November 9, 2023 - Beautiful nose of violets and fresh garrigue. Round and full on the palate and showing an elevated level of alcohol. It has a fine, silky texture but the finish is a bit short and hot. Mmmm. This wine has an excellent track record for aging even in warm vintages so we'll see where it goes but right now it's a bit closed and off-kilter. 88?
October 20, 2023 - Cracking the whip; 10/16/2023-10/23/2023 (Eagan, MN): N: Some sort of artificial red berries, almost like a Grenache from the Central Coast.
P: Candied red fruit, drying oak on the finish with dried earth and minerals.
Usually I would say I can stand this type of fruit but it is lacking something that keeps it lively and exciting. Seems so artificially made and/or heavily manipulated.
October 20, 2023 - Wine-a-palooza (Jason's house): This is a continuation of my belief that you should RUN away from any 100 point CDP. On release when the critics are reviewing them I suspect they show well because of all the fruit they possess. But with some age, there's nothing to back up all that fruit and you are left with a goopy mess.
October 20, 2023 - Wine Palooza (Eagan, MN): Well low 90s for sure. This is a reviewer that overrated this wine and others buying into it. Hot wine with spice, dark berries, earth and floral notes. Too modern for my tastes. Another joke of 100 point wine. Really Jeb?
February 19, 2023 - Ripe dark fruit, rich but refined, with a bit of earth and spice and a silky feel. Approachable now, but there is plenty of underlying structure. Excellent for the price.
October 28, 2022 - This has a beautiful lacy texture and is very refined for a CDP. Full-bodied but lithe with red fruits and a nice hint of the garrigue spices that should develop further with more bottle age. 93+
October 5, 2022 - Just a super wine, texturally, the wine is lush, opulent, and silky, as well as vibrant, long, and rich. There is a gorgeous sense of purity to the peppery kirsch and black raspberries that stands out. Drink from 2022-2033.
May 8, 2022 - Quite a different wine at opening than with extended air - and it needed every bit of hours of air (decanting & in partial bottle & glass. At first masculine, brooding, very structured, ripe fruit, quiet nose. I double-decanted 5 times plus 45 minutes in decanted and then in glasses and 1/2 bottle full - and the wine was transformed into luscious black fruit with a red tone vibrancy, kirsch, balanced, aromatic, still with structure, rocks and a mineral tension. Either plan on 3 hours decant or wait 5 years - and it is a very good drink.
December 26, 2021 - 3 hour decant just to be sure. Roast beef with gravy for dinner. Full bodied, very fruity with a long finish and a nice mineral twang. Highly recommended. Will be hard to keep my hands off this.
June 5, 2021 - Medium red; rich fruity nose, perhaps som eucalyptus; smooth and rich attack, some licorice, nice rich fruity aftertaste; a bit one-dimensional with no extra features, but a well made well “functioning” and well tasting wine