January 6, 2024 - I don't even know what the right score is for this, but some might argue this is a perfect wine. Clearly marked by terroir (there's this tree bark+tobacco element I love), incredible balance and a finish+intensity that at 45 seconds is 15 too short to just call it a 99-100 pointer, but I'm nitpicking here. The black fruit - cassis, blackberry, but in no way jammy, perfectly balances the savory elements - this is world class wine from a world class site and deserves a spot next to the 1st/2nd growths of Bordeaux all day long.
December 3, 2023 - Beautiful aromatics of cassis and lavender. Tannins are silky smooth. Velvety dark berries and fruits, creamy chocolate.
November 25, 2023 - so good and in an excellent spot
opened up in the glass after 20 minutes
dark fruit velvet and a long finish
went well with a steak on the maple and ash patio
June 18, 2023 - Incredible terroir driven powerhouse of a wine. Layer upon layer on the palate of blackberry, blueberry, graphite, loam and pencil. Cedar bark, cassis and velvety tannin in the mid-palate with a beautiful cocoa and clove note in the finish.
The broad enveloping mouthfeel and vivid aromatics are not to be missed here. Decanted 3-hours and consumed over dinner. Stunner.
March 15, 2023 - Decanted for 2.5 hours before dinner. Still tight when dinner started mellowed over the next 1.5 hours. For my taste this needs at least another 3 to 5 years in bottle. Very well balanced.
December 8, 2022 - VHR Tasting in Phoenix, AZ (Anhelo (Phoenix)): Received a 3 hour decant and then drank about 1 1/2 hours into dinner. Saved some of this for the end of dinner (about another 1/1/2 hours). This wine started out a little tight, but still showed plenty. of dark fruit with hints of red fruit. Wine had firm tannins and good structure (plenty of fruit and acidity to accompany the tannins). The wine also showed signs of earth, tree bark and some chocolate. Oak was present, but fairly well integrated. This wine opened up much more at the end of the night. If drinking now, I would decant 6 hours. This should probably remain cellared for another 5 years....then drank over the following 10-15 years. An excellent wine that should improve. started as a 93 and ended around 95...my score, 94.
Note, my benchmark is 98.
May 28, 2022 - Napa day trip (VHR, Bevan, Lokoya) (Napa): Very perfumed and elegant on the nose. Clean aromas of fresh roses, earthy minerals, elegant red fruits, fine tobacco leaves and nice leather notes. Palate is very similar to the nose of elegant, deep red fruits, fine graphite, clean and dry forest floor. Finely grained tannin. Everything about this wine is so fine. There's a great juxtaposition between the dark fruits and the bright freshness the wine brings.
May 6, 2022 - Fellow CT'er Brian indicated Bruce was presenting 15 along side 19 so I thought it might be time to check in.
My last bottle was Oct 2020 and this wine has come a long way since then. The fruit has plumped up to match the strong tannins. Very dark and broadening bramble fruits. Prickly raspberry and plum. Expressive but still a bit closed. I believe the drinking window is still several years away.
Open on Wednesday with Josh (A&B) and finished on Friday.
96+
March 30, 2022 - Drank alongside the 19' with Bruce. This wine was very good. Based on some of the previous reviews, it looks like the 15' needed some time in bottle and the extra time is doing it some good now as I can attest. There is some tannins there to keep going, but with a 3 hour decant, this wine was amazing. Very much VHR in style with again, a more classical take on this 100% varietal SVD. One of the things I noticed, which the bottle makes it easy to tell, is the lack of Block 1 in this wine versus other vintages starting with 16-19. I have no clue what this means, but I will find out from Bruce what Block 1 is doing in terms of supporting the estate wine as a whole. The 16 and 18 are still tops for me for VHR, with 19' and 15' trailing right behind it.
September 30, 2021 - Hard to describe this great juice AND how much fuller and complex the tasting experience is from a magnum. Wonderful!