11/22/2009 - davetong wrote:

Late picked; allegedly from Ridge's Monte Bello vineyard. It shows lots of sweet raisin fruit, both on the nose and the palate. Lacks acidity and the finish tails away somewhat. Should perhaps have been blended with the Sangiovese.

3/24/2023 - davetong wrote:

Very tight initially. Left it in the fridge for a few days and it opened up. Not bad at all for the price - give it cellar time or a long decant.

12/28/2022 - davetong wrote:

This was remarkably good. Fully mature but still had fruit - nobody guessed that it was over 30 years old

6/19/2022 - davetong Does not like this wine:

A little sweet for my tastes. Soft and fruity, not unpleasant but certainly not worth $35

1/3/2022 - davetong wrote:

Cork was shot and it had leaked.

11/21/2021 - davetong Does not like this wine:

Supposed to be a vin de paille so I expected something complex and sweet.
This is neither.
The nose is bland and slightly plastic.
On the palate it’s hot, dry, tannic and uninteresting.
None of us liked it.
Total waste of money at any price.
The sink drank it.

11/9/2020 - davetong wrote:

A half bottle with a damaged label. Couldn't read the vintage, but the fill looked good. The cork proved it was a 78.
A 42 year old new world Pinot in a half bottle made from 3 year old vines. Gotta be swill, hasn't it.

Wrong.

Absolutely lovely, perfectly balanced, great fruit. So many modern Pinots are flashy at first then fall apart. (You know what I'm talking about.) This was the real deal. Wow.

7/20/2017 - davetong wrote:

In a great place right now

1/8/2017 - davetong wrote:

I don

7/24/2016 - davetong wrote:

This vintage does not exist

7/24/2016 - davetong wrote:

There was no 2009 vintage of this wine, only 2008 and 2012 so far

5/11/2015 - davetong wrote:

A ripe wine from an excellent vintage that's holding up well. It's still quite the fruit bomb; there's some residual sugar too - without the label you'd probably think it was a much younger wine from a warmer region.

4/8/2015 - davetong wrote:

Found it lurking in the K&L Hazerai bin. Even though Paso Zinfandels aren't famed for their ageability, this one's taken it harder than most.

6/6/2012 - davetong wrote:

Late picked, 14.9% alcohol, 5% Petite Sirah
Cork was in good condition and came out easily; despite corrosion around the capsule the fill level was well into the neck.
Good colour, between terracotta and garnet. Nose smelt musty which was a concern, but the wine was sound.
First impression was of acidity and lots of secondary flavours of leather and cedar, but after a couple of minutes the fruit came out.
The more Zinfandel ages, the more it resembles claret, and this was just like that. No sign of fading over the hour. Very good.

12/31/2011 - davetong wrote:

Cost under £5.00 and tasted like it. Rough and unremarkable. Wouldn't buy it again.

8/2/2011 - davetong wrote:

Pinot shouldn't taste like this. It's as if someone wasn't sure whether to make a super-ripe style Pinot or a port and ended up with the worst qualities of both.

10/29/2010 - davetong wrote:

Oxidised. The sink drank it.

9/5/2010 - davetong wrote:

Waning Crescent.
Loads and loads of blackcurrant; didn't get much eucalyptus this time.
Very, very drinkable. Had to resist the temptation to open a second bottle.

7/10/2010 - davetong wrote:

Decent value, but not terribly exciting.

7/10/2010 - davetong wrote:

Rather tasty for a Petite Sirah. Not your typical monolithic and one-dimensional example; good blueberry fruit and nice tannins. Would get this again.

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): Fairly simple; lots of sweet rasberry fruit which persists on the finish, but not much else going on. The acidity is decent. Another wine that doesn't show its true age.

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): Paul brought this out partly as a joke, expecting it to be undrinkable. It's a non-vintage wine from the early 1970s. Who knows what's in it; it was cheap stuff then.
The nose was porty and it had pruney flavours, but it wasn't anything like as bad as we anticipated.

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): Amazing; this wine is 50 years old. Mushroom and floral nose. Tart blackcurrant, rosemary, forest floor. Some leather, but less than I'd expected. WOTN candidate

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): Nose shows more earth, less stinky than the 68. Lots more acidity; cranberry and redcurrant fruit.

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): Stinky, leathery nose. Like old shoes. Still got fruit - black cherry, cranberry, earth, lots of leather, and cedar

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): I continue to be impressed by this wine time and again. An unknown producer with no track record, an unnamed vineyard but over 30 years later it's still in great shape.
Plenty of smooth blackcurrant fruit, still some fine tannins, really good.

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): Very nice nose - Roasted meat and smoke. Plenty of sweet fruit, balanced with good acidity.

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): From a magnum. The nose really delivers - lovely, savoury and herbal. Sweet rich fruit, with tremendous depth. Probably my WOTN.

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): Initially seemed very youthful; rather light weight with a sherryish hint. Of the four whites this was my least favourite.

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): Darkest colour of the four whites. Nose showed caramel and lychee. Slightly sweet, earthy, lime peel, apple juice. Pleasant acidity.

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): Nose showed Paraffin and nuts. Tart crab apple, hint of sherry, sort of a dry Sauternes. I'd have guessed Semillon rather than Chardonnay

5/28/2010 - davetong wrote:

Crappy Old Wines (Nazca Peruvian Restaurant, San Jose): Vibrant and youthful. Light nose. No sign of oxidation. Sultana & mineral flavours, shows its maturity on the finish.

5/14/2010 - davetong wrote:

(Opened after a 2001 Clos Apalta. Not decanted.)
This was exactly what I was looking for in a wine, with everything nicely balanced. The right amount of fruit, acid, tannin, all integrated and harmonious.
Hard to see this getting any better than it is now, though I don't think there's any rush to finish my last bottle off.

5/17/2010 - davetong wrote:

Took to a restaurant where it was not decanted. It started off well, then shut down a little, showing too much oak, before finally opening up after about an hour when there was only one glass left. With hindsight I wish I'd pre-decanted it before taking it.

5/8/2010 - davetong wrote:

It's certainly turned rather dark for its age. I have two remaining bottles, all showing the same colour. It's developed some interesting nutty madeira notes; not nutty to the extent that the 1991 went if you're familiar with that wine (I was hoping this would evolve the same way) but still hazelnut and caramel. it went remarkably well with a chocolate dessert, which I wouldn't have expected from a Semillon. I don't agree with the other taster's comment on the acidity; I found it to be a little lacking there, but I certainly think this has plenty of life left in it.

5/4/2010 - davetong wrote:

I bought this around 10 years ago after sampling a 1990 Generations in the Raymond tasting room, and hoped it would go the same way. The fact that it's currently available at auction for half what i paid for it speaks volumes. There's nothing wrong with it; it's still got good acidity, a little tannin and some sour berry fruit. I suspect that like many 1997 Napa cabs it's in decline and peaked at least 5 years ago.

2/18/2010 - davetong wrote:

Opened and decanted. Dark purple in colour. The nose has earth, mint and blackberry. On the palate it's initially very tight, dry and tannic, but over the next hour or two it opened up to reveal lots of savoury blackberry and blackcurrant. I'd give it at least 3-5 years in the cellar, if not more. Fans of Mount Eden, or Kathryn Kennedy's "Small Lot" Cabernet should love this.

4/4/2010 - davetong wrote:

Decent value at $12. Expected much more intensity considering the age of the vines.

3/29/2009 - davetong wrote:

Nose of coffee, with hints of sage and mint. Good blackcurrant fruit and a nice, balanced finish. But it's by far the most expensive Santa Clara Valley wine I've ever tasted, and I'm not convinced that the market will bear it.

3/29/2009 - davetong wrote:

Castillo's house style of low tannins works well with this tricky grape. It's a big, bold wine with good dark fruit and spicy pepper notes. There's chocolate on the finish from the 14 months in oak. My favourite of the range.

3/29/2009 - davetong wrote:

100% Malbec, though not labeled as such. There's an offputting musty nose like an old wet dishrag, but that doesn't transfer to the palate; the fruit shows well and there's decent acidity.

3/29/2009 - davetong wrote:

Another bright nose, also showing a little smoke. Nice plum fruit, with more acidity and tannin than the two previous wines.

3/29/2009 - davetong wrote:

A light nose of blackberries is followed by bright raspberry/blackberry fruit and a smooth finish. It's low in tannins and acidity, and was proving popular among other vistors.

3/29/2009 - davetong wrote:

The colour is a hazy purple; the wines are unfined and unfiltered. It reminds me of a home-made Loganberry wine I tried recently, with light tannins and a sweet and sour "Starburst" character.

3/15/2010 - davetong wrote:

Bearwallow is the first estate vineyard outside the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is in the process of being replanted, but already had some established vines in place Pommard, 777 and 115 clones. Those will be replaced in due course.
Cherry, strawberry nose. Lots of dry, astringent tannin; there's good fruit but it's rather in the background at this stage. Somewhat different to the other Rhys wines, but still good.

2/20/2010 - davetong wrote:

Hope is a blend of 37% Petite Sirah, 36% Syrah, 17% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre

1/22/2010 - davetong wrote:

Slightly lighter colour than the 2004 with an amber tinge to the meniscus. The nose is very funky with leaf mulch and earth; I expected earthy flavours too but was surprised by bright redcurrant, blackcurrant and black cherry fruit. Good depth of flavours, nice acidity, probably at its peak right now.

1/22/2010 - davetong wrote:

A 50/50 blend from two small vineyards; Cabernet Sauvignon from Saratoga and Merlot from Los Gatos. The nose is smoky with brambly notes. There's nice blackcurrant fruit and light oak. Reminds me of Mount Eden's Saratoga Cuvee.

1/22/2010 - davetong wrote:

Lovely citrus, grassy nose. Lots of acidity; flavours of lemon, pear and green apple. Crisp finish

1/22/2010 - davetong wrote:

The name means "Song of the Sea". It's a blend of Viognier and Torrontés from Lodi with some Pinot Gris from the Dettamanti vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Sauvignon Blanc from Monterey. A lovely floral nose. Light, crisp and floral with lots of white stone fruit.