5/2/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

The bottle tonight was in an in-between or dull phase, so I would recommend holding for another few years at least.

4/30/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

As before but now taking on a nice richness and further complexity with this touch of age.

This SKU is more olives and herbs, whereas their standard Ribaudes St Jo is pepper and red fruit (also lovely).

This one seems to really start to pick up once it passes about 3 years from harvest.

4/29/2024 - scorbett Does not like this wine:

I used to like this SKU as a table wine but these days I just find it so plodding, heavy-handed, and devoid of any character.

4/29/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Decent in a pinch.

4/27/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Dessert/poached/canned peaches with honey, herbs, nuttiness.

The iodine/citrus/tart green fruit is there, but firmly in the background.

This wine (or at least this bottle) is taking a verve into the decadent. I'm using extreme language because this is comparative to the typicity of the region. It's not over the hill, but this is either in a (one must assume) final enriched state, or it is starting to fade. It's my last one so I won't be able to say (but maybe YOU will).

4/21/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Cool fennel with red and dark fruit, great perfume even at this young age. There's some subtle rose in there, too. Nice concentrated fruit on the palate. Decent amount of pleasure to be had drinking this right now. Ovello is, in my opinion, one of Produttori's single vineyard standouts.

4/19/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Iodine, smoke, green apple skin, citrus cut.

This is all focus and depth of non-fruit elements, with subtle fruit underpinning.

It's very good but at this point in its age I can't help but think I can get 98% of these qualities in a 1er Cru Chablis for much less cost. Probably/possibly will develop into something even more complex with time, so there is a lot of promise here.

4/12/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Clay and cranberries, great with a chill.

4/9/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Black pepper and soft red fruits, with some subtle beef jerky and a touch of olive in the background.

Exactly what I am looking for in a weekday syrah.

4/8/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Peach and lime cordial. Acid not particularly prominent, decidedly off-dry.

Very pleasant but just a bit flat.

4/7/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Smoke, iodine, green apples, and rich citrus. This is starting to show lovely character that was not present in its youth.

4/2/2024 - scorbett wrote:

Alcoholic apple juice. Pretty basic. There are way better expressions of Txakoli than this.

3/26/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Embracing me like an old, salty, lemon meringue friend. Some lime, some herbs, some stone in there as well.

I never tire of drinking this SKU, and I drink a lot of it.

3/16/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Broad strokes: field berries (dark and red), cherries, blue flowers, maybe a hint of dark chocolate from the oak. The perfume is intoxicating; a kind of herbaceous/spicy sweetness like from basil and/or cinnamon, some Christmas orange, and spring florals.

Impeccably made sangiovese. Neither rustic on the one end, nor bombastic on the other. Modern cool-climate elegance, I guess?

Tremendous wine, and I don't often say this of $100+ bottles but it's worth it and it's drinking well young.

3/15/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Solid. Rosewater, soapy, subtle lychee. Works better with a bit of a chill.

3/15/2024 - scorbett wrote:

Past peak but still interesting. It is very advanced though.

3/14/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

The lemon & honey ricola that is typical of this SKU, but in this vintage there are nearly muscat-like terpenes that give off an intense floral (lavender???) smell. Perhaps also a touch more tropical on the palate as well.

With air, the celery salt starts to come out and the florals harmonize.

Pure pleasure, as always. Quite interesting young!

3/11/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

No brett, very clean. Sort of presenting like an earthy Bourdeaux but perhaps with a more floral and also garrigue-infused bouquet.

Enjoyable, prim, but not particularly complex (even after hours of breathing).

3/11/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Humming along; darker fruited, more modern Brunello, but so well executed. We visited them in Italy years ago and this still holds up as a supremely serious effort even compared to some of the more traditional gems. Plus I'd say the riper year benefits earlier drinking.

3/8/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Dark chocolate, tobacco, bramble, very faint wisp of eucalyptus. Such a good wine. Opened the same night as a Tempier single vineyard and this easily won (which is crazy to me).

3/8/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Drank this too young; it's not giving up much at this point.

3/6/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Red fruit, orange peel, barnyard, subtle mushrooms and licorice buried in there.

Compact and tidy presentation for a young pinot, giving plenty to enjoy right now.

2/29/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Pear sherbet, with rich apple and lemon and herbs.

But, also, at the same time it tastes like the freshest bellini. So that salty peach is present in a unique way.

This is such a superlative chard.

2/29/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Classic cab notes of cassis and pencil shavings but with an intoxicating through-line of floral red fruit and feminine earthy notes. My first time trying this producer so I can't say how much or little it has changed from past vintages (as many past reviewers seem to bemoan), but it is rather approachable for a young cab. Although not -- to me -- in an obnoxious way.

2/26/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Nose: pineapple and sponge toffee.

Palate: poached pear with burnt butter sauce.

There's more complexity here than the notes reveal above, but those are the general impressions. While enjoyable I may caution readers to wait a bit longer because this may be in a transitional phase of development. At least my half bottle.

2/24/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Field berries, white chocolate, maybe a touch of sweet tobacco leaf and old leather. Some Dr Pepper buried in there.

Wow, is this enjoyable!

Edit: 30 min later, some raisin in the nose, somewhat similar to Amarone.

2/24/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Rich floral nose but previewing the salt (can you smell salt? oh well, it smells like things that are salty -- one of Terry Theise's notes said "turkey broth" and that sounds good to me).

Broad and saline in the mouth. I suppose a hint of citrus.

A beautiful wine still in its youth.

2/22/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Nose: cinnamon hard candy, pineapple, caramel.
Palate: yellow and tropical fruit syrup, nice viscous and slightly saline finish.

2/15/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Both sweet and refreshing. Both tropical and orchard fruit. The perfect drink after a long day of moving house.

2/4/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Charming Loire smoke/funk, potpourri, dark fruit, earth.

I really enjoy this with a slight chill and it performs admirably with both a braised shank steak and a grilled salmon fillet.

1/29/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Cherry cough syrup, licorice, and that lovely Etna volcanic ash.

1/26/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

A savory, leafy, taught wine. The dark fruits are properly buried. Perhaps even demure. Blackberry and laurel may be the closest hits right now.

Despite all these restrained and subtle characteristics, it's an enjoyable young drink.

All I'm seeing is upside for this great value BDX.

1/21/2024 - scorbett Does not like this wine:

Either corked or pre-moxed. I'm leaning toward corked, having no prior experience with this producer.

From the little I can tell, bruised apple and caramel on top of week-old garbage. Very hard to drink.

1/18/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Nose: apricot and white flowers.

Palate: extremely "floral" in the mouth (whatever that means; it's an impression), all sorts of baking spices, the intense astringency of apricots but with a fruit finish that is slightly more tropical.

Decent but for the price I like to have a bunch of them kicking around for when it's not a Condrieu type of event. For what it's worth, this has always been a viogner that I prefer with an extra year of bottle age.

1/14/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Enjoyed it more tonight than before. Great with roast lamb. Red fruit, maybe a hint of dark, some faint licorice and herbs. Very elegant and balanced.

1/13/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Ages so well for such a value-price.

Similar notes as always, but they have harmonized into a very subtle and refreshing drink: lime and petrol mineral water, with a substantial salty weight on the mid-palate.

1/13/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Dark chocolate & espresso subtly layers in the background. Pepper, garrigue, and olive in forefront, with a melange of red/blue/black fruit (but the overall effect is far more savory that fruity). Just the slightest hint of bacon fat buried in there as well.

It somehow manages to be light and savory while still being rich, velvety (the texture is decadent but not fatiguing), and absolutely lip-smacking delicious.

Stunning.

The last time I was this impressed with a syrah was -- wouldn't you know it -- from a Chave Hermitage.

1/11/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Cherry liqueur and cinnamon tonight. It's got a touch of the dark chocolate shavings and church incense that I usually get from Le Puy, but the spice and bright red fruit is the star of the show tonight.

I'm enjoying it at cellar temp, even on this cold winter night. A fetching deftness on the palate.

1/10/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Reductive, stemmy, and smelling/tasting of jujubes.

My bad; I had a few and wanted to test (never having tried Dujac).

Far too young to appreciate, for the price tag. Yes, you should hold. I'll let it sit for a few hours and see what happens.

1/8/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Maple syrup, marmalade, lavender, fresh golden honey.

So that happened.

I don't use the 100 point scale, have never rated a wine using it, in truth don't fully understand it or even where to start. But if this isn't 100 points then there is no point using points. That's not to say "perfect" but... well, what else do you really want? As a friend said once when I asked what to pair with a certain wine: "a glass".

1/7/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

A bit more fruity and dark chocolate than the 14 vintage (which was leaner).

This is a drinkable place right now if you want your Aglianico with primary flavors. It's still on the tight side because it's young, but that's the tradeoff.

Very nice.

1/7/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Good place. Fading red fruits, slight Tuscan herbs, great gripping finish. Very elegant.

Only complaint would be that the nose was very coy / subtle.

Tremendous with a rare steak topped with salt and rosemary.

1/5/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Well this certainly lived up to its reputation.

Superb balance and harmony of flavors and textures, almost hard to pick out specifics. The nose was a bit shy but in the mouth there is a collection of red fruits, and undercurrent of chalk on a bed of herbaceousness. You could say strawberry, watermelon, currant, and even red apple... but it's all so subtle.

Cellar temp rather than fridge temp for this one.

It's on the pricey side for a rose but worth it.

1/3/2024 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Poached pear, pineapple juice, sponge toffee.

Treat yourself; this is decadent and lovely. For my experience it sits in the medium range of Sauternes (between the more orange marmalade types on one end, and the floral honeyed lighter types on the other).

12/31/2023 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Nice... grapefruit, herbs, slate. Solid, honest.

12/29/2023 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Like my previous note, but now with some dark chocolate and olive components.

Progressing nicely.

12/29/2023 - scorbett Likes this wine:

This was in a perfect place tonight.

A sort of buckwheat nose (I can't think of an exact descriptor but this gets halfway there). Lovely savory, green, and mineral flavors and textures in the mouth. There may be hints of tropical fruit one moment, perhaps hints of orchard fruit the next, but this wine is more about the savory... and it is singing!

12/25/2023 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Nice to slow-roll this in small portions over a week. Ultra decadent, dried fruits, molasses, but with a striking acidity. This has to be the end of the night though, because the palate will be fatigued after this.

It's good with dessert but excellent with freshly cracked walnuts and some cheese.

12/25/2023 - scorbett Likes this wine:

Starting to show the fennel-orange peel-dark red fruits I associate with this SKU.

Should be ready to rock from 2024 on.

12/24/2023 - scorbett wrote:

Disgorged 7/22. In our opinion, not ready. Very acidic, heavy citrus taste. Worked a bit better with air and closer to room temp.

I'd wait longer.