7/26/2023 - Spencer wrote:

A bit vegetal and lean. Drinkable, but not particularly pleasurable.

5/19/2017 - Spencer wrote:

One of the most badly corked wines I've ever had. A shame, as this was my only bottle. EDIT - Hardy saw this note and reached out to me to replace the bottle. Great customer service. Thank you Hardy!

5/1/2015 - Spencer wrote:

This has aged nicely and is at peak right now. The oak has integrated, balanced, surprisingly elegant. When this was younger it seemed dominated by the merlot, but now it's showing more of a cab franc character.

4/30/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Under screwcap. This has aged beautifully. Was worried that this would be too big, but it is exceptionally well-balanced. A bit of barnyard/funk, brambly fruit, deep, complex, very long, complete finish. At $45 on release in 2006 this wasn't cheap, but I wish I had bought more.

4/28/2015 - Spencer wrote:

A bit simple, but crisp, refreshing, and very drinkable. A great value and I could imagine going through a lot of this during the summer.

4/26/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Another excellent vintage of this wine. Good acidity, mineral, surprisingly complex at this stage. Should be even better in a few years.

4/25/2015 - Spencer wrote:

The best California Carignane I've had. Balanced, bright, pure. Not muddy like I find most Carignanes. No reason not to drink this now.

4/21/2015 - Spencer wrote:

This wine has not changed in 10 years. Viscous, but with nice acidity giving it lift. Complex and long. Probably not as good as the '71, but excellent and should last forever.

4/21/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Not quite as vibrant/youthful as past bottles, but still quite nice. Not much fruit or structure left, but this is gentle and balanced. Gained complexity with air.

4/23/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Another excellent bottle of this wine. Very mineral and bright. Long, expansive finish. Great value.

4/22/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Big, but fairly well balanced. Strong eucalyptus/minty character. Still some prominent oak. Very similar to Washington state cab blends. Not really my style, but not a bad wine, and ageing better than I expected.

4/22/2015 - Spencer wrote:

I wasn't crazy about the 2012 version of this wine, so I didn't take my full allocation of the 2013. Big mistake. This wine is fantastic. It doesn't scream Chenin Blanc, in fact it is quite Riesling-ish. Bright, lively acidity, citrus, wet gravel, very long and complete. Drinking beautifully right now, but I would expect this to age gracefully. Tremendous value.
Edited to say that by the second night this was showing more Chenin Blanc character with a waxy/lanolin note.

4/21/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Another excellent bottle of this wine. Elegant, balanced, drinking beautifully now.

4/19/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Another underwhelming bottle of this wine. Simple and one-dimensional. Very poor value compared to other wines in the Donnhoff stable. Drink up.

4/19/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Another excellent vintage for this wine. As always, it punches way above its weight class. Still young and clearly need a few years in the cellar to show its best, but this is very enjoyable now. Classy, elegant, pure syrah.

4/18/2015 - Spencer wrote:

I really like this producer's Gruner Veltliners. Very pure and balanced, and on the lighter - almost delicate - side. Complex, typical GV profile. I would drink this over the short-term. Great value.

4/18/2015 - Spencer wrote:

From half-bottle. Dark fruit, earth, nice acidic spine. Improved with air. Still young.

4/17/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Excellent vintage of this wine. Bright, sunny, fruity, but with the depth and structure of a serious red wine. I liked this best with just very lightly chilled.

4/17/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Fantastic Grenache. Beautiful light color. Complex and layered. Dark fruit, very mineral. I wish this hadn't been my only bottle, as I think it will be even better in a few years.

4/16/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Excellent Spanish Grenache. Balanced, bright, complex. Loaded with bright, crunchy brambly fruit, but with great acidity and dusty/earthy minerality. Strong herbal note similar to garrigue. Very light on the palate and dangerously easy to drink. Great value.

4/15/2015 - Spencer wrote:

My first Matthiasson...Balanced, bright, clean chardonnay. This has some oak showing, but it's not at all obtrusive. A wine that would appeal to people just looking for a glass of California chardonnay, as well as geeks. This is the kind of wine I'd open for my relatives at Thanksgiving. Great value.

4/14/2015 - Spencer wrote:

A bit wild, not much structure, some funk. Difficult to drink more than a glass. Like the Marmajuelo, an interesting wine but not one I would purchase again.

4/14/2015 - Spencer wrote:

A bit waxy with a texture similar to Semillon. Ripe, could use a bit more acidity. Some strange off-putting flavors. Interesting wine but not one I would purchase again.

4/9/2015 - Spencer wrote:

I really enjoyed this rose. Great balance, solid, crunchy red fruit, crisp acidity. There's more going on here than I find in most roses, and it became much more expressive as it warmed up. I would serve this just lightly chilled. Very similar to Bedrock's Ode to Lulu, but more complex. Great value.

4/11/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Bright, crisp, complex. Citrus-y, with an interesting funky/earthy note adding complexity. Very drinkable.

4/11/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Another great vintage of this wine. Low alcohol, mineral, bright crunchy fruit, strong acid spine, long.

4/10/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Nice, balanced, bright. Improved significantly with air. I like this crisp, transparent style.

4/6/2015 - Spencer wrote:

I couldn't resist, and opened one of these the day it was delivered. Ripe, but very nicely balanced. Not particularly exotic for a gewurz, but a lot of fun to drink. This disappeared quickly. Great value.

4/7/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Bright, brambly, balanced. I haven't had any recent vintages of this, but the older vintages are all ageing very nicely.

4/5/2015 - Spencer wrote:

This is ageing very nicely, and still has plenty of life ahead of it. Classic Washington fruit profile, good acidity, gravelly, long expansive finish.

4/2/2015 - Spencer wrote:

This comes across as a bit roasted and overextracted. I think there is good raw material here, but this wine seems forced. Decanting actually enhanced the roasted espresso character. I prefer the entry level Atauta wine to this.

4/2/2015 - Spencer wrote:

A bit clenched right now, but all the material is in place for this to age well. Very typical Meursault profile, but brighter/lacier than expected. I like this a lot, although for my money I may stick with the Auxey-Duresse wines from Lafouge.

4/3/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Needed a lot of air to come around, but once it did this was a stunning young Burgundy. Balanced, high acidity well buffered by a strong core of bright fruit and chalky minerality. Very round/spherical on the palate. Should be even better in five to ten years.

4/7/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Excellent kabinett. Perfect balance and a laser-like focus. Mix of typical Mosel fruits along with some more tropical notes. Long and complete. Should age beautifully.

4/4/2015 - Spencer wrote:

OK, but a bit one-dimensional. Not a very good value at $35. I'll hold onto my remaining bottles to see if a few years in the cellar adds some depth. (Edited to add that the little bit leftover was much improved by the next night. I think this wine will really flesh out with age.)

4/4/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Enjoyable, if a bit simple - even for a Bourgogne. High-toned, cranberry, clipped finish.

4/4/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Incredibly unbalanced and nasty. Dumped.

3/31/2015 - Spencer wrote:

A bit tight right now, but should be very nice with some age. Darker fruited and earthier than the 2012 La Chapelle.

3/31/2015 - Spencer wrote:

I drank this alongside the 2012 Lafouge Auxey Les Duresses. The La Chapelle was brighter and purer and drinking much better right now. They were both beautiful, elegant wines, but if I had to choose just one I would go with this one. Transparent, mineral, long.

3/29/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Last bottle of this wine, and the best so far. Crisp, crunchy, bright red fruit. Just the right amount of green-ness. This has a lot of character.

3/29/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Balanced, elegant, surprisingly complex. I would have guessed Crozes-Hermitage if tasting this blind. Dead ringer for a good, young Northern Rhone. The best syrah I've had so far from Anthill, and a fantastic value.

3/27/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Incredible Riesling. Almost painfully intense. Great acidity, minerality, bright fruit that seems to be constantly changing between tropical/red berry/pome...extremely complex and hard to pin down. I don't know how a wine this concentrated can be so weightless on the palate. Endless, building finish. I'm sure this will last, but I can't imagine it getting better than it is now.

3/28/2015 - Spencer wrote:

This wine is in a good place right now. It will never be very complex or interesting, but it's a well-made, balanced, thoroughly enjoyable Bordeaux that is improving with age.

3/27/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Pretty much unchanged from my last bottle. Good, straightforward, St. Joseph.

3/23/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Wanted to check in on one of these because of all the worrying reports of premoxed Trimbachs. The color was a bit worrisome when I poured the first glass - a darker gold color than I would expect from a young CFE, but one sniff let me know all was well. Bright, crisp pome fruits, good acidity, mineral, maybe a bit of a honeyed note (botrytis?), very long, building finish. Got fuller and more complex as the night went on, with the last glass being by far the best. I wouldn't be surprised if there premixed bottles out there, but sound bottles should be fantastic.

3/25/2015 - Spencer wrote:

A bit spritzy, with noticeable VA. Nice fruit underneath, but hard to get past the VA. Made the wife gag. I have always enjoyed SdC Rossos, so hopefully this is not a representative bottle...

3/24/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Not really sure what grapes are in this, but regardless, it is a fantastic California white wine. It reminds me a bit of Bedrock's Compagni Portis. Great acidity, very mineral, bright citrus fruit, chalk, wet stone. Drinking very nicely right now and I don't really see any reason to age this.

3/24/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Wow, this is good. Bright, complex, loaded with fruit but elegant, with very fine tannins and solid acidity. Long, expansive finish. I'm not a big fan of Barbera, but this is my first from California and it's an entirely different beast altogether. Great wine, and a great value. I would drink this over the short term before it loses the exuberant fruit that makes it so fun.

3/20/2015 - Spencer wrote:

Agree entirely with Schildknecht's comment about this being very gewürztraminer-like. Delicious, balanced, dragon fruit, just the right amount of rs. Good acidity. At a great spot right now. But I never would have guessed this to be gruner veltliner....

3/19/2015 - Spencer wrote:

I don't know...I struggled with this wine. A bit of a clusterfuck in my opinion. Charmless.I'm not sure what the goal here was, but why in the world would anyone spend close to $40/bottle for this when there are so many great wines in the world? (L-M's syrah being one of them.)