4/14/2024 - brianngibson wrote:

Incredibly youthful at 15.

12/12/2023 - brianngibson wrote:

First Kistler. Gave it a couple hours in the decanter at caller temp. Beautiful full bodied Chardonnay. Nice glycerol mouthfeel; almonds, lemon panda cotta (not too sweet and not too tart), floral, and a hint of spiciness - white pepper - on the finish. Super complex already and hard to hold off from finishing the bottle.

11/30/2023 - brianngibson wrote:

My first Aubert and feeling glad I have 3 more bottles of this to enjoy. White peach immediately on the nose; crushed stone, hints of honey, custard, on the palate. Mouth coating glycerol mouthfeel. Thoroughly delicious now and look forward to further development.

10/30/2023 - brianngibson wrote:

Doesn’t get much better than this.

9/26/2023 - brianngibson wrote:

I am so pleased that 5 years after my last bottle, bottle #9 of 12 (originally purchased as futures) is still drinking much like my 2018 tasting note. There is only a faint bricking on the rim.

I still get plum, cigar box and graphite. I am now picking up some tertiary flavor of mushrooms. The tannins are still silky and the finish is long.

I wonder for those with such different experiences if it is storage conditions over 23 years, or such a drastic difference in style (greater ripeness including higher ABV) compared to younger vintages.

Nothing about this tells me this wine won’t go to 2030.

8/8/2023 - brianngibson wrote:

Pop and pour first glass. Sealing it back up and will have more over next few days. Though it had been standing up for about 4 days as I thought I would open sooner than I did. This seems more approachable than previous bottles. Time is serving it well. Tannins becoming increasingly silky. Feels just a little lighter in body, but gobs of fruit. Nice cassis, raspberry and a waft of cola. Long finish persists, which sometimes you miss if you go back to the glass too quickly.

2/14/2023 - brianngibson wrote:

Beautifully resolved tannins that feel creamy and soft, yet still providing structure on the finish. A sweetness, violets, but also, mineral, blackberry jam, and blueberry. The oak is not over powering. This probably falls a little short of the near 3 digit “norm” for this wine, but a beautiful wine in a middle of the road vintage.

8/20/2022 - brianngibson wrote:

Wonder what the critic at Wine Spectator was tasting. This is not a 92 point wine. This is my third bottle and it continues to develop beautifully. But every time it has been remarkable. At some point with scores you are splitting hairs and a 92 point wine is certainly a good wine. But this wine is beyond really good. Even for a tough critic, this has to be 95+.

6/17/2022 - brianngibson wrote:

Just beautiful. Last of 3 bottles and wish I had more because this still has a lot to offer.

6/6/2022 - brianngibson wrote:

Drinking well at 32 and has some gas in the tank still. That said, fruit is definitely in the background. Cedar, leather, mint or menthol, with firm mushroom, and hints of cassis and plum.

5/16/2022 - brianngibson wrote:

Drop dead gorgeous on a test pour straight from the decanter; silky yet bold after 4 hours. It gushes with blackberry and cassis fruit. This is a winner.

5/13/2022 - brianngibson wrote:

A thrilling wine that is pushing the envelope of perfection.

3/19/2022 - brianngibson wrote:

Decanted almost 4 hours in the cellar and served at cellar temp (55-57) on personal rec of Nikolas Krankl. Wow was this gorgeous. We don’t drink much high end white, but this has me thinking we are missing out. What a wine.

2/24/2022 - brianngibson wrote:

Opened this by mistake. Meant to wait another year on this one. But it was beautiful. Dark blue fruits. Full bodied. A bit perfumed with a sweetness on the mid-palate.

2/21/2022 - brianngibson wrote:

Lighter bodied than many Brunellos. Bright plum and cherry fruit and a medium finish.

10/15/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Approaches perfection. But I was able to resist finishing it and poured 1/3 of the decanted wine back into the bottle for tomorrow. So maybe came up just a little shy of the irresistible factor I imagine for 100 points.

9/17/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

PnP. Surprisingly open right out of the gate.

9/10/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Last bottle of 6. And it was singing. Really caught me by surprise just how good it was.

9/2/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Drop dead gorgeous. I liked this wine in 2017. It is even better now.

8/23/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Too young, but beautiful. Had to try one before the next release goes live.

8/21/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Quite tannic even at hour 4-5 of the decant. But really opened up around 6-7 hours. Beautifully perfumed and full bodied.

7/10/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Apricot, melon. Acidity has faded and does not have the pineapple notes observed in prior bottle 8 years previous. Feel like this is mature and ready. May have peaked. No doubt it will continue to evolve, but hard to expect improvement, just continued evolution. I found this to be reasonably balanced between savory and sweet.

6/29/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

An ethereal wine. Slow ox’ed for 5 hours then decanted for a little over an hour, and consumed over the next 2 hours. Captivating wine that is brimming with cassis, spring flowers, softening tannins, and a long finish.

5/25/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

In a perfect drinking window. This wine is beautiful, luscious and expressive. Lead pencil, mint, sage, cassis. A finish that goes on and on.

4/3/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Via Coravin during list member Zoom tasting of this sample given to list members. Fun virtual event.

This wine is a fun blend. All the savory elements you expect from No Girls and the Cayuse family of wines. Not too funky. Sage, olive tapenade, roast meat.

3/23/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Surprisingly good for 51 years old and an unknown history before 2013 when I bought it at auction. Light bricking. Nutty aromas and baking slice. Figs, not too sweet — a little alcoholic on the finish.

3/18/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Exceptional depth and long finish. Young.

2/8/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Have to say, I think the 2011 vintage may be coming around with time. Surprisingly rich and voluptuous. Drop dead gorgeous from beginning to end.

2/2/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Only bottle from the inaugural release. I have had each of the following three vintages over the past two years as I had multiple bottles of each. All showed better, probably, reflecting a combination of vintage variation and more experience with the vineyard. But particularly with a long decant, still a very enjoyable but more subtle wine. Currants, baking spice, molasses, cedar.

1/11/2021 - brianngibson wrote:

Like drinking fermented grape jelly. Received as a joke/gift. 7/8ths of the bottle poured down the drain.

11/30/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Black cherry, mint, menthol, meat, violet. Intense and multi-layered. New flavors emerge even after leaving the palate with a long finish.

11/2/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Little seepage on the cork, and slightly muted fruit on first sip. With a little time, the cherry, mocha and earthiness of the wine come out. Moderate tannins give a hearty profile wo this wine., made in the more masculine style the grape is capable, of in certain terroir.

10/22/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Tannins are still firm even at the 10-year mark and with a couple of hours in the decanter. But the aromas and intensity of this wine are intoxicating. Bold, with a finish that still resonates after 60 seconds or more. Blueberry, espresso, and violets. Really a brilliant wine.

10/21/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Want to like this more than I do. More air helps but too funky.

10/15/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Drinking fantastic. Such a beautiful wine. Drink it now or drink it in the next 5 years.

10/3/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Had a glass via Coravin a week ago and first reaction was strong funk and minerality. Opened the bottle this week and give it 4 hours in the decanter. That helped a lot. Still some classic Cayuse crushed wet stones. Mint and herbal notes. White pepper, cassis and sweet pipe tobacco.

9/27/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

First Armada Syrah, though due to the futures ordering process the next two vintages are purchased. This is the challenge with Cayuse ... the style is really unique and you are easily 2 vintages if not more before you can open one. We generally like giving a few years in cellar first, so for example I have 4 vintages Purchased (2 delivered) of GOK and have opened only one bottle. My mistake; should have opened one before the third purchase.

. I have been buying Cailloux for many, many years, and we Always enjoyed it and it’s unique style. I bought several vintages of Horsepower, and we were cellaring them. Bought several years of No Girls, and liked it at first but the style was less than preferred and as allocations were growing from Cayuse, cut it back. But here is the thing, now we are starting to open more of these, Horsepower, Armada, GOK, Camaspelo and even a Bionic Frog (from the ex cellar sale) all recently, and ... they just aren’t our thing. The minerality and funk is just too austere and not enough fruit for our taste. I want to like them, but if I am honest, I don’t. I read the glowing pro reviews to my wife and she just says, “I don’t get it.”

Looks like next year I will make a lot of space available for others on the Cayuse list. Going to buy more Saxum, Epoch and Sine Qua Non instead.

9/24/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Solid full bodied Merlot. Cremo de cassis and cherry.

8/15/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Passed the “no leftovers for tomorrow” test with flying colors. 1 hour decant. Drank over 3 hours. Beautiful wine.

8/6/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Black raspberry, smoke, olive tapenade. Beautiful wine.

7/19/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Double decant with about an hour in the decanter. Drinking great but will continue to age nicely.

6/2/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Drinking remarkably at 30. My previous bottle was at 25, and just looking at my note I have to say this had a little less power than 5 years ago. Still good finesse and structure. But I have to take a point away for what appears to be moving off the peak of the maturity curve. Will I wait 5 years for my last bottle? I don’t know. Feels like it might be pushing my luck.

5/16/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Double decanted. Magnificent. Says something about a wine when the wife and I finish a whole bottle in one night. Kept bringing us back for “just one more small pour” and then — it was gone.

5/3/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Powerful wine with the Cab Franc still needing time to mellow. Raspberry and chocolate.

4/25/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Big wine with a long finish.

4/6/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

The fruit on this wine is just amazing. It keeps getting better.

1/21/2020 - brianngibson wrote:

Becoming more and more rustic with age. More funk. Not quite corked, but maybe slightly. This was my last of 6 bottles and it became less desirable over the last 5 years. Glad to move on to fresher vintages of a generally reliable wine.

11/25/2019 - brianngibson wrote:

Not as funky as some of Christophe Baron’s wines, but has game meats, funk and mineral along with the perfumed red fruits.

11/3/2019 - brianngibson wrote:

4th of 4 bottles at a 6 person dinner, so not really in good note taking state at that point. But it was stunning and bold. Probably the WOTN though we didn’t formally declare one. Loads of fruit.

11/3/2019 - brianngibson wrote:

Not as funky as about 18 months ago. But the group definitely commented on funk, mineral and even metallic flavors. We all agreed it was good and well made, but not really our preferred flavor profile. Stopped buying after the 2015 vintage and continue to reaffirm that choice.