5/13/2024 - galewskj wrote:

A fuller bodied rose that has a fair amount of red berry fruit and new rubber.

5/13/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Pop and pour, drank half the bottle over 2 hours. My last of 12 bottles. This remains a big wine and it is regrettably losing some of its freshness now. The vibrant fruit is now dark, brooding, slightly pruney fruit. The style is big and modern, so no huge surprise that the lifespan is short. I may rebuy a newer vintage if the price is right.

5/12/2024 - galewskj wrote:

I was traveling for Mothers day, so this came out of the refrigerator and poured into glasses on the counter to warm up and air for at least 45 minutes before we took a sip/smell, and we then finished the bottle as needed. All I can say is that the 2004 was much more complex. This was perfectly nice and a standup Napa cab, it wasn't particularly compelling in any way. I opened this to see if I wanted to buy any of what WTSO still has, which I believe is 2013 and younger. Well, I'm not, at least not at $40 or $50+. This was a steak-friendly wine that was well-received by the the non-wine focused family group.

5/7/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Yes there's bubbles, but this tasted more like a regular rose than a sparkling wine of any kind. The familiar profile of light red fruit and some acidity.

5/6/2024 - galewskj wrote:

I've always found this rose to be uninteresting, but my wife has enjoyed it in the past. For this vintage, the wife agreed with me that there's hardly anything to it, it is similar to drinking lightly flavored water. Perhaps it is getting old.

5/5/2024 - galewskj wrote:

This seemed light in profile and character. But in its defense, it followed a richer older chardonnay and I was asked to bring a white wine to go with fish, which turned out to be SALMON. Nonetheless, I'll wait 2 years before opening another.

5/4/2024 - galewskj wrote:

plash decanted, drank half the bottle over two hours. Violets, strawberry, blueberry, cassis, leather and oak. A nearly fully mature cabernet that is drinking very well and exceeded my expectation.

4/29/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Decanted 1 hour. This is a traditional Napa cab with leather, red fruit, cassis and earth. It doesn't reach the highs of the best producers in Napa, but darn tasty.

4/28/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Decanted 30 minutes, I agree with MATTSHANK. This is a phenomenal syrah that is likely at peak right now for my palate. It is definitely full-bodied, fruity and extracted but there is earth, acid and minerality that keep it balanced.

4/27/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Decanted one hour, drank half the bottle over 2 hours. This is an odd wine that didn't fit into any defined category for me, and also wasn't particularly interesting. It reminded me of all the wines I drank from unusual varietals (Century club). This is mostly a larger somewhat brutish wine and there is also something that keeps it from being jammy or in-your-face. I wish I hadn't drank this so soon and will hold my 2021 longer. Unscored.

4/26/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Pop and pour, drank half the bottle over 3 hours. This is becoming quite secondary/tertiary and the fruit is starting to fade. There's a lot to enjoy here and it is a spitting image of a Northern rhone, but it seems time to drink up.

4/24/2024 - galewskj wrote:

California wines but not from Napa: I don't think this was decanted. Drank a small glass over an hour. It didn't appear tannic, but the oak was incredibly evident. The fruit also huge. At this stage it's a cocktail wine for sure and I'll have to fall back on my belief that SQN reds need 12 years minimum from vintage.

4/24/2024 - galewskj wrote:

California wines but not from Napa: What a difference 4 years makes. Decanted 30 minutes, this was the most deft and lifted Saxum that I think I've had. Still full-bodied, lots of spices, herbs, flashy fruit, blackberry.

4/24/2024 - galewskj wrote:

California wines but not from Napa: Modern rich fruit with a soft palate and syrah-like secondary components. There was a olive flavor along with blueberry, slight vanilla and underbrush.

4/24/2024 - galewskj wrote:

California wines but not from Napa: Tasted alongside the 2014 Calera de Villiers, this was lively, elegant, stunning. The price difference between the two makes me sad. :( Medium bodied with raspberry, cherry and loamy earth.

4/24/2024 - galewskj wrote:

California wines but not from Napa: Tasted alongside the 2013 Jensen, this was so much bigger, bolder, more earth, dark fruits, dense, less lively. It remained a pleasant pinot.

4/24/2024 - galewskj wrote:

California wines but not from Napa: Drank a small glass over an hour. This was in a lineup with two chardonnays. While it stood out, I understood the resemblence as well. Its as if the Rhone variety's lift the larger chardonnay and give more structure. Quite floral, honey, beeswax, apricots and a viscous mouthfeel.

4/24/2024 - galewskj wrote:

California wines but not from Napa: This is what I hope that Kistler has become. The buttery oak is quite dialed back, it is in the background. Golden fruit, rocky minerality and crisp acidity.

4/24/2024 - galewskj wrote:

California wines but not from Napa: GWASH's bottle, this may have been the best L'Ermitage I've ever had, both rose and brut. Fresh red berries, a creaminess, toast.

4/24/2024 - galewskj wrote:

California wines but not from Napa: Amazingly racy, this sparkler has a lot of energy and acid. The acidic finish persists for a long time. This is a different animal than methode champenoise, happy to try it at $73 but not sure I'd be a buyer at full price.

4/21/2024 - galewskj wrote:

A very nice $35 entry level champagne with good character that is a touch sweet.

4/20/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Splash decant, drank half the bottle over 2 hours. This wine has great Napa cab dimensions and is drinking well, albeit young. Tannins are semi-firm, sleek red fruit.

4/18/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Open that botte - Jason chooses 2009 Trotanoy (Dan's new condo): Decanted and served immediately, drank about 1/3rd of the bottle over 2 hours. This started out as a flamboyant oaky buttery chardonnay. But with just minimal decant/glass time, it relaxed into a more balanced chardonnay with nice minerality and acidity. In fact, towards the end there was not much chardonnay characteristic to it. I really like this blend. I hope this adds complexity with more years of age, then it will really be a head-turner.
Update - A glass the next time was more caramelly and also spicier, although not lacking or falling apart, which is pretty good for a next day extremely well-oxygenated chardonnay blend.

4/18/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Open that botte - Jason chooses 2009 Trotanoy (Dan's new condo): Decanted about 1.5 hours, drank 1/3rd of the bottle over 2 hours. There is a purple tinge to the otherwise dark red color. A classy and classic Bordeaux nose that showcases gravel, earth, herbs and trufflle/mushroom. The palate is more fruity and floral, violets, plum and dark cherry. The tannins are already fairly resolved, resulting in a silky lush mouth feel. There is a great combination of fruit and secondary characteristics. This is drinking amazingly right now but I would venture that it will show better with a few more years age.

4/16/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Pop and pour, drank half the bottle over 2 hours. Restrained with tart fruit, underbrush, white pepper and minerality on the back-end.

4/12/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Last minute wine lunch (Gary's): I've not had a 2010 Coutet and this exceeded my expectation. Wow, dessert in a glass, spicy, savory, sweet.

4/12/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Last minute wine lunch (Gary's): This wine is reminiscent of the 2012 original vines pinots that I've consumed. Its pleasant and has big fruit, but it doesn't hold any great interest. The fruit seems primary or straight forward pinot. This was easily surpassed by the other two pinots tonight.

4/12/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Last minute wine lunch (Gary's): Bright and elegant. A bold pinot that doesn't come across as typical Beaux Freres for me. I fear this has big fruit that is a hallmark of the vintage, and it lacks nuance. It would be great if it gained more complexity with time.

4/12/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Last minute wine lunch (Gary's): Drank about 1/6th of the bottle over 2 hours. The nose is expressie and it really opened up in the glass. Unfortunately, that caused the wine to also get really funky, almost excessively so. But I love funk, and it mixed well with iron, scorched earth and fine tannins. This is slightly angular.

4/12/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Last minute wine lunch (Gary's): Drank about 1/6th of the bottle over an hour. Full-bodied with butterscotch, lemon and spice. Mouth-coating and rich. This may be on the downward slope but is drinking well at the moment.

4/12/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Last minute wine lunch (Gary's): Drank about 1/6th of the bottle over an hour. Butterscotch with sweet oak, stone fruit, pear, mineral notes and citrus. The palate has tart citrus and there's a bit of sulphur.

4/15/2024 - galewskj wrote:

From a half bottle, I think this was corked. I'm writing a note because if you could get past the wet cardboard smell, the palate actually had a pleasant mouthfeel, decent fruit and even some secondary characteristics. It may have just been weirdly funky, but I'm marking it corked.

4/15/2024 - galewskj wrote:

What CHABLIS28 said. This is one my favorite Rose's and worth every bit of the $13 paid locally. The color is a gorgeous salmon, ample minerality, crisp acidity, light red fruit. 91-92

4/12/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Last minute wine lunch (Gary's): Drank about 1/6th of the bottle over an hour. Bright red fruit which seems rather primary. I can't get it out of my head that this reminds me of carbonated red Koolaid, there seems to be a similarity there. Even so, this has been a pleasant but understated champagne and clearly others enjoyed it more than me.

4/12/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Last minute wine lunch (Gary's): Drank about 1/6th the bottle over 1 hour. This is consistent with my experineces of a good bottle of vintage Pol Roger brut. Citrus, apple,l pear, toasty, powerful, good energy and lift. I'm happy to have 3 left.

4/14/2024 - galewskj wrote:

This processco tastes the same as it did a year ago. It is a bit on the sweet side. Other than that, a perfectly fine prosecco for $9

4/14/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Pop and pour from a 375ml, I should have decanted. The oak is quite evident and the fruit is bold. Despite that, this is clearly a quality wine and a decent Napa cab that will obviously show better in a few years time.

4/14/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Pop and pour, the first Rose of the year for me, and I wish it was a better one. This is a serviceable and forgettable Rose. Light flavor and even lighter minerality. But at $5.83 a bottle and free shipping, its hard to complain too much.

4/11/2024 - galewskj wrote:

My last bottle, and I feel I timed that just right. I've found Rhys pinot noir to take some time, but they also aren't super long-lived. Today, this is an elegant and complex pinot where the fruit is in the background, earth and savory notes are in the foreground. I appreciate the complexity, where there's so much to take in and I regrettably can't isolate the individual components. There's some evergreen in there, warm spice, mushroom. I don't see this lasting much longer, and its as good as this wine has ever been. It's not a wow wine, its a ponderous, contemplative wine.

4/10/2024 - galewskj wrote:

I had a great experience with an older Blue Eyed boy a few years ago. Therefore I intentionally kept this longer than I normally would. Regrettably it didn't work out so great. Decanted 30 minutes, drank half the bottle over 2 hours, the moniker shiraz fits this wine well. Dense, brooding, a touch jammy, with clear oak influence. If you like them big and burly, this is literally your jam.

4/9/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Pop and pour, drank half the bottle over 2 hours. My 11th of 12 bottles. This remains a big wine and it is regrettably losing some of its freshness now. The vibrant fruit is now dark, brooding, slightly pruney fruit. The style is big and modern, so no huge surprise that the lifespan is short. I will finish my last bottle soon and maybe purchase a newer vintage if the price is right.

4/8/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Last bottle and sadly corked. Wet cardboard on the nose, absolutely nothing on the palate.

4/8/2024 - galewskj wrote:

A little more anise than the previous bottle, but it remains a great value wine.

4/7/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Pop and pour, drank half the bottle over 2 hours. Full bodied from a sensory perspective and yet the palate is lifted and light. Refreshing, with flinty minerality and lemon oil.

4/5/2024 - galewskj wrote:

I purchased and receive this less than a week ago. Young and vibrant, with baking spice, a mix of vanilla and dill pickle in the wine. I am a fan of Ardanza, and I trust this will integrate with time, but it has not integrated yet, and that American oak is clearly imparting a dill pickle flavor to it. I would love for them to use French oak, but that ain’t the way in Spain. Despite that issue, it remains a fairly enjoyable wine, 90+ with room for upside. The wife seemed to enjoy it, also a positive.

4/5/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Pop and pour, drank half the bottle over 2 hours, with pork roast and without. Clearly better with food, as the high-toned tart fruit and acidity make this seem like a food wine. But I still appreciated it by itself, as there is high complexity including damp earth, berries, crunchy cherry and barnyard funk. I have one left and wish I had more.

4/2/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Fruity, sweet, dark fruit, bordering on jammy. I think its difficult to make zinfandel in a balanced style and this is your standard version that is too big. Its probably nice on a cold day or for the port/CDP enthusiasts.

4/2/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Pop and pour due to traveling, drank half the bottle over 2 hours. This was impressive, with bright fruit and a savory plummy finish. This has gained interested since my previous bottle in 2021.

4/2/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Decanted about 20 minutes, drank half the bottle over 2 hours. This bottle had more brett than the last one 2 years ago. A funky and northern rhone-like syrah, but the brett was detracting on this one.

4/2/2024 - galewskj wrote:

Another great bottle. Slightly smoky with rich yeast and citrus. Note to self, don't waste this on champagne cocktails.