3/21/2024 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Very yummy old world style earthy red fruits here. I would have preferred to pull the cork sooner, to catch brighter primary fruit characters. Best to drink within 2-3 of release IMO.

3/21/2024 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Gorgeous with its bottle age. Still youthful with some primary fruits, with secondary characteristics coming through, but if kept well this vintage still has 10+ years of development opportunity ahead of it.

3/21/2024 - Ross Baldassaro Does not like this wine:

Super disappointing. WAY overblown massive black fruit and alcohol. The wine was truly undrinkable, which is sad given this being a typically solid estate cuvee from John Alban. I did not recognize any range of faults in this wine, but it does seem like some factor is overtaking the other subtle fruit characters that should be here in tandem with the other characters of Syrah.

12/31/2023 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Beautiful purity to the fruit still, with those tertiary, oxidative characteristics starting to come through. More medium-bodied now, with dusty chocolately tannic texture that is incredibly easy to drink. I typically find more pleasure in reserva styles than this, but the wine brings a ton of yum factor while balancing weight and elegance. Lovely.

9/23/2022 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Deliciously vibrant and fleshy with lovely wild berries showing dusty earth

5/12/2022 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Solid! Needs 2-3 years tho. More would be better! ;-)

4/9/2022 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Bright gorgeous red fruits. This wine screams YUMMY. My favorite quality of wine.

2/17/2022 - Ross Baldassaro wrote:

Anniversary bottle. Fantastic fruit and body on this but to be honest this needs more time. Figured it was well put together after 15+ years on its side but good grief this is an intense NW Syrah that would be best revisited in 5+ years.

2/17/2022 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Fresh and young still with plenty of life ahead of it. I’d give it at least a few more years before touching.

12/23/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Does not like this wine:

Great CdR Ventoux that sadly was past its prime. Should have drank sooner is all.

8/11/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Fantastico expression of Xarel•lo. IMHO the potential of the variety is on par with Godello and Albariño, or other great white Spanish varieties.

6/27/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Bright and minerally driven, with complex citrus notes jumping out as the glass warms. Drank with heavily herbed scallop tacos.

5/12/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Does not like this wine:

Bottle way off. You can get as natural as you want but when VA takes over and covers up all your other work well then shame on you

5/12/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Fresh and elegantly fruited. Lovely and easier drinking than expected. Good depth and balance

5/12/2021 - Ross Baldassaro wrote:

Delicious and elegant Mencía. Light to med bodied, reminiscent of a HQ cru Beaujolais

5/12/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Stellar with intense austerity and minerality. A powerful style that remains light to med bodied

4/11/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Super yummy, rich and very round but with that old world texture and acidity to keep its richness in balance.

3/25/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Very yummy to enjoy drink; doesn’t seem to have the complexity expected; likely best enjoyed young.

3/25/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Really high QPR, lots of whole cluster characteristics paired with only slight new world fruitiness. Excited to drink more from this producer.

3/25/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Fits the bill for a high quality, somewhat lighter style of Savennieres that is made for younger drinking.

3/25/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Crushable medium bodied Sangiovese that is balanced and bright. Fairly easy drinking

3/25/2021 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Bright, crunchy, rese styled take. Low ABV but still fairly dry. Yummy and easy drinking. Best served chilled to let warm.

11/16/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Super tasty skin contact wine with only a hint of natty funk. Very textured and a bit rich, mostly stewed fruit characteristics but enough tertiary fun coming out of this for someone to pick at throughout a decant. We all knocked this down a bit too quickly lol. Another Passalacqua stunner.

11/9/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Fresh vibrant crunchy tart red fruits. A joy to drink with just about any food and a rad example of a still Meunier.

10/25/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Nice bottling but WTH did he use a cheap short synthetic cork? So much for trying to Coravin this.

10/20/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Oof, lovely balance of power and finesse. Wild-grown red and black cherries/berries with a tug-of-war between earth and fruit. Some clay. Tannins still need some integration and this vintage would be best with a few more years; 4-8 ideal. Lovely to drink; enjoyed with duck which was a treat to pair.

10/9/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

The fruit is delicious and balanced, but the carbonic is just a tad much for me. DELICIOUS gamay with yummy savory qualities, and even some decent tannins for a SA, but leans more toward the fun style, as the carbonic adds a confectionery quality to the finish.

9/16/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

LdH whites are probably my favorite white wines in the world to drink. They are so complex and it is a joy to drink them right after release or wait another 5-10 years. This being in the oxidative category, I am also a huge fan of sherry, having traveled to Jerez de la Frontera and tasting through raw soleras. You cannot deny the quality to price ratio of wines like this from Spain and even Portugal. Let us hope that these wines stay affordable forever.

9/14/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Lovely ripe round orchard fruit. A nice foot in the door to the HQ Riesling vineyards of sunny dry Alsace via a top producer.

9/13/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Decadently complex. One of the highest quality blends of RR PN fruit and this year sings in its youth. These PNs are always big and broad but there is paired elegance here with a nicely constructed foundation of light new oak influence. I love the drinkability of these as it’s hard not to down the entire bottle alone.

9/13/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Yummy old world natural style of Spatburgunder. Unfiltered, cloudy, fruits are more stewed with a dirty floral element. Nice to drink but drinks as an entry level release.

9/13/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

So many layers of old world fruit, minerality, cooked meats, texture, with bright acidity. Lovely with food or as an aperitif

9/13/2020 - Ross Baldassaro wrote:

Not a shining star for me, considering all of the hype behind this bottling. A bit opulent, ALL black fruited, certainly some nice old world tones with black olive, a bit of meat, some hints of complexity; but linear, certainly not an expressive example. Not what I feel Syrah should be but let’s hope it’s an open door toward Syrah for new world wine lovers of other varietals.

8/24/2020 - Ross Baldassaro wrote:

Nice bottling and winemaking style but just wasn’t impressive despite the VERY impressive other releases from this long standing HQ producer.

8/24/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Massive QPR here. An outstanding release this vintage, with those already young sweet vegetal tertiary notes.

8/24/2020 - Ross Baldassaro wrote:

A bit flabby, almost like vintage didn’t ripen ideally.

8/23/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Somehow delicious and not overly oxidized after 12 years, Drank very well!

8/14/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Yummy but not exactly memorable.

8/14/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Does not like this wine:

Just too much ripeness and alcohol. Very stereotypical Zinfandel but I’m not so sure that age is going to help the balance that is missing in this bottling.

8/13/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Such a yummy cool climate expression of CF. A blind call as Chinon would be spot on IMHO.

7/13/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Just a joy to drink. Clean, herbaceous fruit enveloped in sweet herbs supported by acidity and fine tannins. A bottle to enjoy young or old, as this had plenty of life ahead of it. Just a joy to bring home and drink after my 5-region NZ wine trip. This is world class PN.

7/1/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

VERY exciting to drink in its youth. Would be worth waiting a decade though.

7/1/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

This is a powerfully, tannic style of Morgon. Will be exciting to let these releases down for several more years.

7/1/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Lovely with a stewed fruit texture after a few years of bottle aging. Outstanding producer.

7/1/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Elegant with a Burgundian texture

6/20/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

So delicious. Yummy bright yellow and green stewed fruits with HQ winemaking.

6/19/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Good but not great. Tasted like a HQ cava for sure but the rubberiness of the Macabeo did not let the Xarel*lo shine.

6/13/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Best new world expression of Gamay so far. Electric acidity with outstanding ripeness and complex vibrancy. Yummy and crunchy and completely fantastic in its youth.

6/11/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

Far from a HQ Crises Hermitage for me. Some dull fruit characters compared to the earth-driven vibrancy I was hoping for. Good for those looking for a lighter bodied northern Rhône Syrah; just not the complexity I was expecting.

6/2/2020 - Ross Baldassaro Likes this wine:

So yummy and drinkable for the price point. Lots of earthy complexity with a laid back structure that was great on its own.