Cristal2000
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2021 Les Cousins Cabernet Sauvignon
4/17/2024 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Very fortunate to experience all 2021 Vice Versa wines blind along with CSIMM1161. The bottles had been open for about 5 hours and all the wines continued to get better with air. I managed to guess half of these correctly, but it’s quite a lift to distinguish them all. This vintage is more serious than 2019, with elevated tension, freshness, and overall complexity. These are not pop and pour, so if drinking in the next 10 years, I suggest a lot of decant time.
1. 2021 Platt Chardonnay: As usual, this wine spans the gap between old and new world styles. Lot of lemon driven character, it’s lively without being linear showing strikingly pure fruit and tons of freshness. 96
2. 2021 Platt Pinot: Very big and serious in this vintage with almost cab-like power. This is not a pinot for the faint of heart and will need some bottle time to come into its own. The more air it received, the more integrated it became, and by the finish its endless depth of flavor was complemented by more nuance and approachability. While it will not be mistaken for a Burgundy, it’s new world charm, focused power, and acidity to keep it crisp make for an excellent offering. 95
3. 2021 Beatrix: Nose is a bit muted with herbal and tobacco notes. Palate is firm displaying red cherries, tilled soil, and mineral driven flavors. Fresh and tight with a medium length finish, this will need some time to come into its own but should round into fine form. The vineyard quality is obvious throughout. 95
4. 2021 To Kalon: My favorite from the start. The power and elegance of this wine is dramatic and only gets more pronounced with time. Epically firm and concentrated, it displays unreal purity, freshness, and length. The class of the vineyard is on display here with its towering presence even amongst other great sites. 100
5. 2021 Cousins: This was more giving than the tightly wound To Kalon offerings. Gorgeous soaring aromatics give way to a generous palate of cherry fruit mixed with tobacco and earth driven flavors. Super well layered with regal tannins this is rich and very long. A wine you can get at a bit earlier than most of the other wines. 97
6. 2021 Spinning Plates: Yep, they snuck this one into the blind as well. Good thing I didn’t pick it as my favorite! As you might expect, this rides a little higher and is slightly rougher around the edges than most of the SVDs, but otherwise there isn’t a large drop-off in quality. It’s dark, fresh, well layered and showing significant tannic backbone at present. The 19 edition has more polish, but this displays more power and potential. 94
7. 2021 GIII: This presented more seriously than I expected from the GIII vineyard. Displays dark cherries, moss, integrated oak, hints of vanilla and a relatively austere mid-palate and finish. A very powerful wine with loads of potential. 96
8. 2021 LPV: This wine was showing the best of the group during the tasting. Everyone had it in their top 2-3 wines. I have a love/hate relationship with LPV, since it will be soaring and beautiful like it was during this tasting, and then shut down for a couple years. Just tremendous fruit intensity, with suave tight knit tannins, an endless core of chocolate and dank earth character with a massive, lingering finish. Can’t go wrong here. 98
9. 2021 Crane: Gorgeous fruit character with wonderful polish and incredible tannin management. This didn’t show the typical purple fruit with violets that comes with Crane, but had the sophistication, suave texture, and overall class to where I wasn’t super surprised it turned out to be Crane. More muted than LPV at this stage, we all know this will round into a near perfect wine. 98
10. 2021 Stelzner: Talk about different! The profile of this wine was about 180 degrees from all the others. We debated back and forth on whether it was Stelzner or Cousins. I ultimately picked Cousins based on half the grapes coming from Paso, but I was wrong! Meat drippings, char, burnt embers that are grainy and savory describe it. The fruit is black and very expessive, but you might think you are drinking a Syrah if you’re not paying attention. Lots of complexity and character, this wine was fun! 96
11. 2021 M7: Oh man, this wine fooled me at the beginning. It’s so utterly compact that I initially thought it didn’t have much to offer. By the second round tasting through the wines, I realized my error as this kept getting incrementally longer on the palate and let some of the amazing fruit quality peek out. It really makes sense that this is the top offering, since it is built for age and will slowly unfurl all those magnificent (yep, said it) layers over time. Epically pure with amazing precision, this may eventually eclipse To Kalon as my favorite. 99
12. 2021 Mysterons: Full bodied, with a generous core of mostly black fruit complimented by notes of tobacco and menthol, this displays a luxurious texture and serious power. More ready to drink than some of the other offerings, this may be a bottle you pop open while sitting on the Beckstoffer and M7 wines. 96
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2021 Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Mysterons
4/17/2024 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Very fortunate to experience all 2021 Vice Versa wines blind along with CSIMM1161. The bottles had been open for about 5 hours and all the wines continued to get better with air. I managed to guess half of these correctly, but it’s quite a lift to distinguish them all. This vintage is more serious than 2019, with elevated tension, freshness, and overall complexity. These are not pop and pour, so if drinking in the next 10 years, I suggest a lot of decant time.
1. 2021 Platt Chardonnay: As usual, this wine spans the gap between old and new world styles. Lot of lemon driven character, it’s lively without being linear showing strikingly pure fruit and tons of freshness. 96
2. 2021 Platt Pinot: Very big and serious in this vintage with almost cab-like power. This is not a pinot for the faint of heart and will need some bottle time to come into its own. The more air it received, the more integrated it became, and by the finish its endless depth of flavor was complemented by more nuance and approachability. While it will not be mistaken for a Burgundy, it’s new world charm, focused power, and acidity to keep it crisp make for an excellent offering. 95
3. 2021 Beatrix: Nose is a bit muted with herbal and tobacco notes. Palate is firm displaying red cherries, tilled soil, and mineral driven flavors. Fresh and tight with a medium length finish, this will need some time to come into its own but should round into fine form. The vineyard quality is obvious throughout. 95
4. 2021 To Kalon: My favorite from the start. The power and elegance of this wine is dramatic and only gets more pronounced with time. Epically firm and concentrated, it displays unreal purity, freshness, and length. The class of the vineyard is on display here with its towering presence even amongst other great sites. 100
5. 2021 Cousins: This was more giving than the tightly wound To Kalon offerings. Gorgeous soaring aromatics give way to a generous palate of cherry fruit mixed with tobacco and earth driven flavors. Super well layered with regal tannins this is rich and very long. A wine you can get at a bit earlier than most of the other wines. 97
6. 2021 Spinning Plates: Yep, they snuck this one into the blind as well. Good thing I didn’t pick it as my favorite! As you might expect, this rides a little higher and is slightly rougher around the edges than most of the SVDs, but otherwise there isn’t a large drop-off in quality. It’s dark, fresh, well layered and showing significant tannic backbone at present. The 19 edition has more polish, but this displays more power and potential. 94
7. 2021 GIII: This presented more seriously than I expected from the GIII vineyard. Displays dark cherries, moss, integrated oak, hints of vanilla and a relatively austere mid-palate and finish. A very powerful wine with loads of potential. 96
8. 2021 LPV: This wine was showing the best of the group during the tasting. Everyone had it in their top 2-3 wines. I have a love/hate relationship with LPV, since it will be soaring and beautiful like it was during this tasting, and then shut down for a couple years. Just tremendous fruit intensity, with suave tight knit tannins, an endless core of chocolate and dank earth character with a massive, lingering finish. Can’t go wrong here. 98
9. 2021 Crane: Gorgeous fruit character with wonderful polish and incredible tannin management. This didn’t show the typical purple fruit with violets that comes with Crane, but had the sophistication, suave texture, and overall class to where I wasn’t super surprised it turned out to be Crane. More muted than LPV at this stage, we all know this will round into a near perfect wine. 98
10. 2021 Stelzner: Talk about different! The profile of this wine was about 180 degrees from all the others. We debated back and forth on whether it was Stelzner or Cousins. I ultimately picked Cousins based on half the grapes coming from Paso, but I was wrong! Meat drippings, char, burnt embers that are grainy and savory describe it. The fruit is black and very expessive, but you might think you are drinking a Syrah if you’re not paying attention. Lots of complexity and character, this wine was fun! 96
11. 2021 M7: Oh man, this wine fooled me at the beginning. It’s so utterly compact that I initially thought it didn’t have much to offer. By the second round tasting through the wines, I realized my error as this kept getting incrementally longer on the palate and let some of the amazing fruit quality peek out. It really makes sense that this is the top offering, since it is built for age and will slowly unfurl all those magnificent (yep, said it) layers over time. Epically pure with amazing precision, this may eventually eclipse To Kalon as my favorite. 99
12. 2021 Mysterons: Full bodied, with a generous core of mostly black fruit complimented by notes of tobacco and menthol, this displays a luxurious texture and serious power. More ready to drink than some of the other offerings, this may be a bottle you pop open while sitting on the Beckstoffer and M7 wines. 96
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2021 Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon The Magnificent Seven
4/17/2024 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Very fortunate to experience all 2021 Vice Versa wines blind along with CSIMM1161. The bottles had been open for about 5 hours and all the wines continued to get better with air. I managed to guess half of these correctly, but it’s quite a lift to distinguish them all. This vintage is more serious than 2019, with elevated tension, freshness, and overall complexity. These are not pop and pour, so if drinking in the next 10 years, I suggest a lot of decant time.
1. 2021 Platt Chardonnay: As usual, this wine spans the gap between old and new world styles. Lot of lemon driven character, it’s lively without being linear showing strikingly pure fruit and tons of freshness. 96
2. 2021 Platt Pinot: Very big and serious in this vintage with almost cab-like power. This is not a pinot for the faint of heart and will need some bottle time to come into its own. The more air it received, the more integrated it became, and by the finish its endless depth of flavor was complemented by more nuance and approachability. While it will not be mistaken for a Burgundy, it’s new world charm, focused power, and acidity to keep it crisp make for an excellent offering. 95
3. 2021 Beatrix: Nose is a bit muted with herbal and tobacco notes. Palate is firm displaying red cherries, tilled soil, and mineral driven flavors. Fresh and tight with a medium length finish, this will need some time to come into its own but should round into fine form. The vineyard quality is obvious throughout. 95
4. 2021 To Kalon: My favorite from the start. The power and elegance of this wine is dramatic and only gets more pronounced with time. Epically firm and concentrated, it displays unreal purity, freshness, and length. The class of the vineyard is on display here with its towering presence even amongst other great sites. 100
5. 2021 Cousins: This was more giving than the tightly wound To Kalon offerings. Gorgeous soaring aromatics give way to a generous palate of cherry fruit mixed with tobacco and earth driven flavors. Super well layered with regal tannins this is rich and very long. A wine you can get at a bit earlier than most of the other wines. 97
6. 2021 Spinning Plates: Yep, they snuck this one into the blind as well. Good thing I didn’t pick it as my favorite! As you might expect, this rides a little higher and is slightly rougher around the edges than most of the SVDs, but otherwise there isn’t a large drop-off in quality. It’s dark, fresh, well layered and showing significant tannic backbone at present. The 19 edition has more polish, but this displays more power and potential. 94
7. 2021 GIII: This presented more seriously than I expected from the GIII vineyard. Displays dark cherries, moss, integrated oak, hints of vanilla and a relatively austere mid-palate and finish. A very powerful wine with loads of potential. 96
8. 2021 LPV: This wine was showing the best of the group during the tasting. Everyone had it in their top 2-3 wines. I have a love/hate relationship with LPV, since it will be soaring and beautiful like it was during this tasting, and then shut down for a couple years. Just tremendous fruit intensity, with suave tight knit tannins, an endless core of chocolate and dank earth character with a massive, lingering finish. Can’t go wrong here. 98
9. 2021 Crane: Gorgeous fruit character with wonderful polish and incredible tannin management. This didn’t show the typical purple fruit with violets that comes with Crane, but had the sophistication, suave texture, and overall class to where I wasn’t super surprised it turned out to be Crane. More muted than LPV at this stage, we all know this will round into a near perfect wine. 98
10. 2021 Stelzner: Talk about different! The profile of this wine was about 180 degrees from all the others. We debated back and forth on whether it was Stelzner or Cousins. I ultimately picked Cousins based on half the grapes coming from Paso, but I was wrong! Meat drippings, char, burnt embers that are grainy and savory describe it. The fruit is black and very expessive, but you might think you are drinking a Syrah if you’re not paying attention. Lots of complexity and character, this wine was fun! 96
11. 2021 M7: Oh man, this wine fooled me at the beginning. It’s so utterly compact that I initially thought it didn’t have much to offer. By the second round tasting through the wines, I realized my error as this kept getting incrementally longer on the palate and let some of the amazing fruit quality peek out. It really makes sense that this is the top offering, since it is built for age and will slowly unfurl all those magnificent (yep, said it) layers over time. Epically pure with amazing precision, this may eventually eclipse To Kalon as my favorite. 99
12. 2021 Mysterons: Full bodied, with a generous core of mostly black fruit complimented by notes of tobacco and menthol, this displays a luxurious texture and serious power. More ready to drink than some of the other offerings, this may be a bottle you pop open while sitting on the Beckstoffer and M7 wines. 96
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