Gave this a 96 three years ago when doing a virtual tasting with Mark and it's ticked up a notch here. Feels like this is close to peak. Still has years to go but may lose some of the fruit characteristics. Gave this a two hour full decant. Smooth as silk, dark fruit notes. Didn't get the over-oakiness AJREZ got so might have just been their bottle. Close to classic here.
Drinking so so well. Ripe and luscious dark fruit. Toasted oak, spices, black pepper, tobacco, licorice, dried herbs and dark chocolate. Awesome structure, acid and tannins. Amazing from start to finish. Great for my palate.
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90 minute decant, then back into bottle for a wine tasting with the fellas this evening. Too much oak for me... needs a few more years. vanilla is dominant at the moment for my palate. could be pleasing to others but needs more age for me.
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Opened at The Inn at Little Washington (3 Star Michelin) dinner with wife and great friends.
Decanted about 2 hours by the Somm prior to dinner reservation. Incredible structure, profound layers of toasted dark fruits, cedarwood, leather, cinnamon and host of barrel spices, dark chocolate, muscular and super long finish. Enjoyed with a delicious multi-course meal at The Inn!
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Gorgeous wine that’s at the start of its long drinking window. Needs quite a bit of air at this point (double decanted for 4 hours). I suspect will continue to improve for years to come.
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Great wine, has the polish of a top Cali cab, pure blackcurrant and cassis but with an atractive earthiness and oak char on the finish. Reminds of the Rubicon. Robust structure with fine ripe tannins. Delicious. Great extraction without being at all overdone, this is fruit forward and generous but maintains a lifted poise and elegance. Good freshness. Long and straightforward at this juncture. Young but drinking, has at least 20 years in front of it.
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Needed a long decant to show its stuff. Not as flavor packed or dynamic as past bottles but still amazing with good density, wonderful mouthfeel and long smooth finish. Seems more refined than past bottles with more subtle flavors and more balance. Time is taming the beast. Did not disappoint!
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Deep dark purple and dense color. Violet, blackberry on the nose. Palate correlates well, with pencil lead, cedar, blackberry, and aged elegance with some features surprisingly similar to a 2006 Araujo Eisele I tasted last year. Despite being only 2015 it tasted well-aged (in a good way with controlled tannins) and improved throughout the night. Double decanted about 3-4 hrs prior to serving, and I'm sure could have used more but it was still quite nice.
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Blind bottles pulled by my gf for Thanksgiving Eve. Both were given a few hours air before trying. It just happened she picked two Sam Kaplan wines, which was a fun experiment.
2018 MM VHR - nose smelled familiar, felt like a Kaplan wine if there ever was one. Turns out I had tasted this back in May during my trip to Napa. Was a beautiful wine.. More red fruited than Vangone, with more swirling flavors and dusty tannins. Well done!
2015 Vangone - still a bit tannic, which was surprising since the MM VHR was showing so well. More dark purple fruit, blackberry, blueberry. I will hold my remaining bottle for 5 years to see how it all comes together.
Overall, two great bottles. My girlfriend preferred the Vangone, while I preferred the MM VHR. But in the end we both won since they were both great!
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Four hour decant. Very very deep dark murky magenta color. Violet, blackberry, blueberry, dark chocolate malt, and cardamom on the elegant nose. Smooth, dry palate, with soft, silty acidity. Firm tannins on the long finish.
This is a beautiful wine, but more demure than I like. I like my Cab more expressive and aggressive. I’d be interested to try this with shorter and longer decant. Not sure about optimal air for this guy.
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Over two and a half years since my last sample, the 2015 Vangone is now in quite the agreeable state at this stage in the game. A downshift from its original roaring intensity has made way for a more rolling wave of ripe and rounded plum and berry notes. Finishes lush and dark, with earthy plum and spice flavors reverberating on the back end.
This bottle was a bit more advanced and ripe than I would have expected given my recollection of this wine back in 2019. It’s a gob of juicy goodness without question, so don’t feel too sorry for this purring puma. It’s just rolling over and showing more belly now than fangs. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss some of the wild intensity here, but most fans of this wine won’t be disappointed when they take a load off on the ol’ grandpa chair, fire up a stogie, and glug down a healthy pour of trusty Vangone.
Best shared with your golf friends who wear funny hats and use phrases like “Cherrio!” and “My liege.”
Vangone is now gone from our decanter! We pretty much popped and poured this wine and it was delicious. This wine is balanced with scents of dark cherry, tobacco and vanilla. Highly recommend!
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Four hour decant. Deep dark magenta color. Chocolate covered black cherry, pencil lead, wild strawberry Jolly Rancher, cinnamon walnut, and juniper on the complex, elegant nose. Smooth, dry palate, with good acidity. Firm tannins on the long finish.
Very good, but expected more at this price point. Enjoyed with my lady friend to celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary.
Virtual Tasting Vangone 2014-2016 vertical: The 15' on the nose has a bit of spicy, earthy, dark fruit going on. Good to very good on the palate and showing the same notes that was on the nose. The chocolate I got in the 14' vintage was nowhere to be seen in this vintage. This was much more masculine than the 14' and for me, will need a couple more years to open another one again or to pair it with a ribeye. This is drinking well now for a young Napa wine.
I rated this #3 of the three, but was essentially equal to the 14' for the vertical tasting for me.
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A virtual tasting with Mark who is engaging and very generous with his time. Well worth your time and money to take advantage of this Vangone virtual experience. Gave all three vintages one hour air with a slight chill down. There are some subtle differences between the three, but all are super smooth and elegant with terrific depth of flavor and a deep purple color in the glass. Classy Cabernet. The consensus was the wines should be drunk in this order: 14-15-16. 2014 - ready now, mouth-coating, dark chocolate 2015 - intense, could use some time, nice spice 2016 - dryest of the three, tannins still challenging, needs time Thanks to CT folks for the Vangone tout. A really intriguing discovery.
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This wine scared me to death as it stared me down for over 6 hours before opening up and blossoming into the extraordinary sensual creature I had experienced 3+ months ago. It was an amazing WOW wine only edged out by a 2016 Maxem Pinot (just an incredible experience for a pinot). Similar notes to my last bottle with all the flavor layers, complexity, stuffing and long finish I was craving. What a way to wipe 2020 off my mind and launch into 2021 with a smile on my face!
Tasted double blind. This is my third time trying this wine with consistent notes although this bottle is certainly the best yet which confirms my recent impression that many of these 2015s which were born quite bold, ripe, with often too much of everything for my taste, are starting to calm down and flesh out. Of course it will take more time to really get to the sweet spot but the process has started. This showed more nuanced and with a better balanced fruit than the first bottles. As said previously, the wine has a lot of stuffing and the structural frame is very good. Points deducted for the still a bit too bold and fruity profile and just a tad heat on the nose. 95+ points with more potential in the future.
TN: Very expressive, intense and bold nose with lots of dark cherries, dark chocolate, minerality, buttery notes and with some detectable heat. Good precision. More inviting on the palate with lots of dark fruit, some baking spices, dark chocolate, minerality and as the fruit is fleshing out more and more tobacco, forest floor notes appear which make the wine more balanced and harmonious than on the nose and compared to previous bottles. The structure is very good with a wall of ultra-fine tannins, a good freshness and creamy texture. Not as perfectly weightless as the Grange we had next to it (and it probably will never be) but great fun to drink with a long, fruit driven finish,
Decanting: Decanted for 3-4 hours but it improved markedly in the glass becoming more harmonious and aristocratic. I would hence suggest rather a 6+ hours decant.
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Well once again, CSIMM1161 & CRISTAL2000 have led me to the promise land in discovering a phenomenal wine that I’ve never heard a word about. Have a virtual tasting with Mark in a few days and since I’ve yet to taste his wine (have bought the ‘15 & ‘16) swore to myself I wasn’t going to crack one. Well..... after reading yet again all the tremendous reviews popped one, yes gave in to the CellerTracker pressure. Simply WOW and yes this will only get better. Huge fan of Sam’s other reason I jumped in and what a wine, not a big Napa bomb, just simply a very pleasant velvety subtle beautiful glass of wine. Cant wait to try the other 2 vintages in a few days. I’m hooked bring on my allocation.
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Tasted blind. About a 3-4h decant. Sweet notes of vanilla and milk chocolate, sweet fruit both red and blue. Adding baking spices, some mint and bits of leather and tobacco. On the palate fruit-forward, powerful. An exceptionally nice Napa Cab, especially for the 2015 vintage which so easily turned into back-breaking jam bombs in many cases. In fact, the Vangonoe 2015 is so harmonious and softly textured that in the blind tasting we guessed 2002 or 2006. First time tasting the Vangone but for me right up there with the very best Napa has to offer.
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Great outdoor drinking night with 2016 plump jack, 2015 Vangone, 2017 La Pelle Reserve, 2014 Martha Vineyard followed by Macallen 25.
Zero notes only impressions.
2014 Martha’s Vineyard most unique of the group. Very enjoyable but did not blow me away. Did have the sweet forest floor I enjoy very much. 92.5
2015 Vangone - excellent wine 94.5 if there was such a rating option.
2016 Plumpjack - eh same old. Rather not drink but great crowd pleaser. Why not pop Austin Hope for $45 since I won’t drink any? A bit harsh but the price of entry doesn’t have a good QPR. 90
2017 La Pelle Reserve. Might be tied WOTN even for 2017. This thing needed a full 2 hours to unfurl it’s locked up goodness. 94.really well made and big and bold but not fruity or sweet.
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This is my third bottle and each one gets better than the next. My first taste was right before COVID and was hooked. No notes as usual these days. Wonderful blue black fruit, hints of spice with the balancing of mineral driven frame packed with an incredible mouthfeel that doesn’t quit. Opens the 2016 alongside and it is an amazing comparison of vintage variation. This one can drink earlier with less time while the ‘16 sleeps for a bit under the mattress. Excellent well done wines.
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--H-E-'-S---G-O-N-E-- VANGONE Lyrics By: --R-o-b-e-r-t---H-u-n-t-e-r-- me (apologies)
Van in a vineyard, caught on a rim You know Vangone was named by him
Like I told you, like I said It'll steal your face right off your head
And now Vangone Now Vangone, Lord Vangone Vangone Like a steam locomotive rolling down the track Vangone, it's gone, and nothing's gonna bring it back Vangone
Nine mile pour on a ten mile ride Hot as a pistol but cool inside
Wine is decanting, dogs in a pile Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile
Drank one round but the price wasn't anything A case in the back with more of the same
Original song (followed by great '72 versions of The Other One and Wharf Rat, Boulder, Colorado, 9/3/72): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50YIko97OFs
Thirteen hour decant. Very deep dark magenta color. Mulberry, blueberry, strawberry pie, frankincense, and cream soda on the elegant, fruit forward, warm-spiced nose. Super smooth, tongue drying palate. Very full tannins on the long finish.
Beautiful wine that is still drinking a touch young. Should continue improving over the next few years. Very impressive.
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This is a wow wine! It has great dark fruit, tons of complexity (layers of coffee, dark chocolate, flint...), plus body, very fine tannins and a long lively finish. Nicely balanced and light on its feet for as big as it is. Nose was reticent. My only complaint was that it kept cycling repeatedly through stages where it was voluptuous and then slightly closed down with structure dominating - puzzling. Initially decanted for 2 hours and drank over 3 more. Fabulous and probably 98 points at times and 94 at others. Much better than the 2014 I had a few weeks ago. Really gets me excited for the 2016!
Informal dinner, no detailed notes. Fruity as all 2015s but not overripe or jammy, good balance lots of spices, good length and very fine structure. This has the stuffing for greatness but like most 2015s it is just a bit too sweet and too bold at this stage. Would definitely go well with a flame-grilled steak which would balance the sweetness out. I will not touch my remaining bottles for 10 years.
Decanting: Decanted for roughly 2 hours, which seems right
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Dark, deeply concentrated wine, reminding me of the early 2000 Merus wines that I love. Early nose was faint perfume and vanilla. 2.5 hr decant, and the vanilla blew off, nose was charred embers, some currant. On the palate, Dark black raspberry and red and black cherry, but seemingly unmatched with the acid, hint of mint, some purple fruit, cedar, spice box, nice velvety - inky texture, good tannin management here. Medium to long finish. Eastern Oakville profile—-well made. Definitely drinkable now with a nice decant. I really like it, I want to really really love it, but simply can’t make myself $235+ all in love it. Secondary market and a better deal—then, I’ll back the truck up. YMMV. 94 for now, potential for 97-99 in 5-7 years.
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Once again it was an outstanding combination of pure dark fruit, spice, and structure, and again it needed about an hour in the glass to really hit a smooth glide path.
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A day late reviewing this, but opened on the Saturday of MDW after having a sublime DiCostanzo Farella the night before. One of my first Kaplan experiences, although I have a few ones in the cellar that I'm saving.
I decanted this for approximately 4 hours, the same as the Farella. It's nice when you have a long weekend and don't need to stress about the wine selection and can prepare adequately!
Nose was phenomenal, I wanted to just sit with the wine and smell it all night. I can't pretend to the write the best tasting notes like those more experienced, but for me, it was a tick below the Farella, on par with the 2015 Anomaly from 2 nights ago, and slightly ahead of a 2016 Outpost from a few nights ago. Dark red fruit, I got blueberry, blackberry, and a bit of chocolate (more dark than milk), cassis, and a bit of vanilla cream, but not an overpowering vanilla. Very silky, and in a nice place right now.
That being said, it's definitely a wine worth following - low buzz, good fruit, easy mailing list access (for now), and the winemaker pedigree is there. I think this only has room to improve over the next 3-5, with the stuffing to last longer if you are patient person. You'd do yourself a disservice by not opening up one of these to check out for yourself.
I'm wondering if it's worth picking up 3 more of the 2015, or if the 2014 would be a good investment. I'm happily taking recommendations!
When you read so many so amazing reviews of an unknown new winery you just have to try it, right? Being based in Switzerland that is a bit complicated but I managed to get on the mailing list, ship a case to my friends place in LA and fly it back to Switzerland (just to learn that now that one merchant will bring a few cases to Switzerland this summer). We opened a bottle, had roughly two thirds of it and finished the bottle 6 days later (bottle kept in the fridge, with its cork). I can confirm that the wine is indeed very good wine with intense aromatics in a fresh and round frame. Not as weightless and perfect as the Realm Beckstoffer Dr Crane 2014 or Maybach Materium 2014 (both rated 98) I tasted in the past months (but then again this is comparing a 2015 vs two 2014s). Overall, I wouldn’t score it as high as others here did but then again, the setting I had it in was not ideal (not followed the wine over some hours to capture all the potential, not the perfect glassware).
TN: Pitch black forest fruit, cassis, some blue fruit, even some red cherries, fresh herbs, mint, with more time (and on day 6) more pronounced cocoa component, dark chocolate. It’s a dark and intense wine with a high level of precision. This highly concentrated wine is not at all cloying or heavy. The perfectly measured acidity keeps it fresh and light. Smooth tannins, good balance and very good length.
Decanting: Good from the start but it improved with air. Give it at least one or two hours in the decanter.
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I bought this a few months ago based on the recommendations of my fellow CT'ers and I'm not disappointed. In fact, I've ordered more. This is truly outstanding -- the nose, density, complexity, the finish, it's all exceptional. Not surprised that it reminds me of the elegance of Memento Mori with a bit more intensity. Give it about an hour in the glass.
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This is modern Napa Cabernet at its best: ripe, dense, balanced, and complex, with an insane intensity and complete deliciousness that California can deliver like few others. I had high hopes upon opening this - thank you csimm and Cristal2000 for the recommendation! - but this wine exceeded them. There are only a handful of wineries that have impressed me this much from the first bottle (e.g., Carter LPV, Realm’s Bard 2013, Bond Pluribus 2012, Memento Mori 2012). This is such a memorable - and exceptional - wine.
Dark red in color and full in body, the wine offers enticing aromas of blackberry, cocoa powder, new asphalt, baking spices, and fresh cedar, along with a hint of eucalyptus. The tastes are concentrated but nuanced: blueberry, sweet cherry, milk chocolate, warm gravel, and bay leaf, with a finish that goes on and on. 14.7% alcohol. Decant at least an hour or two, though more air wouldn’t hurt.
In terms of other wines, two comparisons come to mind. The first is the Revana Block 6, a similarly dense, almost saturated wine made by TRB. The Vangone is more enjoyable right now, but it has a similarly mind-blowing concentration: it's almost like listening to Springsteen’s Rosalita or Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (or insert your favorite piece of noisy and complex music) at full blast on fantastic speakers - so loud, so precise, so immersive, so stunning. The second comparator would be Kaplan’s Memento Mori, a wine that seems restrained compared to the Vangone. This wine has more fullness, ripeness, roundness, chocolate, depth - in a word, Oakville - and that, done right, can be a glorious thing. The Vangone may be the more obvious wine - but in the very best way.
So chalk a win up for CellarTracker (and, again, csimm and Cristal2000!); this is, to me, a genuine discovery. I need another way to spend money on wine like I need a hole in the head, but it’s kind of like an unexpected gift that you secretly really wanted: you might not have asked for it, but now you can't imagine the world without it. Bottom line, this wine is the real deal (and I just ordered more). Drink now, drink in another few years, but drink it. If you love modern Napa Cabernet, you'll love this wine - it’s just incredible. 98+.
Like my friend CSIMM, I could not wait on this wine. My expectations were super high and this wine exceeded them in every way. Showing a really complex, mineral driven nose that needed to be swirled and coaxed to bring out the blackberry, dark cherry, dark chocolate, spice box and floral notes. On the pallet this is just something else - really amazing. Absolutely perfect texture, super creamy with unreal depth. Tons of super dark black and blue fruit with plenty of earthy and mineral driven flavors to round it out. This is the iron fist in a velvet glove, showing tremendous power without as single hard edge. The tannins are prominent but amazingly fine grained and integrated. It builds like a locomotive on the mid pallet into a huge over 1min finish. The layers and sophistication of this wine are special. Could be perfection.
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Well, it’s official... I’m digging on this label pretty hard at the moment. After some epic barrel samples of the 2016 and 2018, this 2015 is already showing amazingly well considering I just received it from GSO today. I know you’re supposed to wait a few months after shipping until you crack into a wine, but hey, I figure the only reason I get more than one bottle of anything these days is so I can kill the firstborn the first chance I get. Enter the 2015 Vangone...
Wild black cherry, red and black raspberry, bitter Baker’s chocolate, instant Swiss Miss cocoa powder, dusty earth, and some blackberry seed. The density on the mid-palate drop is where it impresses the most, with a bit of an “unfined and unfiltered” opaqueness to its core that offers a textural chewiness that adds body and concentration without ever coming off heavy. Finishes pleasantly dry and focused, with a cut that still maintains perfect weight and a generous mouthfeel (a neat trick to pull off).
A bit less bombastic and flavor-hound unctuous than the 2016 (barrel sample) in its current state, this 2015 is a more honed expression of its younger brother. Probably a wine I should leave alone for another year+ just to see where it’s headed. Ultimately, chalk up another win for Vangone. 3-and-0 with wins across the board on the 2015, 2016, and 2018 Vangone.
...My wallet HATES me right now...... friggin Sam Kaplan and his whole “I make great wine” talents. Guess I’m going to be singlehandedly putting his kids through college. ...Aaaaaaaand you’re welcome sir...! :)
98+ points at the moment, with a possible three-digit score in a year or two.
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3/2/2024 - ozziewine Likes this wine: 97 Points
Gave this a 96 three years ago when doing a virtual tasting with Mark and it's ticked up a notch here. Feels like this is close to peak. Still has years to go but may lose some of the fruit characteristics.
Gave this a two hour full decant. Smooth as silk, dark fruit notes. Didn't get the over-oakiness AJREZ got so might have just been their bottle.
Close to classic here.
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3/2/2024 - Cablover1982 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drinking so so well. Ripe and luscious dark fruit. Toasted oak, spices, black pepper, tobacco, licorice, dried herbs and dark chocolate. Awesome structure, acid and tannins. Amazing from start to finish. Great for my palate.
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2/15/2024 - ajrez Does not like this wine: 91 Points
90 minute decant, then back into bottle for a wine tasting with the fellas this evening. Too much oak for me... needs a few more years. vanilla is dominant at the moment for my palate. could be pleasing to others but needs more age for me.
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2/2/2024 - Cablover1982 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Opened at The Inn at Little Washington (3 Star Michelin) dinner with wife and great friends.
Decanted about 2 hours by the Somm prior to dinner reservation.
Incredible structure, profound layers of toasted dark fruits, cedarwood, leather, cinnamon and host of barrel spices, dark chocolate, muscular and super long finish.
Enjoyed with a delicious multi-course meal at The Inn!
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11/17/2023 - EM_MB Likes this wine: 95 Points
Gorgeous wine that’s at the start of its long drinking window. Needs quite a bit of air at this point (double decanted for 4 hours). I suspect will continue to improve for years to come.
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8/17/2023 - Philip67 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great wine, has the polish of a top Cali cab, pure blackcurrant and cassis but with an atractive earthiness and oak char on the finish. Reminds of the Rubicon. Robust structure with fine ripe tannins. Delicious. Great extraction without being at all overdone, this is fruit forward and generous but maintains a lifted poise and elegance. Good freshness. Long and straightforward at this juncture. Young but drinking, has at least 20 years in front of it.
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12/25/2022 - iamandyc Likes this wine: 96 Points
Needed a long decant to show its stuff. Not as flavor packed or dynamic as past bottles but still amazing with good density, wonderful mouthfeel and long smooth finish. Seems more refined than past bottles with more subtle flavors and more balance. Time is taming the beast. Did not disappoint!
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3/23/2022 - Asull2k Likes this wine: 96 Points
Deep dark purple and dense color. Violet, blackberry on the nose. Palate correlates well, with pencil lead, cedar, blackberry, and aged elegance with some features surprisingly similar to a 2006 Araujo Eisele I tasted last year. Despite being only 2015 it tasted well-aged (in a good way with controlled tannins) and improved throughout the night. Double decanted about 3-4 hrs prior to serving, and I'm sure could have used more but it was still quite nice.
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11/24/2021 - sean7711 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Blind bottles pulled by my gf for Thanksgiving Eve. Both were given a few hours air before trying. It just happened she picked two Sam Kaplan wines, which was a fun experiment.
2018 MM VHR - nose smelled familiar, felt like a Kaplan wine if there ever was one. Turns out I had tasted this back in May during my trip to Napa. Was a beautiful wine.. More red fruited than Vangone, with more swirling flavors and dusty tannins. Well done!
2015 Vangone - still a bit tannic, which was surprising since the MM VHR was showing so well. More dark purple fruit, blackberry, blueberry. I will hold my remaining bottle for 5 years to see how it all comes together.
Overall, two great bottles. My girlfriend preferred the Vangone, while I preferred the MM VHR. But in the end we both won since they were both great!
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9/27/2021 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 95 Points
Four hour decant. Very very deep dark murky magenta color. Violet, blackberry, blueberry, dark chocolate malt, and cardamom on the elegant nose. Smooth, dry palate, with soft, silty acidity. Firm tannins on the long finish.
This is a beautiful wine, but more demure than I like. I like my Cab more expressive and aggressive. I’d be interested to try this with shorter and longer decant. Not sure about optimal air for this guy.
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9/19/2021 - csimm wrote: 95 Points
Over two and a half years since my last sample, the 2015 Vangone is now in quite the agreeable state at this stage in the game. A downshift from its original roaring intensity has made way for a more rolling wave of ripe and rounded plum and berry notes. Finishes lush and dark, with earthy plum and spice flavors reverberating on the back end.
This bottle was a bit more advanced and ripe than I would have expected given my recollection of this wine back in 2019. It’s a gob of juicy goodness without question, so don’t feel too sorry for this purring puma. It’s just rolling over and showing more belly now than fangs. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss some of the wild intensity here, but most fans of this wine won’t be disappointed when they take a load off on the ol’ grandpa chair, fire up a stogie, and glug down a healthy pour of trusty Vangone.
Best shared with your golf friends who wear funny hats and use phrases like “Cherrio!” and “My liege.”
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5/14/2021 - Shellswinescript Likes this wine: 97 Points
Vangone is now gone from our decanter! We pretty much popped and poured this wine and it was delicious. This wine is balanced with scents of dark cherry, tobacco and vanilla. Highly recommend!
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5/7/2021 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 94 Points
Four hour decant. Deep dark magenta color. Chocolate covered black cherry, pencil lead, wild strawberry Jolly Rancher, cinnamon walnut, and juniper on the complex, elegant nose. Smooth, dry palate, with good acidity. Firm tannins on the long finish.
Very good, but expected more at this price point. Enjoyed with my lady friend to celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary.
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4/28/2021 - bsumoba Likes this wine: 94 Points
Virtual Tasting Vangone 2014-2016 vertical: The 15' on the nose has a bit of spicy, earthy, dark fruit going on. Good to very good on the palate and showing the same notes that was on the nose. The chocolate I got in the 14' vintage was nowhere to be seen in this vintage. This was much more masculine than the 14' and for me, will need a couple more years to open another one again or to pair it with a ribeye. This is drinking well now for a young Napa wine.
I rated this #3 of the three, but was essentially equal to the 14' for the vertical tasting for me.
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3/27/2021 - ozziewine Likes this wine: 96 Points
A virtual tasting with Mark who is engaging and very generous with his time. Well worth your time and money to take advantage of this Vangone virtual experience.
Gave all three vintages one hour air with a slight chill down.
There are some subtle differences between the three, but all are super smooth and elegant with terrific depth of flavor and a deep purple color in the glass. Classy Cabernet.
The consensus was the wines should be drunk in this order: 14-15-16.
2014 - ready now, mouth-coating, dark chocolate
2015 - intense, could use some time, nice spice
2016 - dryest of the three, tannins still challenging, needs time
Thanks to CT folks for the Vangone tout. A really intriguing discovery.
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1/2/2021 - jeffmudd wrote: 96 Points
See ‘14 note, will only improve with time.
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12/31/2020 - iamandyc Likes this wine: 97 Points
This wine scared me to death as it stared me down for over 6 hours before opening up and blossoming into the extraordinary sensual creature I had experienced 3+ months ago. It was an amazing WOW wine only edged out by a 2016 Maxem Pinot (just an incredible experience for a pinot). Similar notes to my last bottle with all the flavor layers, complexity, stuffing and long finish I was craving. What a way to wipe 2020 off my mind and launch into 2021 with a smile on my face!
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12/30/2020 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
Tasted double blind. This is my third time trying this wine with consistent notes although this bottle is certainly the best yet which confirms my recent impression that many of these 2015s which were born quite bold, ripe, with often too much of everything for my taste, are starting to calm down and flesh out. Of course it will take more time to really get to the sweet spot but the process has started. This showed more nuanced and with a better balanced fruit than the first bottles. As said previously, the wine has a lot of stuffing and the structural frame is very good. Points deducted for the still a bit too bold and fruity profile and just a tad heat on the nose. 95+ points with more potential in the future.
TN: Very expressive, intense and bold nose with lots of dark cherries, dark chocolate, minerality, buttery notes and with some detectable heat. Good precision. More inviting on the palate with lots of dark fruit, some baking spices, dark chocolate, minerality and as the fruit is fleshing out more and more tobacco, forest floor notes appear which make the wine more balanced and harmonious than on the nose and compared to previous bottles. The structure is very good with a wall of ultra-fine tannins, a good freshness and creamy texture. Not as perfectly weightless as the Grange we had next to it (and it probably will never be) but great fun to drink with a long, fruit driven finish,
Decanting: Decanted for 3-4 hours but it improved markedly in the glass becoming more harmonious and aristocratic. I would hence suggest rather a 6+ hours decant.
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12/26/2020 - jeffmudd Likes this wine: 96 Points
Well once again, CSIMM1161 & CRISTAL2000 have led me to the promise land in discovering a phenomenal wine that I’ve never heard a word about.
Have a virtual tasting with Mark in a few days and since I’ve yet to taste his wine (have bought the ‘15 & ‘16) swore to myself I wasn’t going to crack one. Well..... after reading yet again all the tremendous reviews popped one, yes gave in to the CellerTracker pressure.
Simply WOW and yes this will only get better. Huge fan of Sam’s other reason I jumped in and what a wine, not a big Napa bomb, just simply a very pleasant velvety subtle beautiful glass of wine. Cant wait to try the other 2 vintages in a few days. I’m hooked bring on my allocation.
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11/28/2020 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Tasted blind. About a 3-4h decant. Sweet notes of vanilla and milk chocolate, sweet fruit both red and blue. Adding baking spices, some mint and bits of leather and tobacco. On the palate fruit-forward, powerful. An exceptionally nice Napa Cab, especially for the 2015 vintage which so easily turned into back-breaking jam bombs in many cases. In fact, the Vangonoe 2015 is so harmonious and softly textured that in the blind tasting we guessed 2002 or 2006. First time tasting the Vangone but for me right up there with the very best Napa has to offer.
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11/21/2020 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great outdoor drinking night with 2016 plump jack, 2015 Vangone, 2017 La Pelle Reserve, 2014 Martha Vineyard followed by Macallen 25.
Zero notes only impressions.
2014 Martha’s Vineyard most unique of the group. Very enjoyable but did not blow me away. Did have the sweet forest floor I enjoy very much. 92.5
2015 Vangone - excellent wine 94.5 if there was such a rating option.
2016 Plumpjack - eh same old. Rather not drink but great crowd pleaser. Why not pop Austin Hope for $45 since I won’t drink any? A bit harsh but the price of entry doesn’t have a good QPR. 90
2017 La Pelle Reserve. Might be tied WOTN even for 2017. This thing needed a full 2 hours to unfurl it’s locked up goodness. 94.really well made and big and bold but not fruity or sweet.
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10/17/2020 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 94 Points
Enjoyed so much so why not have another one. Will drink half tonight and the other half tomorrow to see how it unfolds.
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10/15/2020 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 95 Points
This is my third bottle and each one gets better than the next. My first taste was right before COVID and was hooked. No notes as usual these days. Wonderful blue black fruit, hints of spice with the balancing of mineral driven frame packed with an incredible mouthfeel that doesn’t quit. Opens the 2016 alongside and it is an amazing comparison of vintage variation. This one can drink earlier with less time while the ‘16 sleeps for a bit under the mattress. Excellent well done wines.
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9/26/2020 - GQG Likes this wine: 97 Points
--H-E-'-S---G-O-N-E-- VANGONE
Lyrics By: --R-o-b-e-r-t---H-u-n-t-e-r-- me (apologies)
Van in a vineyard, caught on a rim
You know Vangone was named by him
Like I told you, like I said
It'll steal your face right off your head
And now Vangone
Now Vangone, Lord Vangone
Vangone
Like a steam locomotive rolling down the track
Vangone, it's gone, and nothing's gonna bring it back
Vangone
Nine mile pour on a ten mile ride
Hot as a pistol but cool inside
Wine is decanting, dogs in a pile
Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile
Drank one round but the price wasn't anything
A case in the back with more of the same
Original song (followed by great '72 versions of The Other One and Wharf Rat, Boulder, Colorado, 9/3/72): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50YIko97OFs
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9/26/2020 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 96 Points
Thirteen hour decant. Very deep dark magenta color. Mulberry, blueberry, strawberry pie, frankincense, and cream soda on the elegant, fruit forward, warm-spiced nose. Super smooth, tongue drying palate. Very full tannins on the long finish.
Beautiful wine that is still drinking a touch young. Should continue improving over the next few years. Very impressive.
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8/18/2020 - iamandyc Likes this wine: 96 Points
This is a wow wine! It has great dark fruit, tons of complexity (layers of coffee, dark chocolate, flint...), plus body, very fine tannins and a long lively finish. Nicely balanced and light on its feet for as big as it is. Nose was reticent. My only complaint was that it kept cycling repeatedly through stages where it was voluptuous and then slightly closed down with structure dominating - puzzling. Initially decanted for 2 hours and drank over 3 more. Fabulous and probably 98 points at times and 94 at others. Much better than the 2014 I had a few weeks ago. Really gets me excited for the 2016!
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2/25/2020 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
Informal dinner, no detailed notes. Fruity as all 2015s but not overripe or jammy, good balance lots of spices, good length and very fine structure. This has the stuffing for greatness but like most 2015s it is just a bit too sweet and too bold at this stage. Would definitely go well with a flame-grilled steak which would balance the sweetness out. I will not touch my remaining bottles for 10 years.
Decanting: Decanted for roughly 2 hours, which seems right
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11/24/2019 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark, deeply concentrated wine, reminding me of the early 2000 Merus wines that I love. Early nose was faint perfume and vanilla. 2.5 hr decant, and the vanilla blew off, nose was charred embers, some currant. On the palate, Dark black raspberry and red and black cherry, but seemingly unmatched with the acid, hint of mint, some purple fruit, cedar, spice box, nice velvety - inky texture, good tannin management here. Medium to long finish. Eastern Oakville profile—-well made. Definitely drinkable now with a nice decant. I really like it, I want to really really love it, but simply can’t make myself $235+ all in love it. Secondary market and a better deal—then, I’ll back the truck up. YMMV. 94 for now, potential for 97-99 in 5-7 years.
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11/24/2019 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 95 Points
95+
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7/24/2019 - GQG Likes this wine: 98 Points
Once again it was an outstanding combination of pure dark fruit, spice, and structure, and again it needed about an hour in the glass to really hit a smooth glide path.
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5/25/2019 - sean7711 Likes this wine: 95 Points
A day late reviewing this, but opened on the Saturday of MDW after having a sublime DiCostanzo Farella the night before. One of my first Kaplan experiences, although I have a few ones in the cellar that I'm saving.
I decanted this for approximately 4 hours, the same as the Farella. It's nice when you have a long weekend and don't need to stress about the wine selection and can prepare adequately!
Nose was phenomenal, I wanted to just sit with the wine and smell it all night. I can't pretend to the write the best tasting notes like those more experienced, but for me, it was a tick below the Farella, on par with the 2015 Anomaly from 2 nights ago, and slightly ahead of a 2016 Outpost from a few nights ago. Dark red fruit, I got blueberry, blackberry, and a bit of chocolate (more dark than milk), cassis, and a bit of vanilla cream, but not an overpowering vanilla. Very silky, and in a nice place right now.
That being said, it's definitely a wine worth following - low buzz, good fruit, easy mailing list access (for now), and the winemaker pedigree is there. I think this only has room to improve over the next 3-5, with the stuffing to last longer if you are patient person. You'd do yourself a disservice by not opening up one of these to check out for yourself.
I'm wondering if it's worth picking up 3 more of the 2015, or if the 2014 would be a good investment. I'm happily taking recommendations!
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5/5/2019 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
When you read so many so amazing reviews of an unknown new winery you just have to try it, right? Being based in Switzerland that is a bit complicated but I managed to get on the mailing list, ship a case to my friends place in LA and fly it back to Switzerland (just to learn that now that one merchant will bring a few cases to Switzerland this summer). We opened a bottle, had roughly two thirds of it and finished the bottle 6 days later (bottle kept in the fridge, with its cork). I can confirm that the wine is indeed very good wine with intense aromatics in a fresh and round frame. Not as weightless and perfect as the Realm Beckstoffer Dr Crane 2014 or Maybach Materium 2014 (both rated 98) I tasted in the past months (but then again this is comparing a 2015 vs two 2014s). Overall, I wouldn’t score it as high as others here did but then again, the setting I had it in was not ideal (not followed the wine over some hours to capture all the potential, not the perfect glassware).
TN: Pitch black forest fruit, cassis, some blue fruit, even some red cherries, fresh herbs, mint, with more time (and on day 6) more pronounced cocoa component, dark chocolate. It’s a dark and intense wine with a high level of precision. This highly concentrated wine is not at all cloying or heavy. The perfectly measured acidity keeps it fresh and light. Smooth tannins, good balance and very good length.
Decanting: Good from the start but it improved with air. Give it at least one or two hours in the decanter.
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4/17/2019 - GQG Likes this wine: 99 Points
I bought this a few months ago based on the recommendations of my fellow CT'ers and I'm not disappointed. In fact, I've ordered more. This is truly outstanding -- the nose, density, complexity, the finish, it's all exceptional. Not surprised that it reminds me of the elegance of Memento Mori with a bit more intensity. Give it about an hour in the glass.
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3/7/2019 - msuwine Likes this wine: 98 Points
This is modern Napa Cabernet at its best: ripe, dense, balanced, and complex, with an insane intensity and complete deliciousness that California can deliver like few others. I had high hopes upon opening this - thank you csimm and Cristal2000 for the recommendation! - but this wine exceeded them. There are only a handful of wineries that have impressed me this much from the first bottle (e.g., Carter LPV, Realm’s Bard 2013, Bond Pluribus 2012, Memento Mori 2012). This is such a memorable - and exceptional - wine.
Dark red in color and full in body, the wine offers enticing aromas of blackberry, cocoa powder, new asphalt, baking spices, and fresh cedar, along with a hint of eucalyptus. The tastes are concentrated but nuanced: blueberry, sweet cherry, milk chocolate, warm gravel, and bay leaf, with a finish that goes on and on. 14.7% alcohol. Decant at least an hour or two, though more air wouldn’t hurt.
In terms of other wines, two comparisons come to mind. The first is the Revana Block 6, a similarly dense, almost saturated wine made by TRB. The Vangone is more enjoyable right now, but it has a similarly mind-blowing concentration: it's almost like listening to Springsteen’s Rosalita or Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (or insert your favorite piece of noisy and complex music) at full blast on fantastic speakers - so loud, so precise, so immersive, so stunning. The second comparator would be Kaplan’s Memento Mori, a wine that seems restrained compared to the Vangone. This wine has more fullness, ripeness, roundness, chocolate, depth - in a word, Oakville - and that, done right, can be a glorious thing. The Vangone may be the more obvious wine - but in the very best way.
So chalk a win up for CellarTracker (and, again, csimm and Cristal2000!); this is, to me, a genuine discovery. I need another way to spend money on wine like I need a hole in the head, but it’s kind of like an unexpected gift that you secretly really wanted: you might not have asked for it, but now you can't imagine the world without it. Bottom line, this wine is the real deal (and I just ordered more). Drink now, drink in another few years, but drink it. If you love modern Napa Cabernet, you'll love this wine - it’s just incredible. 98+.
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3/1/2019 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Like my friend CSIMM, I could not wait on this wine. My expectations were super high and this wine exceeded them in every way. Showing a really complex, mineral driven nose that needed to be swirled and coaxed to bring out the blackberry, dark cherry, dark chocolate, spice box and floral notes. On the pallet this is just something else - really amazing. Absolutely perfect texture, super creamy with unreal depth. Tons of super dark black and blue fruit with plenty of earthy and mineral driven flavors to round it out. This is the iron fist in a velvet glove, showing tremendous power without as single hard edge. The tannins are prominent but amazingly fine grained and integrated. It builds like a locomotive on the mid pallet into a huge over 1min finish. The layers and sophistication of this wine are special. Could be perfection.
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2/28/2019 - csimm wrote: 98 Points
Well, it’s official... I’m digging on this label pretty hard at the moment. After some epic barrel samples of the 2016 and 2018, this 2015 is already showing amazingly well considering I just received it from GSO today. I know you’re supposed to wait a few months after shipping until you crack into a wine, but hey, I figure the only reason I get more than one bottle of anything these days is so I can kill the firstborn the first chance I get. Enter the 2015 Vangone...
Wild black cherry, red and black raspberry, bitter Baker’s chocolate, instant Swiss Miss cocoa powder, dusty earth, and some blackberry seed. The density on the mid-palate drop is where it impresses the most, with a bit of an “unfined and unfiltered” opaqueness to its core that offers a textural chewiness that adds body and concentration without ever coming off heavy. Finishes pleasantly dry and focused, with a cut that still maintains perfect weight and a generous mouthfeel (a neat trick to pull off).
A bit less bombastic and flavor-hound unctuous than the 2016 (barrel sample) in its current state, this 2015 is a more honed expression of its younger brother. Probably a wine I should leave alone for another year+ just to see where it’s headed. Ultimately, chalk up another win for Vangone. 3-and-0 with wins across the board on the 2015, 2016, and 2018 Vangone.
...My wallet HATES me right now...... friggin Sam Kaplan and his whole “I make great wine” talents. Guess I’m going to be singlehandedly putting his kids through college. ...Aaaaaaaand you’re welcome sir...! :)
98+ points at the moment, with a possible three-digit score in a year or two.
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