11/13/2023 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

This is delicious. For $30, it’s a no-brainer. On the nose, honey, grilled pineapples, tropical fruits, and hints of orange rind. On the palate, more honey and grilled pineapples, dried apricots followed by honeysuckles, sugar apples, oranges, caramel, and hints of ginger on the backend. This is truly lovely with its perfect balance of sweetness and acidity without anything out of place. This is so good, it puts Sauternes at more than twice the price to shame.

11/5/2023 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

Popped and poured a small glass, then decanted the rest of the bottle and drank over course of the evening and into the next day. Upon opening the nose was not giving up much. Coaxing over the next hour brought forth notes of dark fruits, damp earth, and fresh cracked peppers. On the palate, earthiness, undergrowth and mushrooms notes are apparent, followed by fresh cracked peppers and a stony salinity on the finish. Despite the tight tannins upon opening, the wine is well balanced and has lifts, evolving in the glass with humus, dark berries, white peppers and hints of legumes, and always followed by a sweet stony salinity finish. There’s plenty left in the tank, as this wine still has room to mellow out its tannins. Another 5 or so years in the bottle would improve it.

5/29/2023 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

Decanted and drank over 2 days. The nose evolved over time with notes of berries, freshly cut greens, hints of oak, pencil shavings, and licorice. On the palate are green leafy vegetables, dark fruits, black pepper/spices, licorice and firm tannins. Tannins still present on 2nd day.

7/24/2022 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

A fresh nose of citrus, stone fruits, minerals, spring flowers, and brioche. Lighter than I was expecting, but has lively acidity, foamy mousse, and vibrant mouthfeel. Finishes with a chalky, drying, and lingering Meyer lemon note. Very refreshing.

7/30/2022 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

This is such a pleasure to drink now. Youthful for a 24 year-old wine, with nose of humus, gravel, minerals, tobacco, black cherries, and black truffles. Next to the flamboyant and more floral nose of the 2006 Haut Brion, the La Mission felt more reserved, but every bit as complex. A bit tight at first, the palate is layered with spices, cigar, leather, minerality, and a lingering finish. Complex, refined, and lively for its age, this wine has more to give with time.

7/30/2022 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

Beautiful earthy and floral nose that’s just intoxicating to take in, enticing you to dig your nose deep in the glass for more. The palate is just as gorgeous with notes of freshly dug earth, slight barn yard, dark berries, hints of minerals, and worn-in leather. Silky tannins and impeccable balance bring the wine together for a long, elegant finish. This is pure class.

6/20/2022 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

Nose of honeysuckle, melons, and spring flowers. Not overoaked, the palate is balanced with just the right amount of butter and nuts.

4/2/2022 - Dark Horse Does not like this wine:

A bit of heat on the nose from the 14.5% alcohol that’s not well integrated in an otherwise fruitful nose. The oak was immediately apparent on the nose followed by hints of minerality. On the palate, the wine has bright acidity and is fruitful, but is overpowered by the heavy oak. The finish is short. This wine doesn’t quite drink like a prototypical Chardonnay, and that’s not a good thing. Unfortunately, the palate and nose are both off. “Karia” is definitely not as graceful as the name implies.

3/18/2022 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

A solid, balanced Chardonnay with a floral and fruity nose. Bright fruits with some butter on the palate and lingering minerality on the finish.

3/16/2022 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

Popped and poured. Balanced with good structures/tannins, but not giving much on the nose. In fact, the nose did not improve over the next 2 hours of dinner despite some coaxing. The palate has notes of dark fruits, oak, hints of tobacco and some earthiness, although the mid palate is a bit lacking. Perhaps more time in the bottle will improve this relatively young but enjoyable wine.

3/21/2021 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

The aromatic nose carries with it notes of plum, blackberries, dark fruits, and soy. On the palate, more dark fruits/berries that are covered in round and soft tannin. The mid palate is rich, sweet, and gamy with hints of garrigue. Finishes with a slight hint of tart strawberry. This is a delicious wine and a very good value.

2/14/2021 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

A decent weeknight drinker with nothing off-putting or extraordinary on the nose or palate. Dusty mouthfeel and jammy fruits make this a good barbecue or steak wine. Great value when on sale at Costco.

10/22/2020 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

Popped and poured. Paired with a prime NY strip and wild mushrooms. Deep red in the glass with some bricking at the edge. Nose of dark berries, graphite, freshly dug humus, barnyard funk, and interestingly, soy. The tannin is still present on the palate, but it is very silky. The wine evolved over the course of the evening with notes of oak, cedar, vanilla, dark berries, dark chocolate, and humus. After about 2 hours, most of the fruits and wood notes were gone, but was left with earthy notes and dark chocolate. This wine is definitely at its peak now and has the structure to last another decade or more.

9/15/2018 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

Still plenty of structure for its age. Nice fragrant nose of cigar, leather and a hint of greens. Opened up nicely over 4 hours with some aeration. Medium body with dark chocolate and hints of cigar & greens on the palate and good finish. Very enjoyable, but did not evolve as much in the glass as I’d hope, particularly the mid-palate.

1/19/2016 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

Light in color for a wine of its age, but the hallmark golden Sauternes color is still present. It's worth noting that the bottle is slightly taller and thinner than a typical 375ml bottle, making the wine appear even lighter next to a bottle from the same vintage. The wine has a wonderful nose of honeysuckle and caramelized pears and apricots. In the mouth, the wine is much more mature than it appears in the bottle or glass. The sugar has mellowed out and the mid-palate has gained a fatter, more matured and caramelized fruits sweetness. A delicious nectar, despite the deceptively young color.

7/4/2015 - Dark Horse Likes this wine:

Nice earthy and damp forest floor aroma with a hint of dark fruits and loads of mushrooms. Despite the pleasant nose, the attack was a bit weak and not very open - although there's an old-world elegance it all. Nice purple color with a thin light rim, but no sign of brickiness. There were plenty of sedimentations as expected. On the palate, it is very balanced with loads of wet earth, damp forest funk, and hints of minerality mixed with clay. Like the nose, it is loaded with wild mushrooms on the palate, but it's mixed with dark chocolate and mocha. Still a bit of fruits left - mostly dark berries and cherry. Very well structured and is drinking nicely. Barely noticed any heat on the somewhat short, but very pleasant finish. Overall a very good bottle and a pleasure to drink.