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Tasting Notes for bretrooks

(1,288 notes on 991 wines)

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Red
3/23/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, consumed over ~1 1/2 hours. Vivid translucent red and obviously lighter-bodied. Youthful aromas of cranberry and wild strawberry jump from the glass, picking up notes of peppercorn and baking spice over time along with a firmer sense of structure than there seemed to be at first. While the strong impression of cranberry was unusual to me in a Grenache, we both enjoyed this. I'll probably give the other bottles at least another year.
Red
3/23/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
flawed
Seemed decently made overall, but marred by some Band-aidy brett...dumped.
Red
3/22/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
flawed
Spritzy and a little sharp...set aside.
Red
2019 Château Haut-Brisson St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
3/22/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, two glasses consumed over ~1.5 hours. Quite dark red and mostly opaque in the glass. Pretty well put together for a young $20 Bordeaux, with forward structure and a bit of extraction and oak showing through. Medium-plus body but with balancing acid. Dark cherry/ripe blackberry fruit and some cocoa powder offset by a bit of something green (although I could also see calling it anise or licorice). I'm inclined to let my other bottle rest a while and/or give it a good long decant before drinking it. A lot of wine for ~$20.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
3/16/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, two small pours consumed over ~45 minutes. Dark, mild fruit, integrated oak and slightly brothy/savory notes, relatively modest structure, long finish. Very nice overall, especially for the price, as long as you're not expecting a fruit-forward wine.
Red
2/25/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, three glasses consumed over ~2 hours. Dark and purplish in the glass, fairly opaque. Consistent on the nose and palate, reminiscent of concentrated blackberries and black cherries with just a hint of something savory developing. Plush and fruit-forward with decent acidity, although overall this is rounder and a bit more extracted than I generally prefer. Still, this comes off as a made, straightforward, crowd-pleasing red...I found this at $6.99 locally, and at that price, I might pick up a couple to keep around for friends I know who will enjoy this.
Red
2/11/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, consumed over ~1 1/2 hours. Darkly fruited, quite ripe (bumping up against overripe, depending on your tastes), and showing a good whack of oak vanillin. Modest structure for the weight of the wine. Thankfully, the extraction is in check. Although this isn't my favorite style of Syrah, we were able to enjoy this for what it was.
Red
2/8/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, two glasses consumed over ~1.5 hours. Dark-red fruit (more cherry than berry), maybe a little woody/herbal/spicy note in the background, a bit of tannin, firm acidity, medium-bodied and with modest concentration. Relatively simple and humble, yet still pleasant as a day-to-day fresh Rhone red. Nice at the price, if you like the style.
White
1/27/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
Consumed over ~2 hours, warming from fridge temp to room temp. Bright and firm, with grapefruit, tart apple, and citrus pith notes, with a little hint of something like dried grass or hay. Prominent acidity - very refreshing to drink.
Red
1/14/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, consumed over ~1 hour at cool room temp. Quick impression: this definitely strikes me as a CA pinot, with its cola notes and concentrated vinous quality, but it's also lean and not over-ripe at all. Very nice acidity. Modest complexity at this stage, but still quite pleasurable. I'm glad to see more CA pinot being made in this mold...it's a good one.
White
1/14/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
Consumed over ~1 1/2 hours, warming from just above fridge temp to cool room temp. Yellow tinged with gold in the glass, and hefty amber-colored crystals on the cork and in the neck. Not as aromatic as I was expecting based on other notes. Medium-plus body and quite dry, with notes of bruised golden apple, mandarins, honey, and a gentle woody bitterness on the back end. Modest acidity for my preferences. An interesting white, and one I'm glad I tried, but probably not one I'd go back for more of versus other S-F options.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
1/11/2024 - bretrooks wrote:
Quick impression: definitely on the ripe side (slightly over?), highish acid, modest tannin and body, a little bit darker and more savory than I usually associate with Grenache. Feels maybe a touch warmer than the 14.3% on the label. An unusual expression.
Red
12/17/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, consumed in small pours over about three hours with and after dinner (rib-eye roast and cheesy mashed potatoes). The first impression was of a savory/meaty, medium-bodied red with sharp acidity sticking out a bit, not volatile but more prominent than expected. Oak is well-integrated, and it came out over time alongside some tart strawberry, citrus peel, and some black tea. I didn't find this particularly long, even with the remnant pour 2 1/2 hours in; perhaps either this needed longer airing or the bottle was not entirely sound. Certainly still enjoyable, but not as harmonious as hoped for.
3 people found this helpful Comment
White
11/10/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Not bad from a freshly opened bottle at cool room temp - a bit of age showing, but still in balance. Much degraded overnight, though. This was our last bottle of this vintage...if I had more, we'd drink them post haste.
Red
2016 Château Gemeillan Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
10/29/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, opened for an hour before consuming one glass over about an hour. Dark red cherry fruit, a hint of oak influence, medium body and concentration, moderate but present structure (less stern than some other younger Medocs I've tried recently). Quite pleasant with some grilled steaks, and in its prime drinking window, I would think. I found this locally for $15 and think it's pretty well-priced for current drinking. About an even split of Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon.
White
10/29/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Two small pours consumed over about one hour. Medium-weight, peachy/citrusy, slightly honeyed, dry to maybe just barely off-dry. Simple but pleasant, particularly considering the closeout price paid ($4), even if it's probably near the end of its drinking window.
Rosé
8/7/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Consumed over ~1 1/2 hours warming from fridge temp to cool room temp. Mid-weight, moderate acid, mild but pleasant peach/melon notes on the palate. Decent enough but would be more interesting with more complexity and/or zip. Hard to argue with at $8 but not anything special.
White
7/20/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
One glass consumed at just above fridge temp, as it warmed towards cool room temp. Good acidity, medium-bodied, lean tropical fruit and some white stone fruit, a little minerality, a little bit of a Sauv Blanc-like green edge. I haven't noticed the green edge in previous vintages, and it's something I'm a little sensitive too, but I enjoyed this nonetheless.
Red
7/16/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
flawed
The two bottles I picked up were suffering from (seemingly) secondary fermentation - trapped CO2, thinner and harsher on the palate than expected, some off flavors. Alas...returned.
Red
7/13/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, consumed over ~1 hour. Decent structure, some muted dark red fruit and spice on the palate, a little oak signature. Drinkable, but not especially engaging overall.
Rosé
6/11/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Quite dry with good acidity, refreshing, with grapefruit citrus notes up front and maybe just a little peach or strawberry coming out as it warmed. Nor much depth or complexity and pretty lean, but nice enough on a warm day. Recommend not drinking this too cold.
Red
6/9/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, two glasses consumed at cool room temp over 60-90 minutes. I'm pretty much on board with ChateauShiny's note from April, although I'd note that this started out decently enough but got distinctly better as it went - I'd recommend giving this at least an hour of air if consuming in the near future.
3 people found this helpful Comment
Red
6/9/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, tasted briefly and poured back into the bottle. noticeably different than the bottle from last October - darkly colored, somewhat mute and slightly sour cherry fruit, no real savoriness, no real joy. I'll revisit this note if some oxygen helps this flesh out.
Rosé
5/19/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Two glasses consumed over ~45 minutes at cool room temp. Fresh and crisp and enjoyable enough, but also a bit closed and somewhat one-dimensional, with a lean, pithy grapefruit/citrus character. Not bad, but also not especially memorable.
Rosé
5/13/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
This needed a little time to blow off a little spritz, but once it did, it was a delightful mid-weight rose - very good acidity, nicely spicy, a mix of citrus (including pith) and peach and tart strawberry, good texture. I'd recommend letting this come up closer to room temperature rather than drinking it close to fridge temp.
Red
5/7/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, consumed over ~1.5 hours. Showing some age on the palate in the form of savoriness reminiscent of sun-dried tomatoes and maybe a hint of beefiness, but still showing some blackberry/black cherry fruit. Subtle tannin, somewhat prominent acid. Not bad at the moment if you don't mind the savoriness, but I suspect these should be consumed soon.
White
4/9/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Two glasses consumed over ~1 hour, warming from fridge temp to cool room temp. I agree with the recent notes that this is an enjoyable neutral-leaning white without the extra gear of the Milk Fed version. Crisp acidity, fresh pithy citrus (especially on the nose), a pleasant-to-me background note of something gently onion-y that added to the wine's food-friendliness.
Red
3/17/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, two small pours consumed over 45 minutes. A little spritzy upon opening and a touch stinky on the nose, but that largely blew off with air. Once settled down, this was a decent CA pinot with a little more backbone than most. Subdued cherry fruit, cola, a little baking spice. Hopefully our other bottle shows better.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Rosé
3/5/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
One generous glass consumed over ~45 minutes at cool room temp. This wine has been 50/50 for us with regard to "clean" versus flawed bottles. Happily, the last one we opened was good, with good acidity, medium weight, and pleasant peach/strawberry notes.
Red
3/4/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
flawed
Reductive/sulfur notes (mercaptans) that never went away in the couple of hours we had this exposed to air.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2/24/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, consumed over ~1 1/2 hours. A solid wine, a little on the hefty and brooding side but well balanced. Dark berry notes with some spice and black tea notes. Well made and enjoyable, although I'm not sure it really stands out in any way that would draw me back.
Red
2/19/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, one glass consumed over ~45 minutes. There's definitely a core of red Barbera fruit here with some accentuated ripeness due to the passito method. To my palate, the acid helps this stay in balance as a nice, if not really noteworthy, red.
Rosé
2/11/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Seemed possibly both slightly corked and bretty/funky. This bottling has been quite inconsistent, with most bottles being off.
Red
1/4/2023 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, consumed over 1 1/2 hours. Dark red cherry fruit, just slightly stewed fruit, with maybe hints of anise and baking spice. A bit on the concentrated end of the spectrum, with modest structure, but still evidently well-made. This is showing very young, but it seems that there could be some complexity lurking which could emerge when the youthful fruit-forwardness subsides. While not really my preferred style, this was still quite enjoyable, and I expect it would please a lot of palates. $8 on closeout locally.
White - Sparkling
12/24/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Consumed at refrigerator temperature over ~1 hour. More than anything else, this reminds me of a cremant made with chenin blanc. There are notes of tart apple and underripe stone fruit with a subtle bitterness and some slightly yeasty/cheesy notes in the mix. Maybe just a bare hint of RS? Nothing noteworthy, but fine to sip on.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
11/24/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
flawed
Last bottle...corked :(
Red
11/13/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
flawed
A bit spritzy and astringent/piney, possibly reduced too? We've enjoyed this in previous vintages, and this was very different from those experiences, so I'm assuming it's an off bottle.
White
10/20/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Consumed over 1 hour, warming from fridge temp to cool room temp. This has some youthful sweetness overlaid with a beautiful wash of fresh acidity. Notes of just-ripe citrus, pear, and green melon or maybe guava. Not very expressive on the nose last night, but I do think this will develop beautifully. So good.
Red
10/2/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, consumed over ~1 1/2 hours. Our experience matched up with what BHRH wrote last August. This was a well-balanced, medium-bodied Pinot - red-fruited, with a little earthy spice and a hint of cedary perfume. Quality CA Pinot, with nothing overdone.
Red
10/1/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, two small glasses consumed over ~1 hour at cool room temp. Black cherry fruit, yes, but this is also strongly a savory wine, in a meaty/brothy sort of way. Good acidity, fine tannin...a pretty nice Syrah that straddles new world and old.
Red
9/28/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, consumed over ~1 1/2 hours at cool room temp. 90% Syrah & 10% Petite Sirah, and definitely showing the PS influence. This is fairly dense and feels polished, centered on ripe slightly jammy dark red fruit - cherry and blackberry, maybe hints of chocolate and something that reminded me of underbrush or oak. Acidity is a bit on the low side, and there's a moderate amount of smooth tannin lurking in the background. Maybe a little on the concentrated side for it to be something I'd want to drink very often, but that said, we did enjoy this, and I think this will hit the spot for a lot of folks.
3 people found this helpful Comment
Red
9/24/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, consumed over ~2 hours. Black cherry, raspberry, a bit of something savory and meaty, and a hint of an iron note which with air transforms into something more rubbery and reductive. Decent acidity and smooth, medium-level tannins. A bit simple but really not bad overall aside from the reductive note, which is just present enough to detract.
Red
9/18/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Decanted on Sunday afternoon and, after it still seemed closed four hours later, poured back in the bottle. By the following night, it had opened up just a little, but the acid and structure were still prominent, seeming a bit out of balance with the mild fruit, slight astringency, and subtle floral and balsamic notes. Very lean, and I probably wouldn’t rebuy myself at this point, but I thought it was okay for drinking after getting used to the acidity…my wife didn’t enjoy it, though.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
9/15/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Not decanted, one glass consumed over 45 minutes at cool room temp. General impression: Reasonably balanced, but something odd about the palate impression kept us from being enthusiastic about this. Although this isn't heavy or sweet and the stated ABV is low, I was picking up a raisinated note I associate with over-ripe grapes. Perhaps a little bit of heat damage? Something in the winemaking? One way or another, this one didn't tick the boxes for us.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2018 Château Romefort Haut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
8/30/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Opened, tasted (tight!), returned to bottle, and consumed two evenings later at cool room temp. Old-school indeed, and not very giving at this point, even with two days after air exposure. Lean, dark fruit taking a backseat to earthy, dusty, slightly smoky notes similar to those Motz described in his 7/20/2022 notes. Firm structure - both acidity and tannins.

I do generally like the style, but I'd hoped for this to open up and become a little more gregarious, and this bottle never really did.
Red
8/26/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Reductive, unfortunately. Decanted and recorked and set aside...hopefully this rights itself with a little oxygen.
Red
8/26/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Quick impression: dark red fruit, relatively simple, pretty ripe and round, with a bit of acidity but less structure than I prefer. Not badly made for its level, but not my style.
Rosé
8/21/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
flawed
2/3 bottles I've tried of this have been corked, alas. The other was quite pleasant, with friendly strawberry/peach fruit, a hint of dusty/pithy bitterness, and lively acid.
Red
8/19/2022 - bretrooks wrote:
Quick impression: very young, fairly simple and easy-drinking, nothing out of place per se, but nothing memorable either. Reasonable as a weeknight red at $7, with maybe slight potential to settle and improve in the near term.
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