4/24/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Full disclosure, I am homer for aged Montelena so take this note with my bias in mind.

PnP, ready to go on open, even better after 60 min.

On the nose, medicinal spice, hint of barnyard, eucalyptus, sour cherry, mushrooms.

On the palate, red fruited delight, elegant and balanced, charcoal, red cherry, green olive (a positive even though I hate green notes), cigar box, saddle leather, hint of chocolates. Oak? Tannins? Not today.

This bottle was amazing and everything I want in an aged Montelena. At age 28, dare I say this is in the zone. Need to find more!

4/18/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

Vanilla bean crème, unripe cherry, dill, earth/barnyard notes, herbal notes. Old school rioja, and dare I say this can go many years or needed more air. I probably underestimated the amount of air (2hrs) this could take.

Rioja aficionados will appreciate it for what it is…others, maybe not so much.

4/18/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

Kenny Chesney put it best, I went to bed at 2 with a 10, and woke up at 10 with a 2.

On open, the nose was inviting and intoxicating, a real 10. An hour later with a double decant, this woke up as a 2. The nose was still a 10, the palate was at best a 2.

Bought direct from Brand and stored properly since. Fuuudddgge!

4/10/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Third and final bottle, this was the only worth the price. Unlike prior bottles, this wasn’t flawed.

My initial thought was this smells like Scarecrow! As it got a bit of air, it became a bit boozy and oaky on the nose, bourbon and coke, cedar sawdust, red cherry, crushed pepper. On the palate, less boozy, bittersweet notes with more cedar, red cherry, hint of plum.

After 2+ hrs this really shined. All of the above, plus red raspberry, chocolate covered cherries, morello cherries, dark chocolate, nose reminded me of the old school Wiitmans Chocolate Box!

93 early, 95 late. Early score is user error, later score is it! I’m just happy 1 bottle wasn’t flawed.

4/9/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

With the ‘18s being released today, decided to pull to see if I should pick up more.

30 min double decant. Purplish crimson in color, long legs.

Still some oak on the nose, along with crushed blueberries, Asian spice and smoky incense. This nose is my thing.

Intense on the fore palate, red plum, juicy dark plum, sweetarts, the back of the palate is puckering, spicy and bittersweet, but not from the tannins, which seem fine and well managed. Time to see what time will do!

Tried again at 90 min and drank over another hour. Only slight improvement with air. Tried with a meaty red sauce dish, no help. I feel like I drank a different wine than the prior reviews.

Verdict: This was good, but not good enough for me to buy the 16 Reserve again or to take a flyer on the 18s. YMMV

4/6/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Take my prior note and chunk it in the bin. At 10 yrs and at PnP this was delicious and in the zone. Elegant, restrained red fruited beauty with nice mineral/earthy undertones. Oak and tannins completely integrated. Red cherry, waxy cherry, red currant, red raspberry all intertwined to deliver an awesome experience, even on a leaf day.

4/6/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Such a great wine. Started at PnP and worked from there. Initially locked down by coffee notes, but 30 minutes showed promise where a bit more fruit peeked through. Inky, glycerin like. Some herbal notes on the nose. Blackberry and red raspberry in the early going. Needs more air.

Came back to this after 90 min. Intense roasted coffee notes gone, replaced by dark toffee and caramel, lucious red fruit menagerie, some herbal components, lovely mouthfeel front from to back. Seems to be missing the bubble gum notes I get from BMH (I know, I know, bubble gum is an oak effect, but BMH is the only vineyard I sense those).

At 2 hrs, much of the same, though I either convinced myself bubble gum notes appeared or they actually showed up with swirling. Who knows, but this was a damned good wine. Likely an apparition, no BG notes . . . anywhere later.

Everything held steady over 2-3 hr of drinking. Not my favorite rendition of BMH, but this is damned good.

4/6/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

On PnP, earthy, white pepper, floral and vegetal, with only minor sour cherry. Elegant and otherwise balanced, but a bit bitter and astringent. My initial thought was Bordeaux from a hot year.

Gave the next glass 30 min after a bottle shake decant. The astringency is gone but still bitter, more fruit on the palate.

After 2 hrs, this settled down into what it is. It’s good for what it is, but this is more earthy than fruity/floral. It needed food to show its best, but that, unfortunately, was not in the cards today.

The Trespass wines are a confounding enigma for me, some drink well young, some don’t, some need air, some don’t, some need age, some don’t, some need some combination of the above, some need luck on the day you open them. If you’ve figured out the combination, let me know.

3/31/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

6 hr double decant. Dark as night, no bricking even at 12 yrs old.

Lovely perfumed nose. Dark fruit menagerie with the beginnings of tertiaries. Dark cherry cola, wood, cardamom, mushrooms, oak smoke, blood orange in whiffs, bittersweet chocolate. Balanced and elegant. Tannins fully integrated. Unfortunately somewhat of a short clipped finish with some non-acidic bitters.

Last of my 750s, only a mag left. Enough acid left to go another 5+ yrs. Feels at or near peak, but no hurry on these.

95 today, expected a bit more.

3/28/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

QPR off the charts if you bought at release.

45 min of air after a shake decant.

Smoke, Asian spice, black cherry, black raspberries, red raspberries, herbal and faint mineral backbone, tannins at bay, oak integrated. Fruit still at the forefront even at 12 yrs, this was awesome. Even Mrs Geaux gushed on this one, remarking that she now understands why we cellar this stuff. While there may be some bottle variation based on past notes, this was a lottery win! Best bottle to date!

3/28/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

PnP from a 375 and wow, just wow! Followed a badass ‘12 Buccella and this wasn’t much of a step down. Spice, red and black cherry, red currant, hint of medical eucalyptus, minimal tannins left, oak receded. Not a lot of time take extensive notes, but not needed the way this drank.

3/22/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

2 hr double decant and zero expectations. Tried a glass at PNP and it was a muted zero!

On the first pour after the air, one can ‘see’ this is not some cheap BS wine! Nice extraction and beautifully texture. Red and black currant, sweet pipe tobacco, red cherry, hints of spice, wood, some coffee notes from residual oak still hanging around. Tannins well managed and not in the way. Youngish but very drinkable, overall more elegance than expected.

This showed well and outdid a ‘20 Adversity Harbison much to my surprise. Would not hesitate to pull another one with 2 hrs air. Allegedly—this was Meteor…I can see it! 93.5 rounded up

3/22/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Decided to take an early test drive to see if I wanted more to lay down. So much for 2020 being maligned, because there are no fire impacts here! 2 hr double decant. Poured thick and dark like a petite sirah, one of the most concentrated cabs I’ve ever seen.

Spice, coffee, mocha, wood, fresh blueberries, dried blueberries, blueberry here there and everywhere but no pie notes. Needs 5 yrs to settle in. Reminded me a lot of the 2013s in general at five yrs old.

Verdict-not buying more now because this didn’t wow me, but would certainly not turn away this wine. Would buy on the secondary if a deal popped up !

If you own this, you will not be disappointed if you give this a few more years. 92.5 today, upside to mid 90s.

Unfortunately this went up against a DN N.241 that showed well beyond expectations and even further beyond its much lower price point.

3/21/2024 - Geaux Tigers Does not like this wine:

This just wasn’t good. Had faint markers of cork taint, but not enough for my wife to declare it bad, i.e., it still had some fruit, but dominated by earthy tertiary notes. Otherwise, no conventional BTK markers. This was unlike any of my previous 09 Realm BTKs. Low 80ish if scoring

Same supplier as the flawed Sloan. Always a risk in the secondary market.

3/21/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

I like fruit with my newspaper in the morning, but I don’t like a bed of stewed fruit on a plate of wet newspaper. Second bad bottle, someone will never sell me wine again.

3/17/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

Needed a PnP candidate and this delivered. Minor bricking on a perfect cork. This delivered! A little heat on open but a slight chill on the bottle remediated that problem.

Black olive, black cherry, red currant, red cherry, wood, spice notes. Got better as we drank, but didn’t seem to need to extended air other recent bottles received. Drank over 2.5 hrs, and held strong throughout.

3/6/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

PnP and drank two glasses over 2 hr. Young, but not gran reserva young. Puckering tannins in place with tart cherry on the palate, pleasant, but simple nose. Medium finish, soft on the palate. Opened more when tasted with a chimichurri chicken kale salad. Will age for another 5-10 yrs but unsure beyond, not overly structured even with the pucker factor. This was good, not great. QPR just ok.

3/2/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Pure. I kept coming back to this word throughout the whole bottle. It was a theme. This was a worthy pull for tasting note #1500.

2 hr double decant. Dark, deep reddish black, shiny inky texture. Drank great at 2 hr, and plateaued there over another 2 hrs of drinking.

Floral perfume, Asian spice, smoke, grilled meat, crushed fresh blueberries, dried blueberries, blackberry, black raspberry, hint of black cherry, touch of red raspberry. Tannins in the background but provide a nice backbone. Still a touch of oak in a tinge of vanilla-candied fruit, which dropped a point. There is plenty of fruit, but this is no fruit bomb—it’s absolutely Napa, not elegant, but it’s definitely balanced.

Pure in the nose, pure on the palate, pure on the finish with no distractions. Apart from the slight youth, there is no flaw in today’s showing—even on a leaf day!

This is how I want a wine! AG gave this a 100 and I see why.

I now want to pull a ‘16 DV early and check it out.

This is worth the release price, but terrible QPR on secondary prices. I will buy the ‘21 MDV (assuming they make it).

2/29/2024 - Geaux Tigers Does not like this wine:

Double decant and started from the start.

Pencil lead, earth, graphite, nose like a fine BDX, hint of bittersweet chocolate, purple fruit, lovely surface tension, the nose was otherworldly leaving me wanting for more.

However . . .

This was a boozy mess on the palate, still flabby even after an additional 2, 3 and 3.5 hrs of air in bottle. I think there’s fruit and other stuff on the palate, but the booziness and acid overpowers everything and I can’t tell. 15.1 A/C on the label, feels like a round down.

Completely unlike the ‘12s or ‘13s I came to love, or the ‘15 Elysian I had a few years back.

WTF happened here? 98 nose, 78 palate. I hate posting this score on a CT / WB darling, but I’m calling a proper strike zone on this one. I hope this is bottle variation.

2/22/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

PnP, took 45 min to hit its stride. This bottle was a bit more restrained and elegant than the last but consistent with prior notes. Great QPR at < $100. Sadly, this was my last bottle of the ‘13. Moving on to the ‘15s.

2/20/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Needed a PnP candidate and this delivered in spades. Procured from Progeny during our 8/2023 visit at an inflated price (terrible QPR), but a one time try was ‘kinda’ worth it.

Intense floral perfumed nose, with herbal and dark fruit menagerie. Tannins and oak perfectly integrated. Not a hard edge anywhere on the palate—perfect balance between fruit (blackberry, black cherry, medicinal red cherry, Luden’s cough drops) and earthy (sage, herbs, wet rock, char, faint pine, touch of eucalyptus, forest floor) tertiary notes. Enough acid for a few more years before any downward movement on the drinking curve.

‘Just’ a rounded down 98 today, this was better than a recent ‘13 that was a rounded up 98. No brett in this one. I could easily go 99 here, but this bottle just didn’t have the ‘it’ factor that had me gushing.

Recommend a decant for sediment, though not necessary with a careful pour.

Would not hesitate to pull the trigger in the secondary market for another one at a better price.

2/18/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Double decant, first sips at little over an hour. Sediment everywhere so the decant was definitely needed.

Dark, black as night, purple rim. Viscous in the glass.

Nose of floral perfume, crushed raspberries, mocha, hint of spice. Palate yielded a young sharp profile of red and black berries, somewhat muted and a short finish. Didn’t have that juiciness in the fruit. This is definitely young, needs more air, but very promising.

This drank best after 3.5 hrs of air. That being said, it still needs sideways sleepy time. More juiciness and less youth after that much air, but the notes remained consistent. Still some puckering even with that much air.

93 early, 96ish later. 94 overall, mostly due to youth.

2026 earliest for the next cork.

2/17/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

2 hr shake decant. Darker in color than the ‘18.

Initial intense nose of floral musk perfume, cherry jolly rancher, could smell this all day.

The palate was completely muted and giving absolutely nothing. Time to see what more air does.

At 3 hr, the nose was still awesome, and the palate started to show cherry jolly rancher and bitter chocolate.

At 4 hr, no change.

This seems to have potential, would love to try again in 5-7 yrs with a little age and a more expressive palate.

2/17/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

PnP. Golden yellow color, nice tension in the glass. Nose of bright red apples and nice faint petrol. Red apple on the palate, bright and crisp., green apple jolly rancher on the finish. No effervescence. I like this.

Tried again after an hour in bottle. Much of the same but a nice lemonade note carried all across front to back and on the finish.

Drank better as it warmed ever so slightly, same effect over several glasses.

2/15/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Cork split on open, Durand to the rescue. Sediment, sediment, everywhere. 2 hr double decant and that seemed right. Inky and glycerin like. Dark as night with purplish crimson tinge.

Plum, blueberry, fresh crushed blackberry, Asian five spice, cinnamon, charred meat, and faint earthiness. Boisterously elegant, but not big. Not a hard edge anywhere, love what Bevan did with this.

Tench/Harbison is one of my favorite areas in all of Napa, and this is definitely a wheelhouse wine for my palate.

Unfortunately, after 2 hrs, this fell off slightly. 98++ for 60 min, 94 thereafter, 96 overall.

2/15/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

PnP. Nose of apricot, lemon/lime seltzer, lemon creme pie, crushed limestone.

Palate was smooth/glycerin like, with similar notes to above. There was unexpected effervescence with bubbles.

2/11/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Super Bowl wine.

2 hr double decant and ready at that point. For my palate, perfect mix of secondary and tertiary notes. Blackberry, dried blueberry, dried black cherry, black licorice, fresh cut green herbs, tilled earth, wet forrest floor. Tannins in perfect harmony providing an awesome backbone for a great palate flow front to back. Slight Brett on the nose but not distracting. Long finish. This is in a near perfect spot and great balance between big Napa (15.2 AC) and BDX (earthy notes).

No need to wait any longer when it’s this good now! I’ll start finishing off my stash in the near term.

2/9/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

Connected with Ed Donovan on WB who was kind enough to get some of his wines that interested me over to HTX.

PnP and then double decant back in bottle. At PnP, completely muted.

Lighter color and lighter body than the ‘21 Cab Franc it was paired with.

At 30 min, notes of eucalyptus, mint, grandma’s house, white pepper, mushroom, dried red fruit, some tart cherry. Short finish.

Did not evolve over another 60 min.

Nice tannin management, no overt oak. 11.9 AC but doesn’t drink like underripe juice. My palate preferred the ‘21 CF (more fruit), but this was no slouch. Needs more years sideways.

2/9/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Connected with Ed Donovan on WB who was kind enough to get some of his wines that interested me over to HTX.

PnP and then double decanted the rest and drank over 3 hr.

At PnP, fresh cut flowers, perfumed nose, bright red fruit.

At 30 min, the nose got more perfumed, gained a touch of weight, with darker red fruit with a touch of purple fruit on the palate. More greenies, but not bell pepper (I dislike bell pepper in wine).

At 90 min, this hit its stride where the fruit really started to take over.

13.2 AC, translucent light bodied red. No overt oak, nice tannin management. Frankly I think this will do show much better with 5 years sideways and a nice meal. Definitely a foodie wine! QPR off the charts. Would absolutely buy again.

2/7/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Double decanted and started drinking at 2 hr, but hit its stride at a little over 3 hr.

Nose of dark dried berries, cool blue mint, touch of herbal earthiness, potting soil, cedar, and spiced tea bag.

On the palate, a distracting balsamic note started it off that blew away by hour three, leaving crushed fresh red and blackberries, cola, and black tea notes.

2/6/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Celebrating the departure/retirement of a dear friend, a mix of happiness and sadness, but t’was a fruit day, so more happiness than anything else. PnP and drank over a couple of hours.

Needed early air to blow off some minor balsamic notes.

Hit its stride at 60 min and held the entire time. Red berry, black berry notes of all kinds (literally), cola, cherry cola, more black cherry, dried herbal notes, dried red fruit, bay leaf, dried blueberries, dark bittersweet chocolate, incense, faint blood orange, touch of new leather. Complex yet simple flow from front to back, 40 second finish.

I think this gets even better with 2-3 more years as the acidic/bittersweet chocolate noted further integrate, oak and tannins have already perfectly done so! 98 for now. Would not hesitate drinking my other bottles tomorrow….really!

1/29/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

White flowers, canteloupe, honeydew, touch of unripe red apple on the nose. Palate wasn’t as giving, more apple and melon, but even then somewhat muted. Performed better with food (bacon wrapped scallops….yum) than by itself.

1/27/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

I loved this. That being said, QPR is awful. Drank well on open and peaked and held over 3.5 hr drinking. Flannery hangers neither helped nor hurt. Nice mix of fruit and earthy notes, has the high pitched brandy/bittersweet chocolate notes I find in far Western Oakville sites.

1/27/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

Green herbs and milk chocolate. Nope, not in a good way. To quote the old Wendy’s ladies: Where’s the fruit?

1/6/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

4 hr double decant under cork. This is a 2017? Terrible vintage? Great questions! Not applicable here!

Is this still young? Yep.

But after 4 hrs of air and another hr of drinking this was really phenomenal. Fruit, fruit, fruit everywhere but in no way fruity—tannic structure carrying a bunch of hot 25-30 yr old-somethings in bikinis yelling look at me, I still got it! Rutherford dust in play with red and black cherries, plum, blackberry, juicy but in no way shape or form overdone. Oak has been managed almost to perfection. Tannins are part of the show here. I’m smitten.

That being said, this is going to be hot, gorgeous, and somewhat elegant for years to come. This is the hot girl you marry in her twenties that is going to be better looking in her forties and fifties.

I would not hesitate to pop another soon and I would not hesitate to let the rest of mine sit 10 years. Quite the conundrum that I am happy to figure out!

1/6/2024 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

PnP and hit its stride in 30 min. Not in a position to take notes but a great way to close out the evening.

12/30/2023 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Black as night, with minimal purple bricking in the edges. No visible signs of aging. Bought and stored perfectly since release.

Just so good. Needed 15 min to hit its stride and held there over 2 hr drinking. The CS and CF are marching in harmony. Floral, fruit, some Asian spice, and green herbal notes on the nose, on the palate, plenty of red and black fruit left with some minor earthy notes complimenting it all. Not a hard edge anywhere. 30 sec finish.

One bottle left, will probably drink within 2 years because it’s so damned good now, but plenty of acid to go another 5 yrs minimum.

12/28/2023 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

Really starting to love Mt Veeder more and more, so went on a Veeder buying spree to see what else is good that I’ve yet to try. So here we are with the ‘14 Newton.

On open, green coffee beans, fennel, thyme, red currant, unripened cherry, tight and somewhat muted except after several big swirls. Gave it 60 min of air with a shake decant and recork. Dark crimson but medium bodied.

Hits its stride at 2 hr, where the balance of fruit and earth emerged with the help of a nice juicy filet. Green notes disappeared and more black/red berry fruit emerged and classic mountain forest notes shone through. A nice rendition of Mt Veeder but not good enough for my palate to seek out more, YMMV.

12/28/2023 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

Sherry, port, confectionary sweetness gone wild, signs of oxygen and heat damage abundant.

12/27/2023 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

Opened with a 30 min shake decant but improved more over another hour. Ideally this needed a 2+ hr decant.

Blueberries on open, that faded into blackberry, black raspberries, cigar box, wax, saddle leather. Still an impeding tannic structure holding this back. For my palate this needs 10+ years sideways for maximum enjoyment with room to gain a few points.

12/27/2023 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

PnP showing a hint of brett that waned ever so slightly over dinner. Dark cherry, earthy compliments, this bottle was tired compared to the previous rendition from earlier this year. Outshone by a ‘16 Brion Caldwell.

12/26/2023 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Opened to air out in bottle for a couple of hours before dinner, decided to sneak a small glass at PnP.

First sip, my first thought was Wow! Smoke and incense on the nose, with hints of crushed black berry fruits. Almost perfect on the palate, not a hard edge anywhere, menagerie of dark red and black fruit. Can’t wait to see what this does with a bit of air time. 96 if scoring at PnP.

Drank with Christmas dinner 2 hrs later and mostly the same, though the air brought out a bit more of a tannic structure that surprised me. 95 at 2 hr.

12/24/2023 - Geaux Tigers Does not like this wine:

This had to be an off bottle.

30 min double decant to start. First glass was too much—melted milk chocolate and blueberries, fig, incense and blackberries but none of it in a good way. Huge, big, not sure I can handle these anymore. 15.7 AC on the bottle and it shows. Tried drinking over two hours and poured 90% of the bottle down the drain over that time. Not corked, maybe cooked.

One more bottle left. Will reserve judgment and scoring on this bottle.

12/24/2023 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

Needed a butler’s thief to pull the cork and keep it from shredding. Nice bricking on the edges, deep and dark reddish/black at the core. Medium body.

Tea, VA, grandmas house, barnyard, saddle leather, dry soil, black licorice, iron, hint of forest on the nose, dried black fruit, red cherries and plenty of acid left on the palate, still some tannic structure in place even at 38 years old. No improvement or degradation over 3 hrs drinking.

12/23/2023 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

2.5 hr double decant. Lighter body Dr. Crane compared to many others, on par with Arrow & Branch.

Restrained nose, saline, dried white flowers, cocoa powder. Palate was far more intense than the nose. Ever so slight hint of booze, with bittersweet chocolate, bluish/purple fruit, black currant, hint of dates, long finish, 30-40 sec.

For most of the evening, I preferred a ‘20 Salty Goats cab served alongside, but this eventually hit the gas with the pedal to the floor!!! Everything as before but an intense perfumed nose emerged with additional notes of bourbon and coke (in a good way), cherry cola, chocolate covered maraschino cherry with the earlier notes remaining but amped up. Wow, just wow! 93 early, 98 at peak. Hold for optimum drinking, but no regrets in watching this evolve over cooking prep and welcome home steaks for the family!!

12/23/2023 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Not a fan of opening young wines, but curiosity was killing the cat.

Double decant the night before and back in the bottle under cork for 16 hr. Horton Vineyard fruit (MacD). Medium bodied.

Briar/brambly, crushed green herbs, violets, red and black cherry, candied dried cherry, hint of unripe black raspberry. Oak is managed very well, nice fine tannic backbone that drives everything along.

If you’re looking for a young buxom hot thing…move along. This is elegant, refined and sophisticated.

Started 93 and hit 95 over another 3.5 hr of drinking today, room to 97-98+ with 7-10 years sideways. Outpaced a ‘15 Paul Hobbs Dr. Crane for most of the night until the Dr. accelerated into high gear.

Young? Yes. Infantcide? Not with that much air.

12/20/2023 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

Good not great, drinkable at PnP but got better over 90 min of drinking. Black cherry, black raspberry, saline, charcoal, hint of eucalyptus, tea leaves, some green bitterness on the finish but not acidic. Hollow mid palate. Nice inky texture.

12/18/2023 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Picked this up for a steal on the secondary. PnP and ready from the start.

Smoke, spearmint, dill, black licorice, black tea, bouts of incense, fading fruit, but hints of black cherry and cola compliment it all. This is past peak for fruit lovers but well into a long plateau of secondary / tertiary drinking. For my palate, these seem to peak at ~15 yrs as I like a little more fruit than today’s showing. YMMV

12/17/2023 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

Unlike any viognier I’ve ever had, delicious to say the least. Opened at noon, started drinking at 4. Ready to go. Fruit menagerie without the acidity, gorgeous mineral streak from front to back upon which the fruit glides. Smooth finish.

12/16/2023 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

Sometimes you go to Napa and a wine hits your heart and then you’re disappointed when you pull one. This ain’t that ! As good as it was then it was better tonite. Better between cellar and room temp. Jolly rancher of all flavors, tropical fruits, green apples, juicy fruit gum, melon, simply awesome. Awesome mouthfeel from the Semillon, synergistic flavors from the Semilllon and SB, betting this is Sauvignon Musque clones. Better tonite than in August.