Seth Masterson

9.5

While I love my local Chardonnay this guy is the hands down best domestic Chardonnay I've had in 2025. It has everything you could ask for - elegant fruit, balanced acid, silky texture without being insipid, and deep stone and mineral like you just dunked your head into a glacial stream. This is awesome stuff and I recommend you seek it out. — 8 days ago

Seth Masterson

9.0

Haven't tried a wine from Lebanon in a while. Wonderful aroma of dark red and black fruits. Tobacco. Cedar. Sour plum. Pretty cool 😎.
This 2020 is aging pretty well. Could go longer but drinking well now, a bit unctuous. Thick. Not a super structured or complex palette but it holds it's own with any Mediterranean lamb dish that you would pair it with. Very similar to Napa cabs but with a bit less finesse but with more interesting aromatics. — 24 days ago

Seth Masterson

9.3

This 21 is really starting to get good. A deeply layered nose of spices and garigue and stewed fruits or maybe it's more fruit leather plus mushroom. It's got all that and more flowing out of the glass.
It sits high on the pallette - meaning you really need to slurp, suck and swish to get everything out of it. Fairly low acids, which I think is good because any more acid would mask the subtle flavors. Maybe a little restrained but it makes you want to come back for more and more.

*Footnote - I 'Coravined' 2 glasses from this bottle then came back 2 weeks later and 😲 did this really come alive! It has an energy and vibrance that wasn't there out of the sealed bottle. — a month ago

Seth Masterson

9.0

This bottle makes me think that '23 was a very good year for the Loire. The aromas are overflowing from the glass as soon as it's being poured. There are so many interesting fruit notes in this Sauv Blanc that I would swear it must be a field blend with some Chenin Blanc or Marsanne.
A great wine for those of us who enjoy the olfactory orgasm. — 14 days ago

Seth Masterson

9.3

I'm declaring here in front of this small audience that this is my favourite gin (*that I can actually buy in the USA)
I actually know nothing about it other than what I smell and taste. Smelling it at room temp you might be a little scared - it has all the right juniper and botanical notes but also a rubbing alcohol note that suggests it's going to attack your pallette but then you taste it and your nose is filled with aromatics, while your mouth is pleased with the botanicals, citrus and an utterly unexpected perception of sweetness!
It's diverse - martini with lemon peel, gin fizz, gin gimlet, mix it with good tonic or use it in a negroni- it's a winner everywhere.
I'm really curious to know what others think so if you find this bottle come back and let me know! — a month ago

Seth Masterson

9.0

What's this? Now I LIKE Grüner? I haven't tried any in the last couple years after I decided I really wasn't a fan.
This one has reisling like diesel notes, granite loke minerality, well balanced acids.
Definitely makes me re-think my stance on the breed. — a month ago

Seth Masterson

9.2

This is good!
Most notable is a real softness, the kind of softness you get from a limestone grown grape.
The nose has rose hips, dried blue and red fruits, some dark earth.
At $19 retail I think this is one of the best deals on a solid drinkable red I've found this year. — a month ago

Seth Masterson

9.3

Note to self: Please buy more. This seems like awesome Temperanillo with an elegance you have not come across in years but you were in no state to give it proper attention.
Your rating may be hopeful or reserved. — 17 days ago

Seth Masterson

8.6

Dark, almost inky Pinot from the Willamette Valley. Seems like it must have been a hot summer. The fruit almost tastes charred. Tannins surprisingly high.
Some good earthy notes. Maybe an Ok wine if paired with something that you would normally pair with Temperanillo. — 17 days ago

Seth Masterson

9.1

A '22 single vineyard Petite Sirah from my Friend André at Domaine Helena. This is just north of Sonoma County near Clear lake.
This is actually a really interesting Petite Sirah. Most California Durif is grown in warmer climates and it gets really big and really jammy. While I wouldn't call this one restrained it has more subtle elements than others - first there is a lot of nut and coconut on the nose - mostly owing to the new American oak aging ('23 is in French oak and has a completely different character). When that washes off there is possibly the most distinct chocolate (think 65% - not the dark stuff) or cocoa notes I've found in any wine in a long time. The fruit is hard to describe - it's actually hard to get there because leather and macadamia nuts fill your nostrils first.
On the pallette it's not as big and bold as you would expect. That coconut carries over and there's a malo-roundedness that actually does remind you of chocolate melting on your tongue. I'm really enjoying it. Not a lot to say about the finish- Maybe a bit of a one trick pony at this age but it's a fun pony! — a month ago