4/24/2024 - Elkcims Likes this wine:

Similar to my 2023 notes. After double decant and sampling a glass we decided to save 3/4 for next day. It was superlative with similar taste profile.

Rest in peace, Stuart.

4/18/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

Maya presented (18-20 DVO) to a small group while in Houston for the Southern Smoke Foundation.

Of the mini vertical I gravitated to 18 for it's tension and 19 due to it's approachability. 20 was an easy drinker but overshowed in the lineup.

Maya walked us through her story and how DVO "DUO" came to be a project and some of the vineyards the fruit is sourced from.

Scoring this wine as it is today but there is no doubt this wine is built for the cellar and will no doubt score higher in the future.

97+

3/30/2024 - dcwino wrote:

Expressive nose displaying ripe but cool blue and black fruit with a hint of red, blueberry, blackberry liqueur, a hint of strawberry, liquid smoke, beef blood, a hint of garrigue, leather, black pepper, tapenade, dark spices and crushed rocks. Very good concentration, finely layered generous blue and red fruit, silky and cool, bright acidity and strong mineral, a hint of sweet tannins and a medium to long cool blue and red fruit driven smoky finish. Just like the 19, the fruit is very ripe, “sur maturite”, yet also displays coolness. It reminds me the fruit expression of Tertre-Roteboeuf. This is not as concentrated as the 19 and also shows a bit more red fruit, It is also fascinating to compare to Chave Hermitage as the nose is really similar but the palate is not as refined.

4/17/2024 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

I like it, but like with the red.....I gotta wonder why these are getting the scores and generating the revenue they are? Does the Emperor have no clothes?

This was nice. Medium yellow in the glass. But a muted nose. Vanilla cream and some fern on the nose?

Palate of citrus with good acidity but a bit woody on the end. Hard for me to justify the tariff on this one.

4/15/2024 - csimm wrote:

Punchline first: And ‘the Ks’ have it!! Kaannos and Kodo! I know I’m supposed to find beauty in all creatures great and small, and that love is discovered in all forms of doe-eyed unicorns and rainbows, but after sampling over 70 wines over the course of a three-day weekend, the Kaannos is THE BEST wine. It just is. If you dare take your in vogue flat leadership model and go old school vertical with it, then the Kaannos is on the top, like the very top. #1. Numero uno. The cat’s pajamas, and even the cat’s meow for that matter. The Kodo is… also… the best…!

Punchline #1 to the punchline: Kaannos TN – Not surprisingly, the first word in my notes just says, “perfect,” along with some hyphenated expletives that remind me this is, you guessed it, the best wine hands down. Dark fruit, but ever so balanced, with rays of succulent acidity (ya, that’s a thing), providing both elegance and speed. A nervy finish gives way to a second wave of flavor and energy. With air, it grabs ahold of more richness, akin to its Kodo brother. Darker, faster, even livelier with each sip. Block 4 powers, activate! The stamina here is worth waiting a few years, though Nigel puts it out at 8-12 years. But it’s a shakin good time right now without question.

Punchline #1(a) to the punchline: Kodo TN - And of course, because every kind of exception has an exception, I will confidently say that Kodo is also the best wine. But since I just made up a rule that says I have to choose (science and law and all that), the Kodo for me is the #1(a) to the Kaannos #1. Other Galloni sympathizers at the table pegged the Kodo for grand prize winner, not that I can blame them. But my iconoclastic side gave the Kaannos the edge. That is to say, they are both solid 100 point wines, but since GPAs these days are like 6.0 to get into community college (not sure what happened to 4.0, but I digress, again), I’ll go with the Kaannos at Harvard and the Kodo at Stanford. Kodo is a darker knight, with the depth of a thousand gallant chevaliers that parade through silky seas of dark chocolate and black cherries. Unctuous. Precise. Enveloping. Balanced, but with personality and attention-grabbing gothic gumption. The initiative here is fantastic, especially on the slowly building finish that envelops the back of the mouth. I feel like this is an earlier drinker than Kaannos.

I think I phonetic-a-sized my way through how to say Kodo, but I can’t for the life of me pronounce Kaannos, especially with all those little umlaut thingamajigs over every letter. I don’t know if it’s Kay-nohs, Ka-nos, Kaw-nohs, Can-os, or Ka’a-na-nah-na-nah-nah-nos. I know it means something to do with ‘translation’ in Finnish, but I can’t claim to know what the Fins have done to influence what I now consider the best 2021 wine I’ve had thus far out of Napa.

“Save the best for last” is typically prudent advice, and it’s normal decorum to build up to the ‘best’ wine when one is toured through various wine tasting experiences. However, in this case, the esteemed Nigel Kinsman simply said, “I like to jump around,” giving us novice geeks free rein to pick among the four glasses in front of us. A creature of habit, when I reached to my left and took a sip, not bothering to look at the name, the Kaannos hit me square in the jaw. Epic! There is a sliver of me that wants it not to be so amazing, like “here we go again, another fanboy tasting note from me on Kinsman.” I wanted to be neutral on these and just write a couple lame short tasting notes (and the crowd cheers). Better luck next time I guess. So, obviously, the Kaannos was completely rad! (not Rhad – but which is also rad, by the way). And the Kodo is also a mega hit-out-of-the-park showstopper.

… wishing Cellar Tracker had a word limit right about now…?… I don’t…. :)

4/18/2024 - pkouchu wrote:

For those still doubtful of smoke taint, wine advocate just published their review, they sent the wine to a lab and it came back 4x over the threshold. It’s smoke tainted to hell.

3/21/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

2021 happens to be one of the most unique expressions of Vine Hill Ranch I've had the pleasure of opening at such a young stage. Truly remarkable focus, tension and the tannins are just different. Fantastic acidy to back it all up. With extended aging, this might be the finest VHR to date.

Note, this is not offering the pure joy of 16 at an early stage but you can tell this has all the verve to go the distance and be king of the hill.

Francoise really made one heck of a wine in 2021.

Kill one early and hold the rest.

98++

4/15/2024 - csimm wrote:

Punchline first: And ‘the Ks’ have it!! Kaannos and Kodo! I know I’m supposed to find beauty in all creatures great and small, and that love is discovered in all forms of doe-eyed unicorns and rainbows, but after sampling over 70 wines over the course of a three-day weekend, the Kaannos is THE BEST wine. It just is. If you dare take your in vogue flat leadership model and go old school vertical with it, then the Kaannos is on the top, like the very top. #1. Numero uno. The cat’s pajamas, and even the cat’s meow for that matter.

Punchline #1 to the punchline: Kaannos TN – Not surprisingly, the first word in my notes just says, “perfect,” along with some hyphenated expletives that remind me this is, you guessed it, the best wine hands down. Dark fruit, but ever so balanced, with rays of succulent acidity (ya, that’s a thing), providing both elegance and speed. A nervy finish gives way to a second wave of flavor and energy. With air, it grabs ahold of more richness, akin to its Kodo brother. Darker, faster, even livelier with each sip. Block 4 powers, activate! The stamina here is worth waiting a few years, though Nigel puts it out at 8-12 years. But it’s a shakin good time right now without question.

Punchline #1(a) to the punchline: Kodo TN - And of course, because every kind of exception has an exception, I will confidently say that Kodo is also the best wine. But since I just made up a rule that says I have to choose (science and law and all that), the Kodo for me is the #1(a) to the Kaannos #1. Other Galloni sympathizers at the table pegged the Kodo for grand prize winner, not that I can blame them. But my iconoclastic side gave the Kaannos the edge. That is to say, they are both solid 100 point wines, but since GPAs these days are like 6.0 to get into community college (not sure what happened to 4.0, but I digress, again), I’ll go with the Kaannos at Harvard and the Kodo at Stanford. Kodo is a darker knight, with the depth of a thousand gallant chevaliers that parade through silky seas of dark chocolate and black cherries. Unctuous. Precise. Enveloping. Balanced, but with personality and attention-grabbing gothic gumption. The initiative here is fantastic, especially on the slowly building finish that envelops the back of the mouth. I feel like this is an earlier drinker than Kaannos.

I think I phonetic-a-sized my way through how to say Kodo, but I can’t for the life of me pronounce Kaannos, especially with all those little umlaut thingamajigs over every letter. I don’t know if it’s Kay-nohs, Ka-nos, Kaw-nohs, Can-os, or Ka’a-na-nah-na-nah-nah-nos. I know it means something to do with ‘translation’ in Finnish, but I can’t claim to know what the Fins have done to influence what I now consider the best 2021 wine I’ve had thus far out of Napa.

“Save the best for last” is typically prudent advice, and it’s normal decorum to build up to the ‘best’ wine when one is toured through various wine tasting experiences. However, in this case, the esteemed Nigel Kinsman simply said, “I like to jump around,” giving us novice geeks free rein to pick among the four glasses in front of us. A creature of habit, when I reached to my left and took a sip, not bothering to look at the name, the Kaannos hit me square in the jaw. Epic! There is a sliver of me that wants it not to be so amazing, like “here we go again, another fanboy tasting note from me on Kinsman.” I wanted to be neutral on these and just write a couple lame short tasting notes (and the crowd cheers). Better luck next time I guess. So, obviously, the Kaannos was completely rad! (not Rhad – but which is also rad, by the way). And the Kodo is also a mega hit-out-of-the-park showstopper.

… wishing Cellar Tracker had a word limit right about now…? I don’t…. :)

4/12/2024 - AGELVIS Likes this wine:

Splash decant. Nearly opaque intense purplish magenta color. Barbecue brisket and blackberry pie sum this up quite nicely. Smooth, dry, dusty palate. Firm, medium intensity tannins on the medium long+ finish.

This is youthful, but one of the better Syrahs I’ve had recently. 100% Syrah from the Silver Eagle Vineyard.

1/6/2024 - RyanJames Likes this wine:

I don't even know what the right score is for this, but some might argue this is a perfect wine. Clearly marked by terroir (there's this tree bark+tobacco element I love), incredible balance and a finish+intensity that at 45 seconds is 15 too short to just call it a 99-100 pointer, but I'm nitpicking here. The black fruit - cassis, blackberry, but in no way jammy, perfectly balances the savory elements - this is world class wine from a world class site and deserves a spot next to the 1st/2nd growths of Bordeaux all day long.

4/11/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

Open and consumed over 3 days. Still surprisingly youthful and unrelenting over the tastings. Nice tannins that are still firm. I would hold this for further development which might be very slow to develop.

93-94 hold.

4/11/2024 - wren460 Likes this wine:

Second time with this wine, first time was blind and I scored it 96 today it was tasted not blind and decanted 1 hour instead of 4 or so last time. It did not rocked at all. Towards the medium to light body and somewhat flat. I did enjoyed it hence the 92 points but frankly I was a little dissapointed. It is not the hedonistic beast some of us wish for, it is delicious but restrained. Felt like the 6 cylinder Mustang instead of the V8. I have many more at the cellar and while I do not think they are meant for many years of cellaring, I hope that in 3 or so years they would be better. This bottle will never achieve medals, but it is a very well made wine. Maybe I was expecting more from VHR, like a baby VHR and it is not.

4/8/2024 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

2nd bottle of a 3 pack directly from the winery. Full decant for 5 hours before going back into the bottle to the restaurant where the stopper was removed and we enjoyed it over 2-3 hours with Mary.

At the pnp into the decanter this was tart and red fruited. Slightly tannic and very, very young.

5-6 hours of air and almost every bit of tart red fruit leaves, the tannins quiet, the wine fills out/puts on weight and the wine really develops that classic VHR nose and palate which gives you just a taste of what this wine will become over the next decade. 96-97 tonight with 2 points of upside at least going forward.......paired very well with an Osso Buco ravioli in a black truffle cream sauce.

3/29/2024 - Ampequot Likes this wine:

Spring Break in Napa -- Who Needs Cancun?; 3/22/2024-4/27/2024 (Oakville, St. Helena, Calistoga): Decanted for roughly 3 hours prior to our arrival. Wow.

More black fruited with a slightly more intense profile, though I’m sure some of that could be attributed to the comparative youth. Still, surely more sourced from blocks 1 and 6, both of which lie at the western borders of the site.

Top notes of black fruit with great secondary notes of earth, loam, shale and I’m sure complexity beyond my appreciation in that moment.

The best justice I can do is to describe it as as tasting of the forest that sits just behind blocks 1 and 6 on the site. Really something special. 99

4/6/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

My first Gonon from St. Joe

First impression is the quality of fruit and balanced palate. A well captured sense of place in the wine making processes and farming. It's easy to see how this has a cult following. I have some 14's inbound so it will be nice to see what these wines do with relative age on them.

Plenty of upside laying these down but no harm pulling one now.

94+

4/5/2024 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine:

Similar to previous notes after a 2 hour double decant & I believe the best bottle yet; outstanding & at peak, ready to drink, no rush

7/25/2023 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

Pulled this bottle for Jackson Hole and it delivered.

I visited 7 & 8 once and purchased once. Beautiful property with stunning views from the tasting room.

The 2012 vintage is still holding strong and has a long life ahead of it. Early drinking window even after 13 years in the bottle.

Dark fruited and serious with not much development on tertiary flavors which will make this an even more impressive bottle. I'm going to approach my last bottle 5+

Hold for further development.

96+

3/26/2024 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

Two hour double decant back into the bottle and into the cellar under stopper for two more hours. Enjoyed a glass with great friends Mary and Barry prior to dinner then took the other half bottle under stopper to the restaurant to have with the other two wines....

Dark purple in the glass. Nose of graphite, dark berries and a bit of putty funk on the end which disappears with a little more air.

Palate of refined if not subdued dark berries, refined well integrated tannins and it only gets better the longer it's open. Smoother and deeper. Hard to believe this one is 22 yo.....92-93 to start and easy 95-96 after a total of 4+ hours of air.

3/22/2024 - TXRDW Likes this wine:

Motivated by MJP I decided to also pull the cork on one of these wines before I lay the rest down. My initial impression was the amazing freshness and purity of the fruit along with the precise level of acidity in the wine. Then came the tannins, wave after wave throughout a long and meandering finish. Such finesse! The fruit was dark, biting and ripe, quite frankly more than a bit too ripe at this stage. But the stuffing and structure was impeccable. In my opinion this bottle was years away from being enjoyable to drink, but the wine geek in me wanted to establish a baseline. Keeping in mind it is often difficult to pick up all of the subtle nuances of a truly great wine this early on, I would have to conclude that the 2021 VHR is the Picasso of Bruce’s offerings to date. Definitely a “hold” for now, probably best approached in five or more years.

3/16/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

Btl #5020

I picked this bottle up through Brentwood Auctions for a pretty penny. Justifying the spend due to the acclaim. I figured the annual family trip to Sedona was a suitable setting to pull.

Upon opening, this wine is full throttle JLC Hermitage. On the nose and palate, it’s unmistakable. This vintage is in the early window of visitation. Even then, I would consider holding this wine for at least another 5-10. Personally, work through some of the lesser greats and stash 2010 for its 20th birthday.

98+ today. Triple digits in the near future

Hold

3/16/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

One of the many highlights from a week with the family in Sedona. Lover’s knoll has become our spot to reflect upon a sunset that dances off Cathedral Rock while enjoying a bottle of La Vol.

Shae said this was showing well and I don’t disagree. A 12 hr double decant did the trick.

Freshness & tension delivers lavender, sandlewood, blackberries on a wonderfully balanced finish. Obviously young, but very enjoyable even for a palate that prefers more age.

98+

3/21/2024 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

After dinner pour provided by Joel and what a hit it was! I think to everyone here, it may have been THE best Rose Champagned they've ever had. Very much agree with his note on this one. Creamy strawberry is dead bang on. The nose was gorgeous, too. What a fabulous bottle, Joel. Thanks for sharing it!

3/8/2024 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

Needs only 30 min in the decanter at this time. Picked up at auction a year ago. The cork separated into 2 halves/dried out. Obviously stored upright all those years.

This fills out so quickly and puts on so much weight in the glass. Nice florals on the nose. Liqueur like dark red fruit, juicy and umami like with some forest briar notes at the same time. Carol, who is not drinking many reds these days, couldn't stop raving about it. Re-bottled quickly to take to our fav Italian place for an early dinner and paired so well with Veal Marsala. Last few glasses at home after dinner.....and it's so hard not to guzzle it right down. Caution: 3+ hours of air and it turns a bit blacker and drier. To me this is a pnp right now and finish the bottle before hour 3. 96-97 to start.....93-94 at the end.

5/3/2022 - AGELVIS Likes this wine:

Deep dark garnet/brick red color, with a rusty rim. Mushroom, Manwich-infused chocolate (think chocolatey sloppy Joe), and fennel on the nose. Dry, velvety palate. Soft tannins on the longish finish.

This was another fun bonus pour from MJP, toward the end of our Arrow & Branch tasting. “Salisbury steak” might better capture the essence of this wine, as MJP noted. It’s held up well, but more age than I typically enjoy.

3/4/2024 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

Brought to the table tonight by Jim Aronson after a 1 hour slow ox in the bottle. Light/medium garnet in the glass. Some orange bricking noticeable as you swirl the glass, and it seemed like as it got more air over 3 hours a little more orange became evident in the glass.

Nose of smoky/meaty elements., later on a hint of....root beer and leather?

Palate of still surprisingly silky fruit, primarily black prunes, but not stewed fruit. I hate stewed fruit! HMC noted the wine had almost a Madeira-like quality to it on the palate. Maybe a bit of balsamic? Very well made and still surprisingly complex all around given its age at 34 years. The first of these I've ever had and while I'm not the biggest Syrah or CDP guy, it was quite enjoyable and certainly a treat to experience it. I was torn between a score of 94 and 95 in my notebook and did not check on CT to see what its average score was before posting this note. Good to know I'm in the ballpark as I am in no way a CDP expert. Thanks for the great experience with this bottle, Jim!

2/28/2024 - Jeff Leve wrote:

The explosive nose serves up licorice, smoke, cherry liqueur, dried flowers, dark red cherries, blueberries, smoke, and Asian slices explodes in the perfume. The wine is palate staining, dense, earthy, full-bodied, and intense, the wine is also balanced, symmetrical and dense. The lush, opulent, youthful finish expands, and intensifies as it lingers on your palate. If you prefer fruit-forward wines, open and decant. Else, wait a bit. Drink from 2025-2060.

2/25/2024 - #1Winelover wrote:

91 is being generous. This has the coloring (dark purple). That's about it. From PnP is was kind of flat, light to medium-bodied. It does have a finish but not a finish for my profile. There is nothing wrong with this; just not anything good to better than good. Disappointing and i will open up something else and hope that this improves but I highly doubt it.

11/6/2023 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine:

Nigel and Shae got their hands on some Ecotone (formerly Thorevilos) fruit, and as you might expect, it doesn't disappoint! This wasn't a structured tasting, and I didn't take notes, but I'll give you the rundown from what I recall.

First, overall the 2021 vintage looks like one to lay down. They are not PnP ready like many 2019's. I had two dozen or so this past weekend and virtually none were open for business. So if you combine that with Nigel's style of making long lived wine, it means if you acquire these, you probably need to give them a decade.

That said, with a long decant, the Ecotone actually opened up quite a bit. This is a BIG wine, dark and brooding, with hints of PV (if I remember correctly) making it show even more seriously than the 2021 Bella Oaks I had alongside. It displays massive depth, with unreal concentration managed impeccably by excellent acidity, fabulous structure and lovely layering. Shows off black/blue fruit with hints of scotched earth and embers, getting earthy right from the start while illustrating the complexity to come. Overall, this is utterly fantastic, and it'll be fun to get some bottles so I can watch them sit in my cellar for 10-20 years. :)

All kidding aside, obviously if you can get this wine, don't hesitate for a moment. Kinsman is just killing it.

This will ship in fall of 2024 like the other 2021 cabs, but not exactly sure when it will be released.

2/19/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

Pulled this bottle during a dinner tasting and it felt completely out of place amongst some of the great Rhones we had already opened.

VCC felt a bit heavy but yet refined enough to know it was a great bottle but it was the outlier. I quickly recorked and replaced it with a 2011 St Joe that was absolutely a conversation piece served blind and was mistaken for S. African Grenache (Soldaat)

After 24 and 36 the VCC was revisited and finished. A bit of energy was missing which might have been left on the table between hours 2-24. Either way no regrets opening one of my favorite right bank wines.

Drink or hold.

97

2/23/2024 - acyso wrote:

No. 7793. In the vein of the 2020, this is more of a red-fruited, lighter edition from the King in the North. Initially, this was worryingly angular with the fruit, alcohol, and tannins all just jutting out at different angles. A few hours of air rounds those sharp edges and the nose begins to show a sweet, red-fruited perfume with more spice notes than typical. The palate is relatively light, with more elegance than usual for a young vintage of this wine. It's actually quite approachable now with a decant because it doesn't have the stern tannins of the bigger vintages. The acidity feels more prominent, which I feel makes this a little more approachable young. This may not be the most profound or long-lived vintage, but Chave is Chave.

5/4/2022 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

Tasted this wine over several days with many different approaches. My personal favorite was cork pulled and replaced for 24 seemed to benefit both the 18 & 19 equally. The 2018 bottling showing a bit more open this time around over our tasting in Oct of 21. Still tightly wound yet a bit more approachable, this singular expression of Block 4 Clone 4 planted in 1996 might be the backbone of this beloved vineyard. Needless to say the question I've been asked is 18 vs 19. Which one is your favorite? My thoughts are you should own both if you love this site. With the addition of 3a clone 337 in 19 it's a completely different animal. Almost everyone that tasted went back and forth of which one was their favorite. There is no doubt this is special fruit and Jennifer Williams did a wonderful job with this wine. Great tension and structure this bottle will age very well given proper time and storage.

As a treat to Josh, we opened up an 08 & 15 VHR during these tasting. A lot of similar qualities to these Arrow & Branch wines which will be fun to follow in future revisit. Both on order.

98+

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.

2/21/2024 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine:

Retail $50. 100% Pinot Noir Grand Cru (10% Bouzy rouge added to the vin clair). We were in Spec's to pick up some sparkling wine to serve my father-in-law (but telling him it was expensive champagne; thank you Gruet, New Mexico) and my wife said she wanted a bottle of Clouet Rosé, adding that she remembered liking it. I was going to add that the reason she liked it was that it was good, but I kept my big trap shut, hoping to keep my bid for husband of the year alive for at least another five minutes (I also realized that I did not heed my own advice about buying more of this as I wrote in my previous note). Those notes are spot on, but this wine had a little more age to it, both in characteristics (a bit more yeasty and a hint of oxidation) and objective evidence (the cork did not expand much at all after extraction). We *love* our champagne, even non-vintage wines, with a bit of extra bottle age on them. Bravo.

www.thedrunkencyclist.com

2/16/2024 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

Sucked into opening one of these thanks to my CT friends on here.....you know who you are, ty.

3 hour decant, back into the bottle and enjoyed over 3-4 hours at the table tonight with a great tasting amongst friends and family.

Dark garnet in the glass. Nose of cherry fruit and sweet toffee. This is a unique wine in a sense. Fresh and precise, with depth and florals and a certain wow factor. Hard to give it anything other than a 97 tonight. 2nd WOTN at the table. Extremely good quality. I should note that this is my very first taste ever, of a KE wine. I bought these from the winery, sight unseen or should I say palate, untasted? It's very, very good.....

2/17/2024 - MN Wine Junkie Likes this wine:

Decanted for 2 hours at 1:00, then back in the bottle and cellar until 4:30, then to a friend's home, uncorked at 5:00 and slo-O'd until about 8:00.

This tasted great on PnP, layered, but somewhat linear. After a 2 hour decant, the wine was starting to integrate. When served, the wine was fully integrated and drinking fabulously! The wine continued to evolve throughout the evening (drank over a 1 1/2 to 2 hour window).

This wine is always a pleasure and a treat to drink! I probably have more VHR in my cellar than any other Cabernet. It is dependable and consistently great! Only 4 bottles left of this vintage, so I need to watch my consumption as I believe as good as it is now, it will still get quite a bit better!

Lovely aromatics! Nose was floral with scents of lavender and other purple flowers, coupled with notes of cedar and some spice. The palate was even better with a symphony of red and black fruit taking center stage, but grudgingly sharing the stage with notes of deep woods, earth, graphite, tobacco and sweet oak, and playing backup were additional notes of anise and spice. What an arrangement! I was quickly reminded why I love VHR!

Open now with a good decant (even though you will be happy even if you PnP) or hold for additional flavors and integration, and likely a couple more points! Solid 97 for my palate and 98 points is my benchmark!

2/16/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

WOTN in a solid lineup.

Btl No. 20241

Minimal splash decant served up along side two other wines at the same time. The 17 JLC & 14 La La.

The window of approach is open for now. Nose, palate and finish all jiving. Long smooth lingering tannins. Generous weight compared to the lift of the La Landonne.

Evolved nicely over dinner and conversation. 17 made it to the table but had nothing to add to the discourse.

98

Drink for now or hold

21 Ridge Grenache Blanc
17 JL Chave Hermitage
16 JL Chave Hermitage
14 E. Guigal La Londonne
11 JL Chave Saint Joseph
10 Vieux Chateau Certan

2/7/2024 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

Blind, 3 hour decant. Medium garnet on the glass.

Floral nose along with oak and dark red fruit. Palate came across as primarily old black fruit, oak and slight tannins. It had good weight and for certain, good winemaking but just didn't feel like it was rocking as well as it should have. Don't know if this was an airtime issue or not? But it seemed like I should have liked it better, came across as somewhat flat and one dimensional.

2/15/2024 - MJP Hou TX wrote:

PNP services from a 375. Very muted on the nose and palate. Hard to judge this wine on based on the approach. Definitely unlike some Troplong's I've tried early in the past.

A proper decant or hands off for now.

No score.

2/15/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

Due to Matt Scott's enticing review I decided to pull a 375 from the cellar. Not as lengthy of a decant but a strong showing none the less.

No harm in pulling one today but patience will reward the subtle complexities that will develop with time in the bottle.

95 today with plenty of upside.

2/15/2024 - Ghoulardi wrote:

My first Krug, and not at all what I was expecting.

While it certainly had power, it was much more linear and acid-driven then I had understood the Krug style to be. Very fresh, with nice lemon and green apple bouquet, and a bit of floral spice.

This is objectively quite a well-made champagne, but I came looking for more oxidative notes and a broader profile. Perhaps I'd been mistaken about the house style. I will let half the bottle sit overnight to see how much if evolves.

2/9/2024 - MJP Hou TX wrote:

Lancelot Restaurant Vail

This was okay. Nice table red but not my pick at $120

9/13/2023 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

I'll disclose that I'm biased when it comes to this producer. Heather & Bruce are generous host when I roll into Napa and it's one of my top recommendations for anyone visiting the valley. Not to mention Francoise might be one of the best wine makers for my palate. I just love her work and the work of those who have gained knowledge working along side of her.

With all that said, this is the ONLY reason I purchased 2020. Most of the producers I follow choose not to make wine in 2020 and I think in the long run that decision will serve them well. Especially if you're first experience with them is in fact, 2020.

I was curious to taste the latest release made from blocks 1, 3, 4 & 6. So in support of VHR I decided to purchase. I spent two days with this bottle and the second was the better showing. I think FP did the best she could with what was given and it's impressive considering the challenges. From memory this beats out some other producers wine from wonderfully easy vintages. This wine is reflective of the season and will be a part of the conversation for years to come.

Call it science, call it curiosity. I decide to pull the trigger and have no regrets.

Drink or hold.

2/7/2024 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote:

Best young Chave I’ve had. Given the amount of sediment and lack of air needed I would have guess it was ten years older. Nonetheless it was very satisfying. It has olive brine, smoke, black pepper and game but only in the background to the generous amounts of ripe blue/black fruit. Plenty of structure and acid but as mentioned below ready right from the start.

2/9/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

CDV713/MacDonald

One of the many wines tasted throughout the evening and this showing was stellar! I will sub classify this one on the more youthful bottles outside of the MacDonalds vertical. This reminds me of the Forman wines from the 90's.

98+

Drink or hold

2/2/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

CDV713/MacDonald Event.

I've always have loved this vineyard, vintage and wine. Tonight, this had a bit more oak than I remember in the past. I little out of balance so I'm assuming this might have been an off bottle or awkward phase.

Still fantastic but not the near perfect wine I remember.

2/4/2024 - #1Winelover Likes this wine:

Great time tasting 3 wines with Nigel Kinsman and agelvis over a very long dinner! Kodo is from a Southern site in Oakville that cannot be named right now but hopefully will be unveiled in a couple of weeks. I still have to research this and figure it out beforehand!

Opened at dinner with no label yet, and needed a healthy decant but it began to wake up as the night went on. Dark black, blue and red in the glass, black raspberry and blueberry fruits. Mineral streak throughout (opening, mid-palate and finish), dark chocolate and a very very long finish. This has a distinctive taste with the consistent Kinsman Eades style. It's a BIG wine and it will be better upon release.

Nigel told us that except for a few critics, agelvis and I were the 1st to try this gem. Very cool! I can't wait to try this once it's released.

1/31/2024 - AGELVIS Likes this wine:

One hour in glass before drinking. Nearly opaque intense magenta color. Dark chocolate peppermint patty, blackberry, and tangerine sherbet. Dry, dusty palate, with nice, tongue coating acidity. Firm tannins on the long finish.

Besides the pro reviewers, I might be the first person to rate this CS. Nigel Kinsman brought it to dinner for a #1WineLover and I. Very kind of him. AG rated this 100 points.

10/10/2023 - Hi.its.Don.4.Wine Likes this wine:

Way Back When

Back in January, I expressed the need to review 3 vintages of the Godello Old Vines from the winery, Avancia. I have done the 2019 and 2020, and I mentioned I couldn’t wait till I could try and review the 2021. Well, life got in the way and that got put on hold.

What I mentioned in that post in January was that the winery had its flagship Godello and that it was available at my local wine shop. Knowing how much I loved the other two Godello wines they produce (Godello Old Vines and Cuvée de O), I just had to splurge and launch this wine to the head of the line.

Bodegas Avancia "Nobleza" Godello Valdeorras 2020

From the Denominacion de Origen (D.O.) of Valdeorras, comes this beautiful 100% Godello wine that, through the meticulous use of new oak (33%) and 10 months of aging, the wine that emerges can only be compared to a fine Grand Cru Burgundy. The oak usage enhances the wine to not only include both a rustic and mineral element but in concert with the baked apple and stone fruit notes, helps to create this luscious wine. Throw in a little lemon curd and a touch of nuttiness, it’s easy to see why this wine received reviews of 94, 95, and 96 Points.

As someone who loves crisp white wines (hence my love of Sauvignon Blanc), Godello wines are equally as enjoyable. Just as many Sauv Blanc producers now use various oak treatments, so too do Godello wineries. A method I heartily recommend.

Whichever direction you prefer, I would give Godello wines a try, and now that I’ve had all three of Avancia’s Godellos, I can recommend all of them.

Cheers

1/22/2024 - jviz wrote:

Fresh and well composed, this displays a round, lush mouthfeel for its low dosage. Integrated and balanced, it is a sunny wine that evokes joy.

1/20/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

Out of curiosity I purchased this bottle when it hit the inbox. Benchmark does a solid job of procuring these bottles and it was in great shape once opened.

I would say the window for this drinking this wine with some fruit is coming to a close. At least that was the case for this bottle and however it was stored.

Cork was in great shape.

92