5/20/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

A brilliant wine - aromas, flavors, balanced structure. Young but opens up quickly in the glass. Has the tannins/acidity to evolve with age but is good to go now.

5/17/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Decanted off a small bit of granular sediment, then gave a couple round trips through the aerating decanter. Bright acidity and moderate tannins balance the body with an array of flavors. This is a fuller-body Freisa than the Burlottos I'm used to, but this is still well in the medium weight range. Delightfully delicious.

5/17/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Opened to celebrate a friend's green card - and were not disappointed. Sum: outstanding balance and depth.

5/14/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Decanted 2 hours in advance (almost no sediment) and gave a couple round trips through an aerating decanter. Full fresh nose with dark fruits. Expansive palate with decent acidity, ripe tannins and not-overripe flavors. Excellent pairing with rack of lamb. This is a great time to be drinking this - with plenty of breathing in advance. Or practice restraint and see where cellar evolution takes this. But with the Giro d'Italia passing nearby today this bottle's time had come.

5/13/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Honeysuckle on nose. Palate full and rounded, flavors of ripe apple and pear. Excellent at this stage, acidity in balance.

5/12/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Decanted off minimal sediment, gave a couple round trips through an aerating decanter. Very nice wine, esp. with some rich food to blunt the acidity and tannins. We've really become fans of the depth of flavor Aglianicos can provide. Also pairs very well with the Giro d'Italia stage today that passed nearby the vines.

5/12/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

From magnum. A bit over the hill but still lots of nice components.

5/9/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Ok, a good bottle. Late stage maturity but still nice to drink.

5/7/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

A nice quaffer! The acidity and flavors harmonize well to produce balance on the palate. Acidity does come through on the finish. A great Garagiste value.

5/6/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Decanted off a small bit of sediment 2 hours in advance. Delicious wine, mature but still plenty of life. Great flavors and texture, and perfect pairing with the Giro d'Italia stage going through Barolo today. Excellent pairing with steak & potatoes...

5/4/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

As fans of Rhône whites this was excellent with surprising depth of flavor.

5/3/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

PnP. Beautiful berry nose. Palate starts with an impression of rounded fullness, then tannins and acids come in to provide a full balanced picture. Structural elements are there to allow for cellar time but not necessary to access the pleasure of this wine.

5/2/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Outstanding. Rich golden color. Classic mature Roussanne nutty nose. Full round palate with enough acidity to provide balance. Great flavors all around. Excellent pairing with array of cheeses.

5/1/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

PnP. Dusty plum on the nose. Medium weight on palate with nice acidity, fine tannins and accessible flavors. Love this variation on the Syrah theme, with the sun and garrigue of the south (and team Gramenon) producing something very different from its northern Rhone cousins. Bison burgers made for a perfect pairing. As a Gramenon fan since their first vintage this is a wine made for enjoying in the present/near future.

4/29/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Totally in the zone now & perfect with homemade pizza. Light nose, moderate weight palate with normal varietal flavors, only slight roughness at tail end of the finish.

4/28/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Gave this a couple round trips through the aerating decanter due to A) Jura and B) relative youth. Wasn't necessary as this is ripe and smooth with almost pinot-like silkiness. A very easy quaffer. Some nice dustiness on the nose. Almost wish a bit more quirkiness but maybe that is the Jura of old.

4/20/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Nice... Late stage maturity. Can see why this juice didn't make it into the Monte Bello as this bottling has always been a bit muted and lacking in complexity. Still a good pleasurable wine.

4/18/2024 - DBdeParis wrote:

Slightly off bottle with port-like elements. But given that my original purchase price was $15.80 I'm not too bent out of shape - esp. since this is the first dud.

4/16/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Decanted this an hour ahead of time and the result is beautiful. Palate has put on weight in the past year and rough edges from 2 years ago are gone. No longer a bargain but still good value.

4/14/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

PnP. Very shy at first, with swirling get some yeasty cranberry notes. On the palate broad and mouth-filling with a slight sour edge. With time sour element fades and fruit body emerges. Just love the light weight/low-ish alcohol/faint tannins sensation of this. Would say easy to dislike, harder but possible to like. I'm going to try to save some to see what air/tomorrow will show - and also looking forward to see what Poulsards do with a bit of cellar time.
Day 2: wild strawberry soars on the nose, palate round with tangy berry. Nicely evolved.

4/13/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Nice, balanced, a bit of complexity. About right for a $40 wine. Good pairing with sautéed sea scallops. Feels like this would put on more depth with cellar time.

4/11/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Decanted off a fair bit of sediment, then aerated back into bottle. Beautiful nose, classic mature CdP. Very soft on the palate with very faded tannins and acidity. The flavors - wow. Will be drinking the rest over the next couple of years.

4/9/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Excellent dessert wine. Followed a Peay Viognier and a Turkey Flat Shiraz and this held up the honor of France. The Viognier character was on the fringes of the nose and palate but definitely present. Beautiful wine and a great bottle to follow final Viognier vineyard pruning.

4/9/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Very floral nose while palate started fairly closed. Acidity rounded out but still substantial - much more pronounced than we get in the Santa Cruz Mountains (I guess we may be even cooler). Palate flavors emerge a bit with air. Even as a Viognier grower/consumer this is very much an outlier - but a very delicious one. Pairing this with Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk is a perfect match.

4/5/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Nose of rocks and citrus flowers, palate voluptuous but flavors - apart from Meyer lemon - are subtle. Still enjoying this, and as it warms up a bit the flavors start to come through. Ok, started out over-chilled. Just below cellar temp is the sweet spot for this.

4/4/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Provide for some delicious nightcaps after great days of skiing this winter. Still OK to drink.

4/3/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

A nice wine and true to Chablis but lacking a touch of depth. Ran this through an aerating decanter and let warm up from fridge temp, but still took a couple hours to start to emerge - classic last sip the best as end of bottle neared room temp. Didn't have enough to pair well with Dungeness crab.

4/2/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Delicious lighter red. This is drinking great right now - PnP and even better with a bit of air. Subdued tannins and acid support elegant flavors on the palate, exceptional balance on the finish for a youthful Italian.

3/30/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Decanted off a bit of sediment 2 hours before serving. Nose has notes of cherry/plum with a herbal edge. Lightweight palate with very fine tannins and enough acidity to provide backbone. Flavors subtle. With ribeye this came together as an elegant syrah on the lighter side. Flavors really emerged... No rush to open remaining bottle but will try to get to it in the next few years.

An impressive effort from an apparently disastrous vintage in Hermitage.

3/29/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

This has totally hit its stride. Gave this one round trip through an aerating decanter which really brings out depth (esp. ripe apricot) in the nose. On the palate there is just enough acidity this still feels well balanced -especially in not being hot with high alcohol. Beautiful flavors to boot...

3/27/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Still in good shape. Ran out of chocolate but needed dessert - this served perfectly.

3/26/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Decanted off a bit of sediment 2 hours in advance, gave a couple roundtrips through the aerating decanter. This wine has epic finesse that emerges over the course of the meal (roast duck). Started by finishing a riper 2019 Morgon that offered immediate pleasure. Took a reset to shift to this more restrained & elegant wine. The nose really sings, while the palate has lively acidity and a body that is a bit closed. Sum: good now with air & appropriate food, with potential to put on depth and open up with cellar time.

3/24/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

First Fendant since consuming respectable quantities in the Valais in the early 90s. Very interesting nose with lots of elements checking in. Soft floral exotic fruits on the palate with a touch of sparkling nuttiness. Love this... Fades out quick on the finish.

3/23/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Decanted off minimal sediment 8 hours in advance, left in open decanter. Soft alluring nose with ripe French plum/black cherry edge. On the palate nearly perfect in flavors, balance. Tannins faded into the background with just a slight drying edge on the finish. This bottle is close to Vacqueyras perfection. No rush to drink up but the palate is so open and accessible (with air) I'll say it's in the middle of a long peak.

3/22/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Once again a delicious Viognier - ripe without going too far. Not to mention a very strong price:performer. Love the flavors and balance.

3/20/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Decanted off virtually no sediment. Gave this a few round trips through an aerating decanter. Dense nose unlike other varietals I've experienced. Palate before food dominated by drying tannins, flavors start to emerge on finish. Ok, with rack of lamb this really showed its glory. Tannins muted by the meat let the ample body emerge. Will guess this wine will continue to positively evolve for at least another 5.

3/18/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Once again this wine delivers. No signs of advanced age, palate full and multi-dimensional, delightful lemon/lime edge to the acidity and finish. Would say this is a food wine - worked great with squid/scallops sautéed in a tomato sauce served over rice.

3/17/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Worked very well with medium spice Indian dinner but last glass post meal was unbalanced on the palate. Acidity and a hard mineral edge overwhelmed the flavors. Still, a great performance for an inexpensive bottle lost in the cellar for 10 years...

3/16/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Opulent nose, very mineral on the palate. Just delicious - seems to be in a nice mature phase. One bottle to go, alas.

3/14/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Gave this a fair bit of aeration after decanting off sediment. Some nice flavors but couldn't get past the acidity and to a lesser extent tannins.

3/7/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

This bottle was a bit unbalanced. Lots of expected Tours elements but they seemed to exaggerate themselves one by one instead of being merged into a transcendent whole.

3/8/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

PnP due to lack of advance planning. Result this didn't start to fall into place until an hour in. At first drying tannins overwhelmed the body. Eventually a rich bouquet started to emerge and the palate came more into balance. This has enough acidity to spend a few more years in the cellar rounding out.

2/23/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

PnP. Superb perfume followed by a cascade of flavors. The modest percentage of syrah adds to both nose and palate. Lots of richness and depth without being over the top - and well balanced by acids and fine tannins. Much more pleasing to my palate than some older vintages. I'll be taking a few bottles of this to the southern Rhone this summer to show some winemaker friends what Santa Cruz Mountains can produce. * I grow grapes for Big Basin.

2/19/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

This has put on weight and is still drinking great. For tonight a great pairing with a selection of cheeses.

2/17/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Delicate and floral on first opening and throughout diner. Given Roussanne as the grape I would have guessed a mountain wine. Very nice...

2/17/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Based on wide range of notes wasn't sure what to expect -- but this was a good bottle. Gave this a couple round trips through an aerating decanter (after decanting off a small bit of sediment). The certainly over-performed its Garagiste price and made for a very satisfying pairing with homemade pizza.

2/14/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Excellent. Gave this 3 round trips through an aerating decanter + an hour rest before serving. Dry tannic edge there but playing a supporting structural role to the rich & complex body. Perfect pairing with NY steaks. Has the structure to develop for at least another 5 years in the cellar but will be hard to resist.

2/9/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Gave this a round trip through an aerating decanter then an hour resting in bottle. Great pairing with BBQ pork ribs. Delicious flavors appropriately balanced with acidity and tannins. Has potential to develop but delicious drinking now with air.

2/6/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

Still a solid price:performer. Day 2 a couple rough edges were smoothed out. Palate profile still feels unique but not outside southern France norms. A good warm-up glass pre-meal.

2/4/2024 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:

This is a big & ripe Fleurie that is drinking great now. Fine tannins, a bit of acidity and some subtle flavor elements surrounding the ripe core.