6/19/2023 - Franken Berry Likes this wine:

I suspect that many of my fellow CTers have come to realize that the wines served at weddings these days are not nearly up to snuff, and so, I have adapted the habit of bringing my own (BYOWW). This past weekend, despite my wife’s early objections to this innocent habit, I snuck a bottle of Elyse into the trunk of my car, hoping the fairly generic white and black label would blend in.
After the initial sips of the house red at the nuptials, my wife looked up at me and said “ I am sure you brought something- go get it, please”. So the first dance with the father of the bride provided the perfect cover for me to retrieve said wine.
The Holbrook Mitchell has a fair amount of merlot and cab franc added which leads to a nicely layered and complex wine. This was opened at my trunk, but may have benefited from the spirited two hour drive up from Philly. Plenty of dark black and blue fruits on the nose mixed with coffee and leather, similar notes on the palate finishing with sweet tannins. Nicely balanced, and I probably wouldn’t have quested Bevan as the winemaker. At a recent tasting at Elyse, I preferred this over the Morisoli or Oakville bottling.
This is a seriously good Cabernet for the money

10/1/2022 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine:

Ok so been heavy on Old World and about to have an Epic Piedmont dinner next week so… let’s go big or go home and boy did this deliver the ultimate guilty pleasure.

2018 Revana block 6- their best wine hands down. More on that wine under that tasting note.

2016 Realm Absurd- I was a big fan of realm years ago and have become jaded as of late due to a number of issues from lower quality/massive sourcing which is inherent in exponential growth as well as other more mundane back office items- anywho… this wine is on point and firing on all cylinders.Tremendous concentration yet wonderful balance and oak integration. Big round opulence and pure sexy beast yet not manipulating obscurity as found in other higher end wines that over extract into oblivion. This wine rocks- from the first sip to the last and has enough gobs of cassis and blackberries to fill Goldilocks basket for ever. Big upfront fruit stays big and strong even with hours in the glass/decanter until the dark damp earth takes over and showcases its Naughty side - coffee, dark chocolate and pure forbidden(ness). Long finish to round out the greatness. Tasted on PNP. Two hours in decanter at cellar temp. Not overly structured (as expected) but is highly concentrated but in a good way. Take that info as you would like especially if only one bottle remaining :)

2018 Scarlet

2012 Montez Cote Rotie

5/10/2019 - msuwine wrote:

This rich and layered wine is magnificent, with a concentration and depth that are rare in the 2014 vintage. Dark purple in color and full in body, the wine offers aromas of blueberry, black cherry, black licorice, and graphite. The flavors are explosive but integrated, with notes of cherry pie, plum, milk chocolate, espresso, vanilla extract, and baking spices. The mouthfeel is pure silk, with integrated tannins and a finish that goes on and on. Blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. 14.6% alcohol.

The Realm line-up is not full of wallflowers, but this wine stands out in its ripeness, concentration, and intensity, somewhat similar to a Revana Block 6. This seems to have entered its drinking window, since the wine didn't seem sugary or obvious. If you love modern Napa Cabernet, you will love this wine - it's completely delicious.

11/12/2018 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine:

Escaped fires in my area and decided to have some fun. No formal notes and will just summarize my thoughts and conclusions from having the 2015 Realm Absurd, 2016 Myriad Elysian, 2016 Carter La Verdad and 2016 Quivet LPV all back to back.

My order: Carter La Verdad barely over Myriad Elysian, followed by Realm Absurd and then Quivet LPV. The Verdad showed even better than when I had it a few months ago, and is easily 99-100 all day long. It's a bit more tightly coiled and structured than the 2015 version, with tons of depth and earthy mineral driven layers that continue to change and unfold in your mouth over time. It's got epic purity, no hard edges and finishes super long. In comparison, the Quivet LPV (obviously same vineyard and winemaker as Verdad) had a lot more upfront fruit, was really great but lacked the structure and complexity of the Verdad. I'd say 95-96. The Absurd was super unresolved, showed boat loads of oak and dense pure fruit, but really needs time to come together. All the stuffing is there, but it was the least ready to drink - 96-97. And finally, the Myriad Elysian showed by far the most scorched earth and crazy black tar mineral driven notes, with insane levels of power and concentration that really showcased just how incredible that site can be. For me 98-100.

5/4/2019 - #1Winelover Likes this wine:

New quarterly wine dinner at ACC with '09 Chateau Pavie, '13 Paul Hobbs Las Piedras Vineyard, '15 Realm Absurd and '16 Memento Mori Napa Valley.

Realm's Absurd was fantastic. Opened at 5pm and poured at 7pm, this was very ready to drink. Very smooth, well integrated, tannins that were tamed, and great texture. It was missing a little tension or verve, but nonetheless, a very impressive bottle of wine.

6/3/2020 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote:

Ridiculously layered stuff. Opens up with cigar box and ash but finishes with pure/clean/extracted blue fruit. As luxurious and opulent as one would expect but still needs a couple years. Most of the real complexity here didn’t emerge until hour 5 in the decanter.

4/8/2023 - drinknick31 wrote:

Really enjoyed this bottle. Opened up with butterscotch and ended with layers of tobacco. Really moved around over a few hours as the air got it. Well made and will continue to develop. Ready to drink now though.

4/9/2023 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

Consumed on Easter Sunday and paired with a dry-aged Flannery Jorge and a large New York Strip steak. Decanted for 45 minutes then poured back into a cleaned bottled with the cork returned. There was a decent amount of sediment in the bottle and in the decanter. The wine was initially returned to 55°F (cellar temperature) for 6.5 hours then moved to another unit at 61°F for 1 hour prior to serving. Cork was removed at the time of consumption and was poured directly out of the bottle into Grassl 1855 stems.

The wine is made up of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot from 61% Moulds Family Vineyard, 31% Farella Vineyard and 8% Houyi Vineyard. Too bad Roy no longer has access to Farella and Houyi due to Realm Cellars recent purchase of both these vineyards.

The color was dark purple with aromas of red and black fruit, pepper, hints of cigar tobacco leaf and some graphite. The palate was of red and black cherry, blackberry, brown spices and minerality. The wine is balanced and complex. The body was medium-full. The acidity was medium with medium to medium(+) tannins that were smoothed out beautifully by the the proteins and fat in the steaks. It was a perfect pairing!

The 2016 Roy Piper cabernet showed better and was the group consensus for WOTN when compared to the 2016 Bevan Calixtro-Tech Vineyard (JD99; WA98; VM98) that received the identical preparation and paired with the tail-end of the steaks. The wine is in the early drinking window and is drinking well now with a 45 minute decant and several hours back in the bottle but it also should continue to improve over the next several years and then cruise for many more years. My score on this day was 96+

3/20/2023 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

This wine was purchased from Morrell & Co in New York City on 12/2/17, the weekend before a major life changing event. On 3/20/23, it was an unexpected pull at my wife's request to celebrate her first day at her new job.

Due to the spontaneity of opening this bottle, I decided to decant in a Zalto Mystique decanter designed to accomodate magnums, offering a bigger surface to air ratio with the hopes of accelerating the aeration process. The wine was decanted for 1 hour prior to the first sip and followed over the next 5 hours. A Sensory stem was used and there was no food pairing. However, the wine would have paired beautifully with a well marblized steak.

The Bordeaux blend is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, with the remainder being Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.

The color was deep purple. The bouquet was floral with red and black fruits, hints of smoke and earthy undertones. The palate was of black fruits, brown spices, cocoa, graphite, earth, and pyrazines. The wine gained in complexity and weight with extended air exposure. The last few glasses were the best, displaying good balance, nice acidity and fine grained tannins. The wine was medium-full to full bodied.

The wine was a joy to drink and was the perfect pull begin our next chapter! There are decades of life ahead of this beauty.

2/28/2023 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

7 Hours In Napa: VHR; Roy Piper; Spottswoode; & MACDONALD (Napa, CA): 7 hours in Napa with a quick lunch with Roy Piper at Cook in St. Helena.

Roy brought the 2019 60th Anniversary Cabernet to share with my group. The wine is 1/3 Moulds Vineyard, 1/3 Houyi Vineyard, and 1/3 Greer Vineyard. There were only 3 barrels made of this wine. The wine was not prepared in advance and was a PnP at the table.

The aromas were of red, blue and black fruits with some hints of spice. The palate was of red cherry, blueberry, blackberry and hints of acai berry. There were undertones of cocoa and baking spices. The acidity was medium. There were fine grained tannins with a medium-full body. The mouthfeel was silky smooth. The wine is elegant and polished. There are no hard edges.

The wine can be drank in the short-term with a good DD or a short decant but I think it will integrate a little more in the next year or 2. If you have a couple, this is a good one to try young while waiting on your other Roy Piper's to slumber a little longer.

My score is a 94.5 with upside from short-term to mid-term cellaring.

2/28/2023 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

7 Hours In Napa: VHR; Roy Piper; Spottswoode; & MACDONALD (Napa, CA): The fourth and final tasting of our 7 hours in Napa was with Alex MacDonald. Spending an afternoon with Alex is more of a history lesson than a tasting and it is always a highlight of my trips whenever we are able to coordinate a visit.

The history lesson started out with walking the perimeter of the MACDONALD portion of the To Kalon Vineyard in the cold and pouring rain, which the vineyard was in the process being manicured by sheep! The brisk walk was followed by the tasting in a family home that Graeme previously lived in on the vineyard property.

The wine selected was in fact the 2020 vintage which was double decanted (DD) at 5:30AM and then poured into a decanted 1 hour prior to our tasting at 3:30PM. The wine is made up of only the oldest vines on the MACDONALD Vineyard of approximately 49 and 69 years-old, not typical of recent vintages.The 69 year-old Cabernet vines were planted by Alex and Graeme's great grandparents and are some of the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines in Napa. The limited selection of vines resulted in a considerable reduction in case production for this vintage.

I only took brief notes, as we were deep in conversation during the tasting. My initial impression was that the wine was primarily showing black fruits with brown spices and good tannic grip. It's very young and a little tight but has good complexity. It's a full-bodied wine.

This wine was the best 2020 I've had but it will take some time to unwind. Alex mentioned that the wine went through several rounds of testing with different laboratories that specialize in measuring the levels of smoke taint and all results were consistent with no detectable levels of smoke.

I'm not sure if this is one I'll age for a decade(+) but if I'm afforded an opportunity to purchase a couple, I may choose to consume one in the short-term and a second in the 7-12 year window, just to hedge my bets from any potential issues presented by this difficult vintage.

Bravo to the MacDonald brothers for making such a beautiful wine in such a difficult vintage. If you are lucky enough to be on this allocation list, buy with confidence but the vintage presented many challenges and it may fall just a tad bit short of some of their greatest vintages.

My score is 96+

2/28/2023 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

7 Hours In Napa: VHR; Roy Piper; Spottswoode; & MACDONALD (Napa, CA): This is my 200th Cellar Tracker review and what a memorable wine to review!

7 hours in Napa and VHR was our first stop. Bruce was unavailable but Heather welcomed my group into their beautiful home in Oakville. We were greeted with a glass of 2014 Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Premier Cru Oenophile Non Dose Brut Nature BdB to walk the property. Unfortunately, it was cold and raining off and on and we were unable to spend much time outside looking at the vineyard so we went back into the house and sat at a long table with a charcuterie board and glasses of the 2019 and 2020 VHR poured for a great side by side tasting.

The 2019 VHR was decanted for approximately 60 minutes prior to our arrival. The nose was intoxicating. The aromas were of fresh cut flowers, dark fruits and brown spices. It was a wine I could have smelled all day. The palate matched the aromas and was as good or better than the nose. There was an initial rush of dark cherry, blueberry, and blackberry. The fruit is primary and plush. Underneath the fruit, there were hints of cocoa and suble earth tones. There was good acidity and medium (+) tannins. The wine is complex and full-bodied. It is not overly concentrated.

The wine needs time to shed the baby fat but after some mid-term cellaring and integration this wine has the ability to reach rarified air. The wine is absolutely beautiful and definitely the wine of the day!

This is one heck of a wine! My score is 97-99+

2/28/2023 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

7 Hours In Napa: VHR; Roy Piper; Spottswoode; & MACDONALD (Napa, CA): 7 hours in Napa and tasted at the Spottswoode Estate, hosted by Virginia.The stems used for the tasting were Jancis Robinson x Richard Brendon Wine Glasses (JRxRB). The tasting included:

2021 Sauvignon Blanc
2019 Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon
2019 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
2020 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

The wine was not decanted and was opened sometime earlier in the day and poured into our glasses shortly before we arrived.

The wine is a blend of approximately 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc with the remainder of Petit Verdot. There were floral aromas with red and blue fruits peaking through and hints of cedar cigar box. The 2019 was more aromatic than the 2020 at this stage. The palate was of red and black cherries, slight blue/black fruit, brown spices, minerality and cocoa. The body was medium to medium-full with fine grained tannins. It is not overly concentrated.

The wine maybe starting to shutdown a little or it required a long DD followed by a regular decant to truly strut its stuff. I'm wondering if the wine may gain a little more weight and integration with extended time in the cellar. It's a very well made wine with great potential but it was missing the complexity I've experienced with the 2012 and the 2013 Spottswoode Estates.

My score during this tasting is 94.5 but there is tremendous upside with medium to long-term cellaring.

2/17/2023 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

The wine was decanted for approximately 90 minutes at room temperature and then returned the bottle and the temperature slowly lowered back to cellar temperature of 55 degrees over the duration of consumption. The initial stem used was a Sensory but the barnyard funk. smoked/cured meats and earth tones were too predominant and on the edge of unpleasant so I switched to a Grassl Liberte that displayed the wine in a better light. The wine performed at its best in the smaller universal style glass and when it was closer to cellar temperature than room temperature. There was no food pairing

The color was dark olive purple. The bouquet was predominantly charcuterie, spices, earth tones, leather and a waft of barnyard funk. The palate did not display much of your typical black fruits.There was an Italian charcuterie on full display with black olives, cured meats and a smear of blackberry jam. The was has a herbal presence with brown spices and graphite of the finish. The tannins and acidity are in balance with each other.the was had medium body.

This is not your typical Northern CA syrah of predominant black fruits and spices. It is more similar to a Walla Walla, WA syrah. This wine appears to be in a good window and pop a cork with a good decant when you are in the mood for a syrah with some funk!

My score is 91-93, with the 91 points out of the Senosory stem at approximately 65-68 degrees and 93 out of the Liberte stem at closer to 55 degrees.

2/11/2023 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

This wine was specifically selected and prepared by LiteItOnFire prior my dinner reservation with Papa33 and Lyrical Lawyer at Anhelo in Phoenix the weekend of the Super Bowl.

The wine was decanted in advance for approximately 4 hours and served out of a Reidel Winewings Cabernet glass. Knowing the wine in advance before ordering dinner, I paired the wine with an A5 Wagyu Strip steak.

The wine had beautiful aromas of fresh cut flowers, blue and black fruits and earth tones. The palate displayed black cherry, blueberry, blackberry and great minerality with noticeable graphite. The was medium acidity and fine grained tannins. The wine was medium to medium-full bodied with an elegant mouthfeel. It's not a full bodied heavily tannic wine but it has great finesse with good complexity. Maybe it gains weight with more time in the cellar but it's drinking beautifully today with a long decant.

My score is 95+ today with great upside with further cellaring. Thank you LIOF for a memorable experience!

1/15/2023 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

The wine was Double Decanted for 10 hours then poured back into the decanter for an additional hour. Paired with a Flannery Dry aged mini Tomahawk and consumed out of a Grassl 1855 stem.

The color was a deep dark purple. The aromas were of dark fruits, allspice, and leather. The palate was of blue and black fruits, including acai berries, cassis, brown spices and earthy undertones. There was medium acidity with elegant tannins. The wine was full bodied with a classic Bevan silky mouthfeel.

The wine showed its best when it warmed up above 60 degrees. This wine has the stuffing to improve with midterm cellaring. The prime drinking window is probably in the range of 7-12 years.

Consumed on a root day with a score of 94+ but it has the complexity to earn an additional point or 2 when it is a bit more balanced.

1/15/2023 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

Decanted for approximately 2 hours and consumed over another 3 hours out of a Grassl 1855 stem.

The color was dark purple with aromas of dark fruits, spices and potpourri. The palate was of blue and black fruits and brown baking spices. Medium to medium(+) acidity with medium to medium(+) tannins that built and become a little more coarse with extended air. The wine was full bodied with a good textural mouthfeel. The wine wasn't very complex but it was enjoyable and it was a crowd pleaser with a good QPR.

4/27/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

In anticipation of a pending library release, I wanted to check in on this bottle. The bottle was purchased directly from Goodfellow as part of a mixed 6-pack during Berserker Day 13 (BD13). The wine was Double Decanted (DD) at cellar temperature of 55 degrees with the cork removed for approximately 60 minutes. I removed approximately 1.5 ounces before returning the wine to the bottle. The wine was consumed over approximately 4.5 hours out of a Conterno Sensory glass.

The experience was a tail of 2 wines. The initial 1.5 ounces was slightly pungent with a sour taste. There was minimal fruit on the nose or flavor. The first glass was poured after 1 hour of the double decant and the initial experience nose and taste was starting to blow off but still had a slight presence. This glass had aromas of red cherry, flowers, earth, and some barnyard. The flavors were of under-ripe/sour red cherries, cranberries, and some minerality. There was high acidity with what appeared to be a light body.

After the first glass, the bottle sat at 55 degrees in a U-Line U-Chill with the cork removed for approximately 3 hours before the next glass was poured. Boy am I glad that I returned for another glass after letting it sit open for several hours. It was a totally different wine. Now it gained some weight and was leaning more medium bodied. The bouquet integrated and now displayed floral aromas, minerality and baking spices. The palate was slightly red fruited with red cherry and raspberry. There was a predominant presence spice and earthiness. The wine was no longer pungent or sour. It had medium- tannins and medium acidity. It was well integrated with good balance.

If I was to rate this wine from my initial glass, it would have received a score around a 90 but my final glass was very intellectual and enjoyable raising my rating to 93-94 points.

I have 1 bottle left and I will either hold for a few more years or if I don't have the patience, I will either do a long DD. Alternatively, I may just pop the cork, remove an ounce or two and let it slow ox with no decant or DD for several hours before consuming. I'm not sure how the wine will respond to a long regular decant. Younger Goodfellow wines have a tendency of shutting down with a regular straight decant and that is the primary reason for me steering clear of a straight decant but it may have enough age on it to not shut down and get it to where you want it to be quicker than a DD or slow ox.

9/12/2022 - globalflyer wrote:

Perfect stage now. Opened well after 1 hour. Still some floral bouquet on the nose and deep current with raspberry and chocolate on the front pallet. Just a hint of earth and rosemary on the secondary pallet and back nose. Tannins are well integrated now. Will be curious to see how the 750ml compares to this magnum.

9/18/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

Decanted for 2 hours then poured back in to the bottle and consumed over another 3 hours. Paired with a Flannery 60 day dry aged NY Strip and consumed out of Sensory stems.

The nose was big and filled with blue/black fruits and earth tones. The palate was of blue berries, black berries and acia berries with brown spices, cocoa and earth tones. The tannins were fine grained with medium acidity. The body was initially full but lost a little weight and texture over time with air. The wine became slightly muted and medium bodied on the final glass

Initially, my score was 96 but it lost a point for losing a little bit of body and texture over a few hours. Its in a good drinking window with a short decant. I suggest consuming over a total of 4 hours or less from decant, as the best glasses were the first glasses. Typically, my experience is opposite with the best glass being rhe last but not in this case. It was consumed on a Fruit/Flower day so this shouldn't have contributed to this bottle declining every so slightly by the final glass.

All in all, a very nice showing for Tench and Russell but is a slight step behind a a few other 2016s have tried.

9/2/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

Drank this bottle on my son's 2nd birthday.The last time I drank this bottle was on 10/17/20 and that experience was very similar to this experience based on my private CT note.

Paired the wine with a cold seared Morgan Ranch Wagyu Ribeye. Stemware used was Grassl 1855.

Decanted the wine for approximately 60 minutes before the first glass was poured and the bottle was consumed over an additional 3 hours.

The color was very deep purple. The aromas were of black fruit with hints of earth. The palate was of super ripe black cherries, black berries, blueberry pie and cocoa. There was some baking spices, pepper and minerality. The alcohol was present on the opening glasses but dissipated overtime. There was medium acidity and fine grained tannins. The body was full with a fairly long finish.

Like most of Russell's wines, this is a decadent wine. Its clearly a New World style but it is exquisitely crafted. It won't be mistaken for a traditional Old World Bordeaux and its not for everyones palate but it definitely has a place in my cellar.

The wine was consumed on a Fruit/Flower day. Maybe it loses a point on a Leaf/Root day (if you believe in When Wine Tastes Best) and it may gain a point with another year or two in the cellar. This wine will probably be at its peak drinking window at ages 7-10 but it is drinking beautifully today with a good amount of air. Unfortunately, this was my last bottle but looking forward to cracking into my 2018s in the near future.

7/10/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

This is a late entry from a wine I drank 2 weeks ago, so the tasting notes are a little vague from memory, but it was a delicious wine that was firing on all cylinders. I decided to write the review, even though its a late entry, because it left such a lasting impression.

There was a good amount of sediment so I poured the wine into a decanter for approximately 60 minutes then poured the decanted wine back into the cleaned bottle. The wine was consumed out of Grassl 1855 stemware at 55-60 degrees. It showed best when it was slightly warmer than cellar temperature.

This was Roy's inagural release. I sourced it from Benchmark Wine and the condition appeared excellent. The fruit is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon from GIII but there is a little cabernet Franc from Dr. Crane.

The bouquet was beautiful with the melding of red and blue fruits with some herbal and spice notes. The palate matched the bouquet. There was medium(-) acidity and tannins, which where silky smooth. There was a great mouthfeel for this well balanced, complex medium to full bodied Cabernet.

This wine is in its prime drinking window and is a joy to drink. If you are one of the lucky few to have a bottle or 2, I hope you enjoy it as much I did.

My score is a 95+.

5/1/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

I double decanted (DD) this wine for 6 hours at 55 degrees. The first 3 hours the cork was in the bottle in an angled display craddle, the second three hours was without the cork in a U-Line U-Chill. After a 6 hour DD, I decanted the wine in a Grassl Decanter for 60+ minutes before consuming over another 3+ hours out of Sensory stemware. The wine was paired with a Flannery dry-aged CA Reserve New York Strip.

The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with an even split of 50% Moulds Vineyard and 50% Houyi Vineyard.

The wine was singing! The color was dark purple. The aromas were of black fruits, minerality and brown spices. It produced a beautifully elegant bouquet. The palate matched the aromas of black cherry, minerality, and undertones of baking and allspice. The tannins were fine grained and velvety. The tannins became slightly more present after the wine was in the decanter for approximately 2 hours but they resolved and smoothed out again by the end of the bottle. I was worried that the wine was getting ready to shutdown from too much air but that wasn't the case. The fat in the medium rare NY strip paired well with the tannins making them silky smooth and complimenting the flavors of the steak very well. There was good acidity and the body was medium/full. It was well balanced and fairly complex. As SEAN7711 noted, the wine was mouth staining, which typically indicates high tannins and/or deep color saturation. As previously mentioned, the color was deeply saturated but the tannins did not come across as too strong, firm or grippy but maybe this was due to the level of exposure to air plus being paired with a steak.

The wine was not deeply concentrated, like a Maybach or a Bevan cabernet, which I also love but are a different style of wine. From memory and a PnP, the Roy Piper 2019 has more concentration than the 2018.

This wine drank more elegant than the 2019 and 2015 that I had with Roy in 3/2022. The 2019 was bigger and more full bodied that the 2018. The 2015 was more tannic with less fruit and less balance. However, both the 2019 and 2015 were PnP. Not sure how these wines would have transformed with proper preparation of a long DD or 60-90 minute decant. From memory, it also drank better than a 2016 I recently had with a similar preparation but didn't write a review in CT. This was the best Roy Piper I've had to date but the 2019 may eventually surpass the 2018 with a few more years of bottle age.

If you have a few of these bottles and want to check-in, this wine is drinking very well now with proper preparation but has the stuffing to continue to evolve and drink well for at least a decade+.

Bravo Roy!

3/9/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

The Great Escape; 3/8/2022-3/9/2022 (Napa): Great Escape to Napa: 2 day getaway with my dad (3/8/22-3/9/22).

6th and Final Tasting of the trip!

This was the most informal tasting I have ever experienced. It was at a house in Yountville with a view of an unknown vineyard. We were met by Russell's associate, Sam, who we later learned from Sam that he is Russell's godson. Russell and Sam's father were close to each other when Russell was selling dental equipment. Sam works with Russell on several projects but he does not usually host tastings. He asked us what we wanted to drink and he was prepared with a quasi horizontal of Adversity Cellars, minus the Melanson. I believe we tried the Sage Ridge but I took pictures of the bottles tasted and I didn't see this picture in my gallery, I think i just forgot to take the picture but i could be wrong.

In addition to Adversity Cellars, I had requested to try the 2019 Elyse Morisoli Vineyard Zinfandel. Sam searched the house and found a bottle in Russell's personal collection. He gracefully added this bottle to the tasting and sent us on our way to a restaurant later that evening with the remaining wine in the bottle.

All wines tasted were Corvin poured. The wine glasses used for this tasting were anything Sam was able to find in the kitchen.

This tasting included:
2020 Adversity Cellars 5 Wells Vineyard Chardonnay (90-92 points)
2019 Adversity Cellars Sage Ridge (maybe)
2019 Adversity Cellars Erba Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (95 points)
2019 Adversity Cellars Erba Vineyard Syrah (94-96 points)
2019 Adversity Cellars The Papas (96-97 points)
2019 Elyse Morisoli Vineyard Zinfandel (93 points)

The Erba Cabernet includes some Petit Verdot and comes from the Erba Vineyard in Atlas Peak. The nose was exotic with wild-flowers, black fruits, spice and laced with minerality. The taste was of ripe black fruits, blood/cooper/iron (like licking the blood from a fresh wound), cocoa, and loads of minerality. It was concentrated and full bodied. The tannins were seamless with no hard edges, similar to many Bevan Cellars wines. We were told that the grapes were all foot-stomped and there are no tannins added from the seeds of the grapes. The texture definitely had Russell's signature wine making style.

Sam told us that Adversity Cellars is named after the adversity/difficulty/stress that the mountain vines experience. This wine has a mountain fruit feel with a big Bevan twist! The wine is delicious today but may hit its true stride between 7-12 years from vintage!

This is a nice start to an inaugural vintage for Russell and his wife, Heidi!

6/23/2020 - Robmcl920 Likes this wine:

On the nose, the wine is deep and cool in tone, and nicely expressive with red cherry and plum fruit, tar, roses, iron, and spices. There is a rare level of complexity to the nose at such an early stage, immediately upon PnP. On the palate, it is rich and concentrated yet beautifully refined, with little perception of tannin, with waves of sweet strawberry and red cherry fruit, complemented towards the finish with minerals and spices. The '12 Conterno Francia may be the wine of the vintage based on what I've tasted to-date - it's a complex, powerful, refined wine that is surprisingly expressive at this stage yet seems to have the depth and concentration to age well.

4/17/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

Consumed on Easter out of a Grassl Mineralite and paired with a charcuterie board before the main course.

The serving temperature was approximately 46-50 degrees. I popped the cork approximately 60 minutes prior to pouring the first glass with the hopes of giving it some air and to let the inital pop-rocks bubbles die down. This might have been a mistake, as there were very fine bubbles that quickly faded in the glass.

The aromas were fresh. The flavors were of strawberries, light raspberries and hints of peach. There was medium acidity.

It was an enjoyable Ultramarine but not at the next level of sparkling wines. The next bottle I open will be consumed with less air with the hopes it keeps some of its effervescence and freshness longer in the glass.

6/8/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

The wine was Double Decanted (DD) for 18 hours with the cork returned to the bottle. The bottle was consumed at the resturant Talula"s Garden in Philadelphia, PA prior to a concert at the Linc. The stemware was provided by the resturant and appeared to be a universal with thicker glass. The wine traveled all day in a cooler with ice packs and was placed in an ice bucket at the resturant. An educated guess at the serving temperature would be 50-55 degrees. The wine was paired with crispy spatchcock chicken, truffle and tarragon ‘gravy,’ brown butter gnocchi, and lemon brûlée.

The aromas were of spring flowers and citrus fruits. The palate was of citrus and tropical fruits,, nutty with good minerality. There was vivid acidity. The wine displayed well integrated oak, not overly buttery. The wine is complex, well balanced and has a medium to full body.

This is an exceptional wine! My score is 96-98 and it will definitely benefit from a few more years of bottle age.

6/11/2022 - JustBreathe680 wrote:

The wine itself was not flawed but the glass bottle was flawed.

I have enjoyed several bottles of this Rosé over the past few weeks. However, this bottle broke at the neck when extracting the cork. I have never had the neck of a wine bottle snap off while pulling the cork. I did not drink the wine for fear of small shards of glass. However, i could have used a coffee filter if I really wanted to drink the wine but I took the conservative approach and opened a second bottle.

I contacted Hardy Wallace and he has never seen his bottles break in the manner this one did, so hopefully it's chalked up as a very rare occurrence. Luckily, I was not injured but I'm posting so others can be careful when pulling the cork. On a side note, Hardy provided great customer service and was very responsive to my emails. I highly recommend this wine and wine company but unfortunately lost this bottle in an unusual manner.

4/17/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

This review is for a Magnum (1.5L) that was purchased at retail and not direct from the winery. The wine was opened early Easter morning and Double Decanted (DD), 2 oz removed prior to returning the wine to a cleaned bottle and then the cork was returned. The wine was stored for 10 hours at cellar temperature (55 degrees). Prior to serving, the wine was split evenly between 2 Grassl decanters for 1 hour.

The wine was consumed at approximately 55 degrees out of a Riedel Somm Bordeaux Grand Cru glass and was paired with a Flannery Jorge.

The wine is a Bordeaux blend of 65% Cab Sauvignon and 35% Cab Franc from the Tench and Tin Box vineyards in Oakville. There were 400 cases made.

The color was dark garnet with a violet tint. The aromas were of black fruit, brown spices, tobacco and slightly herbaceous. The palate was of dark cherries, slightly over-ripe blueberries (think blueberry pie), blackberries, allspice and minerality. There was medium acidity. The tannins were silky smooth and well-integrated. The initial sip had noticeable alcohol heat. However, the perception of alcohol eventually dissipated with vigorous swirling. The body was medium to full with a fairly long finish. It did not come across as heavy or jammy. There was good balance.

The wine was drank during a good time of Fruit/Flower hours that began at 2PM with the wine being consumed at 6PM.

My rating today is a 96+ out of a 1.5L. I believe this wine out of a Magnum just entered its early drinking window and has room to improve over the next 5+ years. With a few more years tucked away in the cellar, I believe this wine had the potential to reach the 98/99 point range. If you decide to open a magnum today, I won't recommend a long straight decant, as I think it would lose some of its nuances since its not very tannic. If I was able to do it again but couldn't wait a few more years, I would have started the double decant the night before serving and I would have removed more wine before returning the cork or I would have done a shorter DD with the cork removed and straight decant for approximately 90 minutes. Maybe this would have helped to blow off the initial boozy finish. In addition, the dinner was served outside under deck heaters. The wine temperature was closer to 55 degrees than 59+ degrees. It would probably show slightly better at a warmer temperature.

I agree with many recent CT reviewers that a 750 is probably in the perfect drinking window and is showing slightly better than the larger format. I drink most of my Bevan wines at the 7-10 year marker with a few at 12 years but all out of 750s. This is my first Bevan from Magnum and it presented much younger than expected and definitely has the ability to age much longer. However, it was a beautiful and enjoyable wine today and will always be a memorable cork pulled with my family at Easter Dinner!

4/6/2022 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

One hr decant was all it needed.

Nose - heavenly. Palate - heavenly. Check and check.

No rough edges, no gaps, long finish. 100 easy points all day long. Oak/tannins completely integrated but plenty of backbone—this ain’t going anywhere anytime in the next 3-5 yrs.

Nose-crushed red raspberry and black raspberry and crushed red cherries, blackberry jam, creosote, Asian spice, black tea, intense and powerful without being anywhere near too much, almost like opening a fresh spiced tea bag and taking a deep whiff, except the sense does not wane. I could swirl and smell all day long.

Palate- red and black raspberry, red and black cherry, hint of candied cherries, glycerin/inky feel, tart ripe cherries appearing on the long finish as it warmed

This has settled down into its prime drinking window where the fruit is balanced and not overpowering, for a Bevan wine, I found this elegant, but buxom across the palate. Drank better at 55-60F. I would like to be able to say this evolved over an extended drinking window, but three of us drank this in less than 60 min, including Mrs GT who consumed more than her ‘fair’ share.

If I were to make a wine from Eastern Oakville, this would be it—such a joy to drink —too bad it’s my last. Someone once asked me if Bevan makes long agers. I know they’re good at age 10, but mine keep disappearing before age 11.

From everything I’ve been able to discern, the ‘19 vintage seems to have a lot of parallels with ‘12. I’m going back for more ‘19.

100 and never a doubt.

11/28/2019 - Geaux Tigers wrote:

3 hr decant but got even better as it was drunk over another 90 min. Nose reminded me of a Pritchard Hill CF. Coffee, blood iron, green herbs/ bay leaf, tea, fresh cut wood, saline, faint chocolate/mocha on the nose. Dominating red berry fruit (cherry/raspberry) with complimentary black fruit of the same variety. Tannins at bay. Long finish, no hard edges. Plenty of acid left makes me think this has plenty of life left. Not as good as my first bottle, but no disappointment either. Complimented a rosemary tenderloin beautifully

3/26/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

This bottle was the first official public Cellar Tracker review I did 2 years ago on 3/28/20. At that time, my County went into a Shelter in Place, there was a mandatory mask mandate, my wife was 2 months pregnant and I was supposed to see Pearl Jam on this night 2 years ago but the show was canceled due to the brand new Pandemic. Since then, my County just entered the green zone last week to make face masks optional, I have an 18 month old son, earlier this week Pearl Jam rescheduled the tour that was canceled 2 years ago, and my wife was able to enjoy this bottle with me! It almost feels like time stood still for the past 2 years, minus the birth of my son!

The wine was consumed out of a 375 ml. I double decanted (poured wine out, cleaned bottle and returned wine to the bottle) for 9 hours at cellar temp (55 degrees) without returning the cork. The stemware used was Sensory. The wine was singing when it warmed up a bit to approximately 59-61 degrees. Poured 1 glass each from the 375 ml and followed over the course of 1.5 hour dinner, paired with a Flannery CA Reserve Dry Aged NY Strip.

The past 2 years served this bottle well. Initially, the nose was a bit muted but it came to life as it warmed up. The aromas were of fresh cut flowers, black fruits, herbs, and baking spices. The palate mellowed out quiet a bit and didn't hit you like a big fruit bomb. There was more nuance to this glass than the one's I enjoyed 2 years ago. It had flavors of ripe to slightly over-ripe blueberries, blackberries and plums. There were traces of baking spices, pie crust, and minerality. It is concetrated with fine grain tannins that are well integrated. The acid was medium and in a good spot. The body is full, complex and well balanced.

This was a delicious wine that is much better balanced that when I tried it 2 years ago. I saw some recent reviews that mention it still needs to shed some baby fat. I had this impression 2 years ago but not today. May be it came across seamlessly today because of the 9 hour DD and/or it was a 375ml bottle and not a 750ml bottle. It's possible the 375s are showing better earlier than the 750s are but what I drank tonight shows great promise for the couple 750s I have taking a nap.

This is and excellent effort in a very difficult vintage. 375mls are ready to go now and 750mls may hit that sweet spot in another year or 2.

Although my score today is the same as it was 2 years ago, today's bottle is more complex, balanced and a complete wine. If i rated this wine 2 years ago it would have been 96-98 but 2 years later and fresh off a trip to Napa, i have better comparison point/benchmarks than i did 2 years ago. However, the 2 years in bottle served this wine well.

3/19/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

The wine was decanted in a Grassl Carafe at 55 degrees in a U-Line U-Chill for approximately 90 minutes. The wine was then returned to a cleaned bottle and placed in the U-Chill with the cork out for the remainder of the night. The stemware used was Zalto Den'Art Burgundy. Consumed over approximately 5 hours at a steady 55 upon pour and warmed up to approximately 60 degrees by final sip of each glass.

The color was a medium to darker gold. The nose was of citrus, orchard fruits with some minerality. The palate was of slightly over ripe/baked citrus fruit/oranges and orchard tree fruits. There was good minerality of seashell and crushed gravel. There was a light streak of honey and nuts. There was a slight buttery oak finish but definitely didn't come across as being over oaked. The body was full with an oily mouthfeel that may be attributed to high glycerin and medium to low acidity in the wine. The wine was balanced and well rounded.

This wine started out Good at the 90 minute mark but ended Exceptional with my last glass approximately after 5 hours. It gained in complexity throughout the night and the wine kept showing a new nuance after time continued to pass.

When I pop the cork on my next bottle, I may decide to double decant for several hours, taste it and then decide if i want to decant for the final hour. The wine definitely requires air but if left in a decanter for many hours I'd be concerned of it losing some aromas and may be some of the nuances I tasted at the end of the bottle.

If rating my 1st glass, it would have been around a 95 but it blossomed considerably over the hours of consumption, ultimately leaving me with an impression of the best Northern California Chardonnay I've ever tasted.

This wine is a strong contender for WOTY!

3/9/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

The Great Escape; 3/8/2022-3/9/2022 (Napa): Great Escape to Napa: 2 day getaway with my dad (3/8/22-3/9/22)

The second tasting of the day was lunch which Shae Kinsman at Farmstead in St. Helena. In addition to the Kinsman Eades, Shae is also intimately involved with Bella Oaks. I had put in a special request to also taste the Bella Oaks along with the Kinsman needs portfolio, and I am so glad I did as this wine fits in beautifully with Kinsman Eades stellar lineup of wines!

All wines tasted out of what appeared to be 500ml shiner bottles. They were double decanted but total time is unknown. The wines included:
2019 Bella Oaks (98 points)
2019 Kinsman Eades La Voleuse du Chagrin (98+ points)
2019 Kinsman Eades Anjea Sleeping Lady Vineyard (97 points)
2019 Kinsman Eades Rhadamanthus Diamond Mountain District (97+ points)

As a disclaimer, I have never rated a wine 100 points. Not because I am opposed to it but because I have not found that wine that has truly blown my socks off yet. However, I would not be surprised if any one of these wines made by Nigel reaches the point ever rarefied air for me in the upcoming years. In my opinion for my palate, All 4 wines tasted above have the ability to reach 100 points. Every wine in this lineup was spectacular true highlight of my trip!

Unfortunately, I don’t have tremendously detailed notes on these wines, as the lunch had a more personable feel than intellectual dissecting wine tasting vibe.

The Bella Oaks nose was of fresh cut flowers red fruits, spice and minerality. The palate was more surprisingly red and blue fruit than I expected and it also had the signature Rutherford dust. There were hints of cocoa and brown spices. The wine came across graceful in and velvety in style with good acidity and a medium to full body.

This wine hit me squarely in my wheelhouse. It was absolutely beautiful and it should age gracefully for several decades to come. The 2018 vintage was the inaugural release and the 2019 vintage already received 100 points from Antonio Galloni. I am not sure if they have a waitlist but I suggest if you are not already on their mailing list you sign up ASAP!

3/14/2022 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

One of many bottles pulled for Spring Break in Sedona.

The Bella Oaks property is new to me. I know it has a storied history and is now in the hands of some of the best in the valley. With the team assembled it was a no brainer to take a flyer. With the backdrop of Sedona I could think of no better place outside of Rutherford to explore this wine. Not to mention it was open side by side with KE La Voleuse Du Chagrin.

Consumed over 24 hrs this bottles was best with extended ox. The last glass was the best.

Incredible structure and balance. Great tension and flavors this wine for my palate will need to cellared for another 6 years before I decide to check in again. Hopefully this year I'll taste the 19's in person.

Hold 98

3/9/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

The Great Escape; 3/8/2022-3/9/2022 (Napa): Great Escape to Napa: 2 day getaway with my dad (3/8/22-3/9/22)

The second tasting of the day was lunch which Shae Kinsman at Farmstead in St. Helena. The 3 Kinsman wines were paired with a Lamb Burger.

All wines tasted out of what appeared to be 500ml shiner bottles. They were all double decanted but the amount of time is unknown. The wines included:
2019 Bella Oaks (98 points)
2019 Kinsman Eades La Voleuse du Chagrin (98+ points)
2019 Kinsman Eades Anjea Sleeping Lady Vineyard (97 points)
2019 Kinsman Eades Rhadamanthus Diamond Mountain District (97+ points)

As a disclaimer, I have never rated a wine 100 points. Not because I am opposed to it but because I have not found that wine that has truly blown my socks off yet. However, I would not be surprised if any one of these wines made by Nigel reaches the point ever rarefied air for me in the upcoming years. In my opinion for my palate, All 4 wines tasted above have the ability to reach 100 points. Every wine in this lineup was spectacular true highlight of my trip!

Unfortunately, I don’t have tremendously detailed notes on these wines, as the lunch had a more personable feel than intellectual dissecting wine tasting vibe.

The 2019 vintage of Anjea was only bottled a few weeks prior to this tasting. Initially, Shae wasn’t sure we were going to be able to taste any of the Kinsman 2019s but luckily for me, they got Nigel’s stamp of approval the week prior to our visit that they were showing extremely well from the bottle.

The Anjea was a bit more tightly wound than the other wines tasted in the Kinsman lineup. The nose was floral, red and black fruit with mineral undertones. The palate was of red, blue and black fruit and minerality. This was the most muscular wine in the lineup. It had a firmer tannic backbone than the other wines tasted. It is complex and full bodied. For my preference, this is a wine to lay down for several years but if you have patience, you should be rewarded in spades!

3/9/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

The Great Escape; 3/8/2022-3/9/2022 (Napa): Great Escape to Napa: 2 day getaway with my dad (3/8/22-3/9/22)

The second tasting of the day was lunch which Shae Kinsman at Farmstead in St. Helena. In addition to the Kinsman Eades, Shae is also intimately involved with Bella Oaks. I had put in a special request to also taste the Bella Oaks along with the Kinsman Eades portfolio, and I am so glad I did as this wine fits in beautifully with Kinsman Eades stellar lineup of wines!

The 3 Kinsman wines were paired with a Lamb Burger.

All wines tasted out of what appeared to be 500ml shiner bottles. They were double decanted but total time is unknown. The wines included:
2019 Bella Oaks (98 points)
2019 Kinsman Eades La Voleuse du Chagrin (98+ points)
2019 Kinsman Eades Anjea Sleeping Lady Vineyard (97 points)
2019 Kinsman Eades Rhadamanthus Diamond Mountain District (97+ points)

As a disclaimer, I have never rated a wine 100 points., not because I am opposed to it but because I have not found that wine that has truly blown my socks off yet. However, I would not be surprised if any one of these wines made by Nigel reaches the point of rarefied air for me in the upcoming years. In my opinion for my palate, All 4 wines tasted above have the ability to reach 100 points. Every wine in this lineup was spectacular and a true highlight of my trip!

Unfortunately, I don’t have tremendously detailed notes on these wines, as the lunch had a more personable feel than intellectual dissecting wine tasting vibe.

The 2019 vintage of La Vol is the last bottling of this vineyard for several years, as the vines are being replanted. In addition, the La Vol was only bottled a few weeks prior to this tasting. Initially, Shae wasn’t sure we were going to be able to taste any of the Kinsman 2019s but luckily for me, they got Nigel’s stamp of approval the week prior to our visit that they were showing extremely well from the bottle.

The La Vol bouquet was absolutely beautiful. I could have smelled this wine all afternoon and been happy. The palate was of red and black fruit, some baking spices and minerality. Similar to the Bella Oaks, the wine came across more graceful than the other 2 Kinsman Eades. It had good balance and complexity. The tannins were fine grained and not overbearing. It was light on its feet but not light on the palate. The wine was medium to full bodied with good mouth feel as it glided across your palate.

This wine blew me away and I kept going back for more. On this day, it was my favorite of the lineup but it’s really splitting hairs because they were all very exceptional wines. As with all of Nigel’s wines, it should age gracefully for several decades to come. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the next 100 point Kinsman to be professional reviewed!

Exceptional wine and I’m sorry to hear we won’t be seeing any more bottlings from this vineyard for several years to come.

3/8/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

The Great Escape; 3/8/2022-3/9/2022 (Napa): Great Escape to Napa: 2 day getaway with my dad (3/8/22-3/9/22).

3rd and last tasting on day 1

Roy Piper joined my dad and I for dinner at Solbar in Calistoga.

Roy brought a bottle of the 2015 and a bottle of 2019 Piper Cabernets. Both bottles were PnP.

We started with 2 separate pours, the 2015 then the 2019. Both the 2015 and 2019 were then poured with dinner for a side by side for comparison, which I paired with a Snake River Farms American Wagyu New York Strip.

The 2019 is a blend cabernet sauvignon from Moulds Vineyard and Houyi Vineyard. It showed extremely well for such a young wine and from a PnP. It was open and ready for business.The color was deep dark purple. The aromas were beautiful. The nose was floral, black fruits and a hint of spice. The palate was of black fruits, spice, earth and minerality. It had good concentration, was well integrated and had good balance. There was good acidity with fine grained tannins. It was full bodied and paired very well with the New York Strip.

Stylistically, the 2015 vs. 2019 were very different wines. Roy said that he made an effort, starting in the 2016 vintage, to make his wines more approachable earlier with less cellaring required. This stylistic change was evident with these 2 vintages, as the 2019 was much more approachable from a PnP. Personally, my stylistic preference was for the 2019 but both were very well made wines.

If I was to prepare this wine at my house, I would double decant for several hours or pour into a decanter for 60-90 minutes prior to serving. It shouldn't require too much cellar time to drink close to its prime but it also has the structure to be cellared and drink in its prime for many, many years.

The best part of this dinner, wasn't the wine but it was the company sharing the wine. Roy is a class act and a fountain of knowledge, especially when it comes to the Northern California wines.

This was a truly memorable experience!

3/8/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

The Great Escape; 3/8/2022-3/9/2022 (Napa): Great Escape to Napa: 2 day getaway with my dad (3/8/22-3/9/22).

1st tasting on day 1 at Rivers Marie tasting facility with Elizabeth in Calistoga. The setting of the tasting room is absolutely beautiful. In addition, they used Grassl Cru stems for their Chardonnay, Zalto Den'Art Burgundy stems for their pinot and Zalto Den'Art Bordeaux stems for their Cabernet tastings. This was the best stemware I've seen to date!

The tasting included:
RM Bearwallow Chardonnay 2020 (90-92 points)
Aston Estate Pinot Noir 2017 (90 points) & 2018 (93 points)
RM Panek 2019 (94 points)
RM Herb Lamb 2019 (96-98 points) &
Caterwaul Cemetery 2018 (94-95 points)

The Herb Lamb was the highlight of the tasting for me. The bottle had approximately 1/4 missing from the top. There was no special preparation other than serving it at a tasting prior to ours. The color was dark purple. It had aromas of dark fruit, cigar box, minerality and an earthy undertone. The palate was of blue and black fruits, green bell pepper, earth, and minerality. There were fine grained tannins with good concentration. This wine is not a fruit bomb. Stylistically, it sits somewhere between old world and new world Napa.

We were told at the tasting that TRB believes the 2018 and 2019 HL are the best wines he's ever made. Unfortunately, the vineyard was lost in the 2020 fires but he also believes that the vineyard will come back stronger and better than where it was before the fire. If he is accurate then in a decade from now may be we are talking about the 2030 HL as the best wine he has ever made! Sorry to see the vineyard temporarily go but will patiently await its rebirth!

For my palate, I think the 2019 HL is drinking better than the 2019 Oakville Terraces. In addition, the 2019 HL is more in my wheelhouse than the 2019 OT but that could always change with time in the bottle, as they are both well made.

My score is 96+ on the day of the tasting but it has the potential to reach true greatness with time in the cellar. If you have any of this tightly allocated wine, i suggest holding and cherishing for a little while. If you didnt secure any for your cellar, seek some out before they are obsolete.

So glad I was poured this bottle and that I have 4 in my cellar!

This wine set the bar high for the rest of the 2 days of tastings!

2/26/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

For my 100th CT review, I decided to pop the cork on a 100 point wine, in this case a multiple 100 point wine (Jeb Dunnuck 100 points & Wine Advocate 100 points) and it definitely did not disappoint!

The wine was Double Decanted for 8 hours (DD=pour wine into decanter, clean the bottle and pour wine back into the decanter without returning the cork). After 8 hrs, I recorked the bottle and brought the temperature back down to serve at approximately 59-61 degrees.

The wine was consumed out of Riedel Sommelier Bordeaux glasses and paired with Morgan Ranch Wagyu Strip Steaks.

The wine is a Bordeaux Blend comprising of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Merlot.

The wine was singing! The color was midnight purple. The nose was absolutely beautiful. It had scents of fresh cut flowers, red and black fruits, and some scorched earth tones. I could smell this wine for days! The palate was utterly delicious and my new benchmark for CA Bordeaux blends. It was not a fruit bomb but had layers of ripe to slightly over ripe cherries, black cherries, blueberries, black fruits, baking spice, cocoa and minerality. The acid was medium- to medium with fine grained tannins that were well integrated. The finish was long. The mouthfeel was plush and silky smooth. There was good concentration. This wine was in perfect balance and harmony!

This is hands down one of, if not the best, Bevan wines I've had and up there with some of the best wines I've ever had! It has entered its peak drinking window and it should stay at its peak for at least another decade. Personally, I tend to enjoy my Bevan wines between 7-12 years. I have 1 more bottle and if I can show any restraint, I'd like to hold off until 2025+ but I won't beat myself up if I have the right occasion to consume it earlier.

I traveled with this wine cross country by plane from PA to CA. May be there is slight improvement if the bottle hadn't traveled but there were no signs of bottle shock. In my opinion, there is minimal room for improvement, as this is close to a perfect wine for me. It was consumed on a Root/Leaf day. May be this wine reaches truly rarefied air in another few years and if consumed on a Fruit/Flower day! At the very least, I will pop my final cork on a Fruit/Flower day to see if the When Wine theory, that Russell believes in, is the final piece to push this wine over the edge to a level I haven't yet experienced in a wine.

My score is 98+ with the possibility of being a 100 pointer in the future.

This wine is definitely in the running for my WOTY and its going to take something truly special to be dethroned!

Bravo Russell for making such an outstanding wine!

1/30/2022 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

Decanted for 4 hours in a Grassl Carafe at 55 degrees in a U-Line U-Chill. After 4 hours the wine was poured into a more traditional Grassl Decanter for another hour with a wider surface area for more air before consuming over several hours. Stemware used was Grassl 1855 and paired with a Flannery dry aged New York Strip.

The initial sip came across as very tart cherry. However, this dissipated over time with more air and it turned into a beautiful and complex wine that continued to evolve with every glass over several hours. I don't have truly formal notes, as this is being written 1 week after I drank it but it was full bodied with great depth. There were beautiful aromas. The flavors were of dark fruits, minerality and some earthiness. The tannins were medium+ and the wine became a bit more tannic after hours of drinking and many hours of explosure to air. Not sure if this was a sign that it was going to eventually shutdown or if i noticed the tannins more present when it was no longer paired with the steak.

This wine has the potential to reach the elite if you can show some restraint and cellar for several more years. I have 1 bottle left and will try to hold off at least until 2025+.

Today's score is a 96+ with a 97-99 easily in its sights with more cellaring.

11/6/2021 - JustBreathe680 wrote:

I did not do a formal review of this bottle.. I originally thought it may have been a flawed bottle but after communicating with Bedrock,, it might not have been flawed. This review is to alert you to what happened with my bottle in case it happens to any other bottles.

Heavy, soft grey clay-like sediment. When pouring through a screen into the decanter big clumps plopped out. I've never seen sediment like this before. Cork looked brand new with out any oxygen penetration.

I emailed photos to Bedrock out of curiosity. If I get a response/explanation, I'll update this review.

I did taste it but no one else was willing to try the wine after seeing what discarded from the bottle. It was drinkable but appeared a little off and not what I expected. The nose was pretty muted. The flavors were earthy, forest floor, smoked or cured meats and spice. There was minimal fruit. It had some tanic grip. Did not taste fresh and there was minimal acid.

I can't definitively say if it was corked, cooked, oxidized etc.,. I'm sure this is just a one off bottle that was potentially flawed in a way I haven't experienced a flawed bottle before.

The wine was purchased directly from Bedrock and stored in a Le Cache at 55 degrees since it was received at the time of release. So I don't belive this to be a storage issue and it's definitely not a provenance issue.

Update: Bedrock's communications with me: "...some proteins that have settled out with the tartrates. It is rare for barrel aged wine to not have all of the protein in them (something that is naturally in solution) dropped out by time of bottling but looks like this might be an exception."

So in the end, the bottle may not have been flawed but I suggest using a filter/screen and decanting, as mine was definitely not suitable to a PnP.

12/25/2021 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

WOTN with competition from 2014 Schrader RBS and 2010 Bevan Harbison. It is my WOTY, unless it gets edged out on New Year's Eve.

Decanted for 90 minutes then poured back into a clean bottle for transport. Cork was popped for approximately 2 hours prior to the first sip. Paired with a Flannery Dry Aged Club Roast and drank out of a Grassl 1855.

The nose was beautiful with fresh cut flowers, blueberry pie and some spice. The palate followed suit with blue and black fruits, minerality and spice. It is full bodied with a long finish. The wine is complex and well balanced. Every once in a while there was a hint of heat but nothing offensive. There was still a decent amount of tannic grip but with a good decant it's very manageable and smoothed out. It had everything going on in almost perfect harmony!

Wine drank on a Fruit/Flower day and my rating is a 97-98.

This was everyone's WOTN and it's the front runner for my WOTY. Unfortunately, it was my last bottle but I'll be on the lookout for when another one crosses my path!

1/3/2022 - csimm wrote:

I wrote quite extensively on my experiences with the 2020 Myriad barrel samples back in March 2021, so I’ll focus these most recent notes straight toward the issue everyone is likely concerned about. The following are a list of 2020 Myriad samples I had a chance to revisit; smoke taint was not directly detected in these four samples.

1. Dr. Crane: Whether this particular sample goes into the Elysian or the standard Crane has not been determined yet. Given that I’ve been fortunate enough to try many samples of Dr. Crane from essentially all of the producers pulling fruit from this site since at least the last decade or so, I can say that the front end of this sample is fairly indicative of what one would expect: A large front-end push of black cherry fruit (fairly fruity) with notable concentration mid-palate (though less intensity than the Myriad Cranes of past Goldilocks vintages). The back end of this sample was a little sleepy, with a muted and pared finish that slowed the cadence of the flavor push and clipped the tail. Was the finish a result of smoke taint, you ask? No, I do not think so. There was no straight astringency present, and I didn’t get that bitter pinch at the back of my jaw and top of my throat that I often associate with smoke influence (and that was considerably obvious in a couple of the other samples).

2. Georges III: The nose started off with a bit of an interesting funk, but the palate was all GIII. Plush, lush, and slathering fruit (the most overt of the samples). Jammy and fruity, with a complete attack that swelled into a broad and enveloping finish. Juicy and toothsome.

3. Peterson: Mostly muted, but with air it began to slowly open into a direct shot of controlled dark berry fruit. The Peterson was in a more academic mood with this sample. Finished direct and focused.

4. Kenefick: Rich grape jelly, with a jammy attack that was almost as plush as the GIII. A lot of yum factor with this sample. The finish geared down considerably into a more trimmed tail.

PS: I did taste two 2020 samples that I can confidently say were smoke tainted and/or flawed in some way: A Syrah and a sample from Steltzner. The Steltzner was especially interesting because it had all of the wonderful hallmarks of that site that I absolutely adore all the way up until the final tip of the finish, where it then abruptly became harshly astringent and bitter to the point that it washed away the front end fruit flavors.

PPS: I understand the 2020 Myriad Crane release is coming out this month. My 2 cents on that is pretty simple: buy what you feel comfortable with. If it stresses you out so much that you’ll lose sleep wondering if your bottles will turn into scary monsters in the middle of some dark and stormy night, then maybe pass this time around - and maybe see a therapist while you’re at it (since wine is a luxury item and is supposed to be fun and all). And if I know one thing about whatever you decide to buy (and this is true of any vintage), if it ends up that when you finally crack the cork and there is some goofiness in the bottle, always hit up the winemaker to discuss reparations. As I’ve said a million times, any winemaker/proprietor worth his/her salt should always replace the bottle or refund your money. I know some disagree with me on this (to include some winemakers who think it is unrealistic to “guarantee” their wine to the extent that any flawed wine should be replaced), but as a lowly peasant consumer, I think it is a reasonable expectation given the quality I think should be necessitated from these higher-end products.

11/17/2021 - mflesh wrote:

Got a wild hair and opened up one of these tonight. Wow. Ok so for the one person at the table who was lucky to taste this one tonight, their opinion was that this one was still a bit leggy two years ago. Not tonight. Krug to me usually has a 50/50 oxidative/reductive character where the wine is both tropical/youthful and yet oxidative/bready mature yellow fruit all at the same time. This wine had a nutty, mature yellow fruit character at the nose and front palate. This has a white chocolate, white flowers, peach and herbed french almond character that peeked to the middle and finish. Really intrigued by this wine. Consensus was that this one has done a lot of growing in the last 2 years but to me, tonight, this one was enjoyed with great people and great company. So the 96 rating is completely warranted. Drink with 2 hr decant or hold for the next 10-15 years.

11/21/2021 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

Paired with a Wagyu Rib Cap, which stole the show. The DB4 decanted for approxately 2 hours and consumed over an additional 3 hours out if a Sensory glass.

The wine might be a little shut down, as the nose and flavors were slightly muted. The nose was of flowers and baking spice. The taste was of a young left bank Bordeaux with blue and black fruits with hints of spice and led pencil. The tannins were medium but firm. The acidity was medium- and the length was full. It was not overtly concentrated, in a good way.

This was a very nice wine. It may need a few more years to truly show its colors but it is pleasant today with a decent decant. Today's score is 93 with upside to possibly hit 94-96 points with some more time in the cellar.

I don't have much experience with Bryant's DB4 and 2017 was a down vintage but for my taste and money I prefer something in line with a Bevan Ontogeny or Realm Bard. However, the 2017 Ontogeny was a down year for me and maybe that's the same with this DB4

2/4/2017 - Eric Guido Likes this wine:

The nose was hauntingly dark and floral with notes of minty herbs, soil and minerals up front, then roses, savory spice, and dried orange peel. On the palate, I found silky, lifted textures with floral-infused black cherry fruit, savory minerals and earth tones. It was impeccably balanced and refined with a web of fine tannin which coated the senses. The finish was long with dried fruits and rosy florals, as structural components dried the palate.

9/21/2021 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

This wine was consumed on my wife's birthday paired with boiled cold water lobster tails with drawn butter, French fries and coleslaw. It was drank out of a Sensory glass.

The wine was decanted for approximately 2.5+ hours at cellar temp approx 55 degrees. It was poured back into the bottle and placed in the refrigerator without the cork for approx 30 minutes to lower the temp ever so slightly. The wine was then consumed over the next 3+ hours but never getting warmer than approx 55 degrees.

The color was a lighter to medium yellow gold. It had aromas of flowers and citrus. The taste had a presence of orchard and stone fruits, a little citrus fruit and very pleasant hints of oak. It has a nice creamy smooth mouthfeel from the oak with good medium+ finish. The wine is well balanced and can be cellared for several more years or consumed now with a good decant.

My score is a 95+ with room for a higher score with some more bottle age. This is a very well made and enjoyable Chardonnay from Mark Aubert, Bravo!

6/14/2021 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine:

2021 Napa - June 9-12: What an opener, I’m buying this. There are wines you can smell and taste early in their development and just know you are going to have trouble waiting on them to develop into beauty queens. This is one of those. Darker fruit profile, structured and chalky tannins, not a very helpful description, but just know this was delicious. Put these away for 5-7 years (longer for me) and then decant.

6/29/2021 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine:

Popped the cork and let air-out for approximately 30 minutes before 1st glass. Drank out of Grassl Liberte. Very bright, vibrant and energetic with a strong presence of orchard fruits. The acidity was very present. The wine opened up with time in the glass and extended time in the bottle. The best glass was the last after 1.5hrs of air in the bottle. I think this wine will integrate and show a little better with more time in the cellar. It is a step below the 2008 but still very enjoyable. I have 1 bottle left and if I have any restraint, I would like to revisit in 2+ years.