7/16/2023 - mpenzi divai wrote:

A light innocuous wine, pinot character, pleasant enough while nibbling on ... crackers? Fully ready to drink. No good reason to buy it unless it's on sale at BevMo and you are going to a picnic.

8/27/2022 - mpenzi divai Likes this wine:

A surprisingly dark wine (flashlight for decanting barely showed through) almost port like--was port-like with the massive sediment crusted to the bottle bottom. No hints of bricking, tannins resolved, lovely nose of dark fruit and a melange of cola, plum, earth and other flavors I loved but couldn't put names to. Full in the mouth from onset to the long finish. More aromatic as it sat in the glass--the wine did not air in the decanter long enough. Seems like a fair amount of tertiary flavor development still lies ahead, but: storage, storage, storage. This bottle has been in a temp. controlled environment since purchase. Simply delicious, outstanding; what we hope for in a mature Bordeaux. A star of the vintage.

2/9/2019 - mpenzi divai wrote:

2/9/2019 Sadly, I agree with 'Wine on the Vine.' I was hoping for a repeat of the 2012--which is still drinking gorgeously from well-stored bottles. Wine is a bit hot and lacking the wonderful perfume and complexity of the '12. It does improve in the glass, so maybe a couple of years in the bottle would raise the score. ($38, by the way, is a lot to pay. I'm buying it locally (SF Bay Area) for $26.)

10/23/2018 - mpenzi divai wrote:

pleasant nose: hints of melon and floral notes. Firm acidity, melon, butterscotch (hint) on the palate, with a slight mineral finish. Nice flavor profile from first taste to finish. Excellent with food (oysters, and bacon sandwich). Better than most California Chard. Not outstanding, but a nice drink.

10/23/2018 - mpenzi divai wrote:

Melon, pleasing citrus (lemon), pleasant nose with just a hint of butterscotch, finish has just a hint of stone. Medium bodied with a good flavor profile from first to last. Nothing outstanding, though more interest than most California Chard.

10/17/2018 - mpenzi divai wrote:

First impressions: one hopes it is a nice generic Bourgogne to give one a nice price-point value. I agree with other tasters. Light-bodied, with a nice nose, hints of strawberry and vanilla, some floral elements. In the mouth light-bodied as noted, mid-palate lacking, with a finish though not robust enough to stand up to a hearty stew still shows nice berry fruit with hints of Chinese five spices.

6/25/2018 - mpenzi divai Likes this wine:

Rich spicy wine, very much blackberry/black cherry to my palate with definite notes of leather and "sous-bois". Full in the mouth with a long finish. Seems to be in a good point in its development, with no hints of decline. Nice acid/soft tannin balance. Delicious.

6/20/2018 - mpenzi divai Likes this wine:

Served blind to friends along with 2007 Vieux Telegraphe. Massive wine which seemed to go back and forth between a black berry spectrum of fruit and something more raspberry like during the evening...easily masking the high alcohol content. Spicy notes (cinnamon?), very long finish with tannins well hidden in the fruit. Went well with steak. But a tiring wine almost candy like, overblown; less complexity and interest in the end than the VT which we all preferred, thus the 90 score which is generous.

6/16/2018 - mpenzi divai Likes this wine:

From a well stored bottle. Decanted half-hour before serving. Fruit was very evident: black cherry, hint of cassis, other berries and oak. A bit of sous-bois to add complexity. Medium weight in the mouth, good finish with just enough tannin to make the finish better with food. I'd say at it's peak with no signs of decline.

12/3/2017 - mpenzi divai Likes this wine:

Monday, November 20, 2017 at The Wolf in Oakland CA (served blind to my companions). W: "A luscious, fully developed, high-toned, aged California Cab. Very good acid balance, with definite cherry tones mixed in with the normal Cabernet notes plus some tertiary flavors hard to put a name to. Complex, long finish. Wow! My companions guessed Bordeaux, super Tuscan; Charles closest with ’86 Bordeaux. Mark: Dark cherry red in color. Beautiful bouquet. Soft and luscious in the mouth with dark plums, blueberries and a hint of cherry on the palate, Tannins completely resolved. A bit of eucalyptus in the background along with some unidentifiable herb nuances to add complexity. I guess a 1998 right bank Bordeaux. Wrong continent and only 22 years off. A truly excellent, very memorable wine.

4/1/2018 - mpenzi divai Likes this wine:

You need to appreciate wines past their prime a bit to fully appreciate this wine. Surprising amber orange at the rim, overtones of stewed prunes, beefy on the palate, long rich finish mingling with the over-oxidized flavor profile. Yet, complex dark berry fruit mixes with the beef/leaf flavors leading to a surprising long, satisfying delicious finish. Lots of sediment. Drink now in my opinion. Later note: May 2018 drank my second and and last bottle: roughly same flavors minus stewed notes and more intense fruit and with years of life ahead. Same cold storage after purchase--go figure.

3/27/2018 - mpenzi divai Likes this wine:

Uncorked the wine 3/11/18 for our monthly wine dinner. Decided it wasn't showing enough. Re-corked and put in fridge; opened again 3/26/18 expecting to toss it, but it was okay (80-pointish) and evolved in the glass, drank half. Re-corked and re-opened on the 27th. Now a wonderful velvety Burgundy, all tannins resolved, sweet cherry tones in the nose & palate, lingering finish, hints of cinnamon, vanilla, well balanced with enough acid for food. 90 pts. Bottle had been well stored. (How many other wines have I given up on too soon?)

12/3/2017 - mpenzi divai Likes this wine:

(12/3/17) Pulled soft crumbly cork—AhSo to the rescue--and left standing for two hours without any decanting. Surprised by good condition (came from unknown cellaring). Deep dark red still, no noticeable bricking at the rims. Full in the mouth with rich Cabernet fruit from first to last. Notes of brown plum, and surprising to me, blueberry fruit within a core of something like wood, touch of cedar and something else—the famous “Rutherford dust”? Long, long finish-- a full minute lingering on the tongue. Complex within the dark berry/touch of wood spectrum of flavors. Friend who shared it tasted an unpleasant medicinal note that came and went over the 20 minutes or so of consumption. I did not. A delicious experience of a famous California Cabernet.