rmcl92
Member #464,683 signed up 5/27/2016 and last accessed 8/2/2026
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2020 Seavey Vineyard Merlot
7/27/2026 - rmcl92 Likes this wine: 92 Points
The ‘20 Seavey Merlot is a beautiful wine that you can drink now while you wait for some other more concentrated / structured vintages to age. It’s been a while since I posted a wine review, but given the poor critic’s score of this wine (at least from Vinous), I felt compelled to post a note. This was tasted at the winery and then again the next day from a full bottle.
On the nose, I found dusty, dark red to black berry fruits, leather, and incense, a nice combination of sweet fruit and the more savory, incense / spice notes I often find in Seavey wines. On the palate, the wine is medium to light in body, with very sweet, ripe dark fruit along with a bit of cocoa, leather, and incense / spice notes. It is relatively approachable and easy to drink at this stage, likely a consequence of the hot 2020 vintage. Compared to the 2021 Merlot tasted alongside it, the 2020 is more enjoyable to taste now and is a bit lighter on the palate texturally and also has a bit more prominent fruit, along with some reddish fruit tones, compared to the very dark 2021.
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2020 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato
11/22/2025 - rmcl92 Likes this wine: 96 Points
The '20 Monprivato is fantastic. This is a true wow wine, especially when it was most expressive, shortly after popping the cork (I find most young Nebbiolo tightens up the longer it is open, which was the case here, although it remained enjoyable throughout the night and into day 2). Galloni is 100% right about this wine, it is a step change in quality for G. Mascarello. The 2019 was really good IMO and a big step in the right direction, and this feels like a giant leap forward from there, as this is much better than the 2019 despite a weaker vintage.
I found the nose bright and intensely perfumed, with super sweet hard-candy like red berry fruits and red rose complemented by mint and a touch of orange peel, finally joined especially when exposed to more air by some chalky mineral notes. On the palate, the '20 Monprivato is medium plus in body with smooth tannins, medium plus acidity, and most notably impressive sweetness of fruit for a young wine. It is a perfect example of Nebbiolo at its finest, at once powerful and vibrant but also delicate. The wine has the richness of fruit found in 2020 Barolo, but a level of depth, sweetness, and freshness/acidity not seen in many wines in this vintage. The word that comes to mind here is purity - the fruit and floral notes here are so perfectly delineated.
I'd put the '20 Monprivato at the top of the list of 2020 Barolo I've tasted alongside the G. Conterno Francia, with the Giuseppe Rinaldi lineup also up there. This is a remarkable wine, the only question is will it hold up with age - it was beautiful on pop and pour, but it's definitely a wine that in theory will reward some aging. But I have low faith in Giuseppe Mascarello's consistency as the bottles age that makes me hesitant to load up.
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2015 Henri Jouan Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos Sorbé Vieilles Vignes
11/12/2025 - rmcl92 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow, this is showing incredibly well. A nice mix of ripe, sweet fruit with some smokey, gamey secondary notes.
From the minute this was opened and poured, the wine was really perfumed with smoke, game meats, sweet red fruit, red floral tones, and spice. It has the ripe fruit I'd expect from 2015 Burgundy but in balance with the intriguing secondary notes, and on the aromatics, it's really the smokey, game meat character that hits first for me and provides the most intrigue here.
On the palate, the sweetness of the fruit is stunning and hits first, with the palate maybe a bit more fruit forward than the aromatics. Candied red fruit and floral notes lead, with spice and roast meat notes coming second. The wine is very vibrant with high acidity, and maybe the acidity is a touch higher than ideal as it stands out a bit vs the more delicate medium to light body of the wine, but for me it works. Very drinkable at this stage.
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