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Member #325,483 signed up 1/14/2014
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bjamesclark
2,076 Tasting Notes
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Member since January 2014
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Member #325,483 signed up 1/14/2014
2,076 Tasting Notes
This member's profile is not public.
2012 Herman Story Syrah Bien Nacido
4/25/2020 - TriggerFingers Likes this wine: 94 Points
Schlepped this across the country and back to California. 6 weeks in on Covid-19 quarantine...lets give this a go!
Russell's wines from 2012-2013 are pure magic. Honestly...this is drinking very fresh right now. Opened a 2013 John Sebastiano a few weeks ago (and when I had it at the release party in 2016 it was the oddball superstar at the fall tasting... probably the best HS wine I've had to that point). Anyway, the Sebastiano I had a few weeks ago was really good with air, but had a little stewed quality crept in that sometimes Nuts and Bolts has. It was damn good...but this Bien Nacido Syrah is a completely different animal. Is this seriously a 2012? It's so damn fresh right now. It's drinking perfectly with air...maybe one more year or two tops on it.
If you like to pop and pour it still has a touch of grip...maybe hold it for another year, but life is short. A little air never hurt anyone (and won't hurt this wine).
Takes me home. Wow.
Last Word: That Central Coast terrior...that "thing" that makes these wines special. This is getting into the Greg Brewer, Melville, Ballard, Andrew Murray profiles. I have had a shit ton of Russell's wines. He swings for the fences every damn day. This one...is really special.
94+/95-
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2012 Herman Story Bolt Cutter
4/22/2017 - TriggerFingers wrote: 89 Points
2 hour decant...
A good bit of cab on the nose without the oak and vanilla.
Last bottle of this. I've reserved my judgment until now. This wine really comes across like a Cabernet/Syrah hybrid that doesn't do either varietal true justice.
It lacks the Vanilla and oak of California cabs and seems at odds with the Syrah in the blend. The Syrah's earthy quality seems to compete too much with the cab. Still a good bit of grip so this may resolve itself and come to fruition in maybe another 2-3 years? Not sure though.
At the end of the day Russell is going to make the wine he wants to, that's for sure. But I think future bottlings of Bolt Cutter would benefit from either:
1) a higher percentage (90%+) of Cabernet in the blend.
Or
2) a small batch bottling of 100% Cabernet (ala Pinot in Smash City).
This score is a combination of both bottles. First bottle was an 87 and didn't show particularly well. This one is better at a 90, but still is a little disappointing given the high-watermark of the vintage. Combine the scores and we arrive at 89.
Last Words:
This wine is much like a Liger. A hybrid that doesn't necessarily offer better potential than its pure parentage. Last bottle, and I'm not terribly sad to see it go.
Score: 89-
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2013 Herman Story Pinot Noir Smash City
4/15/2017 - TriggerFingers Likes this wine: 90 Points
Splash decant.
It's a Pinot on the nose for sure! I love Smash City. It's a pound for pound a stunner that I always try to stock up on!
This bottle came across as a little fleshy on the palate with the ample viscosity of some of his other wines. Not as "lively" as I remembered a previous tasting of the 2013. Nowhere near as complex as the 2014.
I'm amazed at times where I'll try Russell's wines and am simply floored, while other times leave me wondering if it's more "miss than hit." This wine was really neither. It's still one of my favorite Pinots to drink because it's so boisterous. Smash City can be polarizing as it has both the ability to start a conversation, as well as piss others off! However, this particular bottle came across as "middle of the road."
Last words: The 2013 is probably my least favorite vintage of Smash City, but still easily a wine that I can enjoy anytime.
Not bad in anyway, just par for the course.
89+/90-
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