12/19/2023 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

grip, iron, graphite tart blue/purple fruit, coffee, charred oak.

9/25/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

It's been 6 years since I last had it.

I actually remember it because it made the most lovely pan reduction sauce with veal stock for steaks and paired well with the steaks too.

Pure tart cherry, leather, herbs. I would love to revisit this.

9/3/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Delicious.

Baking spices, tobacco and red fruit on the nose.

Coffee, red fruit and balanced acidity on the palate.

Paired great with a prime ribeye steak.

I find the notes below to be quite accurate.

2/14/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Delicious and definitely in the right place vs the tight 2015

1/23/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Delicious!

When first opened the front was very sweet with candied cherries, smoked meat, following day the sweetness waned and was more balanced.

1/21/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Very nice. Strawberry, tart edge. Approachable barolol for the price.

1/14/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Drank over 3 days.

First 2 days this was closed down hard.

3rd day it had that gravel, flowers and elegance.

Reminds me of Lail Daniel's Cuvee at a more affordable price.

1/10/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Powerfully tannic, earthy and floral.

1/8/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Does not like this wine:

Bubble gum, red wine vinegar and crunchy grapes

1/7/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

I'm so glad I found a bottle of this from a new wine/liquor store I've found that belong to a lovely couple.

I was a bit worried that this would bottle would be flawed like 2/3 bottles of 97 Napanook I purchased from winebid(1 of the bottles were perfect and the wine was as well) but gladly that wasn't the case.

Reminiscint of the 2003 Dominus I had a few years ago.

Touch green and cherry and currant. Cocoa, leather and tobacco.

1/7/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Very nice french white for the price. A touch on the acidic/mineral side but not austere. Would go very well with food.

1/3/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

agree with chifred

12/30/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Impressive

When I got home this was already decanted for 5 hours. Despite that it wasn't flabby. Crisp honey crisp apples, cream, lemon.

12/27/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Nice, don't have much to add to what the others have said.

12/27/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

French Oak and Butterscotch on the nose but the palate comes with quite a bit of minerals, acidity, lemon zest and lemon pith but still quite rich.

Could probably use some age.

11/17/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Meaty, tannic, red fruit. Solid cab for the price.

Tasted after clearing my sinuses. Beautiful baking spices and a very pretty but masculine wine.

11/14/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Definitely my favorite chard from the recent fall allocation from Kistler.

Lime zest, chalky minerality, sea salt, chamomile balanced by the malo and oak.

11/13/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Definitely that lime, chalky mineral/sea salt character as mentioned in the note below.

11/12/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Durell comes across richer and more complete in my estimation the the Hudson Vineyard. Tropical fruit such as pineapple are present with a bit of butterscotch. Good acidity, some mineral character.

I do double decant these young whites to open then up a bit.

11/11/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Agree with notes below

11/11/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

A bit reductive and closed upon opening. With further air the richness comes through. Roasted almonds, lemon, chamomile and some flint and a hint of gunpowder.

Very much in line with the 2016 Hudson I had last time.

My favorite chard vineyard I've had so far from Kistler is their Stone Flat Vineyard.

11/10/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Interesting

11/6/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Wow

Great recommendation from the wine person at Central Market

Getting burgundy blind irrespective of the price point has typically resulted in disappointment but this is good.

11/6/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Pleasant

11/6/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Delicious, racy, rich with lemon curd.

Not austere.

11/5/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Not recent but from memory years ago.

Good right out of the bottle. Fresh plums and bright red fruit showing along with tobacco. It definitely had a bit of barnyard/funk which I found very enjoyable and balanced by the fruit.

11/5/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Been a long time ago so memory is hazy.

But this was one of the first cabs that really struck me that it was meaty, full bodied and rich with dark fruit in the background. Sorta like there was beef jerky and I really enjoyed that aspect.

11/3/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

In line with the 2012 and 2013 vintages although I would give the edge to the 2012 vintage.

Huge tempranillo, concentrated, charred oak and delicious.

A bit of that amarone character comes through that is more apparent than in the 12 and 13 vintages. Not sure if this is a result of how the drying period went.

11/2/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Very fresh red fruit. Raspberries, tart cherries coming across with good use of American oak. Some dill, coconut. Leather.

I actually liked this more than the 2005 904 I had years ago.

10/31/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

This is a touch rough compared to the vacqueyras I recently had, still very good.

10/31/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

75% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 5% Mourvedre, this is sexy, silky smooth and a great value for the price.

10/27/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

This sauv blanc is full of goose berries, fresh tennis ball and minerals and acidity.

This would really appeal to those who like this side of sauv blanc.

I preferred the Sancerre I had recently as it leaned more on the tropical fruit and drier side of what Sauv Blanc can be and what I presume to be more food friendly.

10/25/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Decent

10/19/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

This is amazing Chianti/Sangiovese.

Bone dry. Huge dusty tannins, leather. The nose is so distinct. Leather.

10/19/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Surprisingly I find a bit of bottle variation.

I've had 3-4 bottles of this stuff(at 20 bucks a bottle at costco this is a steal)

When it's off it's a decent red wine and when it's on it's jammy zin fruit and integrated oak.

10/16/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Again a huge massive wine though I think the 2012 vintage may edge out the 2013 vintage.

100% Tempranillo from old what I suspect un-grafted vines with their "prephilloxera" statement on the bottle somewhat imitating the Amarone by letting the clusters dry for a few weeks before vinification and aged in 100% new french oak barrels for 24 months.

Again I get none of that Amarone characteristic of raisins and this is certainly Tempranillo.

Black currants. Fig paste. Bit of earth.

10/14/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Very sweet, petrol, decent acidity. Not personally to my tastes.

10/14/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Tight, iron, minerals, fine sweet tannins.

Recommend older vintages, this is a baby even with quite a few hours of decanting.

10/13/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

First try of Smith-Madrone's Cook's Flat.

This is definitely up there with the likes of Chappellet Pritchard Hill Estate, Pahlmeyer Napa Valley Proprietary Red or Joseph Phelps Insignia which is interesting since this isn't 100% cab.

The barrique exudes fine french oak with vanilla, hints of tobacco on the nose. On the palate the fruit is concentrated black and red fruit. Some minerality.

Would agree that this would reward cellaring. Would love to try the older vintages.

10/12/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Seems somewhat green. Wouldn't be surprised if there was whole cluster.

The Piazzo opened up with tar and roses but this is more cherry and starwberry.

10/9/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

A tough, taut young barolo. Good for the price though.

10/6/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

My expectations may have been set too high as I told the wine person that since I was a fan of Shafer HSS and 1.5 I would enjoy this at a fraction of the price of what HSS goes for and I paid approximately 100 dollars for it.

It's possible this wine was too young or not decanted enough. I probably wouldn't mind giving this a try again but there were other < 100 dollar wines from Specs I would definitely try again over this one.

10/6/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Agree with the restraint comment.

Brooding, dark fruits. Granite undercurrent with more air a flinty minerality and acidity become present on the front of the palate. Bramble? I wouldn't be surprised if this was whole clusters.

For those that may of had it, reminds me of the 2013 Faust Cab I had.

10/2/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Very very nice chardonnay for the price.

Lemon peel, core of minerals, savory core, acidity present.

This chard is a step above other Napa Chards for its price. Definitely try their Riesling and I would say the their Chard stands up to their Rieslng.

10/2/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Fruit forward, candied cherry. Some Mineral Core.

Don't disagree with the tomato leaf descriptor.

I was over the moon with their Riesling.

Love that they dry farm.

Sorta between the restraint and elegance a producer like Snowden strives for and the fruit forward concentration and tannic grip Shafer has however I would say more approachable to many palates.

10/2/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Bit rough around the edges but enjoyable.

Vigna alle Nicchie is on a whole other level!

9/27/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Super quaffable.

Pencil shavings, cassiss, red cherry, smooth. Hint of tobacco and earth.

Reminds me of the 2014 vintage.

9/27/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

I had to give Signorello's Chard's a try after BestDamnCab lauded the 2015 vintage(which I guess I'll be on the look out for).

The 2017 Hope's Cuvee seems to be far richer than anything I've had from Kistler or Aubert. The butter than was present upon opening turned into minerals and other stone fruit. Wine had decent acidity and nice complexity.

9/25/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Agree with the reviews below

9/21/2021 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine:

Very light sauv blanc