10/29/2023 - NTR wrote:

Beautifully tempered. Tannins are no where to be seen. Smooth and velvety and good fruit. Tobacco and graphite nose. Well rounded mouthfeel and lovely taste. Ready to go if you have any left…..

4/15/2023 - NTR wrote:

Solid…less than others view but great nose and mouthfeel…tannins surprisingly light for age. Drinking well…whoever rated this 90 is out of their mind….lovely wine…enjoy now and for at least 5-7 more years

1/15/2023 - NTR wrote:

This has seriously opened up….still has that over extracted flavor profile but seems a little more….refined? Not a killer but I will call it better - marginally - then the last bottle almost 9 years ago to the date! My friends who have not tasted top level cali cab will love this…90…

12/31/2022 - NTR wrote:

Great CDP nose. Deep scent of dark fruit. Dark red color. Wonderfully well balanced flavor profile. Drinking wonderfully. Still has many years left. Beautiful wine

12/24/2022 - NTR wrote:

Out of mag (yes I know…2years earlier than I said…but I got another!!) with 2 hr decant - lovely and jammy . Heat is gone…medium bodied and tasting great. Would think the 750s are perfect.

12/17/2022 - NTR wrote:

Agree - drink up…lovely balance and flavor. Still drinking well…unctuous but muted. one of the reasons I like aged cali. Very nice

12/16/2022 - NTR wrote:

Pretty muted nose and fruit is subtle. Silky though. Very nice texture. Absolutely no tannins. Past prime clearly but still tastes pretty good

9/11/2021 - NTR wrote:

Drinking beautifully. Soft and unctuous. Same nose as back in 2018 of currant and cassis with the cigar box a little more muted. Lovely at 19 years old - would NOT say past it’s prime…but right in it if you like aged Cabernet. Last of 12 but the best one.

5/23/2020 - NTR wrote:

Pop and pour (I know!) - Pretty sharp graphite nose But the fruit comes through. Big berry taste. Gonna give this some air and come back in a bit......

And we are back - 2 hrs later. Deep fruit, pretty heavy graphite. Very expressive and mouth filling. Tannins abated. Drinking quite well with a long finish. A little tartness on the back end which is disconcerting.

I am comfortable with my previous ratings.

3/31/2020 - NTR wrote:

A bit of a pop and pour and a revisit after almost 6 years since last bottle.
Still a nice nose of menthol and graphite. Some of the punch has disappeared and the tannins are quite low. Smooth and drinking very well now - perhaps a bit past peak at this stage. Time to drink those other two bottles!!!

2/29/2020 - NTR wrote:

Fruit forward with some bitterness though not unpleasant at all. A food wine to be sure. Nine years of age showing well. Strong graphite nose wrapping black berries and currants. Silky and slightly tart berry flavors. I fee this needs something unctuous to cut through. Drinking well

2/1/2020 - NTR wrote:

2hr decant. Decent nose of tinder and pencil and pronounced aged menthol. Lively dark fruit taste. Pepper. Tannins still a bit strong even 16yrs on but I feel this is at peak, if not a bit beyond, drinking time. So reminiscent of those heady Aussie Shiraz days of the early 2000s. Drink up.

2/23/2019 - NTR wrote:

Absolutely singing. Very fresh and powerful. Notes similar to last time - fantastic berry nose. Powerful flavors of dark berries, meaty bacon and tobacco. Long finish. Enjoyed with beef Rossini at NoMad in Vegas (great corkage).

10/21/2018 - NTR wrote:

Blackberry, blueberry, graphite nose. Silky mouthfeel with still a reasonable amount of tannin. That same graphite and tobacco flows through the flavor dark berries. Drinking well

9/24/2018 - NTR wrote:

Good purple color. Little light on the edges. Current and cassis nose with tell tale cigar box. Very elegant taste with almost indiscernible tannins. Blue and blackberry. Not a lot of vanilla/oak. Some menthol.

Very pleasurable.

9/8/2018 - NTR wrote:

L-8114, bottle 11171
Well I don’t even know what is going on here. Same lot (and case) as previous. Pretty solid dark ripe red fruit nose. Quite a full bodied and tannin muted wine. Very menthol. One of the good roulette reds? If they had all been like this....(previous bottle was a garbage barely 85 wine. Probably overrated it too boot)

8/11/2018 - NTR wrote:

One of better Serenne noses that I have smelled. Deep dark berry with a distinct forest floor aspect the that is very appealingly. Heavy mouthfeel. Blueberries, pepper. Very jammy.

Too early clearly but a very good initial showin

6/29/2018 - NTR wrote:

Solid dark red/black color. Nose of plum, dark fruit, tobacco, vanilla, oak. On drinking, the telltale vanillaso prevelant in Maybachs seems tempered here (but it is still there). Well balanced. A little hot on alcohol. Still has many more years. Very pleasant but a little underwhelming for a Maybach and a TRB wine. Solid but not a rockstar.

Battled between 93 and 94but decided on the lower.

Drinking well now but try again in 2020- it has legs.

5/18/2018 - NTR wrote:

Deep flavorful nose. Lovely flowers. Mouthfeel is a punch. Deep powerful, tart fruit. Powerful tannins, heavy dark fruit flavors woth meat and barnyard / forest floor flavors. Incredibly solid. Wine of the year so far. Could use 3-4 years more time to take to tannins.

5/17/2018 - NTR wrote:

Popped at Giada in Las Vegas. Black current nose. Very smooth tempered aged cab - drinking beautifully with great aged flavours of Cedar, sage, tempered dark fruit. If u got it, pop it

4/11/2018 - NTR wrote:

Dark brambly nose with deep purple color. Pretty smooth after a few hours decant. Fruit forward. Pretty deep flavor and mouth feel. Drinking very nice. Decant!

3/24/2018 - NTR wrote:

Last bottle - still inky purple color. Quite fresh if muted nose. Dark berry. Fairly jammy if tired flavors. Not much structure. Pleasant enough but has seen better days.

2/3/2018 - NTR wrote:

Strong forward nose or dark berry, pencil shavings, menthol. Somewhat viscous but silky initial taste that coats the tongue of the same flavors. Still getting some heat from the abv (15.2) but tannins have muted a bit. Still a young wine.

12/31/2017 - NTR wrote:

3 hr decant. Vanilla nose with slight cloves. Deep, dark berries on the palate. Still fairly tannic and tight on the follow. Solid wine

12/22/2017 - NTR wrote:

Best CVR to date? I think it is better than 12 and 08. Deep dark berry nose. Taste is almost 1st label quality. not too grippy (but still very tannic) Huge blackberry, currant, cassis. Very long follow.

8/19/2017 - NTR wrote:

Heavy cranberry nose with a little pepper. Syrupy texture with a cherry meets peppery blackberry menthol flavor. No tight tannins. Seems either a better bottle or a change in profile from 4 years ago. Still a portly like Shiraz but drinking pretty smooth albeit concentrated

7/18/2017 - NTR wrote:

From mag: very similar notes as 5 years ago but with the age taking some of the edges off. Still get the graphite on the nose. Wonderful opening flavors of plum, dark cherry. Tannins more muted than 5 years ago. I do. It get the oak others have mentions nor any heatness from the 14.6% abv. I feel this is drinking very nice now - 750s maybe in a sweet spot (I'll try to remember to pop one this year) but also think this has many more years.

4/2/2017 - NTR wrote:

Dark plum color. Clearly merlot based but also heavy oak from the pronounced vanilla. Extremely soft mouthfeel - almost manufacured. Easy drinking though. Not a lot of complexity. Will be enjoyed by most.

2/27/2017 - NTR wrote:

Bramble strawberry nose. Clean cherry cola, nice acidity, no green. Medium to low tannins. A little punchy on the finish - more sour. Drinking very nice right now.

2/4/2017 - NTR wrote:

Dark brooding color. Deep berry nose with cinder and cigar. Fresh berries with a pretty strong midpalate that fades soon after. Bramblebush. A little hot. Tannins quite tight. Will be better with a few years. Pretty north coast appellation from Bedrock here. Begging for some fatty meat a more food wine than previous vintage imho.

12/30/2016 - NTR wrote:

Nice dark color, light on the edges . Floral but barnyard knows of dark berry. Some vanilla, some spice box. Soft flavors, again the dark berry. Very little tannins except on the finish. . Medium bodied at best. Decent wine, not a showstopper.

12/25/2016 - NTR wrote:

Nice dark purple. Deep long dark berry nose with pencil shaving. Mouth filling heavy dark fruit, some spiciness, still quite tannic, big, long finish.

12/25/2016 - NTR wrote:

Dark purple color. Spicy red current nose with vanilla and graphite. Spicy plum and blueberry. Drinking well. No time like now

12/24/2016 - NTR wrote:

Little darker than most cali pinots especially at the edges. Good strawberry nose, little barnyard. Rather tannic but decent flavor profile. This maybe one of the better 2015 Lorings.

9/2/2016 - NTR wrote:

Very dark inky color.light bramble internist with some herbaceousness. Plum flavor. Very vanilla and spice. Somewhat tart and shrimp my taste. Don't see much age potential here - maybe will temper a bit over a year or so. Touch over priced - I like it sub $20 - PA wine store has it there - rest of world seems closer to $30

8/6/2016 - NTR wrote:

Not a very expressive nose. Subtle tobacco, menthol. Very smooth, low tannins. Light oak, mint/menthol, drinking very well.

8/2/2016 - NTR wrote:

A still very youthful wine. Big initial mouthfeel of brambly meat and dark berries. Still quite tight tannins with a plush mid palate. A lot of depth here. Bacon/fat dripping. Long finish. Very good wine and sadly a single bottle purchase for me. Solid Saxum effort.

7/9/2016 - NTR wrote:

3hr decant. Inky black color. Dark berry nose with distinct meat and earth. Very full bodied chunky dark fruit. Tight tannins, sharp youthful profile. Solidly good wine that should not be touched for at least 2, perhaps 5 years. Do I think it merits the WA 99? No. But WS might have nailed it. Not yet. Later. 95

PS - the decant was too short!!

7/3/2016 - NTR wrote:

Slight dark fruit nose. Meaty. Full bodied and rich fruit with hints of meat, licorice. Very tight and chewy. Still quite young. Long finish. Bit disjointed - maybe needs a few more yeas to garner a better score.

7/2/2016 - NTR wrote:

Medium garnet color. Telltale cherry and raspberry nose. Light and pretty berries, strawberries, and very slight chalk. Light to medium body. Easy drinking quality Pinot.

7/1/2016 - NTR wrote:

Consistent cab color. A brambly vanilla nose of pencil shavings and blueberries. To me medium bodied with tempered tannins. A cherry with plum tones . Little tart on the end. Decent but not what I would hope from Betz. Maybe the year...will see how other 11s are.

6/26/2016 - NTR wrote:

Slightly spicy, very clean strawberry nose. Very dark color even at the edges. Beautiful opulent fruit. Very easy worl,rich Jerry and strawberry. A little of the spice again. A little vegatation on the tail. Nice, smooth,good value IMO.

6/17/2016 - NTR wrote:

Meaty dark berry nose. A little muted but bacon fat, pretty medium bodied well integrated easy mouthfeel. Very good with the spinach and cheese portobellos -complemented an earthy dish. Very nice

6/11/2016 - NTR wrote:

Saxum weekend continues with the 2009 Broken Stones. A bramble like nose of light blackberry, forest floor, and some distinct sharp alcohol notes. Very well presented black and blueberry flavors. Tannins quite tight - kind of expected that - but there is an underlying smoothness and integration in the wine. At the upper end of the big wine scale..7-8 out of 10. Long finish. Very good. 94. Should have decanted longer...could be higher

6/10/2016 - NTR wrote:

Right off the bat you get the pepper we know and expect from the Zin. White pepper to be exact. A little clove, some spice. And the nice mixture of black and red berry. A pretty well integrated medium bodied wine. Some pretty tight tannins. Nice long finish. Solidly good effort. Though I will say in my opinion this is overpriced for what is in the glass.

To me this is a 92 point perhaps a 93 point wine, but for the price that we pay it should probably be hitting a little bit higher. I have had almost 92 points zins at half the price - Think the Bedrock catalog.

I usually buy Saxum for their Rhone heavy blends, not their Zins, and I think I'm on the right track there.

92+

6/4/2016 - NTR wrote:

A brambly forest floor nose. Deep dark berries. A hint of vanilla. Amazingly well integrated tannins but still a tightness.A gamey fruit flavor with some spice box. Not a huge wine but still pretty big.

5/30/2016 - NTR wrote:

Been 2yrs almost to the day since last note. That same fresh Gerry nose from the past. Much more robust palate than before though the sour cherry hints still there. Has certainly grown up a bit. Excellent and long finish. Now I wish I had more than 1 bottle remaining. This screams grilled meats.

5/15/2016 - NTR wrote:

It's been 2 years since the last bottle. Let's see where we are....Nose not that expressive. Cassis and light vanilla. A little hot, fruit forward but medium bodied. Think still too early (makes my mags like a 2025 event!) and maybe I am hoping for more from this than it will ever give. Once agin not the depth and structure I hoped for from a 2010...if I was blinding this I would have called it a good 2011... 2014 notes still stand. Needs more time for alcohol to calm down.

4/19/2016 - NTR wrote:

Sweet but sublime strawberry nose with a hint of barnyard. Well integrated subtle mouth feel. Fairly acidic. The aforementioned citrus notes near the finish (grapefruit). Very nice. 91+

3/5/2016 - NTR wrote:

Peppery nose.dark blackberry. Strong graphite. Well integrated tannins, full mouthfeel. The Grenache is forefront and very appealing. Can tell Syrah at the back with the backbone but not the big flavor. Still youthful. Follow you can feel the tannic nature. Will be good to try again in about 2 years.