10/26/2019 - pvetsch Likes this wine:

Oh my goodness, Kobayashi - now I get it. Why WeatherEye Vineyard, on the wild, high-altitude, north-facing, untamed side of the Red Mountain AVA, is so special. Why a Viognier picked at 25 Brix but 3.21 pH can show both the opulence required to showcase the essence of the varietal but also the acid necessary to slice through it. Why this is the next frontier of Washington wine. Why nothing that came before from the state smells or tastes quite like this does. Why you have invested so heavily in this desolate mountaintop. I have made Washington State the cri du coeur of my wine devotion since I first started studying and writing about the grape, because I saw the potential of the area, because I believed in what select producers were doing there...this, more than any words I can write, explains why. Keep going.

2/26/2012 - pvetsch wrote:

Mind-blowing. Buy and save if you can!

12/14/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

The best sub-$50 Napa Cab I have ever tasted. Absolutely phenomenal, intense, and a pitch-perfect expression of the varietal.

6/8/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Amazing. One of my favourite wines ever.

5/14/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Solid, better than expected. Full review here: http://popandpour.ca/2011/05/10/wine-review-2010-h-stagnari-chardonnay-de-virginia/

5/14/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Best Canadian red I've ever had. Full review here: http://popandpour.ca/2011/05/12/wine-review-2007-laughing-stock-portfolio/

5/6/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

True to Cali style, but tough to say yes at this price. Full review here: http://popandpour.ca/2011/05/06/wine-review-2006-cakebread-cabernet-sauvignon/

5/4/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Crisp and focused, but a little lean. Full review here: http://popandpour.ca/2011/04/26/wine-review-2005-wegeler-winkeler-hasensprung-riesling-spatlese-trocken/

5/4/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Crazy cool Gewurz. Full review here: http://popandpour.ca/2011/05/01/wine-review-2003-domaine-weinbach-cuvee-laurence-gewurztraminer-furstentum-grand-cru-375-ml/

5/4/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Nice value wine! Full review here: http://popandpour.ca/2011/05/03/wine-review-2008-renegade-red-wine/

4/22/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Full review here: http://popandpour.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/wine-review-2008-artadi-orobio/

4/21/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Full review here: http://popandpour.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/wine-review-2003-villa-la-selva-selvamaggio-igt/

4/18/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Full review here: http://popandpour.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/wine-review-2006-redheads-studio-esule/

4/18/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Smelled like garbage -- rotting meat, mildew, mustiness. Don't know if it was actually corked, but something was wrong with it.

4/16/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Full review here: http://popandpour.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/wine-review-2006-brundlmayer-langenloiser-berg-vogelsang-gruner-veltliner/

4/16/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Full review here: http://popandpour.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/wine-review-2007-tawse-wismer-vineyard-cabernet-franc/

4/5/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

http://popandpour.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/wine-review-2010-kung-fu-girl-riesling/

4/5/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

http://popandpour.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/wine-review-habla-no-4-2006/

3/23/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

I clearly left this too long (in my cellar for 1 year+). Dull and stale, thin in body and mainly garnet/brick in colour. The nose wasn’t very intense, but what little there was included dust, earth, coffee and dried strawberries. There wasn’t much life on the palate either: VERY low acidity, faded hints of dark fruit, and some metallic, coppery notes, like liquid pennies. What flavour there was faded quickly, leaving only loose tannin on the finish. Full review: http://wp.me/p1q5Lb-2n

3/22/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

This is a wine that kind of sneaks up on you: at first sight and smell it seems like a pleasant, fruity, but almost tame sipping wine, and then you taste it and BAM! — it jumps all over your palate with wild abandon. It has a translucent, almost transparent, ruby colour and a quiet, deceiving nose primarily of sweet cherry (almost like Nibs licorice) and dusty earth. None of that foreshadows the huge, immediate, dense flavour explosion on the palate, where sweet raspberry and cherry fruits, cherry cola, cinnamon, brambly/earthy notes and strong smoke and cedar flavours detonate instantaneously as soon as the wine touches your tongue. Accompanying this barrage of flavour is an underlying sense of heat from the (tsk) 15% alcohol level which is part-pleasant, part-distracting. The high alcohol is mostly balanced by the Juan Gil’s bright acidity and fine, smooth tannins, but not entirely.

3/19/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

The first thing that absolutely jumped out at me about this wine was the colour, a deep, rich, orangey-brown hue that most closely resembles steeped tea. There are very few instances where brown wine is a good sign, but this is clearly an exception, because this wine was in great shape, albeit probably in the last few years of its prime drinking window. The nose was bracing and floral, with sweet notes of maple, burnt sugar and honey mixed with ripe tropical fruit aromas (mainly lychee and peach). On the palate, the mouthfeel was unbelievable: lush and viscous, yet still light as a feather and not at all syrupy. The sweetness was definitely present (it’s a dessert wine, after all), but it was never dominating, just supporting the lychee, apricot and apple cider flavours and leading them into a soft, lingering finish that went on for ages.

3/16/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

This is a two-face wine. On the nose and at first taste it is sweetness personified, but then somewhere in the midpalate all of that drops off the table and is replaced by acidity and bitter tannin and nothing else. It is a deep, lurid purple in colour, and its nose is all sweet, candied, almost artificial fruit: cream soda, cherry Life Savers and grape Kool-Aid. Those same flavours carry over to the palate, until they instantly vanish and are replaced by bitter cranberry, sharp acid and grainy tannins. Unsurprisingly, this leads to a rather unsatisfying finish. I will resist making a “Sleight of Hand” joke about this disappearing act, but I really want to.

3/13/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Yet another well-made, well-intentioned California wine done in by an overabundance of alcohol. I was really struck by the colour on this wine: a clear, vivid red, not black or inky, and with only medium pigmentation. The predominant note on the nose was blueberry, along with some dusty and almost floral undertones, and the bright dark fruit flavours carried over to the palate. Once the fruit notes tailed off, though, what was mainly left was a glycerol-like impression of sweetness and a slight burn from the elevated (15.2%) alcohol. The finish was accentuated by almost chalky tannins, but they weren’t enough to keep the wine properly in check. I had the “Le Thief” with marinated BBQed flank steak, and it certainly worked better with the food than without — the proteins from the steak and the acids from the marinade helped give the wine the structure it needed to restrain the alcohol level.

3/11/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

This wine showed well, especially after sitting in the glass for awhile, but given the pedigree of the producer I expected a bit more. Ruby colour turning to brick on the rim, suggesting that it was starting to show its age, but there was still plenty of structure to keep it going for another few years. The nose was primarily raspberry and cherry mixed with burnt sugar, maple and caramel notes (my resident nosing expert called it “Cherries Jubilee”). There was some sweetness on the initial attack, along with surprisingly intense acidity for a 7 year old New World Merlot. The red fruit flavours carried over to the palate, along with earth and cedar undertones, and the smooth tannins stretched out the lingering finish. Quite good, but lacked something to push it over the top.

3/10/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Is value Bordeaux an oxymoron? Quite possibly. There's nothing particularly wrong about this wine, but there's also nothing that grabs my interest. A bit of red fruit (only after it opened up a bit), a bit of spice, and better once the tannins softened out, but nothing earth-shattering.

3/5/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

OK, already! Uncle! You can taste every bit of the 15.7% alcohol as it beats your palate into submission. The mouthfeel is impressively not as viscous as expected for such a hot wine, and there are nice sweet fruit flavours here, but this is all about overt power and concentration and leaves me wishing for just a bit of subtlety and restraint. A well-made wine, but too much of a blunt instrument for my liking...one of the best labels I've ever seen though.

3/1/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Soft and drinkable wine; not overly complex, but still interesting. Raspberry, chocolate, cinnamon and oak are the predominant flavours. For $20CDN, I feel I'm getting my money's worth.

2/28/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Not what I expected, but I was still a big fan. Electric ruby colour, bright fruit, and a surprisingly silky medium body considering the blend (mainly Grenache/Syrah/Cinsault, around 25% of each). Not heavy, not hot, but instead energetic and easy to drink. I would buy again for sure.

2/26/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

So delicate and nuanced that it's hard to believe it's from Australia. I was expecting a beefier Pinot Noir, but this is light-bodied, acidic and practically dances on the palate. Sour cherry is the predominant flavour, with some earth and spice notes. Impressive varietally-correct Pinot considering where it comes from, although I don't know if I'd pay $50CDN for it.

2/24/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Creamy, nuanced, textured Sauternes. Gorgeous deep amber colour, with a ton of different notes on the nose: honeycomb, smoke, burnt sugar, and some vegetal (celery?) undertones. Lush and pure on the palate, showing vanilla, honey and botrytis flavours and quiet acidity that peaks on the finish. Definitely makes me want to get more exposure to Sauternes.

2/22/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Gorgeous single-vineyard Gruner at a bargain price. Surprisingly full-bodied, with a deep golden colour and an almost viscous mouthfeel that is balanced by piercing acidity and a crisp finish. A strange and interesting fix of flavours: apple pie, pineapple, rubber, lanolin and pepper. Never a dull sip!

2/19/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

I wish I liked this better than I did, but it lacked the intensity and complexity I was expecting. It tasted a little tired, and the second wine of the evening, at less than half the price, fared much better. Overall a disappointment.

2/18/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Nice but not distinctive. Velvety structure and pure fruit, easy to drink on its own, but without the underlying complexity that some other Washington Syrahs can achieve. For the price tag, I expected something more, but I did enjoy the bottle.

2/16/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Fruit and spice, nothing glaringly wrong with it, but nothing standing out either. For $13CDN, it delivered, but that's about all I can say about it.

2/13/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Lively, bright, fruity wine that works well both with food and on its own. Light to medium bodied with intense cherry notes, vibrant acidity, and little tannin, it is more fruit forward than you would expect from a Spanish red. Maybe not the most complicated or powerful wine, but a pleasure to have with dinner.

2/10/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Lean, tight, acidic Riesling from Margaret River. Very dry, with grapefruit and mineral as the predominant notes on the nose and palate. It would probably make a great food wine with the right meal, but it was a little too cold and stark for my tastes.

2/8/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

I first opened a bottle of this wine a few months ago and posted an unflattering review questioning whether there might be something wrong with the bottle. Two days later, I got an e-mail from the creator of CellarTracker: the publicist for Smith-Madrone winery in Napa was trying to get ahold of me because of my CT review and wanted to replace my bottle! Right after Christmas a new bottle of Smith Madrone 2003 Napa Cab was couriered to my doorstep. I remain amazed not only at the power and reach of this website but at the remarkable display of customer service displayed by this winery. They were truly concerned that my bottle of wine didn't live up to my expectations and were determined to make things right. You just don't see that anymore.

On to the wine. I'm happy to say that my initial review must have largely been based on some type of bottle flaw, because this bottle showed much much better. While the first bottle was flat and muted, this one was layered, rich and complex. This is not your typical, overripe Napa Cab; it's structured and restrained and almost Old World in style. The nose was of leather, raspberry/blackberry, cinnamon and spice, but with a clear trace of the underlying sweetness common in quality Napa Cabs. More medium than full-bodied on the palate, it had notes of dark chocolate, dark red fruit and cedar, with strong, grippy tannins kicking in on the mid-palate and a sort of pleasant dustiness lingering throughout. With this kind of structure, it will age gracefully for many more years. I'm truly grateful to have had the opportunity to give this wine another chance. Thanks again to Smith-Madrone winery!

2/6/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Light, lean and pleasantly tart Oregon Pinot. Old World in style, with low pigmentation, flavours of strawberry, earth and spice and some unexpected tannic grip on the finish. Not my favourite type of red, but definitely of good quality.

2/4/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Pure, expressive, ripe Spatlese. Pale straw colour, intense nose of tropical fruit (mango?) and slate, and a fairly round body with residual sweetness balanced by underlying acidity and minerality and lemon/lime and tropical notes. Unlike some Mosel Rieslings, the acidity isn't dominant or zingy, but it keeps everything together. The sweetness dies down on the finish, but a gorgeous mineral, almost salty, note lingers for some time. Very nice wine -- you know exactly where it's from as soon as you try it, but it still has a few surprises up its sleeve.

1/31/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Cheap and cheerful. As advertised.

1/30/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Ripe and fruity, but in a controlled fashion; not jammy or intensively alcoholic like so much Aussie Shiraz. The colour was more dark red with hints of brick on the edges after 5 years, but the acidity was still vibrant on the palate and the structure was still there. Hard to believe this is a mass-produced, $25CDN Shiraz...it's one of the more refined offerings from Australia I've had in the past while.

1/28/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

I don't even know where to start in describing this wine -- it's a fascinating study in Washington State Syrah. Citrus, smoke, pepper, game, iodine and medicinal notes form a complex framework for the dark red fruit; surprisingly bright acidity for a Syrah; smooth tannin and a long lingering finish. It's not at all heavy or jammy...even with all the complexity thrown at you it's medium-bodied and almost restrained. CellarTracker suggests a drinking window of 2007-2009, but I saw no indications that this wine was past its peak. I think it will show strongly for at least the next 2-3 years, if not longer. Very interesting bottle of wine, and one that I will definitely buy again.

1/23/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

This wine definitely overdelivered for me. I was pleasantly surprised to see something other than another Aussie critter wine, but the producer has stayed away from the jammy fruit bomb Shiraz formula and provided something with a bit of restraint, which has allowed some earth and spice notes to shine through. Nicely balanced and harmonized, and as a result more enjoyable to drink than most Aussie Shiraz. I had it with Shepherd's Pie -- comfort food with comfort wine.

1/22/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

I've had this before but didn't like it quite as much this time. It's still a strong Cali Zin - nice layers of spice with the big fruit, and concentrated, almost Amarone-like, layers of flavour. But it seemed a bit hot (15.5% -- you don't say) and out of balance, and while there was complexity, there was little subtlety in the wine, if that makes any sense. For a Zin that retails for almost $40CDN, I don't know if I'll buy another bottle, but it is an enjoyable and interesting wine.

1/20/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

(Second Review) Round and warm Cali Chardonnay, with clearly noticeable but well-integrated oak influence in the foreground and mellow apple/pear/green melon flavours also showing through. I didn't note this on the last bottle, but this time I'm finding the alcohol level a little distracting and overpowering...not used to this kind of hotter profile in a white.

1/19/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

More than I expected from a vin de table. A primarily-Cinsault blend (interesting in and of itself) with polished well-weighted tannins, big alcohol and surprisingly forward notes of dark fruit, sweet spice and earthiness. Not your prototypical Old World French-style wine...maybe influenced by the warmer weather conditions in Languedoc?

1/13/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

A pure expression of Mosel Riesling, managing to deliver telltale notes of slate and stone and mineral without being remotely cold or austere. Bright, vibrant acidity and underlying hints of lime and peach, but the fruit isn't the story here; it just plays a supporting role to the flavours coming out of the soil. No real hint of spiciness like some Wurzgarten wines.

1/12/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Big, soft, lush wine, but not heavy or clumsy. Deep glass-coating purple hue, with strong hints of black fruit, anise and cedar on the nose, following through with blackberry and vanilla on the palate. Pleasantly hot alcoholic notes on the finish. The tannins are smooth and velvety, and the entire wine seems like a testament to New World modern style winemaking. Perhaps a bit too over-extracted...borders on gimmicky in that regard.

1/10/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Gorgeous wine for the price. Not heavy or jammy like some sun-drenched Napa Cabs, but spicy and lively with lush dark fruit and assertive tannins. Lots of oak on the nose (cedar, smoke, tobacco) along with mint and eucalyptus notes, but everything integrates well on the palate, and the high level of acidity keeps everything vibrant. Medium bodied and slightly restrained, but with an astonishing level of complexity for a $20CDN wine.

1/9/2011 - pvetsch wrote:

Deep straw gold colour. Some funkiness on the nose, with rubber/petroleum aromas at the forefront and traces of granny smith apple and honeydew melon. Very dry on the palate, with piercing acidity and an austere flavour profile of citrus and stones. Quite different in style from German Rieslings -- less precise and with no notes of sweetness whatsoever. Tastes more like a Clare Valley Riesling. Well-made wine, but not my favourite style. [EXTRA NOTE: I found this wine better and more integrated the next day: it seemed rounder, and the the funkier notes had melded better with the other flavours in the wine.]