4/19/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 45+ min. Then: Almost nothing on the nose. Taste is pretty much the same as my 12/9/2023 note. Last bottle and at least to my taste (even without the zin profile that I like), I enjoyed this more than many of the Bedrock & Carlisle svd zins: It wasn't over-ripe or over-extracted as some of those seem to be, and the alcohol wasn't noticeable.

4/15/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 30 min. Then: Maybe some reddish fruit on the nose. Taste is kind of faint reddish fruit/floral, but very light bodied, almost watery. No acidity that I could discern and very much needed. No tannins. Drinkable, but why when there's nothing of interest and no reason to think there will be in the future.

4/12/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Same routine - same score as 2/24/2024 bottle and this one consistent with the 2/24/2024 bottle.

4/6/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit a little over an hour. Then: Maybe some faint darkish fruit on the nose. Initial taste is earthy, with some darkish-reddish fruit in the background. Stays this way pretty much through the finish. Of more note are the tannins: They start early and build; by the end of the glass have pretty much taken over. Not particularly harsh, but dominant. With minimal fruit and not particularly tasty fruit and very tannic, this isn't much fun to drink. I have about 2/3 bottle left and am not looking forward to finishing it. Maybe the tannins will soften and blend better with time, but it's hard to see the fruit gaining strength. Based on this bottle, if you have any, hold and hope.
Follow up: After the first glass noted above, I recorked the bottle and came back to it 3 days later, pouring one glass one day and another glass the next. The last glass fairly decent. The tannins were no longer a distraction; acidity still OK; taste only a touch earthy now; fruit a bit better, although not strong. "Tasty" might be too strong, but noticeably better than the first glass on 4/6. Maybe raise the score 2-3 points. Maybe this argues for holding quite a few more years before opening to let the tannins soften; still not sure about the fruit.

4/6/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 1 hr. Pretty much the same as my 3/8/2024 note. Only difference is that the warmth/alcohol isn't quite as noticeable.

4/1/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit 1/hr. Then: Nothing much on the nose. Taste initially is very faint darkish fruit, almost "watery". By the end of the glass, it has put on a small amount of weight and is light-watery. Tannins and acidity OK. Balance OK. Hard to believe a bottle of red wine could have so little taste. Nothing particularly "off" about this, just no particular to drink it.

3/29/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 45 min. Then: Maybe some dark fruit on the nose. Taste is darkish fruit but fainter than the 11/4/23 and 10/14/23 bottles; still heavy mouthfeel; not as much "medicinal"; finish shortish and faint; maybe just a tad out-of-balance; acidity and tannins not an issue. A fainter and less interesting version of the prior 2 bottles; not that tasty. My last bottle and waited too long. Drink now.

3/25/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 1 hr. Then: Maybe some dark fruit on the nose. On initial taste, the word that strikes me is "watery", and this carries through the finish and through the end of the glass. Fruit is darkish and in the background, sort of harsh at first, but maybe mellows by the end of the glass; acidity is OK; tannins begin to become noticeable by the end of the glass, but not a problem. Drinkable I guess, but not interesting and really nothing to like about this.

3/22/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 1 hr. Then: Maybe dark fruit in the nose. Initial taste is darkish fruit, maybe, sort of blackberry and stays the same through the end of the glass (30 min) - very monotone; very smooth; nice mouthfeel; acidity keeps it fresh, tannins not an issue; still has some structure; as with other bottles, no cabernet profile; not over-ripe or over-extracted; kept waiting for sweetish fruit, but didn't happen. Relatively tasty, but lack of cab profile disappointing. This probably could go a bit longer.

3/18/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 1 hr. Then: Maybe some dark fruit on the nose. Initial taste is faint, heavy, darkish fruit; noticeable acidity; tannins OK; sense of warmth/alcohol. By the end of the glass, acidiity and warmth not so noticeable; tannins more noticeable; fruit still faint, not so heavy and a bit sweetish; finish short. Maybe a bit out-of-balance in different ways, both beginning and end. All in all, not that pleasant to drink; expected more.

3/15/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 30 min. Then: Maybe some dark reddish fruit on the nose. Taste, etc is very similar to my 10/3/2023 note, except the fruit is not as distinctive and more generalized; and there's not much to the finish. Closer to my idea of zin than most of Carlisle's SVD zins; none of the over-ripe sensation and the alcohol doesn't show. Tasty and enjoyable, but has lost half a step compared to the 10/3/2023 bottle.

3/11/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 40 min. Then: Nose sort of floral at first, then turns more reddish fruit. Taste starts off on a sour cherry note; tannins and acidity OK; nice mouthfeel; good balance; maybe a little on the light side. By the end, the sour aspect not much in evidence. OK finish. Pleasant, tasty once past the initial sour note.

3/8/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 1 hr. Then: Maybe some darkish fruit on the nose. Initial taste is darkish fruit with a fair amount of warmth/alcohol. That lessens quite a bit after a few minutes and the fruit is more darkish/reddish and by the end of the glass maybe a touch sweet. Tannins and acidity are OK; finish is a bit light.. A pleasant, tasty wine, but no cabernet profile; could be almost any generic red wine. This is ready to drink, but probably can go a bit longer. I wouldn't expect any significant improvement.

3/3/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Pretty much consistent with my 9/5/2022 note. As before, developed a bit more lemon/green apple taste with some time in the glass, maybe due to warming up a bit.

3/3/2024 - Quiller wrote:

A bit of red apple on the nose and taste. Very nice balance; crisp; refreshing. Very pleasant, although there doesn't seem to be a lot going on beyond the basics. This may be my first time with the rose and it seems a touch heavier than the non-rose, which I had immediately following this one. All in all though, not much difference between the two.

3/2/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 45 min. Then: Some reddish-darkish fruit on the nose. Taste is reddish fruit; tannins not an issue; acidity works well; nice mouthfeel; decent finish; not over-ripe or over-extracted. Unfortunately, nothing about this says, "'cabernet". Basically, a nicely made generic red wine. Almost 3 years from my last bottle (4/4/2021) and there's very little difference. Sometimes I wonder if I'm expecting too much, but then I go back to the 2006 Caravina I had in 2017 that was about as close to great cabernet as I may ever taste. This one is ready to drink and probably can go longer - and probably will remain a pleasant red wine.

3/1/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Don't know how this one was able to hide for so long. Anyway, kind of light copper color; faint homey on the nose. Taste is more like a sauterne, but not a sauterne; no muscat aroma or taste; acidity holding up OK; more sweetish than sweet. Drinkable and somewhat interesting, but you know it is old and not what it should be. Sorry I lost this; Muscat Beaumes de Venise is one of my favorites when drunk young and fresh.

2/28/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Brioche on the nose and then on the taste as well. Some lemon, but the brioche dominates (perhaps because the lemon, etc are so far in the background) through the whole bottle. Acidity is nice; medium to full-bodied; refreshing; no sweetness. I liked the acidity and refreshing aspect, but the brioche aspect isn't my favorite champagne profile.

2/28/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 1 hr. Then: Some reddish-darkish fruit on the nose. Taste is darkish fruit, noticeable acidity; tannins not an issue; relatively light-bodied; the structure leans to cabernet, but the taste has maybe only a hint and what there is comes across a bit harsh; finish is fairly weak.

2/24/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Same routine as last week's (2/17) bottle and pretty much the same result. Maybe not quite as heavy/syrupy or quite the sense of alcohol ass last week, but still enough of both to get the same score.

2/21/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Pretty much the same as my 1/16/2024 note. The only difference is that this one is not full-bodied; instead, farily light-bodied and softish. Pleasant and tasty, but I wouldn't hold much longer.

2/19/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Maybe a flawed bottle or way past its prime, but here's the note: Some yeastiness to start, but that seems to fade over time in the glass; maybe some apple notes that persist; some off-flavors as well, kind of a sharpness to them; definitely out-of-balance. Not fun to drink.
For what it may be worth: Stored the remaining 2/3 of bottle in the fridge overnight; closure wasn't great and it lost most of its bubbliness; tastes better than yesterday. Still on the lean side, but not as sharp-edged; better fruit, although still not much; better balance. While still not "fun"' to drink, I don't mind drinking it.

2/17/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 35 min. Then: At first maybe some black cherry/black raspberry on the nose, although with time in the glass this became just darkish-reddish fruit. First sip was dark red fruit and stayed pretty much that way; tannins not an issue; would have liked more acidity to counter the alcohol and heaviness and almost sweetish, syrupy/cough syrup taste; strong sense of alcohol (15.6 %); despite all that, doesn't seem over-extracted or over-ripe. Nothing about it that says "cabernet". Not a style of wine, cabernet or anything else, that I care for.

2/15/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 30 min. Then: Darkish-reddish fruit on the nose. Taste is red fruit; light-weight; good balance; tannin not an issue; acidity noticeable, but seems appropriate until the finish, when it may be a bit too much in evidence; shortish finish. A "small" wine, but tasty. Good QPR and good with food.

2/12/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 30 min. Then: Darkish fruit on the nose. First sip is darkish fruit; somewhat tight structure; tannins and acidity are OK; finish kind of flabby/watery and overtaken by the warmth. Not that pleasant to drink. By the end of the glass (45+ min from first sip), structure considerably weaker; still darkish fruit, but now with maybe a hint of sweetness; warmth on the finish has moderated, but the finish is mostly gone; slightly grippy tannins now in evidence. No idea where this is going, but I'm not sad that this is my last/only bottle.

2/11/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Sort of a dark honey/copper color, not much on the nose. Taste is semi-sweetish, fairly monotone and not much of it, but maybe a hint of pineapple; no caramel; medium mouthfeel, medium bodied; not syrupy or cloying. Acidity holding in there makes this almost fresh tasting. Very pleasant, although not that interesting flavor-wise. Hard to see this improving from here.

2/9/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 40 min. Then: Maybe some darkish fruit on the nose. First sip is mostly warmth, maybe some faint dark fruit in the background; everything else obscured. After 15 min or so from first sip, the warmth has moved to the finish; acidity and tannins are not a problem; medium+ mouthfeel; fruit a bit more noticeable, not too ripe or extracted, but now very darkish and not that pleasant. No resemblance to cabernet, Cali or elsewhere. This bottle is very different from the others I've had. I guess it can go longer, but hard to see it improving.
For what it may be worth, Day 2 was slightly better (maybe add a point). Still no cabernet taste/profile, but: warmth was barely noticeable; fruit was more reddish and slightly more noticeable and maybe even a tad sweet by the end of the glass, but still a minor note; maybe a bit better balance.

2/6/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 35 min. Then: Nose maybe some darkish-reddish fruit. First sip is mostly acidity with maybe some reddish fruit in the background; somewhat light-bodied. By about the middle of the glass the acidity has mellowed out a bit and would make this refreshing, except for the warmth that developed and seems to dominate. By the end of the glass, the acidity and warmth are OK, but grippy tannins are starting to appear. I like that this is not a fruit bomb or over-extracted or too ripe. Unfortunately, the fruit stayed very faint and never developed a cabernet profile. Maybe this was an off-bottle; not that pleasant to drink. I have a few more of these and will try another one soon to see if this was an outlier.

2/3/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 30 min. Then: Pepper and maybe red fruit on the nose. Taste starts with very noticeable pepper and stays that way through the finish of each sip and the end of the glass (about 45 min after first sip); very monotone in taste. I'm sure others will find other flavors, but to me the pepper flavor overpowered anything else that might be there. Medium mouthfeel; tannins and acidity are OK, although tannins begin to get a bit grippy by the end of the glass. The pepper aspect started out as an interesting plus, but was so dominant that it became a bit boring by the end of the glass. This could go a bit longer and might turn into something more interesting.

1/31/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 20 min. Nose kind of muted chardonnay. Taste is nice chardonnay profile; deep, rich, not too oaky; acidity OK; long finish. Time has melded the flavors; the pear, citrus, etc are not as distinguishable, but the fruit aspect still stands out. This has evolved into a very nice wine, maybe not with the individual fruit aspects jumping out, but still full of fruit. I'm sure this will provide good drinking for several years, but that may involve the fruit fading a bit. Longer term drinking could be interesting, but I tend to prefer the fruit and will look to drink my remaining bottles near term.

1/27/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 40 min. Then: Red fruit on the nose. Taste starts out with red fruit, almost a bit of tartness, but any middle & finish is overtaken by the warmth/heat (15% abv). Tannins and acidity are OK; medium mouthfeel; not too ripe or over-extracted. By the end of the glass (about 40 min from first sip), the warmth has mostly receded, giving way to a decent finish with almost a hint of sweet fruit. Not noticeably spicy and, at least to my taste, lacking the juicy/berryish zin profile I prefer. This bottle is different from my 7/23/2023 bottle note and could go longer. Give this one some air if drinking soon. The last few sips were pleasant/tasty; the first 3/4 not so much due to the warmth.

1/26/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured andlet sit about 40 min. Then: Darkish fruit on the nose. Taste is darkish fruit, but not much of it and lacking any syrah profile; softish mouthfeel; medium weight; tannins and acidity are OK; not much finish. Pleasant, tasty red wine, but disappointing as a syrah; just not much there. Hard to see this improving and becoming more syrah-like.

1/24/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 35 min. Then: Maybe some red fruit on the nose. Taste is red fruit, maybe some cherry, earthiness, some sourness. Mouthfeel is soft, almost watery at first, then it gains a bit more weight by the end of the glass, although still light-bodied. Nice balance; acidity and tannins not an issue. I guess pleasant for what it is; a bit more substance would have been nice.

1/20/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Everything pretty much the same as my 1/14/2023 note; except - instead of a "flabby" mouthfeel, maybe more "softish"; and now the warmth on the finish is pretty much obscuring the fruit. Not sure where this is going, but I would drink sooner to be sure you catch the fruit.

1/16/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 40 min. Then: Maybe some reddish fruit on the nose. Taste is sort of citrus/pine (whatever it is, it is fairly typical of R-M Sonoma Coast pinot); maybe a touch of spice; close to full bodied; tannins and acidity are not a problem; finish maybe a bit short. The taste stayed pretty much the same from first sip to last. Tasty, though would have liked a bit of variation or other elements.

1/14/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 30 min. Then: Maybe some darkish fruit on the nose. Taste starts off with a bit of reddish/darkish fruit, but is overwhelmed by the warmth/heat (15% alc) that carries through the finish; maybe just a hint of over-ripeness; acidity and tannins are OK.After about an hour from first sip, the warmth/heat has mostly receded and isn't quite as harsh, allowing more of the slightly reddish fruit to show. I'll give the next one of these more time in the glass for the warmth/heat to fade. That said, this isn't a style of zin that appeals to me. I seem to be saying that about many of the Carlisle zins, even the single vineyards, and over several recent vintages.

1/11/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 1 hr. Then: Maybe some darkish fruit on the nose. Taste starts out with reddish/darkish fruit and maybe gets a bit more reddish by the end of the glass; maybe a slight hint of sweetness; full bodied, but not over-ripe or over-extracted; tannins noticeable and not a problem at the beginning, but maybe get a little grippy by the finish; some warmth on the finish from beginning to end. Obviously young, but approachable and tasty. The "90" is for this bottle today. I would expect the score to increase over time.

1/6/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured an dlet sit about 45 min. Then: Note much on the nose. Taste starts off with mixed fruit; maybe some spice; acidity OK; tannins not an issue; some warmth on the finish; at least in the beginning, fruit and acidity not quite in balance. Towards the end of the glass (about 30 min from first sip), better balance up front; sweetish fruit beginning to show; warmth on the finish a bit more noticeable. Still a pleasant wine; maybe not the usual R-M Sonoma Coast profile. Based on this bottle, I'll drink my remaining sooner, rather than later.

1/4/2024 - Quiller wrote:

See my 12/15/2023 note. Pretty much the same. Pleasant, but kind of subdued/low key; was hoping for just a bit more of everything.

1/1/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Fruity; a bit of lemon; maybe a bit on the sweet side; good balance I didn't pick up the yeast/brioche that others found. Not complex, but refreshing. "10/21" printed on the cork; maybe the disgorgement date?

1/1/2024 - Quiller wrote:

Pretty much the same as my 4/17/22 note. The only change is that this one had a slight yeasty note that did not help its taste profile. Same disgorgement: 12/19. I have another one of these and I guess I'll give it a year or so, but am not optimistic.

12/31/2023 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 30 min. Then: Maybe some dark fruit on the nose. Taste starts out with some nice dark fruit; medium body; acidity not a problem; tannins start out not that noticeable, but by the end of the glass (30 min) are a bit grippy; not over-ripe; 14.5% alcohol, but not noticeable. Not complex, but a pleasant BDX that I think can go a bit longer without a problem.

12/28/2023 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 1/2 hr. Then: Maybe some darkish/ripe fruit on the nose. Taste is moderate reddish-darkish fruit; no spiciness; ripe note on the nose is not present in the taste; acidity helps with freshness and keeping any over-ripe notes at bay; tannins not an issue. Pleasant red wine; little, if any, zin profile. May be able to go longer, but it risks the fruit diminishing.

12/25/2023 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 15 min. Some light chardonnay fruit on the nose. Initially, almost as much minerality as chard fruit. As it warmed in the glass over time, the chard fruit became a bit more prominent, but the minerality still there. Full mouthfeel, good weight, good balance, acidity OK; good finish. Pleasant chardonnay, but I would have liked more fruit. Maybe that was expecting too much after 8 years. Depending on what you are looking for, this probably could go a bit longer, although the fruit aspect may suffer.

12/24/2023 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 30 min. Then: Not much on the nose, maybe some darkish fruit. Taste is reddish-darkish fruit, although low intensity and maybe a bit weak; no zin profile, particularly for Papera; no spiciness; acidity noticeable, particularly on the finish; tannins not an issue. I like zins on the young side while they still have their fruit. Aging this bottle did it no favors. Interestingly, this bottle is surprisingly similar to a 2016 Carlisle Papera I recently had. It had a similar aging problem and fairly similar profile. Aging hasn't suited either of them.

12/24/2023 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 30 min. Not much on the nose. Taste has some reddish-darkish fruit, maybe some berry, but no spice; no zin profile; low intensity, almost a bit weak; soft mouthfeel; acidity noticeable, particularly on the finish; tannins not an issue. Not what I usually see from Papera. I think its all downhill from here. I know some like some age on their zins, but to me zins are all about the fruit and aging these did them no favors.

12/21/2023 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 30 min. Pretty close to my 11/14/2023 note: some fruit, maybe a tad sour; weak/thin mouthfeel; losing some structure. That's two in a row. My last of 3 and none of these were interesting or reasonably good. Maybe I waited too long to drink them. Based on these bottles, hard to see them improving with time.

12/16/2023 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit 45 min. Then: Some darkish fruit on the nose.
First sip is cool darkish-redish fruit; not over-ripe or extracted; nice balance; acidity and tannins not an issue; decent structure; medium intensity mouthfeel; long finish; no particular cabernet profile. At about the 1hr mark from first sip, maybe a touch of sweet fruit; finish still long, but some warmth now (maybe the 15.2 abv) and some drying tannins. Neither the warmth nor the tannins are particularly problematic, but you know they are there. Nice enough wine, but based on this bottle, over-hyped. As with some other recent notes, I wouldn't wait much longer to drink.

12/15/2023 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 45 min. Then: Maybe some darkish-berryish fruit on the nose. Taste is the same darkish-berryish fruit; something of a cab franc profile that lasts through a fairly long finish, although a bit subdued; fairly monotone in taste; tannins noticeable, but not a problem; acidity OK; good balance. No funk or barnyard. Something about this that made me want to keep going back for another sip - maybe hoping the fruit would intensify. Definitely different and better than the 8/27/2023 bottle.

12/12/2023 - Quiller wrote:

Opened, poured and let sit about 40 min. Then: Kind of smoky on the nose. Taste is cool blueish fruit, low-medium intensity, stays that way through the finish; some smokiness; almost mellow mouthfeel; tannins and acidity not an issue. Maybe some syrah profile. Pleasant wine, but nothing to distinguish it.