3/9/2024 - motuski Likes this wine:

Had side by side with a CdP (2017 Ch La Nerthe Cuvee des Cadettes) with friends. Leathery red fruited wine with smooth mouth coating tannins and some earthy notes. Was more savory than the CdP. Complex with an incredible finish. Should probably call this wine Magnifico!

3/9/2024 - motuski Likes this wine:

Purchased at the vineyard in CdP last year as one of three vintages selected for purchase during a vertical tasting. Uncorked last night over dinner with friends who unanimously agreed that this was outstanding. Juicy wine and more fruit forward than I recollect. Red cherries, raspberries and some black fruit. There is a touch of wood which adds to the complexity while letting the fruit do the talking. Wow!

3/8/2024 - motuski Likes this wine:

Balanced - flinty and not excessively acidic or oaked. Nice finish

1/23/2024 - motuski Likes this wine:

Big bold wine! The oak presence is strong and the wine is concentrated. Vanilla and baking spices appear at first whiff, followed by blackberries and toasted coconut (American oak perhaps?). On the palette the structure is mouth filling with bold tannins, and the finish is very long. Acidity is well judged to stand up to everything else that is going on in this wine including high alcohol of 15%.
Standalone not necessarily to my tastes, but this will likely make a great steak wine.

1/23/2024 - motuski Likes this wine:

Decanted over three hours. Delicious wine with nose of cedar, red fruit, red bell peppers and leather. Evolved as the night wore on. Quality Bdx tannic structure. This is in a place where it should be - drink.

1/23/2024 - motuski Likes this wine:

Uncorked over dinner. Much appreciated wine - balanced acidity and long finish. Waxy, citrus nose and flavors. Serve cold.

1/13/2024 - motuski Likes this wine:

Garnet colored - aired for two hours. Cherry/red fruited with harmonious structure - fine but mouth coating tannins. Pyrazines from the high proportion of Cab Franc are present as well. Drinking excellently right now.

1/13/2024 - motuski Likes this wine:

Nose of cherry, earth, mushrooms. Solid spine of acidity and fine tannins. And what a finish! Drinks like a pinot but then the savory notes give it away. Have two more which I shall patiently age.

10/29/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Finessed wine! Drank over two days - first day felt a little reticent. Next day nose and flavors exploded. Dark cherry, cassis and a hint of vanilla. Acidity is well judged and tannins are in a good spot now. Been drinking a few recent vintages of LaGrange recently and realizing how well made this is.

10/26/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Aired for 2 hours. Prunes, cherry and saddle leather on the nose. The fruit is definitely muted though. Similar profile on the palette. Tannins are integrated and there is a good spine of acidity. Felt it a little light on the mid-palette, yet the finish lingered on. For the price this felt a little underwhelming.

10/25/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Coravin pour. Dark red with a translucent rim. Nose of plum, cherry, grenadine and garrigue. On the palette dark cherry dominates with a touch of oak (not sure if this is aged in foudres). Acidity is well judged and tannins are silky. It is all primary for now. Drank at cellar door in CdP village and ordered a case. At 23 EUR pre-tax this is crazy QPR.

9/28/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Pnp from a 375 ml half bottle. Clearly an example of Bordeaux producers that are making wine to drink upon release. This is a polished medium to full bodied St Julien with notes of pencil shavings, leather, cassis and dark fruit. Retronasal olfaction reveals the vanilla from the oak. Tannis are fine grained and the finish is superb. This will obviously cellar well, but why wait?

9/8/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Had side by side with a 2013 Penfolds Bin 389 and 2013 Penfolds. St Henri Shiraz
TN: Dark fruit, purple and opaque. Well-made and tannins still present but a less grippy then before
Comparison with others: Clearly the Cab in the blend, provides the structure which I thought that the St Henri, while still beautiful, had less of. The 2013 Bin 389 was more open with smoother tannins, but after two hours of airing the 2018 opened up nicely.

8/27/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Pnp. Garnet color that you can see through in the glass. Nose - dark cherry and medicinal herbs. Palette - good acidity and with some grip, medium bodied. Decidedly a food wine - had with pizza with friends last night and everyone liked it a lot. Don't think there's further evolution on this but I'm sure it will keep for a few more years

8/18/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Liked it more than the last time around. Very pretty

8/18/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

High quality cab blend. Dark fruit and wood in balance with medium acidity and tannins.

8/9/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Complex Nose - dark cherries and blackberry with spicy notes. On the palette the acidity is medium with some medicinal notes. Nice finish

8/9/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Exceptional fruit quality and balance, with herbs, cherries and gooseberries on the palette. Had alongside its French cousin - a 2016 Ch Beaucastel that had more tannic grip than this one. Have another stashed away in the cellar for another day. Yum!

7/15/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Aired for 2 hours. Dark cherry, plums and pencil lead. Still got some tannic grip. Not overtly complex and will give it more time in the cellar to integrate

6/21/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Purchased from a boxed vertical set of 12 bottles (2005-2016) ex-Chateau. Half hour decant. Dark fruited nose with cedar, tobacco and some menthol. Opened up further in the glass revealing more blackberry notes. Tannins are integrated and this is drinking well right now.

6/20/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

At first blush thought I detected some ox (a la port notes). But that seemed to go away. Excellent length.

6/20/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Typical Russian River with notes of cola, spice and dark cherry. Good acidity and drinking well

6/10/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

3 Hour decant. Had side by side with the HB 16. Not fair to place them side by side, but held up on its own. Red fruit, wood spice and silky tannins. A reminder to why I go back to Bordeaux all the time. Crazy QPR. Wow!

6/10/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Beautiful Chardonnay. Bright fruit with excellent bouquet

6/10/2023 - motuski wrote:

Tight nose. Fruit forward and tannic

6/10/2023 - motuski wrote:

medium bodied. Quite balanced

6/1/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Exquisitely balanced - probably the most finessed wine I have ever tasted. Drank side-by-side with a 2015 Latour Martillac which while excellent, felt more rustic in comparison.

3/23/2023 - motuski wrote:

Nothing wrong but pretty ersatz Aussie Shiraz. Dunno why I liked it more the last time around

3/5/2023 - motuski wrote:

Not getting much on the nose. Well structured

2/17/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Perfumed cherry notes on the nose with a touch of wood spice. On the palette the tannins are prominent but melt away leaving a savory aftertaste. Good stuff this.

2/6/2023 - motuski wrote:

Nice nose - dark plums, spice and menthol. Took a little while to open up. On the palette, it was savory but felt a little unidimensional with the oak notes being overpowering. Tannins were integrated. A good food wine - my guests seemed to enjoy it a lot with their food.

1/20/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Coravin pour - A very pretty nose with blackcurrants, cloves, vanilla, chalk and some pyrazines. On the palette I agree with UrbanGrill, there's a loss of dimensionality possibly because of the dominant oak. Still, this is a solid wine which would work well paired off against food and I would definitely order this in a restaurant.

1/15/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Aired for 3 hours. Whoa! What a knockout. Beautiful with red and dark fruit, tannins fully resolved, well-judged acidity and long finish. Prances on the palette. Only complaint was that I found the finish a little hot.

1/15/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Second bottle tasting. Aired for 3 hours or so. Dark fruit, with distinct charred wood. Liked it lesser than the last time around but solid.

1/7/2023 - motuski Likes this wine:

Oh so California - every once in a while I have to remind myself why I like Napa cabs so much. It is all in the vibrant fruit. Drinking beautifully now - dark fruit leather and harmonious tannins. Delicious and balanced

12/29/2022 - motuski Likes this wine:

PnP. Margaux softness and beautiful fruit. Medium finish. Next time I'm decanting

11/22/2022 - motuski Likes this wine:

Quality stuff here. Mushroom/earthy notes with dark cherry.
Drinking well though probably will get better a few years out as the tannins continue to integrate.

10/9/2022 - motuski wrote:

OK this one flirts with controversy. A colleague of mine from Puglia recommended it to me. PnP - nose of blue fruit, vanilla, oak spice. On the palette this was full bodied, fruity and sweetish. Long finish with a touch of alcoholic burn. Definitely complex but equally extracted and amped. This is no subtle wine. A lot of friends of mine liked it, but not quite for me

10/7/2022 - motuski wrote:

Red fruit without the distinct RR cola notes. Good stuff not great though

9/24/2022 - motuski Likes this wine:

Balanced wine with cedar, leather and vanilla notes. Also picked up cinnamon and menthol. Tannins all receded and in its drinking window.

9/24/2022 - motuski Likes this wine:

Dark cherry, chocolate and clove on the nose. Crunchy fruit and medium acidity on the palette. Medium-long finish and did feel a little boozy. Delicious regardless

9/18/2022 - motuski Likes this wine:

The more I drink this the more I appreciate what this wine is all about - balance.
Cherry and red fruit with balsamic notes. Such an unfussy wine

9/18/2022 - motuski wrote:

Love this CDP. Crunchy red berry with rosemary notes. Fine and present tannins

9/14/2022 - motuski Likes this wine:

Drank over 3 days. Leather strawberries blueberries. Tannins still there.
Nice finish

9/3/2022 - motuski Likes this wine:

So pretty! Balanced nose of red fruit, burgundian barnyard funk, with a touch of vanilla and oak. I liked the fruit - no cherry cola bomb here, more like pomegranate and strawberry and very balanced. A tad more acidic than I anticipated on the palette which helped pair beautifully with food. Good length.
Excellent stuff that is drinking well right now.

9/3/2022 - motuski Likes this wine:

Served at cellar temperature. Dark Amber color. Sherry like nose. On the palette balanced and complex with notes of dried sweet mango, apricots and honey. Perfect acidity balancing out the sweetness. Long finish.

9/3/2022 - motuski Likes this wine:

Still tannic. And beautiful!

8/14/2022 - motuski wrote:

Nice aromatic nose, honeyed flavors. Kind of felt boozy in the finish though. For its style this is good, it's just that it's not mine...

7/31/2022 - motuski Likes this wine:

What a beauty! Dark fruited nose - blueberry, blackberry as well as notes of raw tamarind. Tannins in harmony, perfect acidity and a super long finish.

7/31/2022 - motuski Likes this wine:

Disagreeing with a few comments earlier. The fruit is still there - bought it at the vineyard last December. Perhaps better cellaring at SO Alexander Valley?. Drinking well now with a nice dill note found in this region. Minerally, harmonious tannins and a medium mouthfeel. Nice!