2/8/2024 - jwebtx wrote:

Not offering much if any fruit on a pop and pour. Dominated by the stems on the nose and palate. I'm enjoying the nose much more than the palate. The weakest experience i've had with Rhys.

1/8/2024 - jwebtx wrote:

Fruity, nice acidity, and pairs well with food. Much better than my 2020 TN.

1/2/2024 - jwebtx wrote:

The nose is red fruit, earth, and what I take to be VA. Palate is high acidity, cranberry, and more acidity. Not much to this wine. This screams heartburn. Drink-up or pour out based on your tastes.

1/1/2024 - jwebtx wrote:

Neither tart nor flat as expected from the prior note.

Deep nose of ripe Syrah goodness with a palate deep on blueberries, minerals, smoked meat, and more dark fruit. This wine was screaming good and at peak. Sound bottles should hold at least another year or 5, but why wait? This won't get any better in my estimation.

12/30/2023 - jwebtx wrote:

Opened 2 and both were leaking with failed corks. Monopole couldn't even save these corks. Wine, as expected, was DOA from the air. Bought from Fass in 2017 and stored in a cold cellar.

12/7/2023 - jwebtx wrote:

Wow. Previous note nails it. Bought at retail in 2005 for $36.95 and this was a rock star. Plenty of fruit to go with the leather and depth of flavors present. I wish I had a case. Poured from the bottle with no decant. Sediment was all at the bottom of the bottle.

11/13/2023 - jwebtx wrote:

Deep golden color. Not a great showing.

11/11/2023 - jwebtx wrote:

It's time or somewhere in the 4th Q. An excellent pairing with the NYT's mustard/cognac stew.

9/1/2023 - jwebtx wrote:

Opened 2 over the last couple nights and 1 was light colored and singing with great acidity and the other was golden and flat. Both purchased and stored together.

11/4/2022 - jwebtx wrote:

Corked.

4/23/2022 - jwebtx wrote:

Oak. Slightly bitter. No fruit. No improvement since the last bottle a couple of years ago.

Poured 2 bottles down the drain. Waste of cellar space.

4/10/2022 - jwebtx wrote:

PNP- hint of effervescence and odd smell.

Decant, back into the bottle with 2 vigorous Molly Dooker shakes, and 3 hours worked wonders. Still not my thing with bright red fruit, spice, and a sense of heat. Better on day 2, but still heady stuff.

12/2/2021 - jwebtx wrote:

PNP. Tannic with a mild green streak. Not much in the way of fruit poking out. Not bad. Not good. Just a glass of red wine with pizza. @ $27, it is what it is.

10/13/2021 - jwebtx wrote:

Flawed. Band-aid. Shrill.

9/15/2021 - jwebtx wrote:

Presents as a hybrid between Cali grenache & pinot. Berries (ripe and unripe) and a hint of earth. Easy drinking. Perfect with store bought rotisserie chicken on a week night.

I enjoyed it, but @ $34.40 delivered I question the QPR.

9/9/2021 - jwebtx wrote:

Mature. Lovely. Must be some bottle variation (I suspect due to cork choice).

3/13/2021 - jwebtx wrote:

No detailed notes, but I will say the fruit was dark and prominent. Plenty of life left in this wine.

2/18/2021 - jwebtx wrote:

Apple skin, tartness, acidity. Nose is apples.

2/11/2021 - jwebtx wrote:

Cranberry, soy, smoke/mineral, lingering acidity. Meaty nose. PNP. Bought on release.

2/11/2021 - jwebtx wrote:

Brown tint and tastes like old port now. Very prominent sweet streak. Drain...

2/4/2021 - jwebtx wrote:

Band-aid, leather, berry, then a firm structure. Bought on release and stored at cellar temp. Pass.

11/30/2020 - jwebtx wrote:

My wife & I really enjoyed this. Clearly high quality Cali SB with a gooseberry flavor profile and solid acidity. Would back the truck up.

10/29/2020 - jwebtx wrote:

Last night, this was a graceful and very Burgundian wine. Just lovely. Last year, I had a bottle that was nothing short of amazing. The thing is, I expected very little if anything from these 2 bottles because, in the last 10 years, I have also opened a couple bottles that were completely dead and bleh.

This and the last were sourced from online auction circa 2006 and stored in my temp controlled wine room since.

4/30/2020 - jwebtx wrote:

Enjoyable, but I don't sense this will improve. A tiny bit flat, if anything. Not to say it is not acidic, it is. I mean it was orchard fruit with maybe the slightest oxidative note (?).

Purchased at Boxler and kept in a temp controlled cellar.

3/16/2020 - jwebtx wrote:

Cheese rind nose. A little bit of white fruit and more cheese rind on the palate. Moderately acidic. At this stage, a purchase I wish I would have skipped. I'll tuck the others away and hope they are just in an odd phase. I typically like Pax's work, so i'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.

3/16/2020 - jwebtx wrote:

Red fruit and a hint of funk on the nose on PNP. The funk fades with an hour of air. Red fruit with a hint of spice on the palate. As noted before, I also think this needs to integrate more. I'll try again in 6mos.

7/7/2019 - jwebtx wrote:

Still showing young in flavor profile and color. Zippy acidity. Bought upon release from the winery and stored in my wine room since. No reason to hold further in my opinion, but no danger of dying soon either.

3/27/2019 - jwebtx wrote:

No detailed notes, but I will say this wine was singing on a pop and pour.

3/18/2019 - jwebtx wrote:

Viscous. Hot on the front. Sweet on back.

3/17/2019 - jwebtx wrote:

stewed ripe fruit and the remainder is in sharp decline. drink now.

3/17/2019 - jwebtx wrote:

meh. wetrock's note sans fruit.

3/9/2019 - jwebtx wrote:

forceberry pretty much nailed it in his/her TN. I like many orange wines, but dumped this one down the drain. Brett, VA, and bruised apples proved way too much funk for me. Only difference I noted was my bottle was a more advanced amber color than described (shading toward rust).

3/5/2019 - jwebtx wrote:

Clamped down and tannic. Hold.

2/23/2019 - jwebtx wrote:

Dark crimson in color. Not much on the nose, but I can't say I focused on it. A rich, moderately complex, and youthful wine. If you like the modern Napa style, this is a very fine example and showed no signs of imminent decline. I wish I had more to check-in at 5 and 10 years. Very enjoyable.

11/14/2018 - jwebtx wrote:

Fruit has faded and not much else has developed. Drink up.

11/4/2018 - jwebtx Likes this wine:

I was expecting this to be dead, but damn it delivered. Outside of the color, no negative signs of oxidation. There was plenty of fruit, mineral, and acidity. Perhaps a touch of honey. Complex with a singing finish. A different wine than in its youth and probably more my style now. Bought on release and stored in temp control since.

6/13/2018 - jwebtx wrote:

I lied and held one several more years, but to no ill affect. Still golden in color, but with plenty of orchard fruit and acidity. A long and lovely finish. Still lovely.

4/22/2018 - jwebtx wrote:

Nice lush cab. Easy drinking on a pop, decant, and pour. Not complex, but miles better than it was in its youth. Even in December 16 it was a little rough. No rush to finish my last bottle.

4/21/2018 - jwebtx wrote:

This bottle was singing. Tart red fruit, zippy acid, and a finish that carried on. No rush, but this is drinking great. Pop, decant (lots of fine sediment), and pour.

4/6/2018 - jwebtx wrote:

Fantastic at this stage. Rich and complex.

4/4/2018 - jwebtx wrote:

Has not moved since my last note. I would be the oak beats the fruit in this race though.

4/3/2018 - jwebtx wrote:

Nothing special, but simple and enjoyable. Didn't throw much tannin. Color looks young. No reason to hold them, but they aren't going to die tomorrow.

4/1/2018 - jwebtx wrote:

Couldn't resist since I have no experience with the D&R wines. I really enjoyed this. Lively bubbles. Enjoyed from a Zalto White stem. Cerebral wine that had a mouth watering sour note that was very intriguing. The nose also had a hint of cheese rind. Yes there is some fruit to the wine, but there were other layers to it. The bubbles really worked to keep everything in line. Mrs. didn't love it, but i'm buying some more...

3/27/2018 - jwebtx wrote:

Almost zero fruit with some cedar notes. Drain.

1/4/2018 - jwebtx wrote:

PnP tired. Past prime.

12/31/2017 - jwebtx wrote:

acidic, shrill, unbalanced. not sure this has the stuffing to blossom with time, but will hold my last bottle.

12/24/2017 - jwebtx wrote:

A nice bottle of wine in it's peak window. 1/4 C for my lamb stew and the rest for me. No rush on these, but no reason to wait. Solid QPR.

11/24/2017 - jwebtx wrote:

Still showing well with ample fruit and decent acidity. I would not say the wine has developed or blossomed into something new or magical, but it was a nice cali pinot for turkey etc. I would drink them sooner since I don't see this picking up steam.

4/23/2017 - jwebtx wrote:

For El Classico. You could have told me this was a 2014 and I would have believed you. Young but tasty. Hold or Drink.

4/13/2017 - jwebtx wrote:

Sherry notes on nose and palate. Rich, but contrarily not very complex. Nice wine for the $37 price, but I won't seek it out.