2/8/2024 - bobweis Likes this wine:

This is my favorite beaujolais in years, right up there with Desjourneys. To say it’s like burgundy is tempting but it is so individual and complex that the comparison is misleading. It’s as if someone put together the juiciest raspberries with the most delicate but penetrating soy—and the crazy combination works. Reordering if I can find any. What a winemaker!!

2/1/2024 - bobweis Likes this wine:

A gorgeous achievement that can hold its own in complexity and pleasure with fine champagne. And yet it also has its own steely taste. I’d surely rather spend the money on this than on the umpteenth champagne—Because, aside from its excellence, I wonder if this superb sparkler may mark a very happy moment in grower history. Breakthrough?
I don’t know enough to say, but I’d confess to some native pride that we can do this so well, because this wine seems to me explosive and nuanced at once, just a joy

2/1/2024 - bobweis Likes this wine:

And it may still be hidden, as not much grace here. Burning leaves, strident fruit, full on palate and excellent long, slightly salty aftertaste. But speaking of taste, this alcoholic style isn’t to mine. Only if you love syrah—me, I’ll stick with burgundy and barolo and brunello—oh, 4 Bs, barbaresco too.
Not sure about this, but with each decade my taste has moved away from big fruit and toward elegance. Noticing it in friends too. So I get the high ratings from others because this is very good of its type—WWE

1/16/2024 - bobweis Likes this wine:

If you come across it, don’t miss it. Into its 28 th year and all there, gorgeous fruit, some sweet-but-salt tertiary excitement, structure and generosity in synch

I may explore other available vintages because this would be a ridiculous value.

1/12/2024 - bobweis Likes this wine:

So here it is, going on two decades past vintage of a wine most found a mixture of odd but good or just odd. Happy to report that, in its full maturity, while it still can be accused of a stern finish, it turns out very much odd-but-wow in fact. This is serious stuff and it gets you thinking. A wake-up to taste as well

12/4/2023 - bobweis wrote:

Generally not a fan of this overly polite winery with modern trumping traditional Barolo effects. But the 2009 has some real interest after 14 years—more tertiary notes than I anticipated and a lovely pungent center. Crowd pleasing but also beginning to be thought-provoking too

11/28/2023 - bobweis Likes this wine:

Tastes differ. If I had to choose one white wine to drink exclusively for the rest of my time on earth, this would at least make the finals. So fresh and light while rich in its own adroit and charming way. The whole orchard is present here. The low cost is crazy, but no complaint. Reordering now

8/6/2023 - bobweis Likes this wine:

Two years ago, I termed this wine “sorta impersonal”—another reviewer mentioned later and similarly that it had a paint-by-numbers quality.

I’d say it’s gained plenty of personality: for better and worse, Hello Dolly! Very blue and blackberry, less chocolate as it ages and a bit of menthol coming through. Cal Cab goes McLaren shiraz? I don’t like big wines of this sort but this one is balanced and daring and just wants to please. It would be like kicking a sweet puppy not to be won over.

And an interesting tasting might pair this with the Bin 407, its Australian cab counterpart, esp from this 2018 vintage but any would do

7/13/2023 - bobweis Likes this wine:

What’s the problem here?? Great qpr, plummy, some complexity, long aftertaste

6/11/2023 - bobweis Likes this wine:

What an over-achiever. It’s a good trip when a modest wine is more than that—this is spicy and delicious but beautifully balanced and not unstructured. Blood Orange and cherry w spices I can’t identify, slightly salty (good salty) middle and surprising length. Will repurchase if possible

6/8/2023 - bobweis Likes this wine:

Spiky pinot w great energy, grace, long and eventful aftertaste. A bit thin middle but that adds to freshness. Recommended by Asimov in NYTimes and he’s right as usual.

1/17/2023 - bobweis Likes this wine:

Here it is this many years later and this bottle was truly very much alive and delicious, with just enough interest to earn the 91. QPR for this $15 bottle is just phenomenal. Not shy but not at all flabby, with dark berries forward balancing still-dignified tannins. Could wish for a bit lower alcohol count but really, this is some achievement.

10/20/2022 - bobweis Likes this wine:

PNP. At age 28, still going. Strikes me as well described in previous comments. Thinning a bit and yet that may add more than detract: it adds a salty, more mineral-like finish. I’m a burgundy-first fan, and my rating reflects that this is on the elegant side of cabernet that I prefer but I think anyone would find this a terrific pleasure and extremely underpriced.

12/13/2021 - bobweis Likes this wine:

The notes from JR and ST seem just right to me, though I’d add that the merlot dominates even if it’s just a third. There’s a lot of pleasure here and decent complexity. Excellent qpr too.

9/6/2021 - bobweis Likes this wine:

Pnp Soft, generous, loads of simple chocolate and raspberry popsicle enjoyment with some staying power. Not much dignity yet, all fruit-forward, will see if structure develops over next few days. I was curious to try an Australian take on Napa, and that is exactly how it tastes, so worth the cost for the fun of it. But sorta impersonal

9/23/2019 - bobweis Likes this wine:

I’m on the happily surprised side here. Medium on all counts in a good way that reminds a burgundy drinker why cabs are worthwhile. Real character with interesting light smoke and herbal complexity. Quite long and wholly ready now.

1/1/2019 - bobweis Likes this wine:

Yes but it’s a little like eating dirt. I mostly like the earth undertones as the top end is red berry in a clear treble and the combination is provocative But that soil sure is a cubit too much.

10/13/2018 - bobweis Likes this wine:

If you accept its sour cherry and blueberry idea, and I very much do, this is a lovely yet provocative red. Unique in my experience, really something new, a discovery. Serious fun at a ridiculously modest cost. Reordering

8/6/2018 - bobweis Likes this wine:

Delicious and graceful, hedonistic but also interesting and dignified at age 22. Ready but no rush

11/14/2017 - bobweis Likes this wine:

I usually dislike Sangiovese as big as this is, but how can you not love it—especially as it adds a bit of complexity to its richness? And this is fresh as a rookie 20 years after vintage. In decanter now and we will see if there is further evolution. I am betting yes.

11/13/2017 - bobweis wrote:

Earlier reviewer nailed it when he compared this to a chateauneuf with its Grenache-like depth and size. But while that reviewer enjoyed those qualities, my taste runs oppositely. I appreciate the taste as far as it goes but where’s the interest? Four square even after two-day decant.

10/1/2017 - bobweis Likes this wine:

Very drinkable 16 years from vintage. On the treble side of cab with an engaging edginess. A little smoke adds complexity toward the end. Excellent apt at $35, only betrays its price in the short aftertaste.

8/22/2017 - bobweis Likes this wine:

A wine is either a drink (usually) or, rarely, an experience. This is an experience, and it is just a question of whether the tension between full and precise, noted by others who reviewed this wine, is fully resolved. Not quite, I believe, but worth trying again in two years to see if it improves. Even now, it is not just that there is a lot going on here but that the Ilatraia is as enjoyable to ponder as it is delicious to drink--and it drinks Tuscan, as if the essence of its locale BECAME this wine

2/10/2016 - bobweis Likes this wine:

Cinnamon delight. This is how to make a cab that soars--light but full of flavor and length. Winged and a nice sting of fully resolved tannin. This is where structure is supposed to go once it hits 20. Beautiful.

12/4/2015 - bobweis Likes this wine:

At first strong and perhaps four square but quickly opens to orange spice and a complexity that is way beyond a generic burgundy. Both thought provoking and immediately enjoyable. Beyond high expectation

9/6/2015 - bobweis Likes this wine:

One spicy meatball. Black-Crimson and rich but balanced with a great tangy note of complexity. Won't lead you to a new philosophy or even a new place but it will remind you that aged cabs can be terrific fun. Structured enough for winter drinking but perfect with grilled meats and graceful enough to go a round with grilled chicken. A bargain still.