March 23, 2024 - Aging nicely, gets better with air
August 13, 2022 - Awesome. Tasting the best the BDN has at any point - has integrated without softening, and retains the acidic energy that to me is a signature of Ultramarine. learning that I like these (BDN as well as BDB) with age.
July 3, 2022 - 1st of 3 mags. Drank over the course of the day and it seemed to get continuously better. Great bottle.
May 20, 2022 - Consistent with our last bottle from 2016, but slightly more golden color, fuller bodied, and just more rounded out from start to finish. It's hard to stay away from Ultramarine when it's young, but I really should keep my hands off of a bottle or two for 15-20 years, just to see how things go.
March 7, 2021 - Has fattened out into a more mature wine than my last note 4 years ago. Still great acidity & balance, probably toward the middle of its aging curve (just a guess, and all relative to my palate/preferences). Will hold my last bottle for science.
December 19, 2020 - Rich and dense, structured and vinous. Excellent.
November 7, 2020 - Amber colored with the slightest hint of copper in the glass, this is tart apple and pear on the front of the palate, with a toasted richness on the finish. Lemon zest on the nose carries through on the palate, as well. This has improved with age (and my own palate, admittedly, has matured, as well). Looking forward to the late-disgorged bottles, which I’ll sit on for a few more years, at least.
#Biden-Harris2020
Woohoo!
September 13, 2020 - There's a very pale salmon color to this and after the first bit hit the glass, I was concerned that I might have grabbed a Rosé by accident. Very vibrant raspberry and cherry notes, with an undercurrent of citrus. This drinks very much like an exceptionally crafted CA sparkling wine, rather than a Champagne. That's not a criticism, but, stylistically, this is very much about lush fruit that's supported by the lees and mineral notes. This makes a very compelling case for unique CA sparklers. It's a very serious wine that drinks with a bit of a guilty pleasure sort of exuberance. Very curious to try both the late disgorged and magnum versions. Who knows what the aging curve on these might be, but this was showing zero signs of slowing down.
August 4, 2019 - Stone fruits and cherries, mineral, powerful and slightly oxidative
July 25, 2019 - Medium golden color. Nose of baked apple, some nutty oxidative notes, a bit of yeast and toast. Similar flavors on the palate with a mix of almonds, apple and citrus. Good acidity, can perhaps use a bit more carbonation for my liking. Certainly complex and well made but not spectacular and QPR is questionable. So far, I have vastly preferred the 2013 vintage to 2012.