2/9/2013 - tripkirby Likes this wine:

As my friend John says, TRB is wine Jesus. I think he makes liquid crack. Popped and poured, probably should have decanted as the nose was somewhat muted and a little grapy initially, took about 30 mins to warm, and open up into something truely amazing. Plush red fruit, vanilla and lingering kiss of lavender on the nose. Hits the palate with an initial flood of ripe red plums and a slightly lesser note of black berries. Nice cleansing acidity with a hint of sweetness on the midpalate. Very fine grained tannin adds to the structure and elegance of this wine. Its faminine and soft but not plump or flabby - more Vargas than Rubens. This is Cali cab at its best. It caresses your your nose, pampers your palate and leaves you with a vague sense of sadness and inadequacy when its gone. I'm thinking about mortgaging my house.

1/26/2013 - tripkirby Likes this wine:

My second taste of this amazing port. Our friend's birth year wine, we gave it to her as a birthday present a year ago and she brought it last night for a dinner. This wine was beautifully sublime, it had the color of weak tea with a tinge of garnet. Clean subtle nose, fresh, it reminded me of a pine forrest after a spring rain - mushroom and wet pine needle. This wine was ethereal, wonderfully complex. It was a 50 years old wine that had all the character of fresh picked fruits yet packed all the tertiary flavors one would expected from a wine this old. This was an awesome tasting experience.

1/26/2013 - tripkirby Likes this wine:

Very nice nose 0f a good typical cali syrah - blood, raw meat with tons of ripe fruit. On the palate, structured ripe fruit, soft tannin with underlining spice and exotic wood. Tasty

1/26/2013 - tripkirby Does not like this wine:

This was tired and alcoholic. It was just not that good.

1/26/2013 - tripkirby Likes this wine:

Velvet sledge hammer, can use a touch more acidity, delicious nevertheless.

1/26/2013 - tripkirby Likes this wine:

dark, and ripe. Concentated fruit but enough structure so its not flabby. Dont know if it will age well, but its drink well now.

12/9/2012 - tripkirby Likes this wine:

This is american syrah at its finest, amazing concentated clean fruit, amazing wine.

6/5/2012 - tripkirby wrote:

Nice crisp and refreshing if somewhat simple. Went very well with our lunch of lobster shack fare. Clean bracing acidity with red berries and citrus overtone.

5/26/2012 - tripkirby wrote:

Low neck fill, intact clean cork. Decanted in bottle about 2 hr. Slight bricking, clear garnet red. Clean nose of cedar, tobacco and trace pf leather on the nose. surprisingly palate of primary red fruit, trace of tobacco and menthol with nary a trace of tannin. Expected more complexity from a wine of this age and pedigree, but nevertheless delicious and elegant.

12/11/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Found this nosing in my cellar yesterday. Drinking very well, awesome QPR, nice fruit and mellowing tannin, still with bright acidity.

12/4/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Fruit bomb with complexity, this is Cali cab done right.

11/12/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

OMG, I F'ing love this wine. This is why I drink American syrah. Pure clean fruit, ripeness without crossing into over-extraction, probably too young at this juncture, but its already so good.

11/5/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Not even close to being ready, but can see the potential. Obtrusive tannin, nice fruit and acidity, starting to show some underlying complexity after 2+ hours.

10/3/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Yes, I killed a baby, but what a baby! Better than the 08 IMO.

7/6/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Acquired at the winery to try at the restaurant tonite- big thanks to Matt for everything. Deep, dark, almost opaque. Amazingly huge nose of fresh black berry, hint of blue berry, trace of cream, cedar. On the palate, fruit driven with ripe plum and black berry, soft fine grain tannin, enough acidity to keep the fruits clean and fresh - smooth, clean and goes a long way like one of Tiger's swing before the beating. Drinks awesome now, not sure how its going to age as the tannin is already very smooth and kinda fading, but may have enough acid backbone to age?

6/25/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Maybe its me but I just don't get burgundy. Funk with tiny floral note, color is light, translucent ruby. Thin, acidic with lots of rock and not much else. Come highly recommended from my wine guy, a resurgent house thats changed opinions rcently, decanted for an hour, nothing unpleasant, but didn't do much for me. Is this a "good' burg? Am I going to have try a DRC or Leroy from a good year to appreciate burgs?

6/14/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Very refreshing, nice crispness acidity, loads of citrus hint of granny smith apple? Almost perfect for this heat.

6/14/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Dark, almost opaque ruby, huge nose of red fruit, ripe plums with small amount blue berries. Very fruit forward on the palate, mostly plum and red cherry, very soft tannin, good acid backbone but still seem a little flabby. Decent wine but enjoyment does not quite match its cost.

4/30/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

A wine should be judged on its merit, its quality and not on one's preference of "style". An "expert" that convinced himself that a type of wine should only be styled a certain way and judges all wine that is not in that style to be inferior is really missing the point of tasting and enjoying wine. This wine proves that one can have ripen, sweet lush fruits and still achieve elevated levels of complexity and balance. I wish I had a bigger allocation of this wine, my third bottle of this vintage and its always an awesome experience.

4/16/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

This is some good juice.

4/7/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Popped and poured, beautiful initial nose of fresh black fruit, that fades to a more austere, slightly herbal nose. Surprisingly fresh black fruit and blueberry on the palate, soft, almost nonexistent tannin with a still firm acid backbone. Fruit kinda faded over dinner(about 2 hrs), leaving a thinnish, somewhat faded wine. Very good initially but faded rather quickly.

3/22/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

better than the last one, fruit slightly tone down a bit, less exuberant but more pure, elegant. Oak and tannin less obtrusive, very nice wine.

2/12/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Green bell pepper, olive and weird almost metallic funk initially. All that blew off after about 15-30 min, leaving some muted black fruit. Almost no tannin to speak of, acidity is starting to fade a bit as well, but the cassis and black berry is still fairly evident. Finish was a bit thin, a little coffee note on the mid palate but seemed to be a little one dimensional on the palate. Not a bad wine overall, somewhat simple and most probably on the decline.

2/4/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Bottle was shipped in the middle of winter and left on the front door in sub freezing temp - no doorbell, no dogs barking, good thing wife was home, still a little miffed about the ninja delivery guy. Cork was a little retracted but no signs of breech. With some trepidation, pop the cork tonite and was pleasantly surprised. Prominent initial nose of petrol, then comes a rich bouquet of ripe pear, peach and jasmine? A little spritz in the glass, on the palate, ripe candied pear, granny smith apple and tropical fruit. Crisp acidity balanced the auslese sweetness, although there is almost a viscous sweetness, its was never cloying. One of the best auslese I have ever had.

2/4/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Much better than last time. Clean beautiful nose of mocha, coffee and dark fruit. Elegant, almost feminine palate, pure fresh fruit, smooth tannin. Medium finish, nothing weird or unpleasant, perhaps lacking somewhat in complexity; a very good drink overall.

1/21/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Really like this. Beautiful nose of blue berry, dark fruit and mocha. Elegant and complex, its not not your typical cali fruit bomb. Clean fruit up front with graphite, cedar and mocha. Plush without being viscous, oak is still a little too prominent but underlying acidity and silky tannin makes this a delicious wine nevertheless.

1/21/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Nice funk with slight floral note on the nose. Sour cherry, cranberry and rocks on the palate. Huge acidity for aging, nice drink now, probably better with a little more age.

1/15/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Very interesting wine. In contrast to light, crisp rose that I'm use to, this almost seems ponderous and syrupy. Not that I dislike it, this, its obviously a well made wine, it just seem like if you take 5 bottles of your average rose and concentrated it (including its alcohol)into a single bottle, this would be what you would get. Gobs of fruit mask the high alcohol for me, but my friend, David was rolling around on the restaurant floor screaming it was burning his tongue(ok maybe not actually rolling on the floor). Like it, but not sure it was worth the price of admission.

1/15/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

A nice if some what "simple" wine. Very clean nose of fruits, utterly lacking in any of the PN funk. At this age all I can taste is primary fruit - clean and delicious buts appears to lack the complexity that I was expecting. Probably should have waited.

1/4/2011 - tripkirby wrote:

Typical Cali Pinot nose - clean, dark fruit with some cherry notes. Delicious, sweet fruit with nice acidity. Perhaps lacking in complexity, but nevertheless, a very good, clean drink. Will probably benefit from some age?

9/9/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

complex nose of fresh cut tobacco, meat, chalky dirt, black olive, green stems and fresh berries. Nice sweet plum and black cherries, underlying leather, spice, sandalwood, chalk and pipe tobacco. Amazingly complex, but seems to want a little more acidity to brighten it up a bit.

9/7/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

This is my wife's favorite wine, she may not "know" wine, but she has a knack of picking expensive wines with big scores. That said, this is a consistent crowd pleaser. Dark almost opaque color, gobs of clean berries on the nose with a hint of vanilla. Sweet fleshy fruit, clean and bright. Soft tannin, plush, almost creamy mouth feel, very nice juice indeed.

9/7/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

Deep garnet red. On the nose, trace metallic blood, some smokey meat but an overwhelmingly huge bouquet of fresh dark berries and plum. Explodes on the palate with sweet fruit and silky tannin, amazing amount of fresh black plum, cherry and raspberry that almost overpowers the underlying complexity of this baby. Beautiful minerality/scorched earth, spices like anise, licorice and white pepper start to show mid palate but the overall sense of fresh fruits dominate from start until its very long finish. Very, very good now, but may even be better with some age. Popped and pour over 2 -3 hours at Lotus of Siam, it more than stood up to some awesome Thai food (5/10 on spice level).

7/28/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

Mocha, blackberry and a trace of vanilla on the nose. Taste like it smells, sweet tannin and bright acidity. Very young but already delicious.

5/23/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

Good Australian Shiraz is still a sublime experience.

3/13/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

Beautiful dark color, amazing nose of black berries, blue berries, hint of coco and violet at the end. Velvety smooth on the palate, soft , lush fruit. Only hint of its age is trace of leather and coco in the mid palate. Nice long lingering finish. Very nice older cali.

3/13/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

Flawed? Initial nose of musty damp dirt, smells like an old left bank bordeaux, after double decant and about an hour, a muted nose of red fruit, leather and coffee. Surprising firm tannin, acid, taste kinda like it smells, shoe leather, coffee ground but very little fruit. Not terrible but not really my style.

2/4/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

Inspirational. Beautiful nose of dark fruit and a hint of lavender. Nicely intergrated fruit, tannin and acid. Balanced and silky. Wished I had more.

2/4/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

Didn't expect this. Opaque and dark like an Aussie shiraz, but very American Syrah nose - raw meat and beef blood, not the usual fruit bomb with vanilla, nice but unexpected. On the palate, its also a little more refined, almost elegant for an Aussie? Must say I am surprised by the complexity of this wine and the deft hand in the making of this wine. Prob the most Rhone like of all the Aussies I've ever tried.

2/3/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

Very nice wine, dark chocolate and black berries on the nose. Nice blue berries and ripe plum initially, but I wouldn't call this a fruit bomb, soft tannin with adequate acidity for a nice long finish.
50 + 5 + 14 + 17 + 8 = 94

1/31/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

Nice nose of black berry, blue berry, green stems and ceder, tannic and oaky - Oak monster, seems a little unbalance, bracing acidity but does not seem to have the fruit profiles to stand up to the tannin and acid. Good with a marbled piece of ribeye.
Day 2 - Tannic, acidic with a little earthiness, like it less than the first day.
50+5+12+15+8 = 90

1/29/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

50 +5+14+18+9=96
WOW, this is drinking very well right now - Huge nose with lush dark berries, hint of milk chocolate and coconut cream? Very rich mouth feel, plush sweet fruit, nice integrated tannin, opulent mid palate and a lingering finish. Will probably age well, but why wait.

1/28/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

50 +5+12+15+8 =90

1/17/2010 - tripkirby wrote:

50+5+12+16+8=91

9/27/2009 - tripkirby wrote:

Very good, full body, big flavor Chard. Nice citrus and pear on the nose. Nice acidity to balance the big flavors.

9/26/2009 - tripkirby wrote:

Huge nose of coffee, smoke. Nice fruit up front, good balance, fair amt of acid. medium finish. Not bad.

9/12/2009 - tripkirby wrote:

Not the best amarone I've ever had.

7/21/2009 - tripkirby wrote:

incredible nose, 100 pt nose,

7/19/2009 - tripkirby wrote:

amazing, one of the best