12/24/2014 - twinmaple Likes this wine:

Just delicious. A fuller-bodied bubbly with wonderful toasty, yeasty notes.

12/24/2014 - twinmaple Likes this wine:

95+. Outrageously opulent honeyed pineapple notes with an incredible, everlasting finish. Wow.

12/24/2014 - twinmaple wrote:

Tough to rate. To my palate, a bit past peak. Rich dark fruits, cedar, mild to moderate tannin. Layered and rich, but with a creeping acidity and mild old funk. Either "classic" or declining. YMMV.

3/16/2014 - twinmaple wrote:

Grapefruit-dominated palette with notes of melon and lychee providing a more full-spectrum experience vs the usual $10-20 NZ Sauvs. Lingering finish and medium acidity. A solid sauvignon splurge.

3/4/2014 - twinmaple wrote:

One heck of a value. Medium-full body. I'm too tired to really write this up... Long lingering finish. Will definitely buy more.

3/3/2014 - twinmaple wrote:

Dark ruby color with a gorgeous mouthfeel and loads of fruit and secondary flavors and a lingering finish. A bit heavy on the eucalyptus / menthol for me, but all in all a very nice wine.

2/22/2014 - twinmaple wrote:

Hot and acidic when first opened, 90 minutes of air turned this into a decent quotidian drinker. Not bad at all.

2/20/2014 - twinmaple wrote:

A good everyday rosé. Nicely-balanced nose and pallet of strawberries and a wet stone minerality. Light-Medium body.

2/19/2014 - twinmaple wrote:

Super zingy nose and palate: Grapefruit, Under-ripe citrus, Gooseberry, Lime, Green lime hard candy, maybe a little tennis ball.
Bracing finish with bitter melon overtones. Not my favorite style of kiwi sauv, but with the right pairing could be a decent match.

2/10/2014 - twinmaple Likes this wine:

Took 30 minutes for volatile acidity to blow off. Once it did, we had a deeply colored, medium+ bodied wine. Nose of jammy and stewed fruits (dark berries, plums); on the palate jammy blueberry dominates with some boysenberry and a bit of black and white pepper on the finish. Medium- complexity. Medium finish for me. I like this wine at $15-20.

2/10/2014 - twinmaple Likes this wine:

Good QPR; a wine I will repurchase and that competes quite well with sub-$20 sparklers. As others have mentioned, dry with a nice mousse. Red berries dominate the palate and are balanced with a refreshing acidity.

2/5/2014 - twinmaple wrote:

Light gold color with a touch of rose. Medium-fine bubbles. Nose of apple with yeasty bread notes. Fairly straightforward apple and toasty notes on the palate. A nice, dry house bubbly. Will definitely buy more. Very good QPR.

2/3/2014 - twinmaple wrote:

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride -- this wine is off its meds and having a serious personality crisis. Massive amounts of volatile acidity took 90-120 minutes to blow off, but later were followed by a pungent alcoholic nose. Somewhere in between there lay a glorious, luscious wine driven by mouth-coating Blackberry with supporting notes of Leather, Beef Jerky, Black Pepper, Tar, Vanillin, and Toasted Oak. No rating for this roller coaster of a wine -- uncork and hold on -- it's quite a ride...

1/31/2014 - twinmaple wrote:

Vanilla oaky fruit bombicus. Low complexity to me, but a long lingering finish in an oaky fruity cab in this price range isn't a raw deal at all!

1/29/2014 - twinmaple wrote:

A well-made and balanced New World Pinot. Fairly straightforward slightly tart cherry aromas dominate with some black pepper and traces of floral notes and cookie batter. Well-balanced acidity (med+) keeps the light-to-medium-bodied package honest. Not a stunner, but a straight up the middle Pinot that's a decent buy at $20.

1/27/2014 - twinmaple Likes this wine:

Drinking beautifully now, with an elegant balance. A peppery nose with cherry and plum, and some wood cigar box and dried raisin-prune. On the palate, the cherry continues well-balanced with secondary flavors of smoky, rustic, dark-chocolate-covered amarena cherry with a bit of spice. The tannins are low, but present enough to solidly root the wine. Delicious juice.

12/28/2013 - twinmaple wrote:

Light-to-medium-bodied, with flavors of apple (dominant), butterscotch, and yeast. Medium-to-long finish.

Drinking well now.

12/23/2013 - twinmaple wrote:

Still good, but has already peaked. Drink up!

12/18/2013 - twinmaple wrote:

Going downhill fast.

12/10/2013 - twinmaple wrote:

Deep, dark, and inky -- a full-bodied supple bombshell of a wine with a long, long, long finish. Fruit and (dark) berry-driven with some secondary notes as well. What a mouthfeel. Good juice drinking well in late 2013!

11/23/2013 - twinmaple wrote:

Meh. Light-med body, cherry Robitussin overtones.

11/18/2013 - twinmaple Likes this wine:

A lighter-bodied meritage with more of a secondary-flavor palette than a fruit-driven profile. Some smoke and cedar were evident. A bit too acidic for my taste, but could pair nicely with food. A decent bottle, but nothing to write home about.

11/5/2013 - twinmaple wrote:

Delicious! Drinking very well now, with a full-bodied rich blend of zinberry flavones with a nice touch of oak and a lingering finish.

12/7/2012 - twinmaple Likes this wine:

Drinking beautifully. Nicely balanced. Yummy.

8/30/2012 - twinmaple wrote:

Luscious, with a delightful finish.

1/27/2012 - twinmaple wrote:

A nice, quality bottle, but a bit tight and closed at this stage. Perhaps it needs more time?

1/27/2012 - twinmaple wrote:

Opened the bottle... And thought it was bad. While it had the classic Barolo nose, the funkiness was overwhelming and just... "off."

So we opened a cab.

An hour later, the Barolo had transformed itself into a beautiful, rich and dense wine full of deep fruit and wonderful jammy notes.

Let this be a lesson to novices -- let it breathe -- this bottle transformed itself from a dead plonker to a beautiful, intense experience!

1/4/2012 - twinmaple wrote:

Relatively closed, with an unbalanced bitterness. Medium bodied with a fairly simple flavor core. Passable, but will definitely look for alternatives in this price range.

1/1/2012 - twinmaple wrote:

A simple, pleasant, off-dry, fruit-driven sparkler. As others have noted, no yeast or secondary notes.

12/31/2011 - twinmaple wrote:

Dense, dark, purple-ey color with deep, intense fruit notes and minerly, slate overtones. Well balanced tannins. Beautiful!

12/31/2011 - twinmaple wrote:

Light straw in color, a whiff of brûlée and lemon on the nose, and a light-to-medium body with a palate dominated by lightly acidic lemon custard and mild oaky notes.

11/24/2011 - twinmaple wrote:

Delicious, juicy red fruit in a round style with some vanillin notes. Wonderful juice!

12/18/2010 - twinmaple wrote:

As others have noted, it's a crowd-pleaser, big, fruity, and voluptuous. I would argue that it's a bit syrupy and port-like -- not badly, but definitely a stylized wine.

12/12/2010 - twinmaple wrote:

Delicious. Deep purple-ruby color Intense nose with boysenberry and plum notes. Palate-coating juicy berry flavors with a nice balancing acidity. Medium-length finish. Nice drink with or without food.

12/12/2010 - twinmaple wrote:

Good fruit concentration, but a bit flabby and syrupy, with no tannins whatsoever. Disappointing given others' comments.

11/20/2010 - twinmaple wrote:

Rich, cherry fruit driven wine of deep garnet color, with medium-heavy vanillin/oaked overtones. Nicely balanced at this point with a bit of acidity. Good juice.

11/7/2010 - twinmaple wrote:

A decent, simple zin in an easy-drinking, smoooooth style. Its core of berries is unsupported by much of any balance of acid, tannins, or other notes, while a strong vanillin overlay masks the fruit's nuance. Not a bad wine -- just lacks depth.

11/5/2010 - twinmaple wrote:

11/5/201092 points
Outstanding balance in the California oaked and fruit-forward style. Jammy without being cloying; a very nice wine.

11/4/2010 - twinmaple wrote:

NR. I like it, but it's a bit mono-dimensional. Went well with risotto con funghi, but my wife says it's completely disgusting. I disagree, but won't quantify my rating this time.

11/3/2010 - twinmaple wrote:

Pleasant enough... Maybe a bit too smooth and nondescript for a true zin, but went well with pizza...

10/26/2010 - twinmaple wrote:

Earthy funk and a bit of spice on the nose, medium body with a smooth palate of cherry, earth, and a bit of menthol on the extended finish.

10/22/2010 - twinmaple wrote:

Solid wine-- light-medium bodied with nice fruit balanced by a zingy core of acidity. Not the extract or "boom boom pow" of the big boys, but quite a decent quaff.

10/18/2010 - twinmaple wrote:

Very nice balance of spice & zinberry deep ruby-purple with a lingering finish & smooth mouthfeel. Drinking well now.

12/28/2009 - twinmaple wrote:

Outstanding purity of fruit; deep purple color; boysenberry and blackberry on the palate with a hint of spice. Mild tannins and a clean, pure, lingering finish. Wish I had more bottles!

12/26/2009 - twinmaple wrote:

A well-oaked Zin with a very (too?) smooth texture. Serious vanilla atop the characteristic zinberry fruit. Lovely bottle for the oaked Zin style.

11/14/2009 - twinmaple wrote:

Truly disappointing given past experience with CC. A syrupy mush-bomb of cough-elixer-esque cherry, vanillin, and chocolate flavors. Poor structure, no tannins, and far too little acid to balance this blob out. 5/6 of the bottle went down the drain.

11/13/2009 - twinmaple wrote:

Excellent medium-full bodied, fruit-driven, well balanced Zin with a lingering, luscious finish and dense zinberry flavors (but not overly bright or acidic -- just a smooth blend of luscious Zin).

10/25/2009 - twinmaple wrote:

Gone. Undrinkable.

10/21/2009 - twinmaple wrote:

Still pure in color, yet a telltale acidity indicates this one is a bit past its prime. A nice table wine, if somewhat ordinary.

10/20/2009 - twinmaple wrote:

Fennel, licorice, and pepper on the nose, with a subtle earthiness. Big cherry & a bit of spicy earth on the palate. Medium bodied, typical Chianti acidity. Throwing a fair bit of sediment by now. A very nice wine -- wonderful with tonight's veal stew.