Nose: A more fruit forward vegetal vibe, tomato, bell pepper, blackberry, some creamy raspberry. Palate is also vegetal - tomato and creamy raspberry are the most noticeable. Very clean and transparent. Sensation of lightness with being full at the same time. Advertised at 13 1/2%, I would weight closer to 14%. A bit bitter on the back end. My favorite so far in the lineup. This is a nice wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
With its juicy freshness and a touch of sweet, it’s easy to treat this as a nice and easy red. And it’s easy to miss the Sangiovese qualities here — but there is a touch of blood/tomato/leather, as well as a mix of sinus -clearing dried herbs in the bouquet. The wine has a gentle but interesting lift to it as well. Friendly, versatile, but a little more than meets the eye too. Score: 91. Relative to expectations: +
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nosewise: dark cherries at peak ripeness, plus some dried cherry notes. As it opens, there's big spice box like a high end California Pinot, and a bit of liqueur as well. Maybe there's some pink peppercorns in there, too? Underneath it all, a touch of vegetal notes -- dry leaf and some tarragon.
Flavorwise, the palate echoes the cherry, leaf, and liqueur elements of the nose. It's loose but not lacking in concentration; there's a roundness to the it, but there's just enough acid to hold it in shape. Let's call it "New World balance". The mouthfeel has a creaminess that's kind of like licking the rind of a ripe wheel of brie. It retains a fine tannin, but said tannin is only very present at the end of the midpalate.
Temperature is important to this wine. I think it's best between 60 and 65 degrees; normal cellar temp is a bit too cold for it to express its best self. In that range, you get a merlot-soft palate balanced by a bit of sour cherry tartness.
Sangiovese is one of the grapes that I feel exhibits the most extreme differences between wines made in their original terroir vs. their New World analogues. This is a wholly different beast from, say, a Chianti Classico, but it is nonetheless quite delicious and something I'm happy to have several more bottles of in my cellar.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nice, simple but elegant Sangiovese. Blind, I, too, would have guessed (relatively) low alcohol, elegant, Grenache (a-la-Bedrock, for instance). Very quaffable. Don’t see this ageing beyond a couple more yrs or so.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
If tasted blind, I’d have never guessed sangiovese here. I’d have said Grenache, final answer, 100%. That’s not a knock, just don’t go in expecting Chianti here or you’ll be in for a surprise. The wine is ripe, and fitting to a CA warmer climate, but there’s also a delicate hand in the winemaking here. Complexity is absolutely there. Acidity and tannin too. So the wine has structure, medium body, and a healthy dose of complex flavors and notes going on. I paired with pizza not knowing going in. It didn’t work great for that, but on its own, it proved very delicious. Outstanding value too. Excited to try more from this producer.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Fascinating blend of the grape and the place. It has a very ripe fruit expression as I expected from a Paso Robles wine, but it’s also delicate, with more of a strawberry tone rather than some overripe, macerated blackberry heaviness. It’s interesting trying to square the circle of sweet fruit and delicacy, and I don’t think I am there yet. Still it’s more than tasty, and makes me think differently about what can come out of Paso.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Outstanding, especially for a first vintage. 13.5% ABV. DIAM 5 cork (thank you).
The nose is understandably still very closed since it was bottled only a couple of months ago. But with good aeration it gives plums, leather, cloves, purple flowers, some incense and cedar. But don't worry too much about that because that's not where this wine shines.
Medium bodied, it has an ethereal quality in the mouth that just glides into the palate with notes of Luxardo cherries, ripe orange peel, tobacco pipe smoke, black pepper and herbs. Delicious, dangerous stuff. A great success for Jason. Drink now to 2030+.
6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
3/28/2024 - Discobiscuits42 wrote: 92 Points
Nose: A more fruit forward vegetal vibe, tomato, bell pepper, blackberry, some creamy raspberry. Palate is also vegetal - tomato and creamy raspberry are the most noticeable. Very clean and transparent. Sensation of lightness with being full at the same time. Advertised at 13 1/2%, I would weight closer to 14%. A bit bitter on the back end. My favorite so far in the lineup. This is a nice wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/24/2024 - VAGenius Likes this wine:
No notes or score but this was very fruit-forward and easy-drinking. Fun wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/5/2023 - JJYoyo Likes this wine: 91 Points
With its juicy freshness and a touch of sweet, it’s easy to treat this as a nice and easy red. And it’s easy to miss the Sangiovese qualities here — but there is a touch of blood/tomato/leather, as well as a mix of sinus -clearing dried herbs in the bouquet. The wine has a gentle but interesting lift to it as well. Friendly, versatile, but a little more than meets the eye too.
Score: 91. Relative to expectations: +
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/11/2023 - alpha_ori Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nosewise: dark cherries at peak ripeness, plus some dried cherry notes. As it opens, there's big spice box like a high end California Pinot, and a bit of liqueur as well. Maybe there's some pink peppercorns in there, too? Underneath it all, a touch of vegetal notes -- dry leaf and some tarragon.
Flavorwise, the palate echoes the cherry, leaf, and liqueur elements of the nose. It's loose but not lacking in concentration; there's a roundness to the it, but there's just enough acid to hold it in shape. Let's call it "New World balance". The mouthfeel has a creaminess that's kind of like licking the rind of a ripe wheel of brie. It retains a fine tannin, but said tannin is only very present at the end of the midpalate.
Temperature is important to this wine. I think it's best between 60 and 65 degrees; normal cellar temp is a bit too cold for it to express its best self. In that range, you get a merlot-soft palate balanced by a bit of sour cherry tartness.
Sangiovese is one of the grapes that I feel exhibits the most extreme differences between wines made in their original terroir vs. their New World analogues. This is a wholly different beast from, say, a Chianti Classico, but it is nonetheless quite delicious and something I'm happy to have several more bottles of in my cellar.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/2/2023 - bravo.solares Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nice, simple but elegant Sangiovese. Blind, I, too, would have guessed (relatively) low alcohol, elegant, Grenache (a-la-Bedrock, for instance). Very quaffable. Don’t see this ageing beyond a couple more yrs or so.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/1/2023 - Bjweiss Likes this wine: 90 Points
If tasted blind, I’d have never guessed sangiovese here. I’d have said Grenache, final answer, 100%. That’s not a knock, just don’t go in expecting Chianti here or you’ll be in for a surprise. The wine is ripe, and fitting to a CA warmer climate, but there’s also a delicate hand in the winemaking here. Complexity is absolutely there. Acidity and tannin too. So the wine has structure, medium body, and a healthy dose of complex flavors and notes going on. I paired with pizza not knowing going in. It didn’t work great for that, but on its own, it proved very delicious. Outstanding value too. Excited to try more from this producer.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/3/2022 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Fascinating blend of the grape and the place. It has a very ripe fruit expression as I expected from a Paso Robles wine, but it’s also delicate, with more of a strawberry tone rather than some overripe, macerated blackberry heaviness. It’s interesting trying to square the circle of sweet fruit and delicacy, and I don’t think I am there yet. Still it’s more than tasty, and makes me think differently about what can come out of Paso.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/16/2022 - guillermo- Likes this wine: 93 Points
A Berserker Day 2022 premiere wine.
Outstanding, especially for a first vintage. 13.5% ABV. DIAM 5 cork (thank you).
The nose is understandably still very closed since it was bottled only a couple of months ago. But with good aeration it gives plums, leather, cloves, purple flowers, some incense and cedar. But don't worry too much about that because that's not where this wine shines.
Medium bodied, it has an ethereal quality in the mouth that just glides into the palate with notes of Luxardo cherries, ripe orange peel, tobacco pipe smoke, black pepper and herbs. Delicious, dangerous stuff. A great success for Jason. Drink now to 2030+.
6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment