3/14/2016 - Mig22 wrote:

So well made. Nose was cab-like with the cassis but an old dry leather and a bit of spice overlaid. Mouthfeel perfectly medium weight, firm. The palate was a great balance of fruit and secondaries and great length.

3/9/2016 - Mig22 wrote:

Young, great fruit. Hints of things to come with some flowers and something a bit earthy

3/1/2016 - Mig22 wrote:

Heavy, out of balance. The 'acidity' was probably added with a measuring flask. The good fruit was not enough to save it.

3/3/2016 - Mig22 wrote:

Nice hints of green with restrained black fruit and a little funk. Light mouthfeel but good spice. Solid.

3/2/2016 - Mig22 wrote:

Beautiful balance with more fruit than I expected and a medium weight mouthfeel that just works. Simple but great value.

2/18/2016 - Mig22 wrote:

A little more brett than ideal but the wine has good balance and an interesting funky flavor. Good value.

12/24/2015 - Mig22 wrote:

Keeps getting better. Didn't need much air this year, was ready on opening. Nose had a lot of nebbiolo things going on with roses coming out on top. Long finish, great fruit.

11/11/2015 - Mig22 wrote:

It was what I expected. And I could drink a 100 of these. The bottle you get while in country that the locals don't drink at home but would recognize as very well done.

11/8/2015 - Mig22 wrote:

Rich, easy, balanced wine. Classic bordeaux nose but nothing that deep. Mouthfeel fairly soft and the flavors were solid with expected fruits. Great value

11/11/2015 - Mig22 wrote:

Green, brambles. Weight medium-light. pretty nose after a bit of air but in a blind tasting, I would have guessed a medium quality producer with a fairly thin wine. Solid.

3/6/2015 - Mig22 wrote:

it is still young...just lurking in the bottle. Everything you want out of a Riesling. Bright, bright flavors and a finish that stays with out. Give it til 2017.

9/12/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

Honey, apricot maybe, and a lovely mouthfeel. Serve this on the cooler end of the range to lessen the syrupy nature as the only fault could be a need for more acidity.

8/23/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

8 years old, still has plenty of fruit. Such light weight and good acidity mostly balances the alcohol. The flowers and fruit make a truly great nose. Day 2 a bit more refined with some earth and tangy hints. A beauty now.

7/31/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

An hour of air in the bottle. It is still a beauty, the smoky leather over still-bright fruit. 25 years young...it has a yum factor and paired with pork steaks and kale very well.

6/26/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

Simply wonderful. It's dark, has an aromatic tar and spice to it with plenty of fruit but it's not too heavy. Finish goes for a day and a half.

4/21/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

Unlike earlier bottles which were solid but not great, this little juicebox was drinking beautifully. It had depth but still felt fresh. If you have 375s, you won't go wrong drinking them now.

4/16/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

Restraint, decent fruit but nice secondaries of mint, dusty brambles. Long finish too. Loved it.

4/7/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

Light, restrained, aromatic undertones. It feels poised on the edge of something and lingers in the mouth and sinuses nicely.

3/31/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

Quality. Nice young traditional Riesling with good fruit and brightness.

3/31/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

A little green. Lightweight for a CdR but had some nice smoke over the fruit.

3/10/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

This bottle was more reserved and didn't show the Sangiovese as well. Dusty, nice cab-like currant. Short finish though.

3/9/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

It's dead now, if you got em, try to open it now and hope you got a better better.

3/7/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

Still fresh as a young wine and only just starting to deepen in its tones. Lots of different fruit and an essential Riesling-ness and mouth-watering acidity. Next one gets another 5 years to wait.

3/2/2014 - Mig22 wrote:

What a difference a couple of years made: This is beautiful now. Ripe cherries, a dusty dry tar, and only a little excess alcohol. Opened up after an hour. It's a decade old now and has a LOT left. 1 left and it won't be touched for at least 5 more years.

10/8/2013 - Mig22 wrote:

Too young, I suppose but the raw materials are very nice. It has a bigger nose than the flavor of the juice but there is enough fruit to go with the acid and structure that it is going to age beautifully. Leave it be for at least a couple of years.

8/4/2013 - Mig22 wrote:

Nose took a while to come out and play and the strawberry and iodine/mineral never really were strong. The wine is drinking very well, it has a nice firmness that the fruit hangs from. It'll last for another decade too.

7/7/2013 - Mig22 wrote:

Simple, tasty, easily IDd as nebby. There was maybe a hint of TCA (2 tasters were not certain). It'll last a while yet, the fruit is there. I don't know if it's going to get any better.

6/2/2013 - Mig22 wrote:

Give it air, still! 15 years old and still young. It is darker than I expected with tar overweighting the cherries. Eucalyptus/mint was the payoff. Day 1, austere but still a joy. Day 2, more giving and a different kind of pleasure. Not even CLOSE to being over the hill.

5/23/2013 - Mig22 wrote:

Serious juice once it has air. Dark and a bit funky, the excess alcohol and in-your-face fruit dissipate with a bit of time. Long, earthy finish.

12/13/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

For what it is,flawless. Bright, mineral laden SB with the typical NZ grapefruit muted into a mix of citrus. Very ripe but not dead by any means. Nice job for Brennan's Market in Milwaukee

11/30/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

QPR time. Nose is a funky weird combo of Chile's signature greenness with the earthy, spicy malbec. The underlying fruit is more red than black. Tannins are fine for such a young wine. Flavor is tart, a bit of fruit, black pepper with plenty of acid. Give it some air. Fun quaff.

11/14/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Solid Chianti but just not enough acidity to make the Sangio sing. Still, it does okay with an Italian sausage sandwich. Decent value.

11/11/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

QPR! The nose itself is worth the bottle price. Cherry, cedar, and smoke merge in a beautiful aroma. The palate actually doesn't quite live up to the scents but it is medium-weight, balanced, and has the cherry and cassis with a hint of spice. Maybe a bit thin but no complaints.

9/9/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Corked. Sadness ensued.

9/6/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Muted nose carrying some cherry and spice and wood shavings. Pretty soft mouthfeel with dried sweet cherries and dusty spice and pepper. Great value.

9/4/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Too young, too simple. Gave it 1 1/2 hours to breath and it was still tight. Good wine, we'll see.

9/2/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

This bottle was consistent with the first. Decanted for 90 minutes which helped as the alcohol had blown off by drinking time. The finish on this wine is just eternal. A jewel of fruit and tar and dried aromatics.

8/21/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Dark color, balanced fruit, pretty high acidity for a S. Rhone. After an hour, it had a richness to it and a decent finish. A bit on the simple side but there is a firm streak in there so it's not flabby. Really, really good.

8/6/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

This was drinking beautifully. The nose had an waft of alcohol but immediately there was a dusty, berry primary with tar and vanilla. The palate was bright with acidity and had plenty of fruit, a dark underbelly which was nice, hints of eucalyptus/menthol were different. Short-medium finish. Nice.

6/23/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

1/2 hour decant, needed more time. A bit of excess alcohol but also some nice cherry and tar. Palate brought sweet red fruit, even a hint of caramel(!) but possible a little thin on the body. I might give this a year or three but doubt it has the material to improve after a decade.

6/9/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Looks like a BdM but the nose didn't exactly jump out and scream Sangio. Weight was right but night one, it was pretty hot and simple after maybe 90 minutes open/in the glass. Night two better, less heat, and some interesting anise notes to go with the expected metallic tang of Sangio. Finish still short. Indifferent.

5/23/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Lively gold color showed its age and it had a tiny bead with not much released gas on opening. The nose immediately told me this bottle was better than the last, not oxidized. Sourdough and tart apple on the nose is backed up by the yeasty palate. It has tangy apple-lemon and root vegetable on the mid-palate. The finish carried some mushroom or beets or...something earthy. Really great champagne.

5/3/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

This is good. Dark color and a nose of cassis, funky earth, and smoke. The taste is like acidic smoked meat with a fruit sauce which makes a nice combo.

4/30/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Still pretty lean, acidity very high. Fruit will come out and it will be red cherries/strawberries. Mineral/rockiness and a dry spice which is very, very nice. It's going to be good.

4/15/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Formally, I'm calling this bottle flawed as it was oxidized enough that the sherry overtones were too much to be ignored. However, after tossing the remnants in the fridge, the next morning much of that was gone and yeasty, apples and lemon came through nicely. Ellner is great, even when flawed.

4/15/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Color was blood/brick red. Nose carried sweet cherries and hint of flowers. Palate came with sweeter fruit on the front end than usual for barolo (and different than the 2005). It had a richness with vanilla but also zippy acidity. It did lack some of the secondaries of the 2005 but it has a yum factor. Finish just medium.

4/11/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Certainly drinkable. It has a bit of clarity with a darker red undertone. Nose has a nice bit of funk and mineral and the fruit is there too. Palate is red fruit, a bit sharpish, and there is no real finish. Definitely a good daily drinker.

3/31/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Ah, aged wine. Cork was soft and I was worried but full to the neck. Initial funky odor dissipated quickly. Needs some air, maybe 60-90 mins before starting it. Appeared young for 17+ years, color still rich red-purple and not really clear on the rim. Bouquet of mushrooms and meat over the ripe cherries. Palate just kept getting better, with a bit of menthol on top of the cherries and mushrooms. Lithe for a PS. Really a pleasure. One more bottle left.

3/23/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Brilliant straw color. Nose of muted grapefruit. Palate was milder with citrus and a hint of ripeness and nutmeg. Very easy drinker. Paired well with pan-seared snapper.

3/21/2012 - Mig22 wrote:

Typical Cali pinot but cheap. Dark fruit, cocoa on the nose and the palate is low in acidity and high in plummy sweetness. No finish to speak of. $15 pinot, get what you pay for.