4/9/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Terrific bottle of wine. Popped and poured over a few hours on night 1, then finished the remainder on night 3 after vacuum sealing and storing in the fridge. Showed best on night 3.

Medium garnet. Nose is medium+ expressive with rose, cinnamon, lovely earth and traces of funk. Lovely palate, nice acid and some lightly grippy tannins into the finish. Tons of substance here from a structural standpoint. But then it also drinks with a very nice red fruit expression, bit of cherry liqueur but with a jolt of a mineralogy / iron note into the finish, which has good persistence.

As noted above, still very lovely on night 3. Nose is hard to describe, just complicated and pretty. Still showing enough structure to keep it from feeling tired or flabby.

4/5/2024 - 87tellub wrote:

Light to medium ruby red. Can certainly pick up some oak on the nose and a trace of heat, also something perfumed and floral. Palate is light to medium with a slight creaminess to the texture. Drinks a little unruly and warm. But, it's a decent weeknight cellar defender.

4/3/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Very light straw. Petrol on the nose with a swirl, also white peach, pineapple. Medium weight on the palate with nice freshness and a very persistent finish here. White pineapple, and guava / passion fruit. Goes on for a long time. Very easy to crush this. Paired well with a variety of sushi. Lovely.

4/1/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

PnP from a 375. Dark purple. Nose is saturated dark berry, black anise, espresso bean. Medium to full in body, with a real density to it, traces of cocoa, ripe blackberry, and a cumin-like spice note. If I'm looking to critique anything, I thought the finish could be a bit longer.

Note that 2 hours of bottle air is helping everything come together. Showed best at 55ish degrees. Certainly young, would imagine different/better in 5-10 years time.

3/18/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Smells a little of dusty wood with dried black fruit. Juicy dark cherry cola on the palate, but a little thin, on light to medium bodied frame. Relatively short finish. Not a ton to contemplate here but works for a random Wednesday night.

3/8/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Light to medium garnet. Nose is bright, red fruit, floral, brown sugar/cinnamon. Very nice depth on the initial entry. Creamy black raspberry with more of that cinnamon spice, but also a little bit of a darker twiggy stemmy forest floor type earthiness. Lovely palate with a bit of structure but balanced.

Drinking wonderfully. Still more primary than anything else.

3/23/2024 - 87tellub wrote:

A little too loud at the moment; could use a little more time.

Medium ruby purple. Some boisterouis fruit, dark black soil, traces of heat. Medium+ in body. Showing structure with a bit of cheek coating tannin. Medley of red fruits, firm plum, cherry, getting that fruit skin.

3/4/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Dark ruby, purple. Nose is bright and floral, showcasing juicy reddish/black fruit. Sticky and sappy fruit on the entry, darker in profile, like a black cherry cola, but also notes of blackberry and rhubarb. Nice balance of sweetnessnat first and then turning tart into the finish, which is a bit longer than I expected. Very tasty in a primary drinking sort of way.

3/1/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

A youthful looking creamy light ruby. Pleasing nose leads with some bright fruit, some dusty undertones, and has an earthy and savory element more underneath. Light to medium in body. Juicy light cherry cola notes with a mineral backbone. Fruit is somewhere between under-ripe to ripe, but very zingy. Cranberry. Pretty tasty stuff here.

Nothing at this stage that is overly complex or memorable but you can tell, this quite well-made. 100% a re-buy.

2/26/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Light garnet. Nose is waxy reddish fruit. Palate is almost medium in body, juicy, finishes slightly more ripe than the mid-palate indicated. Showing some tannic structure but not a big wall. Not bad.

Tough comp tonight against the 2010 Pertimali Brunello. (Using some of this in the Bolognese and will drink the rest over the weekend while we focus on the other wine tonight).

2/26/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Drinking exceptional right now. The texture stands out to me the most, along with the complexity of the nose, the balance, and then purity and freshness of fruit. Most memorable bottle I've had so far in 2024.

PnP. Light to medium garnet, some flecks of reddish/orange. Nose is robust and darker in fruit profile. Smells mostly primary at first, but then gains some complexity with further hints of sweet pipe tobacco and cigar box, smoky ash, dark anise and espresso bean. On the palate a silky texture, medium+ weight, black cherry, black anise, with a little bit of heat on the tongue. Lovely finish. Tannins approachable, good freshness and acid structure.

2/25/2024 - 87tellub wrote:

Light to medium garnet, with some hints or orange coming in. Nose is fairly fresh with light red berry, some florals, and soil. Palate showing more advanced, fruit fading. Somewhat mushy plummy notes. Still acid.

Really like the producer and this Bourgogne rouge but this bottle was showing a bit long in the tooth, unfortunately.

2/23/2024 - 87tellub wrote:

Pretty color, a medium gold. Nose of candle-wax, banana, some tropical fruit juice that has been left out for a day. Palate is light to medium showcasing a lot of crisp and tart acid into the finish, but not a lot else.

Not bad considering the level and age, but I'd say drink up. Nose is actually kinda complex in a getting mature way.

2/21/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Been on a Bojo kick recently and really enjoyed this one. So young there is not much complexity right now but what it is is hedonistic and enjoyable. Would love to re-visit in 3-5 years and see what's happening here.

Light to medium ruby red. Lovely perfumed nose that is very floral, very red fruited, very bright. Palate mirrors that, slightly creamy mid-palate and tons of acid structure on the finish. Light bodied and fresh. Quite long legs in the glass, is this 14%? Firm ripe strawberry fruit.

2/18/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

PnP. Dark in the glass. Nose shows off menthol, dark spice and soil along with mocha. Nice presence on the palate, medium to full entry, richness of fruit, leaning a little inky and syrupy, some secondary earthy notes. Night 3 showing more advanced, some tobacco/cigar box, mocha, slighty more raisined fruit.

Nice, if not memorable. Can drink now, or wait a few years yet.

2/14/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Drinking very nicely. A pity it cost $65, but that's the world we live in.

Light to medium garnet in the glass. Nose on PnP is bright, red-fruited, some cumin, traces of alcohol in the back of the nostrils; left it open for an hour and it is just pure goodness and more well knit-lovely fruit that seems a bit more dark than red on the initial inspection. On the palate nicely concentrated and crunchy red fruit. Firm and ripe red raspberry.

2/12/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Medium to dark ruby. Nose has a sweet profile of brown sugar and baking spice, then a little bit of burnt toast. Palate displays good energy, some alcohol. Medium to full in body, cherry liqueur, also slightly jammy and robust, finishing with notes of Mediterranean herbs, oregano and rosemary.

2/9/2024 - 87tellub wrote:

Definitely showing quite advanced secondary/tertiary notes. Initial read was this was flat and lacking structure, but with bottle air, yes it's soft, but it's still retains freshness.

Color looks pretty advanced with an orange tint. Nose seems fine, still some red fruit here, opens a bit after 30 minutes. Tannins fully resolved; mineral on the palate, iron into the finish; some dried red fruit notes, bit of burnt smoke.

2/7/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Nose smells like a lovely piece of salami. Delicate and juicy on the palate. Creamy red fruit and some orange citrus. Packs a nice red fruited punch in a pretty light little frame. Very nice bottle, good value.

2/5/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Reminded me very much of a more modern leaning Northern Rhone producer. Darker ruby. Needs an hour or two to open. Definite old-world Syrah vibes on the nose; leans toward a fruit expression but savory elements too; black olive. Palate is nicely structured yet approachable. Great intensity and then persistence on the finish. Lovely and balanced. Went from 89 to 92 on my scale over the 1st 3 hours.

2/3/2024 - 87tellub Does not like this wine:

Dark ruby. Slightly sweet nose of baked cherry, some cured meat, traces of vanilla. Light to medium in body, somewhat creamy mid-palate, black cherry cola, milk chocolate. Comes off as a bit to sweet and easy for me, but if you're looking for something that is very easy to drink and cheap, this is ready to go at this time. But not for me.

1/27/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

This wine was quite old-school Rhone like to me. Despite being so young, very earthy, savory and rustic instead of being glossy and fruit-dominant. Color is cloudy medium garnet. Smells a lot like a typical pinot noir on the PnP with fresh fruit and flowers shining through but then morphs into something much more interesting, savory and earth, after about two hours of air. Light to medium bodied on the entry with notes of game and a trace of pepper, olive, that then finishes red-fruited. Lovely. If it just had more weight, I would really really be tickled.

1/25/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Light to medium gold. Some richness to the nose. Soft citrus with a sweeter streak running through it. Light to medium on the palate. Vibrant, zesty tangy lemon and orange citrus offset with a mid-palate creaminess.

1/24/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Matte/cloudy medium to dark purple ruby. Pretty nose, flowers, bright red fruit, a savory/earthy sage expression. Medium+ in body, slightly chewy tannins. Loads of tart reddish-black fruit. Lots of structure at this early age. Showing a bit more rustic on night 2. Would like to try again in 2-4 years.

1/21/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Shiny medium to dark ruby. Nose is a raspberry cream but not giving much. Medium+ on the body. Tastes like a very frozen and concentrated tart dark berry. Nice acidity. Not a ton of character or complexity here at refrigerator temperature, but as it warms it opens up somewhat and is nicely fruity and drinkable. Fruit is more red upon opening, tart red plum, chilled big red bubblegum.

Conclusion is I tasted it too cold at first; certainly serve at about 55-60 for best results.

1/13/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Medium to dark purple. Nose is bright upon first glance with baked raspberry and blackberry, tiny trace of heat; bits of minerality and iron notes as well. Medium in body, palate is juicy cola, with darker fruits (blue and black) coming through, slightly biting on the finish. Refreshing acid.

Fresh, fruity, but with some substance for a random pick up. Good showing on night 2 as well. Good QpR.

1/9/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Light ruby. Nice pleasant and pretty nose of dusty red berries and minerality. Palate is very juicy, cranberry and tea notes, light to medium framed, and finishes with a nice jolt of red plum.

Was going to say, this is a very lovely little quaffer here, but that would be underplaying its excellence. Definite re-buy for me. Still hangs in on day 4. A nice Beaujolais is a great comp for this thinking back on this bottle.

1/6/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Medium to dark ruby. Not super giving on the nose on pop and pour, dark in profile, fruit and earth, some wood. More giving on the palate although quite tannic on the entry. Get a nice mid-palate core of black pepper, meaty notes, underripe blackberry and violets.

Young but tons and tons of promise. Score reflective of tonight, not the potential. Check back on this vintage in 3-5 years. Would buy more to lay down now.

1/4/2024 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Vibrant light to medium ruby. Nose is epressive, a bit glossy, getting some creamy oaky notes and baking spice. Also some twiggy earthy notes. Palate is similar. Juicy dark cherry cola, light in body. Finish is long. This is speaking to me much more than the 1st bottle I had.

Primary goodness right now and just what I needed tonight. I don't think this is a long, long lived bottle, though.

12/24/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Vibrant medium+ ruby. Nose is bright, baking spice, brown sugar, red-fruit profile bordering on ripe, some earthy notes underneath. The nose blossomed with just 15 minutes of bottle air relative to initial pop and pour. Almost medium on the palate, can feel a bit of alcohol on the tongue, very primary and delicious fresh cherry and strawberry; some cola and bubblegum elements for those fruits.

Tasty, could use some years to settle down just a smidge. This is a wine, certainly right now, you definitely want to serve slightly chilled at about 55 degrees to combat the alcohol notes.

12/28/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Light to medium garnet. Nose is a little tight but giving away some dark red fruit, red licorice. Clean and pretty if not bold. Palate pops immediately, red rocks, cranberry, firm little blueberries. Medium bodied, with a nice amount of strucutre showing. Little bit short, though? Had some left 2 days later and not giving a lot on night 3.

Might be in a bit of a strange phase, would wait.

12/30/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Light straw and gold. Clementine, pineapple, lemon; nutty almond. Good weight on the palate, crisp lip smacker into the finish which then fleshes out. Nice persistence and intensity, very very nice.

12/29/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Light gold. I smell lemon, toasted pineapple, wet steel. Medium in body. Nicely in balance with a juicy mid-palate into a crisp finish with nice length and intensity. Drinking lovely right now. If you have one, open it up.

12/31/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

NYE 2023: Initially opened this 2 weeks ago on the 16th of December 2023. The note I'm writing tonight is from the same bottle 2 weeks later on NYE. Not a ton of change in this bottle over that time period, just a bit softer/turned down 2 weeks on.

Color is medium to dark purple. Nose of fig, warm caramel, fresh paint. A lot of concentration here, sweet dark berries, milk chocolate, raisin. Finish lingers there for a long time and gives you layers and layers of good stuff. Little too sweet is the only criticism on N1. N2: more balanced. Tongue coating, not cloying.

Update 2 weeks later: Not much has changed! Nose a bit more subdued but still pretty nice on the palate. Many decades of life left.

12/31/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

NYE 2023: PnP from a 375 and notes over a couple of hours of small tastes.

On the nose it reminds me of butterscotch, honey, candle-wax, toasted crème brulee, tartar sauce (?). Incredibly thick on the palate, just inky. More of that crème brulee into the finish, with toffee, butterscotch. Wow.

The only thing keeping this from a 95-97 on my scale would be some more acid and a longer finish. Still, quite nice.

12/31/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

NYE 2023: This was a great bottle of wine. Opened at 2pm, let it slow ox, and have impressions from 3 different samples, from PnP, to 45 minutes later, to 2-5 hours later.

Medium to dark garnet. Nose is bright and alive upon first inspection. Combination of mineral red rocks, earthy notes and a bit of red fruit. Almost medium in body, resolved tannins, still a refreshing dose of acidity. Into the finish the fruit profile becomes more baked than fresh with notes of anise.

Update: already better with just 30-45 minutes of bottle air. Just very pretty and balanced. Some cigar box nose, more red plum palate, good intensity on the finish. Caramel and fig creeping in.

2 hours of air and it's put on a little weight. Texture is very fine and lovely.

Can obviously enjoy this now, but this bottle will still have been very fine in 5 years, probably even 10 or possibly more with proper storage.

12/31/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

NYE 2023: Beautiful salmon and rose gold color. Nose shows off buttered toast and popcorn at first; saline and sea spray later. On the palate sea shell, orange rind. It is creamy on the mid-palate before developing into a very dry and crisp finish. Very nice.

12/16/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Youthful looking medium to dark ruby with purple. Smells like ripe, jammier purple/blue fruit. Quite an entry on the palate. Approachable but fresh, juicy, very fruit primary, quite nice. Will be interesting to try this again in 5, 10 years. Primary now, hopefully some upside as complexity develops.

12/16/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

PnP: Medium garnet. Pretty nose, high-toned red berries, florals. Trace of oak upon big whiff, almost like the last bits of a dying campfire. Nice medium+weight and presence on the entry, palate hits you with a mineral streak. Good concentration of perfectly ripe red berries. Good persistence. Very smooth and integrated tannin. 91 on PnP and will re-visit in several hours after a decant.

Updating, and this never really changed or improved over 5-7 hours. It was fine, but would wait and hopefully it develops or blossoms.

12/16/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

PnP: dark ruby. Nose is gingerbread (blows off quickly), pencil lead, leather, anise. On the palate it's initially quite structured for 18 years of age, lovely dark fruit, bitter chocolate, chewy. Very lovely palate on PnP. This bottle has a ton of gas in the tank.

Decanted and put back in the bottle and we drank the rest 3-6 hours later. Softened it a bit; I actually enjoyed it more right out of the bottle.

12/16/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Strong reduction / gunpowder / lit match on the PnP. Medium to full in body. A lot of concentration and power. Honey, peach, guava, lemon. This is really great stuff. A crowd favorite over the course of the evening.

12/16/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Nice strong petrol and tar on the nose. Very precise citrus on the palate, wet stone, charred lemon. Zippy. Good persistence. Very lovely.

12/7/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Black cherry and black raspberry, enhanced by a bit of earthiness. Lovely entry. Juicy dark cherry, smooth tannins, some zip into a finish that's like biting into a red table grape. Great daily drinker here.

12/4/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Purchased in early 2018 and cellared since then. Medium purple, long thin legs on the glass. Nose shows black licorice, espresso, leather, graphite, meat, dark spice. Alive on the palate, nicely integrated structure with still a lot of fruit coming forward. Dark berry fruit, dark chocolate.

Reminds me of a nice classified left bank Bordeaux. Very good bottle of wine at 9 years of age. Can certainly drink now but there are many years left on this.

12/1/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Light ruby, slightly cloudy. Nice delicate pure fruit nose. The nose really blossoms with a bit of air and reminds me of Ceritas. Palate is wet tea leaves, a lot of acidity, cranberry, tiny little blueberries and smushed raspberries/strawberries. Wouldn't mind a touch more ripeness here but does have a lot of structure.

Would have guessed it's under 13%, but the label says 13.3%. This is light, fresh and fun but has a bit of complexity and substance. Great value for $25. Had some left on N4 and by then it had lost its fastball, a bit sour, but still, I leave with good impressions of this wine.

11/27/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Needs a lot of time right now to come around, so give it a long decant or wait.

Medium garnet. PnP impression is it's showing very reserved. Spice, no traces of any heat. Delicate entry, almost medium in body. Light red berry fruit, refreshing acid. More open after just 20 minutes of bottle air with aromas of bright cherry.

4 hours late and the palate finally hit but still holding something back.

N2: Palate has more weight and showing more concentration. The last glass on N2 is what I'd hoped this would be from the start. It went from an 88 on the PnP to near 93 at the end of N2.

11/23/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Medium to dark ruby. Big nose, somewhat ripe but fairly nondescript; cocoa powder, blackberry, some Christmas spice. Nicely structured on the palate but drinkable. Plum, dark spice, oregano on the finish.

11/23/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

Very light gold, almost colorless. Smells warm, melted candle wax, vanilla, some grassy sage. Palate has a very lovely rounded creamines to it. Guava and passionfruit, orange peel. Intensity into the close. Very tasty.

11/22/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

PnP and consumed over two nights. Smells deep and dark; little funk and barn. Wonderful weight and texture on the entry. Inky and dense to a degree but light on its feet and very balanced. Plum, black olive. N2: getting a little pepper on the nose. Overall drinking better than it did on N1. Quite nice, this.

11/19/2023 - 87tellub Likes this wine:

This smells great. Some matchstick and then creamy stonefruit, cut with citrus. Palate mirrors that. White peach, pineapple, pear, traces of green apple. Good length. Would buy this again for sure.