3/28/2024 - nlassow Likes this wine:

What a surprise! Defying all odds pouring from a clear glass bottle, this syrah is still very much alive and showing notes of chocolate, dark fruits bordering on plum but not quite plum, and moderate resolved tannin. Umptuous. This wine shouldn't be this good at this age, but it is. I want more. It looks older than it drinks.

2/3/2024 - nlassow Does not like this wine:

If you have reasonably decent taste in wine, avoid this. No acidity, no backbone. 100% bleh. Not terrible, but not worth drinking. Not worth the 8-10 bucks at Costco.

6/12/2022 - nlassow wrote:

Our final bottle. Decanted 30min. This is still very youthful in both appearance and character. No formal notes but wife and I were more than satisfied.

4/17/2022 - nlassow wrote:

Silky, diminishing fruit, but there's still a great subtle tannic backbone holding everything together.

3/4/2022 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Bought at a liquor store 2+ years ago that does not store any of their long-term wine properly. Cork crumbled on removal. This wine is actually good. Not fully oxidized, not cooked (shocking), and still has some good dark fruit with completely resolved tannins. Probably better a few years ago, but fun to drink something great from the Beavis and Butthead glory days of the 90s.

1/16/2022 - nlassow wrote:

Obscure inexpensive wine. Fairly sure this is declassified. @ 16 bucks this is excellent.

10/9/2021 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Had this bottle at 316 in Boulder May 2019. 2 1/2 years later the same restaurant still had more stock. Primary dark plum fruit, oak, maybe some tobacco. Integrated and yet still youthful. About identical to how we remembered it in 2019. Great value, as another note mentioned, we have come to expect from Spain. This wine shows no signs of slowing down in the short term. Hope we have the opportunity grab another next year.

4/26/2020 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Cellar temp. Pop n pour. Wife gets apricots and summer peach on the palate. I get notes reminiscent of a gewurtzraminer on the nose. The nose is like smelling a slab of flagstone, super mineral. This bottle demands you pay attention. We've been drinking a good amount of inexpensive bottles and nothing like this during quarantainment so it's a fun loop to be thrown I into.

12/16/2017 - nlassow wrote:

This wine is like a mouthful of dirt upon opening. Not because of sediment. Give it 24-48 hrs and the fruit comes through and is actually very good. 87-89. Paired with bison meatloaf, shrooms, and mashers on day 2. Looking forward to trying again.

12/3/2017 - nlassow wrote:

Was not expecting this bottle to drink as well as it did. Just the right amount of earth, and plenty of fruit, along with smooth tannins. Rich, but not overbearing. This has a number of beautiful years ahead. Once again, feel stupid for only having purchased one bottle. No other formal notes but agree with the other flavor and nose profiles of others here.

7/16/2017 - nlassow wrote:

Subtle lemon, hay, that slight "cat-piss" aroma but it blew off. This is stellar!! Out of practice with wine in general at the moment but I am loving this one. Can't get enough.

6/24/2017 - nlassow wrote:

Paired with plum wood smoked and charred local pork. If you can get Placerita Ranch pork while in the Boulder, CO area, do it. This '89 has excellent acidity, botr. character and honey suckle. So well balanced for a meal. And not a sign it's getting too old. Another stupid decision to only get 1 bottle.

6/9/2017 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Awesome stuff. Somehow this questionably stored 750 held up better than the mags we had 5 years ago. First bottle after 1st born so not leaving formal notes but this was as perfect a George as we've ever had. Tannins, friut, and dust all getting along beautifully.

5/27/2017 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Bottle was stored questionably for a number(8+) years. Black mold on saturated cork, removed in an easy 2 pieces. Initial nose of old wood cabinet. Decanted and this brown wine opened up beautifully over 90 minutes. Subtle fruit and almost cigar like with a hint of astringency lingering. Would love to try a better example of this beauty.

5/23/2017 - nlassow wrote:

Excellent value for the $20 price point. Ruby(light) color and like the other notes suspiciously so. Strawberry jam/pie nose. First note in a long time kinda rusty but loving this bargain leftover from Thanksgiving. Drank with rare ny strip with grilled tomatoes and burrata.

6/19/2015 - nlassow Likes this wine:

This wine is still kicking ass and taking names. Far more depth and complexity than a couple years ago. From 1.5L. No formal notes. No other bottles unfortunately.

1/5/2015 - nlassow Likes this wine:

This bottle was easily the best of 4 consumed over the last 2 years. We were smitten with it. Perfect cork, not much sediment, mild/moderate bricking, less herb on the nose and more developed dark berry fruit. If only they all could have been close to this good. Still lots of earth and paired well with mushroom mac n cheese with a thick colorado lamb loin chop. Makes me wonder if this wine was in a dumb phase and is peaking now?

12/17/2014 - nlassow wrote:

Oxidized. Cork in perfect condition.

7/6/2014 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Pop em if you got em, this drinks as though the CT 2014 drinking window is accurate. Not as fruity as our bottle a few years ago. Tannins resolved, good earthy nuances, still excellent wine. Leaving note from memory 4 nights ago.

6/23/2014 - nlassow Likes this wine:

The oak is well integrated at this point, and the diacetyl from the MF is far from overwhelming. Much better than some of the currently released Chardonnay at the tasting room.

2/20/2014 - nlassow Likes this wine:

This bottle drank as well as could be expected(everyone loved it!) Leaving note months after consumption. Typical Sonoma Cabernet Sauv drinking in its prime.

6/19/2014 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Good fruit, although tasting like you shouldn't hang on to this much longer. Haven't had a Zin in a while, and this Napa fruit was delicious! Palate not optimal due to a cold. This probably would have been perfect 6 months to 1 year ago.

6/19/2014 - nlassow Likes this wine:

"This wine isn't flawed it just needs cheese." It has some stink on the first nose that blows off eventually. Palate not optimal due to a cold. Much better with food.

4/25/2014 - nlassow wrote:

Delicious! Great complexity, acidity and fruit will try to hold off on the last bottle for a year or more.

3/23/2014 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Excellent. No formal notes but we were thrilled with this. No more remaining, but if you got em, set a couple aside for a few more years. This bottle resting so well.

9/15/2013 - nlassow wrote:

Our last bottle was sadly flawed. Big time flawed, as in the worst most pungent corked bottle I've ever experienced. Could smell it before the cork was completely extracted! We normally LOVE this bottle.

9/15/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

First experience with an older Bordeaux. Cork came out but not without many fragments. Subtle tannins and fruit, good amount of earth showing on the nose and palate. Leaving this note many months after consuming.

12/26/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Drinking on its last legs, but still kicking. My better half guessed merlot, when actually syrah. Must have overlooked the ava. This does drink more like an older Bordeaux. Better with food, as the fruit is taking the back seat. A bit of sediment. Excellent at the $15 price point if you're looking for this style.

10/13/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Decanted 30-45min. Do not rush to drink this one. The fruit is still lush and powerful. Dark crimson in the glass. We didn't pay too close attention as far as notes go. Good earthy tones as well. Too bad we didn't stock up during the recession. Newer releases are selling for over 2x as much.

8/21/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Our first experience with old Bordeaux. The bottle's history was traced to its release, and we were the 3rd and final owners. High neck fill. Bottle was never reconditioned, and we finessed out the original cork in two pieces. This wine exemplified terroir. I thought the bottle may have been flawed at first, but was verified(enthusiastically) as a perfect example by a professional "nose." The fruit was muted, but the terrestrial aspects of the wine were phenomenal with the fois gras.

7/20/2013 - nlassow wrote:

This bottle was far better than the first. The extra 2 years really helped this along. Still not amazing, but a good sweet quaff non-the-less.

12/23/2012 - nlassow wrote:

We tried 2 bottles and both were badly corked. The corks were in perfect condition but the nose and palate of the wine was all bandaids.

4/28/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

This may be going through a dumb phase, or the 1 hour of decanting just wasn't enough. The nose was plenty powerful, and the color strong, but it never came to full stride on the palate. Never-the-less this PS was delicious, just in an odd spot.

4/4/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

This wine, compared to the 2005, was a beast. Brooding and palate covering with deep tannins and fruit. Seems as though this could benefit from another 12 years of cellar time. Without the bottles visible, I would never have guessed the 2000 and the 2005 were even from the same region, let alone the same estate.

4/4/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Recalled from last night... Decanted 60 minutes. After tasting the 2000 we decided to consume the 2005 first. Bright notes of fruit with solid tannin structure. Floral compared to the 2000.

3/19/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

This wine was amazing. Decanted 2+ hours and consumed over 60 minutes. The nose was so tantalizing with sour cherry and plum(?), I almost didn't want to taste in case the wine was a let down on the palate. Not the case. It was everything the nose led me to believe. Silky tannin and more beautiful cherry notes. 2 bottles remaining. Drinking incredibly well right now going to be difficult to hold off on these. If there was a gun to my head I'd call it a 93-94.

2/24/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Drank a few weeks ago but this was absolutely wonderful! Give it a good decant and drink up.

2/13/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

This decanted for at least 90 minutes, and I never would have guessed the wine to be over 10 years old. No formal notes. This looks set for another long haul in the cellar.

2/11/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Not as large as our last visit, but developing nicely and becoming more integrated.

1/27/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Perfumy nose dominated by clove, similar to a seasoned rice pudding. Deep opaque plum in color. The palate was reminiscent of mulled wine with dark fruit. Quite interesting, should have paired some snacks with it.

1/18/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Excellent bottle with well rounded fruit on the nose and palate. Hang on to this one a few more years. Drinking amazing right now after decanting a couple hours.

1/10/2013 - nlassow Likes this wine:

We really enjoyed this bottle, but drank it so long ago there have no details.

1/5/2013 - nlassow wrote:

Dead. It is not flawed, but there is no redeeming quality at this point in time except for some vague scent of vinegary stuffed grape leaves. Mesh filtered due to the cork deteriorating after looking at it too hard. Vinturi didn't help either. At least half the purchase price was donated to cancer research.

12/18/2012 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Drank this on Dec 18 and it's now Jan 2 so really don't remember anything beyond really enjoying it. Opened and bottle decanted for over an hour before 2+ hr consumption. This bottle was reaching the end of its useful life, but great to have a properly aged bottle for around $20

12/10/2012 - nlassow Likes this wine:

The drank amazing and of course was the last bottle of 3 or 4. The best showing of the bunch. Hits every part of the palate and the nose was lush with ripe dark fruit. This is a profound bottle at under $20. If I had to leave a score it would be low-mid 90's.

12/7/2012 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Agree with JDK. Bright crisp coloring, great acidity, and not overwhelming on the palate. We drank it with pizza and regret not having a 2nd bottle.

12/6/2012 - nlassow Does not like this wine:

Far too fruity. We had a tough time finishing the bottle.

12/6/2012 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Perfectly tart, cuts through triple cream fromage with ease.

12/6/2012 - nlassow Likes this wine:

This is one of our favorite mid-week standby bottles @ $12. Seen at other LWS for as much as $20.

11/15/2012 - nlassow Likes this wine:

Excellent QPR merlot. No formal notes but this is drinking at it's peak.