3/6/2024 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

The nose is exactly what I expected from JEC's Yates. On the pop 'n pour, this reminds me of the 2015, being a little more pungent and acidic than the 2014. Don't get me wrong - it's not bad at all! The tannins are not as strong as any of the previous vintages, so this is much more approachable at this stage of it's youth. The usual tasty dark fruit is there, with a little brambly note. The wine seems to have a lighter, but still lengthy, finish than previous vintages also. As always, I'll monitor this over a few days to see how it develops. If the past track record holds true, this will improve with some air.

2/12/2024 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Not much has changed since my last note, except there was a little more sediment in the decanter and the wine had lost a little color, where the edges were fading / bricking. Still very enjoyable and tasty. If you have any, drink up before it starts a downhill slide.

12/25/2023 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Rating at 89 for how it's drinking at this moment, which might be criminal if it comes together like other Diamond Mountain Cabs do after 10 years. Will it? I'm no professional, but it certainly has the stuffing and character to do so. This is a potential 92 - 93 point wine, with dark fruit, sufficient+ acidity, still slightly harsh tannins, and a nice Earthy trait far in the background for now. I'm glad I grabbed several bottles when this was offered.

9/20/2023 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Perfect cork in a 375ml bottle with a decent mid-neck fill level. As with the last bottle 6 years ago, there is tobacco, leather, and dark cherry on the nose and palate. There was quite a large amount of coffee-ground sized sediment, which led to absolutely no noticeable tannins. It was surprising how much dark cherry flavor was left. Enough acidity to give it a teeny weeny bit of zing. This is as close to a perfectly aged Chianti as I've ever tasted. (ps - I didn't post this note until I found a few more bottles)

8/18/2023 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

As usual for Prüm Spatlese, the nose bellows out of the glass. There was hint of petrol / rubber upon opening that dissipated with decanting. The palate shows citrus (lemon & lime), with a hint of kiwi and green apple. The fruit is slightly muted compared to the last bottle we had a year+ ago, but still nice. Crisp acidity gives this a nice zing. Served with steamed Maryland crab, oysters Rockefeller, deviled crab patties, and shrimp. What a great dinner!

4/30/2023 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

The nose is milder than the palate, misleading you to think this isn't that strong flavored. One sip tells otherwise, with nice citrus plus some tropical fruit with very good acidity and a tiny hint of ginger-ish spice that seems to go along with chenin blanc. As the bottle warmed, it didn't fall off one bit.

9/10/2022 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Wonderful dark fruits with hints of leather, mushroom, baking spice / pepper, and fine tannins that are nearly resolved. This is perfection in a glass and the benchmark to judge all Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon against. The wine coats your mouth so the finish goes on for minutes. I'm not telling my wife I opened this, and I'm going to hide the last bottle. It's a RARE wine that I don't share, but this has made that minuscule list. Selfish, you say? You better believe it!

7/26/2022 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

It's been quite a while since my last note on this wine, and it has developed better than I could possibly imagine. The nose is still wonderful, but the palate is 3 times more expressive. The peach & butterscotch notes have diminished. Primary tastes of apricot, tangerine, honey, and pineapple are bolstered by secondary flavors of vanilla, crème brûlée / flan, cashew and almond. The botrytis gives a ginger-ish spice, which seems to have a hint of brown sugar in the background. The texture is slightly unctuous, and it's all pulled together with enough acidity to avoid being cloying and stay fresh. What a great wine!

EDIT: Day 3, and this is flat out PHENOMENAL! It's a symphony of flavors. How can it possibly get any better than this? Amended the score up a point to reflect the near perfection on display.

6/10/2022 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Decanted for 2 hours in the fridge, then filtered for sediment, then returned to the bottle for 2 hours before reopening at dinner. Served near cellar temperature at first, which led to the cinnamon/ginger-ish spice being very prominent. As it warmed, the spice subsided to a supporting role, and once at room temperature the slightly tart chokeberry/dark plum fruit really came out. Medium+ acidity with very fine tannin. My wife had rack of lamb - an EXCELLENT pairing that subtly improved her dish. I'd say this is entering a perfect drinking window now with proper preparation ahead of meal time.

3/18/2022 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

After almost 5 years between bottles, this has certainly improved. The sweet dark fruit is standing out prominently now that the tannins have resolved a bit more and the alcohol has subsided a bit, only noticeable on the tail end of the finish. ....and WOW, what an awesome nose! I've always thought the '85 Vintage Port blend was going to be the greatest Graham's VP of all time (even over the '66 and '70), but now this single quinta is making a good argument to take that spot. This bottle was opened due to winning a 7 bottle lot at TCWC's recent auction. Very happy I have a case of this in the cellar now! Surely this has at least a decade more to go before being completely resolved.

2/18/2022 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Great nose of red & dark cherry with a Vosne-ish or Chambolle-esque light cinnamon spice. The palate matched the nose, with medium acidity and medium body. An all-around pleasant drink, pairing very nicely with fois gras & pears and the pork cheek osso bucco. When my wife goes for a third glass, you can be assured that bottle is drinking well.

11/25/2021 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

In the 3 years since our last bottle, there is much more sediment - thicker than fine powder, but not quite at the small chunk / coffee ground stage yet. The nose is much more fruity on the pull of the cork than last time, lacking the funk. Dark cherry, tart strawberry, and cranberry show up front with leather & earth rounding out the aromas. At dinner a few hours later the palate initially showed the funk. It dissipated within an hour though, leaving the iron / blood minerality to shine through with the tart fruit.

6/18/2021 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Not much has changed in the 1.5 years since our last bottle. The almond note has diminished, while the tropical fruit has remained roughly the same. It seems to be just starting into secondary flavors, but I'm not sure how it will last given the vintage. Certainly yummy enough to drink up now so that's what we plan on doing this summer.

6/10/2021 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

If you're looking for a Burgundy to illustrate the Chambolle-Musigny cinnamon-spice to a person who's never experienced it, this could be the definitive wine. That spice stole the show, with everything else in balance behind it including the excellent black cherry fruit. Wonderful with lamb.

2/2/2021 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Immediate intoxicating nose of blackberry, plum, and other dark fruit with a hint of pepper. I could park my nose over the decanter and be happy for a long time. There was some sediment - a few crumbles on the bottom of the cork, and some crumbles & powder in the decanter. This is absolutely delicious and has been since release. It's getting less tannic but still has sufficient structure. What a bargain!

1/2/2021 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Lots of fine sediment, with a few coffee-ground sized chunks. It was so light red it reminded me of fruit punch, but darkened after a few hours in the decanter. Definitely a more feminine profile, with delicate red & black fruit, soft to medium acidity, and faint secondary characteristics of smoke, mushroom, earth, and game. If a few vineyards in Marsannay get a Premier Cru rating in the next few years, les Favieres should be one of them. I think I'd like to try a '97 or '03 to see how this wine performs in a more ripe year so there's more fruit left.

12/15/2020 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

This has seriously improved since my last bottle. There was some fine sediment coating the neck of the bottle, which surprised me. The tannins and alcohol heat have settled quite a bit, and the berry flavors are very strong overtop some traces of nuttiness. Now I wish I had totally cleaned out the place I bought the case from years ago!

9/28/2020 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

A little harsh on the pop 'n' pour between the tannins and black pepper, but settled down the second night to be very good with the pepper taking a supporting role to the black & purple fruit. Good stuff!

9/20/2020 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Wow, this was in a GREAT place in it's evolution! Lots of fruit up front, plus that faint taste of Pennsylvania Dutch blrchbeer or Frank's black cherry wishniak, with a hint of sage & bay leaf. Resolved enough, yet still fairly decent acidity. Excellent bottle!

8/8/2020 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

I wish I hadn't opened this, but on the other hand I'm glad I did. This is WAY too young, but the pedigree is obvious. Dark cherry fruit and a hint of black cherry wishniak (like most better C-M Burgundies) with ample acidity and noticeable herbaceousness. It's a little disjointed now, but certainly has the stuffing to be wonderful in 5 - 10 years. Possibly 94 or better when it resolves. 2012 is an underrated vintage in Chambolle-Musigny. Don't tell anyone how good the Grand Cru and top 1er Cru wines are. Let's keep it to ourselves.

5/23/2020 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Still light in color, and very citrusy on the nose. As noted previously by another CT member, there was some black mold on the top 1/4 of the cork, but that didn't affect the wine. The first night, this showed noticeable petrol and fresh-cut rubber hose, which blew off by night 2. Citrus (lemon, a bit of grapefruit) and orchard fruit (pear, peach) with relatively lower acidity, plus some minerality in the a fairly long finish. Liked it so much I hit wine-searcher for another case.

5/14/2020 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Drank alone, this is decent: 87
With cheeses, it's better: 88.5
As a chaser after a bite of lump crab in butter & lemon: 91

The acidity and citrus really works fantastically with the crab (steamed shrimp also), even better than a Spatlese.

Overall averaged score comes out to 89.

4/27/2020 - CranBurgundy wrote:

Light bodied with half decent fruit, but that damn artificial sweetener / aspartame taste that so many domestic Pinot Noirs have completely ruined it. This is the start of round 4 of the attempt to find an American PN that my wife and I can drink, and it's off to the same way the other trials did. :-(

After 3 days in the fridge, the aspartame note did subside a bit, and an herbal element came into play.

4/3/2020 - CranBurgundy wrote:

The petrol and rubber smell was prevalent on the pull of the cork, so the entire bottle was poured back & forth from a decanter to the bottle several times, then left in the decanter for an hour. Relatively sweet with relatively low acid for a Spatlese. Most surprising was the copious amount of tartar crystals - more than I've ever seen in a Riesling, almost enough to fill a thimble. After decanting, the nose still showed some rubber & petrol, but also offered lots of topical fruit and some honey. There's a teeny tiny little hint of ginger (from botrytis?) on the finish. Overall, a decent drink but not a bottle I'll look to backfill.

2/22/2020 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

If you took the 2014 vintage of this, and put it on steroids, you'd have this 2016 vintage. This will require some time laying down, but the stuffing is there to be fantastic in 5 to 8 years. This reminds me more of other higher priced Mt. Veeder Cabs - deep, dark fruit plus solid tannic structure, with hints of cedar, and made for the long haul. Quite a striking dark magenta color in the decanter. I like it a LOT right now, but can see this surpassing the '14 down the road. What a bargain!

1/20/2020 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Striking color in the decanter - deep reddish purple. Nice nose of a wide variety of fruit too. After a 4+ hour decant, the dusty tannins are still noticeable but not taking over the mouth feel or finish. Acidity is medium+ (a little higher than your average Napa Cab), keeping the red & black fruit lively without being too tart. Any influence from oak is already fairly well integrated, coming across as a hint of vanilla on the back end. This is a fine effort, in need of some patience in the cellar. It's very good right now with great potential. The only issue I had is the sediment is now in it's powdery stage, so it's hard to decant / filter it off. It'll take a few more years to become large enough chunks that it will be easily removed, at which point I'm sure this will be one helluva wine. The fruit & color is certainly there to make it worth waiting for this to be more resolved.

As usual, I'll follow the evolution over several days.

Editing to add that the nose & palate turned to the darker end of the fruit spectrum over the course of a few days.

1/14/2020 - CranBurgundy wrote:

It's a little harsh & tannic upon opening, but after a few days in the fridge it settles down somewhat. Nice red and dark berries, with a tiny vanilla note from oak, and a bit of nuttiness. Very nice clear magenta color. A good candidate for a house port given the price / QPR.

1/7/2020 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

This is coming along very nicely, with tropical fruit, citrus, a little honey, and a hint of almond on the finish. The nose does have some petrol if you inhale deeply, and the mouthfeel is just a wee bit unctuous even for a Wehlener Sonnenuhr (more than the average Spatlese, probably due to the vintage). Decent acidity, but nothing that will seer the enamel off your teeth. Overall, drinking pleasantly with some life left as the secondary notes start to come into play.

1/5/2020 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Pop 'n pour the first glass at cellar temperature, with the balance of the bottle decanted in the fridge. What a great nose of blackberry, black cherry, and fine white pepper. On the palate, the white pepper dominates at first, settling down over the course of 15 or 20 minutes, after which the brambly (almost a Zinfandel type taste) dark fruit takes over and pushes the white pepper to the background where it merges with a little hint of dried oak leaves. There's no mistaking this for Valley floor fruit! There's still very noticeable tannin, yet it doesn't interfere because it's well integrated and seems to have a fine dusty feel.

Will edit as changes merit over the next couple days.

Day 2: the tannins have settled quite a bit after an overnight decant and subsequent pouring back into the bottle, plus the fruit seems just a hair darker tasting. Amending the score up a point to reflect the improvement.

11/11/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Not much to add or change from my note 3 years ago, except that it's more resolved and drinking up to potential, so the score increased a point. Excellent!

11/3/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Some funk on the pull of the cork, which dissipated a bit after an hour in the decanter. Decent amount of powdery sediment. Still a deep color; brick shade only starting to show. Pungent red fruit on the nose, including a hint of gaminess and spice (clove, cardamon & nutmeg?). Retaining decent body. On the palate, there's under-ripe strawberry, slightly tart pomegranate, spice, a bit of iron / bloody meat, and a wee bit of pungent funk that gradually increases toward a nice finish that persists in a reserved manner for 40+ seconds. While not an "OMFG!" wine, it is a nice textbook example of an aged NSG.

EDIT: came back to the half bottle left after several days. Any vegetal funk has faded to the background and the fruit is even better. Increasing the score to reflect the improvement.

10/29/2019 - CranBurgundy wrote:

Very bold and dark fruited with black pepper and a subtle hint of sage. Still some tannin so there's time to see if it settles down anymore. Good now, but potentially even better.

10/7/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Lighter bodied with a little less acidity than average Spatlese, yet absolutely delicious. Tart orchard fruit like green apple and pear, with a hint of lemony citrus. It's simply way too easy to drink! The color is still very light - probably because the glass enclosure doesn't allow as much transfer as a cork does.

9/11/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

It took several days in the fridge to come around, but the potential is showing now. The tannins are still quite drying, but as noted by others they aren't harsh if given 3 or 4 days to soften. Excellent dark fruit! A little leather and tobacco are just starting to peek through.

7/5/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Last bottle from this vintage, and probably a good time to drink it as the tannins are fully resolved. It retains the peppery element (more black pepper than white pepper now) and the brambly dark fruit. The acidity has settled a bit, but there's still enough to provide a little pungency to the fruit. If there were a bit more complexity, this would score several points higher. No complaints though! Luckily, there are a few 2001's left in the cellar, which have more structure so have at least a couple years left.

6/12/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

The tannins have settled a bit since my last bottle 2+ years ago. The dark fruit is still delicious, and a black pepper note has somewhat displaced the cocoa powder. This is still better with some decant time, and stays solid over a few days in the fridge.

4/12/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Nice dark fruit and a little game on the nose with no brett or funk standing out. Dark pitted fruit, mild tannin on the palate. Overall, a nice drink and great QPR. (2nd bottle of the Berserker Day mixed vintage lot)

4/12/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Opened because of slight seepage. The color is a little more gold than average, but that advanced state was sort-of expected with a tiny leak letting more air than usual in. Cork soaked almost 1/2 way up. Wow, what aromatics! Honey & tropical fruit EXPLODED out of the bottle & decanter, almost Sauternes-ish. The palate added some baked apple to the mix, and the acidity was relatively mild making this too easy to chugalug. Very nice! I'm glad we still have a few bottles of this vintage left. '03 and '06 Prüm Auslesens are smokin' right now.

4/9/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

In the 3 years since our last bottle, this has really come together nicely. The crystals on the bottom of the cork and the surprising amount of sediment were foreshadowing the positive evolution.

The nose is fantastic dark cherry with cinnamon & clove, which the palate matched and added tart strawberry and pomegranate. I'd say this has hit it's stride with a few years left. My only problem is we don't have any more from this vintage. Guess I'll have to wait on the '09 and '14 in the cellar.

3/27/2019 - CranBurgundy wrote:

Bretty and vegetal on the pull of the cork. It took a couple hours and several back & forth pours between the bottle and decanter to get the funk to start to blow off. The dark fruit is fading but still decent. Not bad, especially for the price ($18 on Berserker Day), but nothing to seek out. I have my fingers crossed the more recent bottles from '05 through '10 are fresher.

This is better on day 2, with less harsh green notes. Amending the score up one point to reflect the improvement.

2/26/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

After a look at my last note, this is about the same on the palate with green apple and lemon/lime citrus brought out by nice acidity, including a subtle hint of tropical fruit in the background. Possibly more intense flavors. The nose is better too. I'd say this merits a point more.

2/21/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

There's been some evolution in the 22 months since my last bottle. First off, there was a small amount of sediment in the neck and on the base of the cork which was the size of fine coffee grounds. Second, the fruit aromas were more subtle on the pull of the cork, and more spice was present on the nose along with that familiar dough / yeast note. Hints of oak too., and a wee smidgen of herbs. The palate isn't much different from my last note - dark purple and black fruit / berries with the perfect amount of spice augmenting the finish. It seems a pinch less tannic yet still has structure. Ample, but not overpowering, acidity on the pop 'n pour.

After merely 10 minutes of air, this really begins to shine. The mid palate has filled out nicely - everything is more tasty after it's in your mouth for a second. The doughy / yeasty smell blows off, and the fruit dazzles the nose and palate without completely stealing the show from the spice. The acidity and herbal element subside to the background a bit too, yet still are present in supporting roles.

After a half hour in the decanter, all I need to say is this is f-ing fantastic. The finish lasts for about a decade.

2/5/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

At first, this was really an assault on the palate with alcohol burn and harsh tannins, even after a couple hours in the decanter. After reading a few notes, getting more air into the wine seemed like a good idea so every hour or so I funneled it from the decanter into the bottle, then splashed it back into the decanter. Worked like a charm! At the start of dinner a few hours later, it was much more serviceable, and by the middle of dinner it was wonderful. Dark fruit, some oak still noticeable but not interfering, and a little spice. Not much in the way of secondary / tertiary notes, but that was forgivable in light of how delicious the fruit was. Might have to look for more of this!

2/3/2019 - CranBurgundy wrote:

Soft, with obvious Merlot characteristics showing. Light bodied, relatively low acidity, and low tannin. Cherry + some other red fruit, with a little cocoa powder,. Easy to drink, and worth the measly $16-ish for a weeknight wine.

2/3/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

This has resolved nicely, with a half thimble of fine sediment left in the decanter. The nose shows black cherry and purple fruit, with hints of cinnamon bread, dried leaves, and Pennsylvania Dutch birch beer. On the palate, the fruit is faded but still present, with slight spice, mushroom, and tobacco notes. There's no dryness from tannins left. It's a very pleasant drink right now!

1/8/2019 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

This was very pale in color in the decanter, with a nose & palate that showed a little more lemon and grapefruit than several recent vintages. There's also green apple and kiwi mixed in, with only minimal slate showing (probably since it's so young). The acidity is a little higher than recent vintages as well, which balances the sweetness nicely. It reminds me of the 2013 the most of the years in this decade, with the lemony citrus of the '04. Like both those vintages, it could be a great vintage to drink early as the profile seems to fall between a Spatlese and Kabinett from '15 or '12 but will certainly age well as Prüm usually does. Very nice!

1/7/2019 - CranBurgundy wrote:

While I agree that this is silky, relatively light bodied, and red-fruited as many other CT members say, it's not exactly "easy drinking" because of the tartness. It's not going to sear the enamel off your teeth, but certainly would give a WarHead candy a run for the money. Luckily, there's some Ocean Spray CranCherry in the fridge which an additional splash of made it quite tasty.

12/19/2018 - CranBurgundy Does not like this wine:

I see the comments in other notes about this being a throwback to the old school ways, but I've got to say I've never had a California Cab, nor many other wines including Burgundy, with this much acidity regardless of what era it was made in. It's so extreme it's distracting. The nose is great.... and then as soon as you take a sip the prodigious tartness takes away from the enjoyment of the fruit. I'm refraining from commenting any further because I don't want to tell the new Emperor that he has no clothes. Maybe, hopefully, (fingers crossed) this will improve over a few days in the fridge.

12/18/2018 - CranBurgundy wrote:

The fruit is darker and stronger than expected for a '99 with the secondary notes of vanilla, cedar, and mushroom just starting to develop. As it warms in the glass, the graphite characteristic disappears. Nicely resolved tannins and less than average acidity, but it all works well together. The only minor complaint is the finish is a little short in length.

12/17/2018 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

While I'm not one that goes gaga over pencil shavings / graphite aromas, those notes were well beyond secondary and actually an enhancement to the palate in this instance. Plum / cassis with a dollop of dark berry and black cherry, plus a teeny hint of leather, mushroom, and black pepper elements that were all very nice. Tannins were still barely present. This borders on fantastic, but it's a terrible QPR. ....then again, who buys this and worries about bang for the buck?