Delectable Wine

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9.5

The 2019 Pinot Noir Campbell Ranch is fabulous. Complex and multi-dimensional, the 2019 is dynamic and super-expressive. Rose petal, lavender, spice, sage and mint play off a core of dark red/purplish berry fruit. This is a terrific Pinot from the northern part of the West Sonoma Coast. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, June 2022)
— 3 years ago

"Odedi"

8.9

Pale lemon in color with a green hue.

On the nose citrus, vegetables, herbs, green apples, earth, minerals, and grapefruit juice.

Medium bodied with medium acidity. Crisp and refreshing with long legs.

Dry on the palate with limes, grapefruits, citrus, green apples, lemons, bitter herbs, earth and vegetables.

Tangy finish with limes and almonds.

This young Pinot Gris from Oregon is easy drinking and tangy, with a soft mouthfeel. Surprisingly good out of a can.

Earthier on the nose than on the palate. As it opens up, grapefruit notes show up on the nose, and nicer with some airtime, so be patient.

I had an older vintage of this wine, and it definitely is better with some age. I wonder how it would age in a can, though. For now, it is lemony and refreshing. A nice sipper by the pool.

Good by itself or with food. Will pair nicely with fresh seafood like oysters.

Aged in neutral French Oak barrels and stainless steel for 11 months.

13.3% alcohol by volume.

89 points.

$8. — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.3

VASO cellars is essentially Dana Estate’s third label. However, what makes VASO unique is that while it’s a third label, the fruit that is used is the same fruit that goes in to Dana. No young vines or anything like that here. The main difference is the way it is oak aged.

Enjoyed during the WNH virtual tasting with a theme of 2014 Napa cab, chosen by Carl.

Similar to the ‘12 Sauv Blanc I popped, this is also from Dana’s Hershey Vineyard on Howell Mountain. Due to the ‘14 vintage being one that is drinking fairly well now, I assumed this would be close to pop and pour...wrong. Very tightly coiled on day one. Very crunchy and underripe fruits with herbs and baking spice. Re-corked and gave an hour decant on day two and it was immensely better. Sweet toasted oak, violets, charred plum, baked mixed berry pie with some added herbal flair on the nose. More plush on day two but still flexing those powerful mountain tannins. On the palate it is full of rich dark fruits, dark chocolate, mocha, nutmeg, licorice and quite a bit of graphite. It’s dusty, herbal with a good amount of ripe fruit with nice lift. I’d hold for a few more years. @Mike R , these are very nice wines. Thanks buddy! — 6 years ago

Jack Badavas

9.0

NYE 2018 with Mark, Jules, Dana, Jeff and Alex! — 7 years ago

Susan Sangiacomo

9.2

Why not? — 8 years ago

Ted

9.0

Happy Mother's Day to @Janell, @Jeni and @Dana Kennedy. — 9 years ago

with Adrianne, Janell and 1 other

Ted

9.5

This was the middle wine @Dana Kennedy. Lots of different aromas and flavors. Cola @Todd Abrams was the first followed by raisins and cigars. Pretty damn good — 9 years ago

with Adrianne and Dana

Bob McDonald

9.6

At the Downs Club Magnum dinner on Wednesday night. This was the mystery wine. Probably New Zealand’s most iconic wine according to Bob Campbell MW. A lovely nose of cassis, dark fruits and spice. M plus intensity of aroma. Elegant rather than a blockbuster - great balance with controlled power. Tempted to buy some and cellar it for 10 years plus. 98 points from Bob Campbell MW. — 4 years ago

Ed Lehrman

9.3

Rockin wine, aromatic red fruits, mod-life. Wish I had more. — 5 years ago

Sean Vitale

9.1

Back to back Anthill night... The bird is taking a while to cook — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.4

VASO cellars is essentially Dana Estate’s third label. However, what makes VASO unique is that while it’s a third label, the fruit that is used is the same fruit that goes in to Dana. No young vines or anything like that here. The main difference is the way it is oak aged. This SB comes from Dana’s Hershey Vineyard on Howell Mountain.

This is good. Like really good. Would love to try next to Dana’s own SB. 8yrs young and drinking wonderfully...almost shockingly so. This is like a combo of high end Bordeaux Blanc with Aesthete Sauv Blanc. Aromatically, it leaps from the glass with honeyed sea salt, grapefruit, lemongrass and white peach. On the palate, it is so textured and rich, almost creamy. More peach, poached pear, lemon oil, creamsicle, and wet rock. There is good acidity here (still at 8yrs for a Napa SB!), and while the profile is rounded, it’s certainly not flabby. One of the best Napa SBs I’ve tasted and still has a couple years of cruising at peak. I’m going to open my ‘13 soon, but I’m going to hold my ‘15 for a while! Best around cellar temp, don’t get it too cold or it will mute some of the flavors. I owe you for this one, @Mike R ! — 6 years ago

Olivier Bellin

9.6

Chardonnay just the way it should be. No oak, no vanilla, no butter. Carroll is great at vinefication. Truely a marvel w/oyster... Drink it fresh to enjoy it mineral and crisp. — 7 years ago

Gia Atkinson

9.0

The fruit is still shining from this wine. The tannins had mellowed out and the texture was gorgeous. Perfect with grilled flank steaks. — 8 years ago

with Scott

Will Phelps

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

9.0

Intense concentration of fruit, lots of oak, really interesting. — 9 years ago

Brooks Burgum

9.1

Very smooth — 4 years ago

with Katie and Brett

"Odedi"

8.9

This is a nice and easy drinking Pinot Noir from Oregon. Showing fresh red fruits with wood, light earth, cocoa, spices, vegetables and peppercorn.

Medium bodied with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate and good right out of the bottle.

Very nice with a slight chill.

Would be nice to revisit it in 3 years.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

89 points.

$36. — 4 years ago

Anna Sangiacomo

9.3

Delicious. Needs a bit of time to open up in the glass. Weekly zoom happy hour with the Ducks ♥️ — 6 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

Intoxicating aromas of apricot peach honey and nutty notes. An absolute mouthful of flavour of profound intensity also with a silky texture. This wine is irresistibly delicious and is #1 of 141 Pinot Gris tasted according to Bob Campbell MW, a New Zealand Master of Wine. I don’t drink a lot of Pinot Gris but after this gem from Martinborough I should rectify that and compare with some Alsatian versions. — 6 years ago

Alvaro Bustillos

9.5

John seller
Cody Campbell
Paul Foster — 6 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.5

90° at 7pm calls for more Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
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Cloudy Bay was founded in 1985 by David Hohnen of Margaret River’s Cape Mentelle along with its first winemaker, Kevin Judd, who would go on to spend 25 years there before creating his own label, Greywacke. Judd is widely considered as the pioneer responsible for elevating New Zealand wine to its current status. Judd also happens to be one of the best wine photographers in the world (I highly recommend his ‘The Landscape of New Zealand Wine’).
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According to Master of Wine Bob Campbell “the genesis for Greywacke Wild Sauvignon was Cloudy Bay Te Koko; a funky, barrel-fermented sauvignon blanc that bent all the rules when it was made in 1992 and initially sold only through the cellar door. Greywacke Wild Sauvignon is a blend from 10 different Marlborough vineyards which are machine-harvested at night. After pressing the juice is settled before being pumped into mostly old barrels and fermented using indigenous yeasts (about 15-20 different strains). The wine undergoes a partial malolactic fermentation and lees stirring.”
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Incredible aromatics... an almost vibrant herbaceousness... red bell pepper, grapefruit zest, tangerine, apricot, and cucumber, with a silky smooth mouthfeel unlike most Sauvignon Blancs. Extraordinary. — 7 years ago