wine gained weight. Dark fruit emerged over course of drinking. Pop and pour, consumed over a few hrs, stored in passive cellar since release (60-64). I’ll pop my last bottle in another year or two.

10/30/2017 - Aunt Esther Does not like this wine:

Can't recommend. Kinda wood-chippy.

10/30/2017 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

This may be the most powerful yet harmonious syrah I've tasted from Paso. I really enjoyed this with a peppery NY strip.

8/20/2017 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Still absolutely stellar. Actually seemed more fruit-fwd than previous bottles - gorgeous nose and really delicious.

2/15/2017 - Aunt Esther wrote:

The wood seems front and center on this as the fruit is fading a bit.

1/1/2017 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Medium bodied wine with a bit of cool climate character. I was hoping for this to gain just a little muscle with air, but it never happened. I usually think of Denner wines as versatile - easy to enjoy with or without food but I found myself wanting to chew on a pork chop as I sipped this one. Very similar in profile to some Arnot-Roberts Syrahs I've tried.

11/29/2016 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

This was such a refreshing wine! Just extremely bright and energetic but with plenty of mid palate weight to it. This one gets your attention.

5/16/2016 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Two years away, IMO. Impervious to air over 2-3 hrs.

5/2/2016 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Beguiling, blackberry pie, some light smoke, faint wintergreen. Good grip that seemed to frame every taste well.

4/27/2016 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Revelatory. Need to look for more wines from the Luna Matta vineyard.

3/20/2016 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Nice wine, a dark, upbeat pinot with stem notes on the nose - CO2 was a bit distracting.

3/13/2016 - Aunt Esther Does not like this wine:

This wine is all acid - undrinkable without food IMO, and I would imagine less than enjoyable in any case. Similar to a super-austere langhe nebbiolo at a higher price.

12/28/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Serious chard, but the wood showed a little too prominently.

12/28/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Ethereal, weightless Sangiovese.

11/14/2015 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Drinking very well. Nice mouthfeel, harmonious structure and warm, spiced fruit.

11/9/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

My last one - F**K! Such expressive aromatics on these Denner tens. Serious depth and weight and just pure, delicious (but not outrageous) Paso fruit. My only criticism of this wine is the label which looks like Van Gogh drawing a dormant vine w/roots about six years before he moved to Southern France and discovered the sun. Come on, y'all.

9/26/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Perplexed by this bottle - normally a big fan of producer/vineyard. Wasn't showing much at first taste, reticent on nose. Revisited after hr or so and still not much happening. Bottle was enjoyable enough, but outshined rather easily by $30 Faury St. Joseph.

8/24/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Ringer.

8/9/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

AND it's not even October and I've already drank through three of these. Simply the best Syrah at its price I can imagine.

7/15/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Just checking in on this, unsure of what to expect - first Mourvèdre from this winemaker. Shortish decant. Already balanced on first sip - this one ignites all the receptors. Pure dark cherries and sage licorice. Enchanting wine adding depth and weight moment to moment, becoming more than it was. Excited about this today, gonna be a whole lot better.

7/9/2015 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Maybe this bottle has cruised a bit over the hill. Had a flat and enervated quality.

7/9/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Consistently surprising - the WGs are among my favorites zins. This bottle is a sumptuous feast of dark cherry and aromatic bramble.

5/27/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Really pure red raspberry fruit. Fresh and in no way overbearing. Delicious.

5/20/2015 - Aunt Esther wrote:

A delicious, surprising wine. Wonderfully expressive nose and electric flavors of zesty citrus with a stony finish.

5/4/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Great Syrah. Very big, no heat, a little char with the dark fruit. It would be informative to try this blind with other CA heavyweights. Despite power, this one feels site-driven and very well made.

5/4/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Really enjoyed this unique rose. Interesting nose of carrot leaves and underripe strawberries. Had with sashimi - good harmony.

4/27/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Almost certainly caught this in an early, awkward moment. Very big wine, noticeable heat on nose and palate. A bit short, but the fruit is tasty. Would check back in couple years or decant the hell out of it.

4/27/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Ethereal juice. Easily the best CA grenache I've tried.

3/1/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Characteristically bold and structured Petite Sirah. This wine benefitted from a good decant and will surely take many years to unwind in the bottle. Hard-charging black fruits, coating mouthfeel, and long, long finish. Was wondering what types of food would stand with this dark, punchy stuff. Maybe a stand alone or a match with paticularly fierce BBQ.

3/1/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

All polish and freshness at first, but took on a bit of savory depth in the glass. Ripe raspberries were still young and exuberant - this wine is a poised child with promise.

2/22/2015 - Aunt Esther wrote:

As good as advertised - better in 2-3 yrs.

2/3/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

A bit of rotten egg on the nose which lessened to insignificance over time, but on the palate a feral, dusty, chalky garnacha with an evocative sense of place. Swear I heard Sancho Panza's mule pacing along the dirt as I sipped this one.

2/3/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Oh sweet baby, yes! Did I pay around fifty bucks for this? I'll compare drinking this to my first experience with an undesignated Littorai pinot or the 'Old Vine' Bedrock Zin. The Energy and purity in the glass speaks to sublime fruit and a uniquely high level of craft in the cellar. A unique appreciation of detail. Just a wonderful, spirited glass of Napa Cab at a remarkable value. I believe I could drink this wine often and still find it fresh and remarkable. Hard to believe a dense, structured Napa Cab could convince me of that. This wine is a pleasure today and will be for years to come.

2/3/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Dark-fruited with a rustic quality. Drinking young - but with interesting layers of sweet spices and garrigue. My first Pisoni and surely not my last!

1/18/2015 - Aunt Esther wrote:

For my taste, a pure and pretty Rhone. Wish I had a case of this.

1/4/2015 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Drank on New Year's Eve along with some other standout wines, and this was for me the most memorable bottle. In fact, I'm calling it my wine of the year - hard to exaggerate how surprised I was by the intense energy of this 14 year-old CA Syrah. Fresh dark cherry with a nice stemmy accent, buoyant acid on the finish that made it a joy to drink with lamb. This was a revelatory bottle of wine.

12/25/2014 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Nice bottle, but drinking a bit awkward at the moment. A little of the feistiness of youth, a small measure of maturing composure, but only glimpses of one or the other. I would wait another two years to see what this bottle decides to be.

11/29/2014 - Aunt Esther wrote:

3rd bottle in two years and it's ascending. After two hrs, the moving parts aligned. Very high quality fruit in cool blue/black layers. Sumptuous mouthfeel, friendly tannins, great length. Nothing lacking for me except perhaps that unbridled/exclamatory quality one feels about the truly unforgettable ones. This is perfectly wonderful stuff.

10/9/2014 - Aunt Esther wrote:

At the top of it's game. Succulent, spicy, lots of mid-palate depth - pretty much everything you want at the price-point. Very pleasantly surprised as I still don't consider Vac. To be super dependable 5+yrs from vintage.

9/18/2014 - Aunt Esther wrote:

For me, a really nice everyday Rhone. This had lots of life, vibrant sour cherry and stem flavors, along with a faint funk that seemed to lend depth. Quite nice.

9/4/2014 - Aunt Esther wrote:

Gorgeous wine, more evidence that CA Roussanne shines in the right hands.

8/11/2014 - Aunt Esther Likes this wine:

Saying goodbye to this my last bottle of the most pristine appellation wine I've ever encountered. It proved a worthy match for the fresh snapper at the Flying Melon in Ocracoke, NC.