8/26/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Served at Jessie's birthday party because she's from Michigan and so is this wine, which was stellar. Party guests all enjoyed it. From memory, we recall "key lime pie, complete with a hint of graham cracker crust" as the taste. Highly recommend! J found it on a trip home to Detroit after having it at a wine bar in DC and being really impressed.

8/12/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Shared with a friend who'd never had Moscato d'Asti before. Didn't take notes, but we all loved it, and it was a solid example of the wine.

7/17/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Hay and herbal notes lead the nose. Graphite and flora notes, too, and a grapefruit backdrop if you look for it. Almond coming out with some time -- now that's interesting! And lemongrass.

Rear palate / retronasal is highly floral, with citrus pith and bitters. Nice soft quality that made Max (who hates too-high acid) like this one. It was bitter rather than acidic.

"Does a good job of being refreshing while also having something else going on," says Max. A good choice if you're sharing a bottle and one of you wants Sauvignon Blanc but the other hates it, as in our case!

7/21/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Wonderful nose that will not disappoint NZSB fans! Passion fruit leads, with grapefruit, cut hay, and a hint of pistachio that adds interest. Gravel and moss in there, too.

The palate is where the green grassy note comes out. Very high acid, to the point of a little burn in the throat, and utterly dry.

In short: Great nose. Really acidic. Really good.

7/21/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Both the Syrah (60%) and the Cabernet (40%) are readily discernible in the nose of bacon fat, graphite, and lovely, well-integrated chocolate oak. Red cherry, tobacco, violet, and cedar, too.

The palate is intense and bold with a long finish. High, fine-grained tannin and high acid, well balanced. The finish is of stewed cherries and baking spice.

We liked it enough to bring home two bottles from the winery, so we drank one and will age the other, since I think it's suitable for that.

7/24/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

A solid Santorini that we and our friends enjoyed with Greek food. It leads with a nice floral note that I'd bet comes from the Aidani, then moves into lime peel and granite of Assyrtiko. The minerals lead and the fruitiness is the backdrop, with a bit of hay, too, and...unsweet marshmallow?

The palate is lemon-lime and spritzy, with a steely backbone and a long citrus (not just acidic) finish. The acid is high but well balanced. 14% alc.

8/16/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Classic Provence rosé by nose, with gravel, strawberry, and celery, plus a hint of cotton candy. Flinty and bone dry palate, but with watermelon emerging on rear palate with a bit of red fruit. A hint of lime, too — maybe the 10% Vermentino peeking through? (The rest is 60% Syrah and 30% Grenache.) One of our favorite rosés at a rosé tasting event.

8/23/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Nose of smoke or charcoal, fall air, ruby red grapefruit (?!), baked raspberry-blackberry pie, violets, earth, and cedar. Solid and enjoyable.

8/27/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Chocolate, red cherry, green olive, and well-integrated vanilla oak at first sniff, with stewed strawberries, licorice, and pencil shavings emerging. Classic cab with balanced high acid and tannin, and a nice long finish of waffle cone and a bit of heat at 14.2%. Solid and enjoyable.

8/20/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

DARK fruit. Leather. Black tea. Notably no oak notes — and sure enough, tech sheet confirms 100% stainless steel. Definitely let this decant, at least an hour.

This is definitely a food wine, but SUCH a food wine! We paired it with Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe creamy pasta sauce and it positively sang. Creaminess with black pepper is just right for this wine. Red fruit (cranberry) emerges on palate. Balanced acid and tannin, bone dry.

6/10/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Wow -- really a striking wine. Nose of honey, tobacco, saline, honeycomb, lime sherbet, and a backdrop of passion fruit. The palate has a med+ bodied caramel note, with apple and only moderate acidity. More like a Nykteri than a standard Assyrtiko. Divine with feta! Balance, length, intensity, and complexity = outstanding.

6/22/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Spritzy Sprite-like lemon-lime, rubber band, peach, green apple, and flint. High and dry with acid, maybe even a bit unbalanced in Jessie's view (but then, she likes Kabinett and wanted a bit more R/S), though Max didn't think it was unbalanced, and he hates when acid is too high. A decent weeknight dinner Riesling.

6/28/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Lovely nose, not especially complex but just *nice*. Watermelon, strawberries and cream, grapefruit, minerals, and rose. Not too sharp with acidity on the palate, just enough acid not to be flabby, which is what we like. It's got a classic Provence rosé note, with a grapefruit finish. Refreshing, "high class porch pounder," if that's not a contradiction in terms. We liked it enough at a tasting to buy it, at any rate!

6/30/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Fantastic wine. Intense nose of sassafras, potpourri, big powerful blackberry, bacon fat, and black olive. The palate was bold, med+ acid & tannin and absolutely bone dry; no hint of sweetness in this one, with licorice and a long finish of coffee, tar, and herbs. Savoriness and almost astringency; this wine made me understand why some people call Syrah a "masculine" wine. A bit of heat at 14.5% alcohol, but balanced, intense, complex, and long. We shared with a friend who said he liked Aussie Shiraz and he really liked it. We'll splurge on another bottle of this next time we see it.

11/17/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

67% Tempranillo, 33% Syrah, 3.92 pH, 14.6% alcohol, fermented in concrete, aged in 30% new oak, 30% 2yr old, oak, 40% neutral French oak.

Nose of cinnamon that really brought to mind pie crust, with kalamata olive in the background, and a hint of licorice. Mouth-filling palate, with medium tannin and definitely baking spice flavors. Fans of Rioja should definitely try this one.

11/17/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Really liked this one; it was one of two we took home from Airfield's tasting. 55% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot. Foresty nose with licorice, raspberry, capsicum, dried red cherry, vanilla oak. Hint of sweetness from the alcohol (for those who register alcohol that way), with med(+) body, med(+) tannin, med acid. Long finish of dried red fruit and baking spice.

11/17/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Nose of maple, black peppercorn, herbs, aloe, blueberry, licorice, black olive. Palate adds blueberry pie, especially retronasally. Dry but except for the hint of sweetness that I think actually is from how I register alcohol (which is at 14.5%). Very well balanced. 70% new French oak; 30% 2yr old oak. Would have bought a bottle of this to take home if we hadn't loaded up on Syrahs already.

11/17/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Really nice nose of fresh-baked blackberry pie, toast, licorice, fig, and peat. Fine, well-integrated medium tannin, with a long cherry cola finish. Oak is also very nicely integrated. Dry. One of our favorites of the tasting -- we took a bottle home with us.

11/17/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot.

Bright and fruity nose, with vanilla and raspberry pie -- or really, the thing that came to mind is the pie my mom buys called "razzleberry pie" that is a mix of a bunch of berries. Caramel, too, with cherry pie as the finish (vanilla, toast, cherries), and grippy medium tannins with medium body and medium acidity. I called it dry, but the flavors certainly could bring sweet things to your mind (or palate).

11/17/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

60% Syrah, 29% Grenache, 11% Mourvèdre. Very nice nose of of cassis, blackberry bramble, a little rubber, plum, black cherry. Palate has vanilla and peppercorn, with balanced acid; balance, length, intensity, and complexity that stand out in the price range.

11/17/2022 - Jessie and Max wrote:

French oak (mix of old and new). Peppery, spicy nose with vanilla and fresh blackberry. Dry, med(-) body, med(-) tannin, med(+) acid, balanced and with some good length of pepper and black fruit, though not especially complex.

11/17/2022 - Jessie and Max wrote:

Fruity and foresty, particularly pine. Slightly off dry. Tart but balanced with R/S. No petrol. Lemon-lime and peach.

11/17/2022 - Jessie and Max wrote:

The lady who conducted our tasting said this is Airfield's most popular wine. It's got a bit of cherry red licorice on the nose, plus creme de cassis and granite. The palate has cranberry. It'd be good with Thanksgiving diner, I expect. Dry but with a hint of R/S.

5/21/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Bold wine with cherry, tar, licorice, smoke, and menthol notes on the nose. Rich and flavorful on the palate with a dominant flavor of cherry cough drops. Bone dry, with med+ tannin, acid, and body. A friend we shared it with said this was her favorite wine ever upon tasting it, so hey, looks like we found a new Pinotage fan!

5/21/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Outstanding wine. Nose of graphite, violets, wood chips (cedar - like a sauna!); not fruity on the nose, at least not until it's been open a while, and then only on the backdrop, when some black cherry, blackberry, and plum emerge with a bit of smokiness.

The palate is rich and flavorful, bold but balanced, with an anise-tinged finish. High in acid and tannin and bone dry. We'll buy another of these for sure.

5/30/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Pretty good example of Tannat's varietal character. Nose of licorice, red & black cherry, caramel, black currant, smoke, and blackberry. Palate is in your face in a good way, with bold but fine, satisfying tea-like tannin. A little hot, with a bitter note on the finish.

Overall, an intense, expressive, enjoyable wine. M: 89 J: 91

6/3/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Vibrant tropical nose of lime sorbet, passion fruit, piña colada, banana, and...oatmeal? Really nice and seems fairly unique. The palate is more classic Alvarinho, with saline, citrus, and minerality, finishing with bitter citrus pith. Bone dry and high but balanced acid.

The nose is what really sings on this one; the palate is great, but almost feels like it underdelivers after such a striking nose. Still very enjoyable.

3/16/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Excellent QPR if you can get it for $8 like we did (though I'd seen it for twice that at another shop). Fresh nose of watermelon and cherry, and also a hint of what the bottle and others have called milk chocolate. A hint of pool water too, which made for a rather complex, interesting nose.

The palate was flavorful and mouth-filling, with balance and intensity and even some length, qualifying for WSET's "very good" despite the price. Worth a try!

3/29/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

We both thought this was a lovely wine! Intense, expressive, complex nose with honey, apricot, acacia, lemon and orange fruit and pith, nectarine, cotton candy(!), almond, and hay, with a mineral backbone. The palate was flavorful, with citrus, floral, and mineral notes - especially apricot and a sort of lanolin quality. The high acid made this a great match with pasta with cream sauce. Med+ body, 13.5% alc, bone dry.

3/18/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Our first taste of a wine from Lewis & Clark Valley AVA impressed us. Intense nose of leather and tar, clove, cedar/woodsiness, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry. It leads with the savory earthiness with the fruit on the backbone.

Tasted with J's sister and family, who all decided this wine fell squarely into the "Goldilocks zone," where everything was balanced just right -- tannin (med-low), acid, and body. Very nice! 33% Cinsault, 33% Syrah, 23% Mourvedre, 11% Grenache.

1/8/2023 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Striking deep, dark purple color. Nose of blackberry bramble, licorice, syrupy richness, leather, tobacco, well-integrated vanilla oak, graphite, and black pepper. Super bold palate with lingering tannin, and higher acid than the nose might lead you to expect, with cherry and plum flavors.

Our first time trying Alicante Bouschet (aka Garnacha Tintorera). We'd try more based on this wine. M:89 J:90

12/30/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

After 10 minutes' air, medium intensity nose with definite bell pepper, red cherry, loamy earth, strawberry, pink peppercorn, and maybe even something meaty. Give it 30+ minutes decant -- it just kept showing more and more with time.

On the palate, pretty low tannin, with no notable lip feel. Definitely has length though! Pleasant, savory, earthy-oaky finish of almost a minute's length.

Overall, very good. The finish was outstanding, and a truly amazing QPR at $15.

12/27/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Fruity freshness. Almond, danish, lemon zest, and blossom. Intense, cheery nose -- really nice! There's even a bit of anise.

The palate is what I think of as a typical (but good) Cava, though I admittedly haven't had a lot - zesty acid, minerals, citrus peel, and a hint of RS. One outstanding note is the powerful almond aroma on the rear palate.

We're not big on sparkling wines, but would buy this one again. Great aromatics.

12/27/2022 - Jessie and Max wrote:

Intense, savory nose of bacon fat, spices (anise, allspice), blackberry, and nori (power of suggestion from the label? But it's there!) Tried this from a red glass and a white glass (hey, it's the holidays, we don't have enough glasses for everyone) and it's a lot fruitier when sniffed from a white glass. After some time, violets and chai tea.

The palate is earthy (J's sister called it tree bark) with black tea, cherry, and cinnamon. The finish is rather tart so Max wasn't such a fan, and J's sister agreed about that but still liked the wine (and she hasn't had a lot of Syrahs she likes). Surprisingly low in tannin, and what's there is very fine-grained. 13.5% alc.

We all agreed that this would be excellent paired with steak to counter the acid. J: likes it. E: likes it. M: not a fan.

12/26/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Intense nose of leather, walnut, and dried cherry. Palate of black cherry and spice which carries through on the lovely finish, which also has a nice dry vanilla note. The fruit is there but only as a backbone.

12/23/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Honey, cantaloupe, acacia, a little hay and a hint of brioche. Very nice blend in which both Chenin and Viognier signatures are detectable. Well-balanced high acid medium-bodied wine with just a hint of RS. Add in the QPR and this is an excellent buy.

12/21/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Intense nose with stone fruit, grapefruit, and minerals. Nice mouth-filling, rich flavor - minerals and grapefruit again, with a lovely lingering finish. Bone dry, med+ acid, med body, 12.5% alc. Not complex, but intensely flavorful. I'd buy it again.

11/22/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Classy but approachable.

Refined, medium intensity nose: black cherry, pencil shavings, baking cocoa, but not too oaky. A hint of something green, and then milk chocolate, cassis, and toast.

Not too much acid and not too hot despite being 14.5%. Fine grained medium tannin, with flavors of black cherry.

Overall, excellent wine with well-integrated oak that's dutifully in the background. Don't drink this one too soon -- or give it a 60 minute decant if you open it now. We bumped it up from 91 to 93 with a bit more air

11/8/2022 - Jessie and Max wrote:

Nice nose on this one. Max had more to say about this one than he usually does, namely, that it began with fruit and moved to floral notes. Yellow plum, acacia, hint of apricot, beeswax, brioche, lemon juice. Not very intense aromas, but detectable.

The palate was rounded, with a nice opening. Good body. A salty quality, with a bitter, dry finish. Not terribly complex, though: hard to discern flavors. 14.% alc.

If not our favorite S. Rhone white, then still a good QPR.

9/10/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Medium straw. Pear and tropical notes, including piña colada as well as passion fruit, as well as some pine. An interesting nose. The palate also featured passion fruit and pine; we thought it a very *cooling* flavor. (It was nice chilled, yes, but that's separate from what I mean.) Bone dry, med+ acid, light bodied and 13% alcohol, it was light but flavorful and unique. Shared with friends and everyone liked it! Uncommon, complex, and refreshing.

10/12/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Deep purple. Mainly chocolate and leather with a kind of chalky texture/finish. Jessie says cocoa and black plum. Perhaps black cherry, too. Leather was added, with Max's prompting. Rubber cement.

Sweet to very sweet, with bold tannin and body. Max jumped on this at Total Wine, where it was sitting, dusty and neglected, on the shelf, and thought it a nice little find. However, he neglected to jot down a score, so we will simply give it a thumbs up, to any who might find that it piques their curiosity.

11/5/2022 - Jessie and Max wrote:

Pale garnet wine with nose of balsamic, cherry, oregano, tar, leather, and tomato. Med(-) body and bone dry with med(+) tannin and acid, and alcohol at 14.5%. Lovely flavor - intense but balanced, with bright acid and fine tannins. Leathery and savory.

12/4/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Rich, intense nose of licorice, cedar, cherry, blackberry bramble, cassis, red currant, and mint.

Moving to the palate - spicy! Very peppery, with vanilla and black cherry too. Striking and intense -- this could easily take a few years to mellow; if you drink it now, give it a 30+ min decant. 14.5% alc and a bit hot.

"Good but a little harsh, said Max. We'd buy another, but we'd age it 3 years or more longer than we aged this one (drank at 4 years past vintage).

11/17/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Bright, cheerful nose of apricot, honeysuckle, and almond. Floral, well-balanced palate that was totally dry but otherwise had a note of Froot Loops, with honey and flowers on the finish.

11/11/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

Hey, this is interesting! We liked this the most out of any of the wines at our Adelsheim tasting (which I suppose means we're not OR Pinot people). But we found a lot more to talk about here: an earthy nose, with buttery oak and pepper and leather. Blueberry, too, but mainly retronasally. "It's a Pinot maker's Syrah," said our tasting leader, and that sounds about right. Worth a try!

11/11/2022 - Jessie and Max wrote:

Actually preferred this one to the Calkins Lane, though I understood that one to be their flagship. This one had more flavor. (Might just have been a bad vintage for the CL.) This one had more complexity, with forest floor and earthiness, and less fruity / cherry cola.

11/11/2022 - Jessie and Max wrote:

Vibrant cherry cola was my first impression - red cherry, vanilla/caramel, licorice, a bit of wet leaves. Med- body, med- tannin, a little watered down to the point that acid was more pronounced than flavor. The tasting conductor mentioned a 2-week rain event ahead of ripening warmth at harvest, but that made me think maybe this one got more watered down than the warmth could compensate for. Then again, this wine was one of the few noted in the Wine Bible, so maybe my expectations were inflated.

11/11/2022 - Jessie and Max wrote:

Cherry cola! This is the archetypal Oregon pinot nose to me. Notably no funk, with a really vibrant nose that sets me up to want a bit more on the palate, where I got a hint of rubber and light body.

11/11/2022 - Jessie and Max wrote:

Tasted at the winery. Certainly not bad, but not a whole lot going on - lighter nose, with oak, tartness, herbal, neither fruity nor buttery.

11/11/2022 - Jessie and Max wrote:

Solid if standard rose, and the only wine Adelsheim made in 2020. Watermelon, granite, cotton candy, with a hint of salty-tang. Medium(+) intensity nose.