Ben F
Member #338,448 signed up 6/1/2014
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drwine2001
19,936 Tasting Notes
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Member since June 2014
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Member #338,448 signed up 6/1/2014
19,936 Tasting Notes
This member's profile is not public.
2020 Bedrock Wine Co. Cuvée Karatas
3/2/2024 - Ben F Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dinner at home, Mill Valley, CA. From 750ml. Tasted at several points over the evening.
This is increasingly becoming my favorite of the Bedrock whites, so distinctive and rewarding. The 2020 is perhaps not the best vintage of this wine (understandable given the challenges), but it's still a pleasure on both intellectual and pure enjoyment levels.
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2017 Ultramarine Blanc de Blancs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast
3/2/2024 - Ben F Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dinner at home, Mill Valley, CA. From 750ml purchased on release. Opened 1/2 hour prior to serving.
My first of the 2017s. Usually my favorite bottling from Ultramarine, this was solid and imminently drinkable, almost too easy compared to earlier vintages. Not quite as complex, pause-inducing. Could be due to the (warm) vintage, its relative youth, or the fact that I had only one glass of the wine and didn't get to observe it over the course of the evening. Not complaining, but I do look forward to trying it and other 2017s in the coming years.
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1998 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo
3/2/2024 - Ben F Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dinner at home, Mill Valley, CA. From magnum purchased and stored since release. Decanted and returned to bottle about six hrs before serving. Decanted again prior to serving.
Superb soulful barolo. Some of the 750ml were hit or miss over the years, but the magnum was spot on and singing. Beautiful classic and nuanced on the nose, open but with nice tannic spine on the palate. Long, varied finish. Wish I had more in this format. The sediment pour, left in the glass for 24 hrs, was still alive and vibrant. I would bet this could evolve positively for a few more years at least, but then again why wait if you have it.
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