3/31/2024 - TEKinsider wrote:

This is a stunning wine for the under $50 crowd!!! Medium body translucent straw color. Lemon, chamomile and toast on the nose. Well balanced through the entire palate with a mid/long finish. Lemon zest, light oak, chamomile, pear and a light minerality. Light acid makes it approachable but gives it nice structure. Everything is in well balance and layered here. A must have house wine to buy by the case heading into the spring and summer months.

2/24/2024 - TEKinsider wrote:

Pristine condition bottle with high fill. Beautiful old world Bordeaux notes on the nose and palate. Many years of life left in these bottles. Joy for everyone around the table today. Cellar Masters Bordeaux day.

12/2/2023 - TEKinsider wrote:

Decanted for 1+ hour. Bottle was stored impeccably! Drinking very well. Leather, cedar, tobacco, sweet red and black fruit. Not much of that Bordeaux funk and barnyard. This one is really fresh.

10/19/2023 - TEKinsider wrote:

This is in a great place right now! Decant for a couple of hours it will reward you.

10/14/2023 - TEKinsider wrote:

Well stored bottle that seems too young. Lot of fruit, medium body, soft with short finish. Not much 1982 typicity here. Tasted blind and everyone thought it was 20xx Bordeaux.

9/9/2023 - TEKinsider wrote:

Drank at Cellar Masters Saturday Super Tuscan tasting. Beautiful soft integrated tannins. Warm cedar, cola, sweet cigar, cherry & black fruit. Wonderful wine drinking amazing at this place. has a good 5-10 more years of life. Drink it now if you have it.

5/21/2023 - TEKinsider wrote:

Drinking very well. Cedar, tobacco, and a mix of red and black fruit. Drank across 4-5hrs. Well integrated and well built wine. Should drink well for another 10+ years.

12/17/2022 - TEKinsider wrote:

What an amazing wine this turned out to be!!! I got a 6 pack of this from JJ Buckley who got it Chateau direct earlier this year. I decanted it for 2hrs, re-corked it and took it to dinner. Beautiful spicy aromatics with black fruit and currants. Well rounded palate with a nice long finish. Body was very nice. Notes of pencil led, lots of black fruit, berries and currants. It’s in a great place. No signs of falling off at all.

10/29/2022 - TEKinsider wrote:

This is in a great place to drink. Well integrated.

8/4/2022 - TEKinsider wrote:

I don’t know what else to say except this is truly amazing wine! It’s got a beautiful blend of Fruit, burnt toast, brioche, soft acidity and a beautiful finish. Drink it now because it’s not gonna get any better than this.

6/19/2021 - TEKinsider wrote:

Rose petals, figs, sweet cherries, plumb and a little burnt pie crust. Really nice right now.

2/7/2021 - TEKinsider wrote:

Another amazing bottle!!!

1/25/2021 - TEKinsider wrote:

This wine is still young, vibrant, full of fruit and has nice acid. Plenty of time left and it’s in a great place to drink now. I must admit it caught me by surprise in a positive way.

12/15/2020 - TEKinsider wrote:

This bottle is in a great place. Not much secondary characteristics. Notes of menthol, black cherries, sweet Christmas candy. Long finish, medium/heavy mouthfeel. Really nice here.

12/11/2020 - TEKinsider wrote:

Still drinking really well. Fruit is all there. Blackberries, black currant a little menthol and a lot of anise. This wine has a ways to go. Need to change the drinking windo to 2025+.

9/19/2020 - TEKinsider wrote:

Still a lot of acid, structure and fruit. Very nice.

9/15/2020 - TEKinsider wrote:

Still a beauty! But drink now, it’s not getting any better.

8/7/2020 - TEKinsider wrote:

Drinking great!

8/2/2020 - TEKinsider wrote:

Big! Really really big wine!

8/2/2020 - TEKinsider wrote:

Drinking really well right now. Soft sweet tannins, medium body, cherry, truffle, rose petals... overall a really nice wine.

4/12/2020 - TEKinsider wrote:

Wow! This baby is screaming good right here. Massive lemon and lanolin on the palate. Big flavors, great balance and acidity. What a change from the last bottle I had years ago.

4/2/2020 - TEKinsider wrote:

Wow! This is in a really nice place. I expected it do be on the downhill side but it’s vibrant and fresh. Nice ripe red cherry on the nose and palate. Still deep red color. Might have another decade of life. Impressive!!!

2/23/2020 - TEKinsider wrote:

Nice integrated, milk chocolate, jammie richness. What a great wine in a great place. Drink it now. No decant. Bought on release.

8/13/2019 - TEKinsider wrote:

high fill pristine bottle. Notes of eucalyptus, tobacco and cherry cola. Still has a few years left in it, but drink now. Beautiful representation of old Napa.

6/2/2019 - TEKinsider wrote:

Sweet licorice and rose petals on the nose with a little sour cherry. Sweet soy sauce, leather and whiskey notes on the palate. Gripping tannins. Love this right here. Decanted for 2+ hours.

8/12/2018 - TEKinsider wrote:

Sweet menthol, mix of red and black berries, raspberry iodine and sweet bacon. Nice long finish tannins in a good place. Drinking quite welll at this young age.

8/2/2018 - TEKinsider wrote:

Tasted from .375 bottle. This one is in a great place! Silky smooth tannins and not too heavy on the mouthfeel. Blue and black fruit. Black Cherie’s and licorice. Even a little Asian spice. Not too sweet and sitting in a great place between old and new fruit. Impeccable balance and superb structure.

4/19/2018 - TEKinsider wrote:

Perfect balance between new and old world notes. Light on the palate and long on the finish. Such a beautiful wine!!!

1/5/2018 - TEKinsider wrote:

It’s been years since I rated anything 100 points and this one is a dead ringer 100 points!!! The red, purple and black Berry’s wafting from the nose are seductive from the start. The palate has a perfect balance of fruit, cedar, tobacco, eucalyptus and dare I say umami. Soft tanins, long well rounded palate and a finish that screams touch me again. Best wine I’ve had in years. Bravo!

4/26/2017 - TEKinsider wrote:

Wow! What a nice surprise. Velvet tannins, oak, cedar red and black fruit and the classic eucalyptus. It's right in the middle of the old/new window. This wine rocks!!! Glad I have more to enjoy. Bought from the winery and stored in my cellar at 55 degrees.

1/28/2017 - TEKinsider wrote:

Sweet oak, cigar and campfire 🔥 on the nose. Drinking well pop and poured. Drank across 3 hours. Sweet, viscous, soft tannins. Long finish. Very Harlan like stylistically. Loads of cedar, black & blue fruit and camphor on the palat. Well done.

1/20/2017 - TEKinsider wrote:

I don't know what else to say accept... 100 points. Fruit, texture, nose, length, layers... Cab Franc!!! Everything is there in this bottle.

11/19/2016 - TEKinsider wrote:

Over the hill quickly after opening.

8/15/2016 - TEKinsider wrote:

Had this wine last night with Sparky and Luke. Poped and poured out of a Magnum. Amazing wine right out of the bottle. Just the right mix of age and fruit. Everything in perfect harmony. Really impressed everyone. Can't wait to open another one.

6/11/2016 - TEKinsider wrote:

Corked bottle.

4/30/2016 - TEKinsider wrote:

Originally tasted this at Hospice du Rhone a few weeks ago in Paso Robles and absolutely loved it. Carrie said they only made 60 cases of it and it was their first white. Tasted at about 55 degrees. Beautiful aromatics of fruit and flowers pop from the glass that remind me of a top vintage La Doriane from Condrieu. The wine pops immediately on the front palate and goes on for over a minute. Fresh acidity with a medium mouth weight gives it some great body. Flavors of pineapple, peach, vanilla and succulent flowers. What an amazing wine!!! Consensus at the table all the way around gave 95+ points. Well done.

peach flowers

1/2/2016 - TEKinsider wrote:

Sweet, floral, new oak with nice acidity and light on the palate. Well constructed and fresh. This should last much longer than 5 years. Great consistency across vintages.

8/29/2015 - TEKinsider wrote:

Drank at Cellar Masters with 12 people. Consumed along side 1996 Harlan Estate & 2003 Mouton. Night and day between these two wines. 1997 was dark rich and brooding. Almost port like. While the 1996 was much more brick in color with smoke and dust. Fascinating that these winee were so completely different yet only one year apart.

8/29/2015 - TEKinsider wrote:

Drank at Cellar Masters with 12 people. Consumed along side 1996 Harlan Estate & 2003 Mouton. Night and day between these two wines. 1997 was dark rich and brooding. Almost port like. While the 1996 was much more brick in color with smoke and dust. Fascinating that these winee were so completely different yet only one year apart. I expected more out of this wine.

8/29/2015 - TEKinsider wrote:

Decanted and drank across 3 hours. Definitely needs 2+ hours of decanting before it starts to show. Smoke, tobacco, oak, some leather. Medium/full body with some brick colors starting to show. It's in a good place now.

7/2/2015 - TEKinsider wrote:

Wow! This is screaming good right now. Big nose of brooding red & black fruit. Soft silky tanins with a viscous mouthfeel and a long finish. Menthol/eucalyptus, black cherry, coconut and other warm tones on the palate. I've had a lot of Favia and this one is right up there at the top! Well done Andy & Annie.

6/14/2015 - TEKinsider wrote:

Rich, thick, dark, jammy, blueberry, blackberry, tar, oak, eucalyptus and toast. If you like BIG this is for you!!!

1/3/2015 - TEKinsider wrote:

Opened and drank across 3 hours. Very fresh and fruity nose of red and black fruit with some leather and tobacco the longer it was in the decanter. Nice well rounded classic bordeaux with a medium finish and flavors of black/red fruit, leather and tobacco. This could last another 6-10 years.

12/23/2014 - TEKinsider wrote:

Oh Yaaaaaaa! This is screaming like a blackbird making love to a blue jay. Full throttle volume of black licorice, assfault and everything black and blue that fruit has to say. Silky thick mouthfeel with a finess like... dare I say Grange? Enough said. Drink all u can.

12/7/2014 - TEKinsider wrote:

There is some youth still here. Medium to light body with old world bordeaux notes. A little fruit left as well. Definitely has seen its peak.

11/30/2014 - TEKinsider wrote:

Oxidized

11/22/2014 - TEKinsider wrote:

It's shut down for now. Drank across a 5 hour decant but it didn't get much better. Will drink more across the next 2 days.

11/13/2014 - TEKinsider wrote:

Wow! What a surprise!!! Gorgeous nose of black & red fruit. The wine is beautifully integrated and not overextracted at all. Very well balanced. First time tasting this wine and I'm very impressed.

10/11/2014 - TEKinsider wrote:

Wow! There's so much going on here. It's like a roller coaster of wonderful flavors across the entire duration of a 60 second finish. Cedar, tobacco, chai, black fruits and spices that linger on. It's still young and I can't wait to see how this evolves over the next decade or two. Decanted for 1 hr and drank across the next 2. Got better as time progressed.

9/21/2014 - TEKinsider wrote:

(Haut-Brion dinner: 2x1989, 2000 & 2004 + 1990 Montrose). We had 2 bottles of the 1989 from different people. Decanted for 2 hours then drank over the next 4 hours with cheese, Prime Rib dinner and molten chocolate cake desert. Both bottles were very similar, but there was a small noticeable difference. My first thought is that the wine is too young and it was more feminine than I expected. None the less the nose is very pronounced with new leather, tobacco and black fruit. The color is deep brick red right up to the very tight outside ring. The mouthfeel is surprisingly light weight with very fine, tight tannins that are very approachable. Amazing flavors of new saddle leather, tobacco, spice and dark fruits followed by a long drawn out finish. My overall impression is that this wine was amazing, but will improve over the next 10-20 years.