1/6/2013 - Rivers1488 wrote:

J

10/8/2011 - Rivers1488 wrote:

Received the 20th Anniversary box containing the 06, 07, 08 vintages. Performed a vertical tasting of them poolside Saturday afternoon/evening. My comparison of them was:
2006 – Most bright, tropical of the three.
2007 – The fuller, rounder wine.
2008 – Also bright but with more fresh acidity.

8/23/2011 - Rivers1488 wrote:

More closed and darker than the Lorenzo, but I find the "old vine" Zinfandels to be this way in general. Still, it it full flavored, spiced and rich, Zinfandel all the way. Morgan continues to amaze me how at 29yrs he can produce wines such as this. Growing up at Ravenswood must be part of the explanation.

8/22/2011 - Rivers1488 wrote:

I have to disagree with some of the recent posts. I have been drinking this wine since 1991, when I purchased 14, after it received 1990 "Wine of the Year" by Wine Spectator. It is not a knock for me to say it is in serious decline, after all it is 25 years old!!

9/4/2009 - Rivers1488 wrote:

The Last bottle I rated 88, but since then I've visited the Dry Creek Valley and the site of their winery on West Dry Creek Rd. As beautiful as the valley is, the site is something out of a movie. Their terraced hills and beautiful grounds are quite a setting and makes any wine taste better. The valley and their winery is a must visit. The wine is just what I look for in a Zinfandel. My summer barbecue red. Light not jammy, but spicey with the barbecue flavors brought foward by the wine and visa versa.

4/28/2009 - Rivers1488 wrote:

Right on "dbkitc" !!!! These Russian River Valley whites. I'm imagining rows of citrus trees in the vineyards between the grape vines. I can't get enough of them. I like this 2008 even more that the 2007, which was VERY highly rated by Wine Spectator.

4/14/2009 - Rivers1488 wrote:

Burgundian in style, Malo-lactic, life in oak, etc. James Laube calls it the "smoke, campfire, roasted marshmellow", I add tastes of toasted almond in the front palette. Very good now, not sure how it could get better in time. I'm gonna drink it now. Fabulous offering

3/1/2009 - Rivers1488 wrote:

Drank at dinner with Marco Borghese. His Pinot Noirs are his favorite in the winery. His style he explained is in the "Burgundian" mode, softer and less alcoholic than the California Style. We tried it with food ranging from duck to crepe to show it's versatilty.

2/24/2009 - Rivers1488 wrote:

Responding to Jeff Nowak's 2/22/09 note, I find it very difficult to objectively evaluate a wine after I reading a review(James Laube's blog post of 01/16/09) like that. I will review it again in a blind tasting, but I tend to agree with Jeff and also Mr Laube, but I wouldn't call it "amazing." He entitled his entry "An Amazing California Sauvignon Blanc," and said, "Well The 2007 Sauvignon from Russian River Valley had just about everything you could hope for with this grape. It’s amazingly concentrated, fresh, vibrant, complex, marked by distinctive quince, citrus, sweet pea, melon and herb, plus a subtle spicy nuances that I suspect came from oak." I just would not call it amazing. I also would speak of it"s balance, between fruit and acid and on the palate.

2/12/2009 - Rivers1488 wrote:

Fascinated by the To kalon, which is pronounced TOW kalon, accent on To, pronounded Tow. It is a Greek phrase, which according to Mondavi means (or meant) either "highest good" or "highest beauty." This wine has a very fresh , crisp, dry pineapple taste. A wine to drink now with those qualities still strong.

2/7/2009 - Rivers1488 wrote:

This wine was fabulous!! The citus exploded on the palate intially. Well balanced acidity with fruit followed. Subtle Chardonnay oak on the finish. I drank way too much. Perhaps my best wine experience in a long time. Paul Hobb's Chardonnays will be a staple in my cellar.

1/28/2009 - Rivers1488 wrote:

This is years away from fully enjoying. Too much tanin, that earthy feeling in the middle of the palate. Can't taste all the other flavors yet. I will give it at least 5-6 years before my next bottle. No rating yet. Then decanted it for days, never opened up, got to give it time, try again in about 2015 or so.

1/13/2009 - Rivers1488 wrote:

Drank 2 bottles, watching what else but Davy Crockett, and no less than the actual TV broadcasts. I'll say this upfront that a couple of points are because of this experience, but the wine really did suprise me. Fruit on the initial palate, crisp, then typical Chardonnay finish. A little lacking on the linger, but who's counting. In the first 7 months after the first episode in December 1954, Disney sold 300 Million Dollars in merchandise, and Walt had given Mr. Parker 10%. WOW

12/28/2008 - Rivers1488 wrote:

High acid & bubbles. All Chardonnay almost seemed "suspended in air." Terrific apertiff,with cold seafood or to cleanse between courses.

12/21/2008 - Rivers1488 wrote:

12/21/2008 On the decline, lost some of it's balance. Acid side down, sweet side more dominate. Yet we wolfed down two bottles during Giants home field for playoffs clinch over Carolina. Calcium minerality still there.

12/4/2008 - Rivers1488 wrote:

Better than the Feb 15,1992 Wine Spectator review. Tasted 16 years later,still had a least some bit of balance, especially when chillled a bit more, otherwise more toward that "fruit cocktail" as reveiwed.

3/1/2008 - Rivers1488 wrote:

The first I opened, seal was buckled over the cork, the obvious warning sign, the 2nd was not. They are both much on the decline, the first a bit "turned." It was labled as an overly tannic wine from the start so I will let them breathe for a time.

2/27/2008 - Rivers1488 wrote:

Young and almost too sweet. While watching the movie "Chocolat" I came across some chocolate. The wine tasted very well along side the candy. I believe the wine will balance out with more acidity a few years later. The closest wine to a Zind Humbrecht I have found.

2/14/2008 - Rivers1488 wrote:

Opened it & immediately tasted it. An allmost astringent first taste. Two hours later astringency all but gone. Left with a wine perhaps past it's best, even on the decline, but still justifying the desire to have this wine since I tasted it two weeks ago

1/21/2008 - Rivers1488 wrote:

"Steel-ly" is the only word. Intense earth and minerals. One of the top sites in the world for Riesling.

1/21/2008 - Rivers1488 wrote:

Universally regarded as one of the three rising stars of the new generation of Rheingauers (with Kunstler as well). They are a small estate of 5.8 hectares. Extraordinarily aromatic, vigorus wines from a vintner who grows more commanding each vitage.
Terry Theise