2/18/2024 - ares77 wrote:

Best on day 1 and day 4 so far. I get loads of bell pepper, some pipe tobacco and cedar. Lovely wine at an amazing value.

2/18/2024 - ares77 wrote:

non descript but nothing off putting either. decent table wine.

2/18/2024 - ares77 wrote:

Dark fruits, earth, cocoa, low acid and low tannins, prominent oak influence. Not bad, but not remarkable.

2/18/2024 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Soft tannins, medium acidity, plum/tamarind, red fruits and a little funk, medium+ finish.

2/17/2024 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Drinking beautifully but still has room for development. WOTN.

7/25/2023 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Light, rustic, red fruited. Medium plus tannins, medium plus finish. Great for the price and for PnP. Not as harmonious on day 2 and 3. Bottle 1/3.

3/2/2023 - ares77 Likes this wine:

A bit brooding and more darker rather than red fruits. Giving me vibes of CA pinots from warmer regions.

1/7/2023 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Tart cherries, rustic, oak and medium+ grain tannins, medium + finish. great food wine.

12/5/2022 - ares77 wrote:

Hygiene issues same as previous bottle

12/3/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Light, earthy, delicate and very enjoyable. Red fruited, rhubarb, strawberries, cloves, medium finish.

9/13/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Light and subdued both aromatically and on the palate. Raspberry, savory underbrush, strawberries and rhubarb. Red fruited. Coravin'd. 2nd of two bottles purchased for $30 from Costco. Tasted side by side with 2018 Hands of Time Pinot which was aromatically superior but darker and weightier in profile. This has more freshness and acidity, lovely wine.

9/3/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Deep ruby almost opaque. Lovely savory old school Rioja, bright strawberry, raspberry, earth and tart cherry, very minor oak which was more evident on day 1 but almost unnoticeable on day 2. Medium grain tannins, long finish. Very enjoyable.

8/3/2022 - ares77 wrote:

Varietally correct and better after some air and on day 2 but lacking complexity and aromatics. A bit on the darker fuller body side.

7/30/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Rustic, light and perfumed, amazing qpr for 10 bucks. Sxs with Kirkland riserva and this destroyed it.

7/28/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

2nd bottle not as good as the 1st one. A bit bigger and riper but still quite enjoyable, better after a few hrs and 2nd day with some air. Preferred this to a Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch which was opened side by side.

7/10/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Lightweight and refreshing. Great summer quaffer, beeswax, honeydew, white flowers and grapefruit. Aromatics are a bit muted, but this goes down easy, 12.5% abv.

7/4/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Light, elegant and balanced, almost did not detect any oak on the 1st couple of glasses. Beautiful nose of violets, rose petals, rhubarb, wild unripe berries and sous bois. Medium minus body, medium+ finish. Superb QPR.

7/3/2022 - ares77 wrote:

A little bit flat and more on the jammy side without much of the savory elements or acidity, not bad or overdone but rather one dimensional and uninspiring compared to previous iterations. Hard to fault for the $ but way better choices available within a 5$ radius including many basic bottlings from down under (e.g: bin 28 ~ $22).

6/25/2022 - ares77 wrote:

Way too young?! Overwhelmed by a combination of brett and oak. Smoke and cedar and underlying hints of anise, cloves and some rusticity. Still can't get over the brett. Blind I would've probably guessed a Rioja or bdx blend. After some more research it seems only 2-3 yrs old barrels were used but still it gives me the signature 'dill' American oak vibes. Might have even guessed Malbec or WA Cab/bdx blend.

Edit: this improved significantly after 4-5 hrs and over the next few days (at cellar temps) and was way less harsh and oaky. 88 -> 92

6/23/2022 - ares77 wrote:

Overwhelmed by brett and sulphur notes masking everything else for my palate. Probably a hygiene issue. I've had natural wines that were cleaner and more enjoyable. No wonder they still can't get rid of these on WTSO and other clearance sites 10+yrs after release. I was not going to rate thinking this was a flawed bottle but apparently (based on other reviews) "it's a feature not a bug". Hopefully the other bottles will show better and won't go down the drain.

6/23/2022 - ares77 wrote:

Rich yet balanced Chard. Amazing QPR. Brioche, pear, honeysuckle, golden apples, white flowers and a touch of salinity. Glad I loaded up.

6/12/2022 - ares77 wrote:

A little bit thin, watery and too oaky for my taste. Not in an offensive way though.

5/25/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Singular, complex, still very young but constantly evolving in the glass and over a few days. Amazing and will age for a long long time.

5/21/2022 - ares77 wrote:

Cedar, oak, violets, cigar box and ripe black fruits on the nose. Medium body and finish. Rather generic and unremarkable at this stage.

5/9/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Cool climate Shiraz. Not heavy or brooding at all, good balance and acidity, not overly complex but lovely and precise nonetheless. Prefer this to many entry Level Shiraz bottlings costing 2x as much. Drank at cellar temperature (55-60).

4/17/2022 - ares77 wrote:

I don't know if I would've guessed Syrah tasting this blind as opposed to a Cabernet dominant Bordeaux blend with a touch of Petit Verdot (60% Syrah 40% Cab). Lovely wine nonetheless, good balance and acidity, vibrant and still fresh. Medium body and finish. This can still age for another 3-5 yrs.

4/9/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Good balance and acidity. Golden apples, pears, white peaches, medium mouthfeel and finish, a great QPR overall.

4/8/2022 - ares77 wrote:

Rather bland and generic. No major faults but nothing of note either. I won't touch the other bottles although seems to lack the stuffing needed for further aging...

4/4/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

What a difference a couple of years makes. This was stored in a passive cellar at around ~63 degrees temperature which might have helped it develop a bit faster. I remember the last bottle being too okay but now it's all integrated and just gorgeous and in balance lovely classic Napa Cab. PnP'd and outright delicious.

3/30/2022 - ares77 wrote:

Elegant and lightweight. Savory, floral and earthy and pretty approachable in its youth. As far as basic Barolos go, this one is hard to beat especially at low asking prices at Costco.

3/8/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

On the initial pop and pour seems cloying with a hint of brett/something funky and not in a good way. Starts opening up after 3 hrs in the glass with red fruits, cedar, hay and rainy forest notes resolving the heaviness and funk. A little hot, had to check the abv (13.7%). Slightly chewy and savory on the medium+ finish. Lovely wine for the price. Check again in 3~5 yrs.

1/28/2022 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Day 1 - good energy and structure, pure and elegant.

1/28/2022 - ares77 wrote:

I can't get over the smoke and tar notes in this wine. Dark, heavy and full bodied, there's enough acidity to carry it through and hopefully will improve with time, but doubt I'll buy this again. 1/2 bottles.

12/30/2021 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Nice weight and balance, orange peel, lemon curd, honey crisp apples. Enough zing and acidity, great qpr at 20$.

12/23/2021 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Lovely fresh bouquet of red and sour cherries, leather, earth, well integrated oak. Medium + alcohol. Still very youthful yet elegant. One of the better Riojas I've had recently. 31$ from Albertsons, pairing: pasta with grass fed steak in an Italian plum tomatoes sauce on a rainy day.

6/22/2021 - ares77 Likes this wine:

Mocha, Oak, Dark fruit, well balanced, good finish. Drank side by side with a 95+ rated old world cab and it held its own.