4/21/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Pasta and red sauce. Opened to savor the final day of break. I recall seeing notes to save this, and glad we did. Really nice offering. Lively acidity and cherry reds on the nose, with some aging port-like menthols. This showing bright cherry and fruit paste, with more mature plums and black cherry. Wish we had a couple more.

4/4/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured on a nor’easter night. Dark, monolithic and dense. Black olive juice on the nose. Brooding, chewy. Dense fruit and not overly sweet. Very solid and muscular.

3/31/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened, allowed to warm up, and served. Medium body, solid ruby. Very floral nose with some licorice and menthol. Nice acidity and balance - lithe and aging well. The nose is quite distinct and classy. Decent fruit and not overly dense. Not as good on day two so I would suggest this is fairly mature at present.

3/22/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured, from the cellar. Deep purple to the rim, thick and full bodied. Lush, humid, multi-layered fruit on the nose. Blackberry, black cherry, smooth, velveteen, really nice wine. Day two the remaining glass was a bit more sour and disjointed, yet still very thick and full. Taking a point off for the day two experience.

2/24/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. I've always been a D'Arenberg fan of all their unique offerings, and these 90s bottlings are quite nice. Light body, with a very floral nose of violets. Smooth and supple, with decent fruit and a distinctive palate of florals and herbs.

2/17/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Nice purple with no bricking, almost opaque. Full round sweet fruit on the nose. Ripe berry melange, plums, blackberries, hint of cedar and cinnamon spice. One the palate, a lush cascade of sweet fruit on a velvety carpet. Really smooth and a pleasure to drink. With air, quite full and fleshy, with fruity and jammy blacks and blues. Boysenberry delight.

2/14/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured from passive cellar. Barnyard funk on the nose at open, very dark opaque reds in the glass. Barn, then black cherry and fruit leather on the nose. Exceptional level of fruit at the attack - cherry and jammy reds......quite massive still. Amazing at 22 years out really. On day two much of the same, with the palate developing some tart sour cherry notes and high framed acidic notes. Still quite dense and concentrated.

2/11/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Very dark and purply. Heady jammy blacks and blues predominate. Thick and inky, any zin bramble masked by berry compote. Blackberry, toasty blues and lush carpet of dense fruit. Not hot, just solid juice.

2/7/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened for Karen's 50th birthday....to think these grapes were picked in the year she was born, and this bottle has been waiting, traveling wherever it has been, for this day is amazing when you think about it. Hard to find a '74, but settled on this bottle. I highly recommend saving important old bottles for special events. Cork so delicate it was brittle on top, spongy and broke in half at the bottom. Ruby to tangerine at the edges. Floral, green, savory elements of strawberry, new leather, clove, cinnamon on the nose. Feminine, with crisp acidity. Fruit nearly all devolved....hints of underripe strawberry, crisp orange, cran. Lithe and smooth. After several hours of air and on day two, gained much flesh and body, even better with more depth and mid-palate. Cherry notes, with a smoother finish. Didn't last long enough for more notes, but quite enjoyable. I would strongly recommend opening, giving air before pouring, and take your time to enjoy as this got better with air.

1/25/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured to compare against the '09. This comes out of the gate more full bodied than the '09 initially, and showing a much riper, and mature profile. Some port like qualities here, with plummy dark weight and heft. I don't know why but a lot of the Turleys are starting to taste the same to me.

1/22/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Very dark, and somewhat supple full to medium body initially. Notes of very ripe reds and blacks, with some dusty mineral qualities. With air, fleshing out and gaining body, without the harsh alcohol notes that sometimes follow. Throwing some sediment at the end of the bottle. Nice.

1/20/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Medium body at open, there's some freshness and flowers amidst the fruit. With air, this is pretty light and lively - with some sweet fruit. Strawberry, sassafras, raspberry and cinnamon on the nose, showing a lively backend with an acidic ray through the attack and middle. Enjoyable.

1/15/2024 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and enjoyed over several days. Very light and watery upon open, but fleshed out over the five days of drinking. Very distinct cola note at first, quite unique, and muted a bit over time as the fruit density kicked in. Overall feminine, light on it's feet, and enjoyable.

12/29/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and served. Very dark with slight bricking. Full bodied, big wine. This bottle showing more maturity, smooth and inky and more blue fruit dominated. A little less sweetness, more purple velvet. A little graphite, and a touch of anise on the nose as well. Coming off a cold so this note might be slightly affected.

12/21/2022 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and enjoyed in one setting. Brambly nose. A bit acidic with some tartness smoothing out with air. Solid as all Biale's are - full bodied, plenty of reds and blacks.....no major nuances coming out, but holding fine at 10 years out.

12/20/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Removed from the cellar and poured after some warming. Paired with spicy food. Nice and oily mouthfeel and petrol aromas. Full bodied and thick. Honeyed flavors - lychee, candied lemon and apricot. A touch flabby and could use more acidity but quite nice.

11/27/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Very dark to pink on the rim. Humid boysenberry and marionberry on the nose. Youthful and deeply lush fruited. Full bodied and dense jammy wine. This is nice in that the alcohol doesn't overpower the fruit. Smooth reds and blacks on the finish. Looks like it hit a dumb phase for a spell based on past reviews but now it's singing.

11/18/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Short-ish cork slightly dry. Dark wine showing slight bricking in perfect balance. Solid core of dense fruit still showing some sweetness and pizazz, but deftly balanced. Dark reds and blacks, with some underbrush and dusty tannin. Really nice solid wine work 6x the $20 price tag back in the day. Smooth, classy and everything in balance with air - really nice showing and sadly the last bottle. At 22 years out, this is really good.

11/12/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured over two nights. Very dark, brambly black thick profile. Heady jungle of spices, blacks and char-grilled blues dominate. Some classic zin aromatics, leading one into the Amazon of bushwhacking fruits. Plush and humid, but not overly so. Quite enjoyable.

10/30/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. A little funk on the nose, this wine tasting similar to prior bottles with a smooth dusty brick profile and a garrigue element to the braised red fruits.

10/24/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured from recent auction purchase. Wow, such a nice wine and QPR....love the '97s. A little barn funk on the nose. A little bricking to dark red/purple. Purple and chewy palate - this is lively and dense and tons of plum, blacks, with some cedar/licorice starting to show right upon open. Day two under vac-u-vin, the barn element is gone, and this is much darker and fuller - black, briar, tea leaf, very well integrated tannins. The sweetness is mostly resolved, leaving a full bodies dark profile that's quite enjoyable.

10/20/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured from wine cooler. Tight and needs to warm up.....Solid ruby with no bricking. Bright bing cherry, and the tomato leaf/herbal qualities notes below are on point. Lean in the palate, needs air, but very smooth and lithe. Will update as this evolves. With air, the secondar5ies emerging....dusty, leathery notes, cedar, some licorice, darker cherry. Day two very acidic spine and cherry dominated core - lively and comes across on the lighter side of the spectrum - more red than blue or purple. Excellent example of the height of Napa cab evolution in the 90s, which to me is the best decade in the history of California cabernets and much better IMO than today's corpulent and overpriced offerings. Final observations with last glass on day 3, fleshed out much more....more full bodied, less acidic, more brawny and deeper reds. Quite nice with 3 days of air - perhaps this bottle was stored so well that it was still a sleeping baby.

9/29/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured - heady, dark purple to black braised char elements, ripe strawberries, blackberries, etc. Potent juice. Still fairly lively and ripe.

9/16/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and served....very zinny nose of pepper, bramble and spice. Dark and jammy, with the Biale toast that I seem to recognize from them. Hoisin, blackberry jam, bruised strawberry palate....nearly overdone but right there on the line. Thick, dense, and solid.

8/30/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Full bodied deep colored, showing some smoothness with dark reds and blacks. Similar to many Turley's, perhaps my tastes are changing as many of them seem similar. Good, but lacking some character.

8/26/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured - cork wickedly stained and seeped through at some point. Slightest barnyard on the nose blew off very quickly. Spanish garrigue and red olives, cherry and dark spices on the nose. Very full bodied and lush - mature, velvety and quite enjoyable. Day two, barny note is back, but adds to the garrigue - very round and fuzzy profile....medium bodied, light to oranging color profile - vanilla, tobacco, wet grass on the nose....lush smooth cherry, spice on the palate. Still quite a nice wine.

8/22/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Nice, dar, dense and chewy. In a fine place still. Lush concentrated fruit puree flavors with blackberry, black cherry up front. Some secondaries have developed, but this is in a quite ripe, prime drinking window.

8/20/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured - dark and cense - mature and smooth, with cherry and cherry notes, Fairly broad and lush, but lacking some energy and pizazz. From its younger precocious years, this has mellowed nicely and still offers a level of quality and enjoyment.

8/6/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

1/2 bottle removed from cellar since release and opened. Liquified light crude caramel. Nice yellow coloring, maturing. Creme Brulee nose, bristling with uber ripe apricot, quince, yellow raspberry, honey, brown sugar. Very unctuous and dense - really nice showing.

7/30/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Perfect summer day. Opened and poured - smooth velvety creamy zin at open, very dark drimson with tinges of bricking. Dark brooding nose of black, blue and deep red fruits....jammy muted nose but what's there is very good. Turning a wee bit sour with air, fleshing the strawberry tones over humid acetylene clouds. Keeping the round frame, flavors muting a bit.

6/18/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened for birthday and fathers day. Big, dark, jammy, a little baby fat and flab, thick, dense, very nice olfactories at such a young age - a little cedar, asian spices, cinammon, chocolate. Velvet tannin, plush and broad. Deep dark reds and purples.....boysenberry, blueberry, blackberry, smoked plum. Really nice wine built for now. Gets close to the edge of over the top cheap over oxidized cab but stays just on the right side, with very interesting secondaries and layers. Would be interesting to try this in 20 years.

6/13/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Pre-birthday 1/2 bottle. Brought from cold cellar, to room temp. Sharp nose of vanilla, cherry, iron, metallic dust. Fleshing out to a medium to full light ruby elixir. Gaining depth and traction with air and warmth, we have a warming and lush velvet pool of ripe strawberry, red cherry, neutral heft and smooth finish. I can tell this has some hidden depth and ABV, and perhaps it will further develop - but at 1/2 bottle likely won't be able to discern. By the last sip this was really good.....did it a disservice by bringing up from the cellar, opening and pouring....should really let this warm and open before drinking, and when you do it will be a really nice wine.

5/16/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured with burrito night. Pours a ruby to pink/slight oranging on the rim. Cork showed some weakening and disintegrative beginnings...Medium bodied, expressive pinot nose on the slightly musky side. Nice and integrated, with good fruit still - showing plum, dark strawberry, hoisin, fruit leather. Alcohol well integrated - not too hot.

5/5/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Enjoyed over three days. Inky, purply iodine thick and full bodied. Fruit paste, bubble yum, sweet plum, dense chewy tooth staining reserves of iodine blues and blacks. There's an interesting humid freshness on the nose still. Tangy, nice sweetness, thick boysenberry, blueberry jam, smooth, voluptuous. Final glass on night 4 or 5 - forgot to vac-u-vin so this has been out. Finally a bit flabby and oxidixed - heavy jammy fruit and corpulence. Still all good, just tasting like one of those knock-off fruit bomb cheap wines at this point.

4/27/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Spring Rite of Passage bottle. Opened and poured to celebrate springs arrival. Quite a gold color for a Kab. Hints of oily petrol, lychee, quince, pear and lemon. Not as sweet, not as acidic as the best years. Faint citrus sweets, a little viscous in the mouth. Lemon bar flavors. Subtle but lacking a little electricity and sweetness at this point. A little better on day two and three, showing a little more clarity and acidity, so will bump up a point.

4/23/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened to celebrate discharge. Pours a watery medium red. Classic Zin nose of musk, bramble, high acid pepper and strawberry. Flavor profile continues the classic old school zin profile. Fleshed out and gains depth on day two...darker, meatier, losing a bit of acidity and zin bramble and deeper blacks and jam. Very nice.

4/12/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured with lamb merguez and salad. Oxblood with orange on the rim. Quite lively and fresh still. Puckering and tangy. We have deep dark notes of boysenberry and bruised plum and strawberry. Good sweet fruit, slightly overripe but in a very good place. Delicious. Certainly at peak to slightly turning over. With a day of air, really deepening and fleshing out.....blacks and purples coming out....deep thick lagoon of plum, prune, black raspberry, blackberry....secondaries and somewhat flabby over-oxidized fruits but barely so and it comes off remarkably well balanced. Really nice place right now at 20 years out.....amazing actually. For $17 this drinks like a bottle many multiples of that.

4/6/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Medium body, some very slight barny notes blew off quickly....rose petals on the nose. Nice acidity, cherry and hints of plums and strawberry. Still drinking well on day two plus....the best bottle of this so far.

3/24/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened for special occasion. Minimal bricking and relatively youthful appearance. Pulled from cellar since purchase and poured....needs to warm up and open. Classic red cherry nose, with bubbalicious or perhaps bubble yum notes, with expansive florals as it opens, some vanilla. Some tartness and lively bright acidity, with tang elements, keeping this on the fresh side vs. the flabby side. Day two under vac-u-vin - acidic and lively, cherry and some hits of licorice notes for sure, a little muted and angular. Good but lacking a little fruit.

3/15/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

PnP, spaghetti and meatballs night. Medium body with clear liquidy and glycerol. Medium strawberry on the nose, with the pomegranate reduction braise so typical. On the palate, watery fruity notes, again strawberry. There's some deeper bruised fruit notes as well, and some evidence that this is a pinot. Solid.

2/26/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and enjoyed over a few days. Very solid, dusty core of cherry, red rock dust, wild brambles. Neutral and velvety and in a good place. Will udpate more.

2/23/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Very dark...very jam-centric zin. Nice sweetness as the last several Turley's have been too hot and overbearing, lacking true zin characteristics. This one showing maturing blacks and dark reds - boysenberry, blackberry, dense woven textures. Nice bottle.

2/3/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Slight bricking at the rim. Round and soft are good words for the wine when first opened. Blue fruited, with some vanilla and cherry notes. A little reticent, not a fruit bomb...velvety at this stage....a little brick dust, not overly tannic. Let's see what a couple hours of air does....good but lacking verve and punch. More on the smooth, velvety and neutral side.

1/27/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and enjoyed over 3 evenings. Medium body, sweet braised KB textures and flavors - plum, hoisin, pomegranate, strawberry. High octane, always a pleasure.

1/26/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured on a snowy evening. Very dark with mild bricking on the rim. Very red and cherry forward. Acidic tart and bright cherry notes on the nose and palate. Also some dark blueberry/blackberry on the nose, with some mild secondaries kicking-in....leather, anise. Full bodied but not too heavy, plenty of acids to keep it lively. Comparing to my last note nearly 10 years ago, this has evolved quite well and mellowed out in a positive trajectory. Very cherry, and very nice for 22 years in bottle indeed. A steal at $20 this wine today could cost $100+

1/7/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and enjoyed with Turkey potted pie. Full bodied, classic Turley heat and size. Braised fruits, fairly resolved, some zin bramble.

12/29/2022 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured with a ragu. Full bodied, luscious deep purples and blacks. Fairly smooth....I can feel the octane, but it's not too overdone. A little lacking in bramble, spices and layers, but overall solid. Day two, continues its jammy ride, without being overt in any particular direction. Solid, nice, yummy.

12/16/2022 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened and poured. Initially a very muted minty nose of menthol and glycerin. Opened to a ruddy purple to orange rim. Lots of citrus, acidic high notes on the nose. *** smacking boozy flavor profile with mostly resolved tannins and fruits, leaving it feeling like a candied fruit cake flavored high potency grain alcohol intended to get one heavily drunk. There are some good qualities here, but at this point in evolution it's past prime, and while interesting doesn't have enough fruit or nuance to keep one pondering...

12/11/2022 - Senso-beak wrote:

Enjoyed with fettuccine. Blue scented, pours a deep red with no real signs of oranging yet. ribbon candy and pink taffy nose, with some Tahitian vanilla and Zanzibaribbean Fuu fruit. Neutral-ish on the palate, yet full bodied with date pastes, leathery drying tannin, turbinado, black cherry and cigar box.

12/11/2022 - Senso-beak wrote:

Imbibed as part of a 4 year vertical of RR bottlings including 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2020. This was some folks favorite, including mine. Showed more fruit and identifiable as a younger vintage. A bit more briar and bramble, wilder spices and just a bit more intensity at this stage.