2/29/2024 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

High on interest but not as high on enjoyableness as we would have imagined based on the reviews and the hype.

Best to keep for 2-4 more years I imagine.

2/28/2024 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Would probably have benefitted from another couple years laying down.

Tasty stuff, became more and more straightforward to ID as zin aa it had breathed, last glass after 2hrs decant was the best.

Critiscism is the alcohol was sharp esp on the nose

2/16/2024 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Tasted blind. I found syrah as varietal relatively easily but was torn to ID new world vs old world, this was more prescient than I understood.

2/2/2024 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Delicious, better after an hour. Pretty high alcohol, I had the impression it was at least 15, maybe more.

5/17/2023 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Nose is definitely old world cot, palate is less varietally distinctive. Needed at least half and hour to hit its stride after opening so would stash a second bottle in the cellar for maybe another year. Really enjoyable tonight with both dinner (mushrooms) and cheese course and expect that in most circumstances that you’d decide to open a cahors you’d be pleased with the result. Recommend.

5/5/2023 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Cinsault and aramon blend made after draining some of the free run for rosé, delicious and fresh, unoaked. Paired with lamb borek and lentil salad, good pairing.

3/31/2023 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Nice rounded palate, would buy again at this price

2/25/2023 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Carbonic notes, i understand there is also a fraction of whole cluster in here. Natural wine funkiness

2/18/2023 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Slightly confected fruit character but solid arc, enjoyable early, mid, late palate. For the price this is a winner.

2/4/2023 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Enjoyed it but definitely seemed a bit on the straightforward side

1/15/2023 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Dry, rather astringent and medium acid. This bottle was on brand but not a people pleaser. I enjoyed some hints of soy sauce. Tannins were felt high in cheeks and across tongue, finish has length but not terribly intruiging. Good but didn’t capture my interest.

12/7/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Really liked this one with dinner but finishing our last glasses on the couch afterwards the tannins were a bit much. Definitely fermented dry, acid med+ and body medium.

Some licorice notes and then definitely a predominant fruit character of underripe blueberries. I see a lot of notes stating nlack cherry, I personally experience that as a very ripe and overripe character so find it hard to state black cherry when the nuance is not fully ripe. Early after opening i had some notes of green stems but those dissipated and were almost completely gone by the 60min mark.

No oak note to speak of, the barrels are purportedly “large” and neutral. There is some rounding of the tannin which could be slight oxygen exposure though the tannin levels are definitely HIGH!

Our pairing was a tomato and red pepper beef soup. Hungarian goulash inspired, not certain about our authenticity. This wine did have the acid to stand up to the tomato.

12/1/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Delightful bottle. I drank alongside a dryaged strip steak but would have done better to serve with a roast chicken or mushroom risotto. Live and learn.

Lots of notes of green bell pepper in the comments though this is not quite the pyrazine character that i found, i identify with a slightly leafy damp jungle note over the red fruit core… certainly not finding jalapeno!

This arrived to the correct ripeness in vineyard in my opinion and was harvested correctly, crisp green notes indicate to me in a cab franc bad canopy management or prematurw harvest and this bottle does NOT have those halmarks.

Terroir nuances bring me to cool climate and probably would put this palate texture on tuffeau rather than clay or gravel if i were guessing.

11/28/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Best on first day opened, would recommend to drink now, i don’t think this is going anywhere spectacular over coming years but it was pleasant to go in my mouth!

Red fruit, questioned rhubarb but that is not quite right. Some notes i would associate with volcanic soil nero d’avola from sicily which is interesting terroir idea, not sure if that aligns correctly with hawkes bay, i didn’t find too much relevant info online.

11/20/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Alongside a varietal riesling flight this brought a massive amount more floral character to both nose and palate than the rest. That stood out and when palate was getting a little fatigued from similarity this was attractive based on difference to the peers. It's not clear I'd choose this over drinking a varietal riesling in the future though.

11/20/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Slight note of turpentine, less notable than most of my experiences drinking Sauternes. Navel orange seemed to be the principal fruit character and I noted some light caramelized slightly oxidized nuances moderately late into the finish which were pleasant and lifted the interest in this.

Texture was pleasant and carried sufficient acid not to give any syrupy note which for me is often off-putting.

11/20/2022 - jdkrabbe Does not like this wine:

This bottle seemed to have been executed correctly but I didn't particularly enjoy it. The wine carried a chalky texture in my mouth and I felt like there was a slightly pasty experience a bit like uncooked wheat-flour... as though there was a drop of uncooked batter in my glass. I understand this is more likely a winemaking choice than an issue with grapes not getting ripe however I am not certain.

Fruit character was generally aligned with lime.

11/20/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Picked by many as the wine of the lineup among rieslings from around the world.

I generally understand this to be dry farmed on a slope with underground ephemeral stream watering the roots with cool mtn runoff. Winemaking seems to allow expression of much more stone and terroir characteristics than the fruit-disguise presented by many other bottles this evening. Dry, fruit character was ripe orange and apricot. This bottle represented therefore the warmest-spectrum fruits combo with the lowest residual sugar. The Dry Alsace bottles tended more to lemon, the mosel bottles with peach notes were fermented to much lower alc levels with higher g/L.

This was one of only 2 riesling of the evening I noted a hint of diacetyl on. It played delicately and appropriately into the trajectory on the nose and palate.

11/20/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

apple and underripe necatrine. Some celery which did not feel out of place at all. Definitely in the off dry camp. Pleasant and predictable.

11/20/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

petrol character and fruit tended towards the citrus end of spectrum. Lemon zest and perhaps kefir leaves. Pleasant texture was notable and execution was good. Following another alsace this one was noted to have in common the dry fermentation and citrus chracter though was inferior in terms of interest.

11/20/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Austere lemon pith, lemon zest, lime juice. Picked slightly under-ripe and fermented nearly completely dry. The balance seemed to have been correctly executed. Some pleasant notes of white stone character. I think we drank this one too cold, some of the aroma was chilled all the way out to the point of being imperceptible which was an execution error on my part.

11/20/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Tree fruit along the lines of pear. Following some prior bottles this one did taste dry to me especially because the mouthfeel at the finish gave that as the lasting impression though upon further consideration carried some sugar noted in the texture. Early palate started with a honey note that had traded out by mid palate for the fruit. Acid must have been sufficiently high to carry across and disguise the initial note of sugar. In any case, I suppose I say all this to suggest the reasons this felt well executed and balance felt "Correct" unlike several others in the flight

However not particularly interesting, I didn't get anything I would point to as a "terroir" in this bottle.

11/20/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Producer notes a cold fermentation. Stone fruit, peach notes, acid present but fell short of what I would perceive to be the correct target. Residual sugar tipped this into the unambiguously sweet bin. 7.5% alc

11/20/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Cloudy and slightly orange. Captured some notes particular to riesling varietal. Towards the stone-fruit end of the spectrum, grapes certainly ripened. Fun bottle to try, wouldn't buy this one in particular again. Probably best sipped as aperitif on a sunny patio, not a situation I am often seeking wine, I'd tend to cocktails.

11/11/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Extremely pale yellow. Slight petrol on the nose is telling of varietal. Smells of lime and cotton. Pink nectarine. Palate texture is slippery, shows some viscosity. Gain some notes in direction of yellow apple and generally confirm the green citrus and stone fruit from nose. Acid is only medium, long ways from dry. Sweetness feels to me to have hit the wine maker’s target. Finish is very pleasant and medium length. Would buy again for $20. Good pick.

10/21/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Pale yellow tinting slightly green when looking through and at the same time reflected gold. Slow in glass only the weakest of legs, 8% alcohol designated auslese and our liquor store did not have it in dessert wines section so I interpreted to serve with entree of lentil soup and bratwurst with mustard. This was impeccable pairing and complemented the sweetness of the pork so well. Carried itself through the moderate spice in the soup too.

First glass at fridge temperature was too cold, second about 25 min later was much better.

Nose is delicate apricot. Palate confirms and adds floral and honey. Finish experiences a nice twist revealing a note of lime zest as the mouth finishes very clean and not at all sticky. Some smooth river stone characteristics in middle but this is not predominantly a minerally focussed bottle at this age.

This was really delightful and consider it to be worth the higher pricetag relative to the peers it shares a shelf with. Serving alongside savory food rather than dessert felt like the correct choice.

10/19/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Slightly cloudy red fading to a slightly orange salmon on the rim.

Nose is a kool-aid fruit cocktail generally aligned with sweet cherry, fruit is ripe in character perhaps leaning towards underripe on the palate. Slight cinnamon on the nose which for me was not perceptable in the mouth. Tannins are light very finely grained and front of mouth. Acid is medium though on nose i was led to believe it would be higher. Alcohol is med-low and nearly imperceptible. Wine is balanced and delicious.

I doubt i can find more of this bottle but will happily try future incarnations.

9/8/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Straightforward but tasty northern rhone syrah executed on target. This wine is officially labelled vin de france but the address in ampuis i assume the grapes are from nearby but not exclusively in any AOC. Drinking well now, wouldn’t cellar it longer tannins are only medium and acid only medium, it gives no impression it needs to continue to rest.

I get no insication that any new barrels were used, however i assume based on dull color that barrels were used. Color indicates to me that very little or zero viogner in cofermentation.

Camphor on nose an hour after opening but gone by 2nd hour. Fruit is black on palate and finish shows some iron but otherwise not a lot of earth in here. At pricepoint this is ok, but i wish for more.

Erin didn’t love it, i thought it was fantastic with food and ate lamb sirloin and jeweled persian rice with it and it worked really well. We both id’d that the dark feuit character seemed a little synthetic. I described it as a blueberry energy bar.

9/7/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Light garnet with dull center and clearing rim (already less than 2 years since harvest).

Nose is a mix of tar and red fruit and something from sasparilla, anise, licorice family but i am struggling to pinpoint. Licorice alsorts with pink color. Palate generally confirms adding some lower toned herbal character plausibly oolong tea. The higher red fruit notes may be bitter cherry and underripe red plum skin.

Tannins are medium grained and fore in mouth and tongue. Alcohol is perhaps higher than would be ideal. Acid is medium plus and in target. Length is good but the interesting parts are all early and the long finish is rather plain comparatively.

Definitely buying again. I will stash future bottles for a couple years make. Maybe it settles down a bit by resting but wine is not giving me impression that it’s on a trjectory

9/2/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Delicious, drank this with zataar crusted mahi mahi. Excellent cellar pick for this combo.

Fresh tasting and generally as expected nice petrichor note was perhaps slightly unexpected but definitely appreciated!

8/16/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Strong effervescence, good deal at 50% off at happy hour. Pleased i didn’t pay full price. True to style, a pleasant mouthfeel and enough acid to carry.

7/23/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

really needed 30min but better after 2 hours. Wonder if several hours in the decanter would have been best, I didn't have any left.

pretty dark fruit, definitely ripe possibly harvested some of the grapes past their peak. Noted that it got a little bit hotter with the alcohol than I would have preferred. I got a little red delicious apple peel character which was unique, some classic bordeaux cellar notes. Medium+ tannins pretty far back in the jaw. Hints of soy sauce appearing towards the 2 hour mark.

Paired with rare NY strip steak and cheese melted over roast potatoes, hearty fare and this was a good pairing for that. The best pairing was actually with the charred bits of the fat cap.

5/8/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Loved it, and a great deal under $30. Perhaps a little less floral than I wished for but the rose character was there when sought out.

5/8/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Solid bottle, excellent typicity and even a little broken granite character which was a highlight for me. Not over oaked which was a delight after so many recent cali cabs being a total disappointment in that regard. Absolutely worth $30 and would hazard a guess this would probably have improved with another year or two. Would buy this again at this price.

5/8/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

mod high acid holds this together. Lovely with cheese course. Don't imagine this one is likely on an upward trajectory from here so pleased to have pulled the cork and savoured it now.

3/20/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Lovely chinon, more cranberry and green beans upon opening but those notes traded for a delicious terroir driven old world missile after an hour in the decanter.

High acid, moderate tannin and beautiful umami layers. Dry finish, balanced alcohol. For $20 this is punching way above it’s price.

1/16/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Tasty, floral honeysuckle, pears. Very well balanced and quite a ways off dry, bordering sweet.

Acid didn’t ramp to a frizzling sensation like some drier chenins do, which was acutally more pleasant than the alternative.

Decent pairing with some vegetarian gyozas.

Much too cold when straight from the fridge but an hour later was much too warm. It’s possible that if we let it breathe and kept it in an ice bucket or something similar it would have been better. This bottle was 5 yrs old so plausible it needed 30min of air to get ready for consumption.

1/14/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Medium red with magenta core. Really enjoyed this wine. The world needs more stainless steel reds like this!

Nose is fruit dominant as is often the case for Loire valley bottom alluvial soils which I understand is the case for this bottle. Red fruit, raspberry mulberry. Juicy character.

Palate has a wonderful arc, peaking in the mid palate nicely supported all the way across, nothing hollow, really beautiful. Tannins pleasantly firm and most notable on the late finish, alcohol moderate, acid moderate.

No noted pyrazine character until went searching for it.

Would absolutely buy again at this price.

11/27/2021 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Delightful bottle of vino. Deep-dive tasting with the parents, lots of eye-rolling from Pops.
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Moderate sediment, two more bottle and plan to let 'em ride.

10/16/2021 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Let it breathe, shared with the wine club at Keith and Maria's place on prime rib night. Delightful bottle with all the great fingerprints of an aglianico

12/18/2021 - jdkrabbe Does not like this wine:

Didn't love the first one and passed this one off at a Christmas party contribution. Joke was on us as everyone else brought and drank beer so in the end we ended up drinking the 2nd bottle too.

1/3/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Lighter bodied and tasty, good deal.

1/3/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Went well with raw oysters

1/3/2022 - jdkrabbe Does not like this wine:

Tasted blind, successful in arriving to the varietal.

Needed an hour for the VA to dissipate sufficiently that this could be enjoyed at all, even then this was far from a great bottle

12/7/2021 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Tasted blind, never arrived to the correct answer even after some tips.

1/3/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

good but don't need another one.

11/23/2021 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Moderate diacetyl but at acceptable level for me. Fruit was ripe/warm climate in character yet retained enough acid. Enjoyed thoroughly.

With mushroom pasta in a creamy sauce. Good pairing.

1/2/2022 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Tropical fruit notes, papaya, guava, pineapple, cantaloupe strong on the nose and present with reduced intensity on the palate. Freshly proofed yeast dough, diacetyl, clearly malolactic fermentation. French Oak presence is interpreted but clear tasting or aroma indicators elude me besides a vague butterscotch note. Contrary to my expectation not much in terms of minerality arrives on palate but it is long, persistent, and so very smooth.

Body is full, acid is low, dry long finish. Grapes clearly were fully ripe when picked. I under-guessed the alcohol content by a full percentage point.

Paired with buttery clams and a sweet potato soup. The lower acid had me scratching my head about whether or not the butter was masking any acid or it was indeed as low as this. Still did seem in balance.

Wonderful to experience a top bottle like this one but not my #1 fav style.

12/30/2021 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Dark in glass, oak/nutmeg sends thoughts on nose to worry about being out of whack, I wonder if it might have been a bit heavy handed after release but now after many years in bottle that doesn’t follow through to the palate. Oak intensity on nose was reminiscent of some younger rioja reserva tasted recently, guess this bottle *could* stand for some continued aging but ultimately may have “arrived”.

intensity of fruit is high on nose and steps back on palate. Some graphite, some herbal notes, tannins pleasant, arc of palate is solid balanced and moderately long, acid mod high.

Classy Bordeaux. Pretty much what I was aiming for when ordered so very happy.

With dry aged porterhouse. Way better with food than final glass after dinner

12/27/2021 - jdkrabbe Likes this wine:

Quite ripe, some pineapple a little (pleasant) petroleum character upon opening which became more difficult to detect after it had been opened for a while.

Pretty heavy of the residual sugar to be labeled dry, but am sure it conforms to the rules as this is the OG Riesling producer for NY