ESF

8.5

Prefer this in bottle — 3 days ago

ESF

9.5

Creme de la Creme of South America right here, aristocratic, reminiscent of properly aged, classified growth Left Bank… all the aromas & flavors - seamless, harmonious, generous and at its zenith. Paired w/birthday dinner of roast leg of lamb — 6 days ago

ESF

8.7

Serviceable, for $10 it really hits the spot. No “rustic” descriptors here - it was smooth w/some personality. Solid varietal typicity — 8 days ago

ESF

9.3

Bravo Etude, Bravo!
Outstanding execution here, textbook CA PN w/out being overdone or over extracted: just a gorgeous nose of beautifully ripe cherry, strawberry & red plum, generous warm baking spices, smoky tea, vanilla and more. Intoxicating nose mirrored on palate. Med bodied but so generous it drinks bigger. Smooth suave, freshness abounds, seamless through finish. Only minor point is length of finish gives this away as entry level, but for the price: buy a case. — 11 days ago

ESF

9.2

Really impressed with this stuff - reminded me of Chouet’s Femelottes a bit, but this was rounder, much more lush mouthfeel. Golden apples & crunchy minerals, some orchard fruit, bit of paraffin, leesy, but for me it was the absolutely gorgeous mid-palate, opulent and impressive length on finish. This over delivers - bravo @Lyle Fass — 5 days ago

ESF

9.3

This was infanticide - absolutely inky & impenetrable color, and shut down nose. I caught a glimpse of the power & depth after several hours, but I opted to hold the bottle for a couple of days… glad I did: drenched in rich black cherry, blackberry, black plum, and secondary notes galore: smoke & white pepper, lilacs & violets, turned soil, cherry cough drop, and so much more. Wave after wave, first it was Brunello then it was some intense Aussie Shiraz. Palate is huge, but finely grained tannins. Lacking acidity is really the only facet holding this back. Paired w/leftover roasted lamb w/balsamic reduction over rice. Impressive @Lyle Fass but I won’t touch this again for at least 5 yrs — 7 days ago

ESF

9.1

Fascinating wine from NE Spain: golden color w/green hue, made from Grenache Blanc w/some other white grapes I believe, amfora gave it a musky oxidized element, a lot of marine saline & minerality, tart citrus, some pucker & zingy acidity all juxtaposed w/some silky viscous mouthfeel. Well done, some white flowers, herbaceous notes, nicely structured, balanced through finish. These are the types of wines that hold my interest. — 11 days ago

ESF

8.9

Methode Champenoise w/proper grapes grown near Lake Garda. This might be past it’s prime, but it was still formidable & delicious: full bodied, quite dry w/delicate strawberry & seashells, oxidized nuttiness… nice heft, body & acidity thru finish. Solid sipper w/sentimentality — 5 days ago

ESF

9.0

Honeyed goodness — 7 days ago

ESF

8.9

Very young, shame to open but still showed nicely on Pnp: inky, opaque, delicate mostly red fruit, bit of black tinted fruit, but big time white pepper, smoke, leather & savory. Lush on palate, nice grip - maybe lacking some acidity, but all in all quite delicious — 9 days ago