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Tasting Notes for tthomas

(35 notes on 35 wines)

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Red
Nose like walking in to a flower shop where someone is cooking bacon while a dish of tapenade is passed under your nose. Then, a mouthful of perfectly ripe black fruit, smooth, dusty tannins, and just the right amount of acidity to focus the long, long, dry finish. All the components are there in the right amounts to give this the promise of a mellowing, long life, but I really like this right now while it is still fresh, a bit vibrant and has an interesting edge or two.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
The nose is a bit reticent but with some vigorous swirling I get some red and black fruit and spices. The palate is a big mouthful of ripe plums, tart blueberries and blackberries, in a creamy package with a hint of smooth tannin on the finish, then a touch of acidity to keep everything focused. Nice wine that I enjoyed so much the remaining 2 bottles may not make it to their third birthday.
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Red
2001 Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
8/30/2013 - tthomas wrote:
Decanted at 1PM, re-bottled and took to dinner at 6PM. Had this with a rare steak. I was expecting more even though 2001 isn't one of the 4 or 5 vintages of the century in the 2000's. With a lot of swirling I got some dark fruit, tobacco and minerals. Tannins were rounded but present on the finish. Decent acidity but just a bit lacking. I know it is still young but I had a few of these and wanted to try it. Hopefully just in a dump phase as I really wanted to like it but just wasn't very impressed.
Red
8/12/2013 - tthomas wrote:
Flowers, spice, strawberries and black cherries on the nose carry over to the palate. Smooth tannins, balancing acidity and a long, long finish. Very vibrant, elegant wine. Drinking nicely now but has the stuffing to make me want to cellar a few to see where they go. Fantastic!
White
7/27/2013 - tthomas wrote:
Hazy greenish straw color. Nose of citrus and toasted nuts. Tart white fruit and lemon flavors. Medium body and nice acid on a long finish. Had the wine with appetizers before dinner on a summer day. Really enjoyable CA chard that has a lot going on but not over the top.
Red
7/21/2013 - tthomas wrote:
Stood upright in cellar for a week. Pulled the cork at 10AM and left bottle in cellar. Poured in the decanter at 3PM and served with osso bucco at 7:30. Wonderful wine that is ready to drink now given sufficient air. Deep barolo nose of roses, tar and dark fruit. Medium+ body, red fruit, dark fruit and licorice with resolved tannin, nice acidity and a long, long finish. Just singing.
2 people found this helpful Comments (1)
Red
7/14/2013 - tthomas wrote:
Interesting nose of red fruit, flowers, underbrush and spices. Layered palate of tart cherry and red raspberry, some citrus and minerals on the finish. Round tannins and nice acidity tie everything together. For my taste, the whole clusters added a very interesting dimension to the wine. This is just a beautiful, contemplative wine that certainly has years to go to reach its peak, but everything is there and it is just wonderful now. If I can, I'll hold off 2 or 3 years before opening the next bottle, but I sure enjoyed this bottle tonight.
2 people found this helpful Comment
Red
1999 Antinori Solaia Toscana IGT SuperTuscan Blend (view label images)
Wonderful mature nose of dark fruit, tobacco and flowers. The palate is a long, smooth expression of blackberry and blueberry, licorice, herbs and minerals. Caressing on the long finish with smooth tannin. Perfect balance. Just beautiful and so elegant.
White
From a 375. Light straw color. Aroma of white fruit, citrus, flowers and a hint of nuts. Starting to round out a bit from what it was 4 or 5 years ago, but still nicely focused tart fruit, acid and minerals. Lingering finish. Alsatian riesling is just so taut, focused and enjoyable. I always like these but seem to reach for white burgs, chablis or Loire. Don't know why I don't pull these from the cellar more often. One more 375 left and I think I'll open it along side a 750 next.
Rosé
Wow. This years wine is especially good. Ripe strawberries and asian pears on the nose with some citrus an flowers. More of the same on the palate and this has a great mid palate and long full finish. Enough acid the carry the fruit but I get the impression this is a little more full and round with less prominent acid than previous years. I like it a lot and think it is much better than the 2011.
3 people found this helpful Comment
Red
5/6/2013 - tthomas Likes this wine:
92 points
The 07 Isabelle is all red bramble fruit, underbrush, spice and wet rocks. Smooth tannin and balancing acidity. A whole lot is going on in the glass and this has plenty of stuffing to improve with more age if you choose. Comparing this with 01 Arcadians I've been opening lately, I think this will be much better with 4 or 5 more years, but if you have several, no reason not to check in on these now.
Red
5/4/2013 - tthomas wrote:
87 points
To me the wine was just OK. Not a huge, tannic petite sirah like some others I've had. Some blue and black fruit, round tannin and some supporting acidity. Was OK with dinner but not exciting. I like Outpost cabs and zins much better.
Red
4/4/2013 - tthomas Likes this wine:
90 points
Spice, red fruit and forest floor on the nose. Not much on the palate upon opening, but after about 1 1/2 hours the palate begins to open up. Red fruit, and a little citrus, good acidity and some tannin that shows up on the finish. Another bottle a few months ago was pretty tough love even with food, but this one is really pretty enjoyable. No sign of the green in this bottle.
Red
10/31/2012 - tthomas wrote:
As expected with Pegau, some barnyard on the nose with smoke, meat and dark fruit. Nice mouthful of ripe dark fruit balanced with good acidity and a long pleasing finish where the tannins assert themselves but they are smooth and rounded, and for me, enhance the overall package. Nice wine that is really good now, but has the structure to last a while.
2 people found this helpful Comment
White
10/19/2012 - tthomas wrote:
Very light gold. Nose of yellow fruit, stones, flowers and some hazelnut at the end. Ripe yellow and white fruit with some tropical and citrus notes. Med body with a long, persistent mineral finish. Medium ripe round flavors with good acidity to keep things focused. This is drinking nicely right now.
Red
10/19/2012 - tthomas wrote:
Transparent garnet in the glass. Enticing nose with a little funk that can only be Burgundy, red raspberry, spices, minerals, underbrush and flowers. A little oak is present but not but will probably integrate with some cellar time. If for some reason I couldn't drink wine the next best thing would be to just smell this glass. The palate isn't as expressive as the nose right now, but everything is there that makes me believe this should be winner with a few years of rest. Elegant. Love Volnay.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
10/2/2012 - tthomas wrote:
92 points
Purple nearly to the rim. Nose of dark fruit, cassis, tar and spices. Plenty of dark fruit on the palate with good structure, prominent but smooth tannins and a shot of acidity on the long, tasty finish. Many years ahead of this one, but also very good right now.
Red
2011 Maison Ilan Chambertin Chambertin Grand Cru Pinot Noir (view label images)
9/17/2012 - tthomas wrote:
Barrel sample. The pedigree really shows here. When you taste and smell you sense this is just a baby with so much potential. Nice aromatics, layers of flavor and plenty of mid palate punch, but balanced and elegant. Fantastic.
1 person found this helpful Comments (1)
Red
9/17/2012 - tthomas wrote:
Barrel sample. A very elegant and interesting wine. Layers of aromatics and flavors. Since I have several ordered I'll have to try a bottle right away when I get them, but then try to hide them away for a while. Will certainly reward some patience. Great wine!
4 people found this helpful Comments (1)
Red
2011 Maison Ilan Mazoyères-Chambertin Mazoyères-Chambertin Grand Cru Pinot Noir (view label images)
9/17/2012 - tthomas wrote:
Barrel sample. As you would expect, moving up to the grand crus brings more of everything to the table. Most notable is more mid palate stuffing and a more persistent finish. Very nice.
1 person found this helpful Comments (1)
Red
9/17/2012 - tthomas wrote:
Barrel sample. More going on here than with the Monts Luisants. Very nice medium body burg that should provide much pleasure.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
9/17/2012 - tthomas wrote:
Barrel sample. This wine was very shy today and a bit reduced. With some swirling you get some nice red pinot fruit and minerals. Well balanced but just needs a bit of time to come around.
Red
9/17/2012 - tthomas wrote:
Barrel sample. My favorite of the 1er crus. Pretty ruby red. Elegant red fruit and spice. Perfect balance of fruit, acid and tannin. All the parts are there to make me think this wine should just get better and better. Glad I bought a case.
2 people found this helpful Comments (1)
Red
6/4/2012 - tthomas wrote:
90 points
Pretty transparent garnet. Medium plus viscosity. Fairly giviing nose of dark red and blue fruit, underbrush and spices. Plenty of fruit in the mouth, balanced acidity and tannin. Nice long finish. There is a lot going on for a village level wine. The overall impression is of a very well made wine that is very, very young. Certainly enjoyable now but a lot of upside if you wait a few years. Wish I had more of these but bought just one bottle on a trip out of town. Impressive!
Red
4/10/2012 - tthomas wrote:
90 points
Initially picked up something not quite right on the nose (reduction?), but when I checked back about 90 minutes after opening it had blown off. Now a nose of dark red fruit, spices, iron and touch of underbrush. A lot of flavor on the palate. Ripe cherry, plum, tart red fruit with nice acidity and some prominent tannin on the finish. Flavors linger in a nice, long finish. Probably several years of upside. I may try to keep my hands off of a bottle or two for a while, but the rest of the case I plan to enjoy this year. Enjoyable burg right now that was had for a reasonable price on release.
Red
9/28/2011 - tthomas wrote:
92 points
Opaque purple almost to the rim. Nose of blackberry, underbrush, iron and coffee. Black fruit, licorice in a big, full bodied style. Nice acidity and some tannins that are fairly smooth but lead me to believe this will improve for another year or two in the cellar.
Red
2000 Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon Rutherford Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
4/25/2011 - tthomas wrote:
92 points
Dark purple,lighter at the rim. Nose of black fruit, smoke and licorice. Full bodied palate of blackberry, black current, oak and tar. Medium plus tannin still a bit pronounced. Touch of heat on the long finish. Pretty good right now with probably further upside. Enjoyed this more than I thought I would.
Red
4/18/2011 - tthomas wrote:
92 points
Dark, Dark ruby. High viscosity. Nose of dark cherry, blackberry, meat and wet rocks. Big, ripe dark fruit on the palate, nice acidity, long finish with a bit of heat at the end, but I should probably have this a bit cooler. If you like big CA pinot this wine will be pleasing. I may try to cool it a bit and see if it helps the heat.
Red
10/7/2010 - tthomas wrote:
90 points
Nose of iron, meat and dark, dark fruit. Blackberry, smoke and tar. Seems a bit rustic right now. No more open on 2nd day. Wait 2-3 years to try next bottle.
Red
7/12/2010 - tthomas wrote:
90 points
Decanted one hour. I was expecting the worst, a bad case of the green meanies, but although there was a slight herbal note when first opened, by dinner time I thought this was a very good burgundy. Nice aroma of candied red pinot fruit. Nice red fruit and good acidity on the palate, tannins not quite resolved. Decent length to the finish. I think this will get even better in 2-3 years. Nice enough now but I probably jumped the gun since I only have one other bottle.90 pts.now with some upward potential.
Red
2001 Ridge Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
3/6/2010 - tthomas wrote:
94 points
Decanted 1 hour. Dark purple, almost black, nearly to the rim. Sweet black fruit in many layers, full bodied with prominent tannins. Finish goes on for 45+ seconds. An impressive wine now but I think I will wait a couple of years before trying the second bottle from the case. IMHO this wine will get better and better for several years.
Red
7/5/2008 - tthomas wrote:
87 points
Drank with bbq brisket on the 4th. We thought the wine too sweet for our taste.
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  • Tasting Notes: 35 notes on 35 wines
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