11/13/2023 - fotomill wrote:

This Sassicaia is still too young, with a very sharp acidity plus bitterness and narrow wood component Very clean liquid but soon shows quite a level of tannins. Between medium and medium plus bodied. Very weak mid-palate, no complexity, short caudalie. Very far from 98~100. 90/100 at best.

9/3/2023 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

Bottle brought to the dinner by Joel. His note is spot on. My first ever of this producer.

Dark purple in the glass. No hint as to this being an 18 yo bottle. Nose is exquisite. Perfumed/incensed with so much complexity, you almost don't need to drink the wine, there is so much enjoyment. The palate is on par with the nose. The weight and glide and depth of fruit is absolutely breathtaking. A rich, perfectly aging Napa beauty, in a great drinking window. Everything integrating in perfect balance, the faintest hint of cedar on the backend and a long, full finish. This is the first time I have ever given a wine 100 points. I didn't necessarily want to, because in my mind it ends my never-ending wine quest for finding wine perfection. However, even 18 hours later, it sticks with me. It's so very good. Much thanks to Joel/Diane for bringing and sharing this beauty.

3/30/2022 - N.Bonaparte wrote:

1 hour decant at restaurant but this would have benefited from hours more. Surprisingly well balanced and polished at this stage. No where near its prime drinking window. Fun to taste Melka’s wine. Revisit 2026

10/1/2020 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote:

Paid $60 and just ok at that price point. Too much cassis and not enough fruit coming through. Also remained a bit prickly and unintegrated. Nonetheless it’s enjoyable as a pop and pour but not something I’ll seek out (or give 95 points to).

11/9/2017 - Wine Dude 28 Likes this wine:

This is Screaming Eagle! Heidi no longer produces Screaming Eagle but she has first rights to their vineyards. From there, she has used those grapes to produce her own label, La Sirena Cabernet Sauvignon. Tastes even better than Screaming Eagle when you consider it is 1/6 of the price. Thanks Heidi.
The wine looks inky colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like chocolate, black currant (cassis) and blackberry. It tastes like black currant (cassis), blackberry, chocolate, light toast and vanilla. The body is full. The wine has silky texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.

5/10/2017 - csimm wrote:

Previous notes apply, except that I bumped this up a couple of points because it showed absolutely beautifully this go-around. A totally compelling and captivating bottle of wine, especially after about three hours in the decanter at 54 degrees. PnP was a little tight, with some alcohol on the back end that took about 20+ minutes to blow off. But once it did, it started to kick out all sorts of riveting flavors. Dark and black, but a verve and complexity that kept this driving on forever. The finish was long and incredible. Maintained a fairly tight grip for about an hour or so, but by the last sips, I was almost ready to pop open another bottle. The best showing of Memento Mori in any vintage I've had to date.

On hour three, there were some fascinating dark, DARK bitter chocolate and anise notes that were so outrageous, I had to pause the TV show we were watching and sit quietly with my glass for a few minutes just to take it all in. For me, it was totally attention-grabbing.

I have been shying away from this outfit a bit because they jacked their prices way up (a la Schrader) in one vintage - which I always find to be more than a tad insulting from a consumer standpoint. Don't know that I'll ever buy direct from them anymore. With that said, these are around here and there on the secondary market and are worth seeking out, even if the QPR is pushing that line.

7/6/2017 - csimm wrote:

Bevan, SQN, and others - SF (Sean Rowe live solo house performance) (San Francisco): Phenomenal performance for such a young wine. Hands down the best EE I've ever had. So concentrated, opulent, and deep, but at the same time brimming with energetic purple and red core fruit. Additional notes of blackberry, red and black raspberry liqueur, vanilla, cassis, licorice, and some baking spices. I couldn't tell if I was getting hints of a floral component, or if the alcohol-laced vanilla notes on the back end were playing tricks on my palate. Whatever it was, it was an amazing array of flavors.

Only a hair away from potentially becoming a total orchestra of perfection, the EE was probably my WOTN (maybe tied with the 2015 PerUs Cabernet tasted alongside the EE). Hold the EE for another year or two to see if it can hit that 100 point mark. 98-99+ points at the moment.

10/4/2017 - csimm wrote:

I had the opportunity to try this wine again. I honestly just don't get it. I have no idea what direction these guys were going in this expression of To Kalon. My previous note applies. Disappointing. Pass for me.

6/11/2016 - csimm wrote:

Celani Family Vineyards Tasting (Celani - Napa): Similar to my notes on the 2012 Ardore, except for the fact that this 2013 had all of the power, depth, energy, and overall quality that I would expect from a high-end Napa Cabernet.

The Darnajou cooperage is evident, imparting an "expensive" feel to the wine. Seamless, rich, and dark, with deep black berry notes, dark chocolate (not sweet or cloying), spice box, black/grey slate, asphalt/tar, and some vanilla bean. Just when you think it is going to be over the top, it pulls back perfectly.

Worth the $200 you ask? Possibly. The only thing that works against this wine is that the standard Cabernet (just shy of $100 from the winery - or even as low as $65 on the secondary market), is a lesser wine only by a hair. From a QPR standpoint, go for the standard Cabernet. But the Ardore is definitely a fantastic wine worth seeking out if you just have to have the upper echelon of Mark Herold's creations. I prefer the Ardore to Herold's namesake White Label (same price at $200).

Drink now with a couple hours in the decanter, or hold for a year++.

96 solid points.