Decanted ~2hr.
Prior notes apply, very consistent.
A beautiful golden yellow straw color in the glass.
Nose has banana skin, honey roasted almonds, shaved oak and wet chalk.
Palate is bruised golden apple, warmed pear, candied lemon skin with fading oak influence. The acidity is just perfect to the mineral balance. This bottle has plenty of life remaining.
Paired with a gratuitous slab of steelhead trout on the grill, baby fennel, roasted baby spring veggies and grilled lemon.
Fully into a happy place this evening. 👍
Love how Meo-Camuzet laser etches the corks for security, lot traceability and authentication. — 6 years ago
Gorgeous perfume - I could smell this for hours. Medium weight on the palate with those trade mark silky tannins. Noticeable whole bunch influence. Coal River in Tasmania is hot right now for the production of top class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Interestingly the grapes are taken in refrigerated containers to the Adelaide Hills for vinification at Shaw and Smith. — 7 years ago
Quite pale in appearance which belies the power of the palate. Lovely nose showing mainly strawberry notes and some raspberry. Very fruit driven with no apparent whole bunch influence. A cool airey wine. I would love to put this up against some 2015 Burgundies- I think it would compare well. — 7 years ago
Just how Chardonnay should be! True to the varietal and not much influence by the winemaker. Classic here, nothing amazing but just solid wine. — 8 years ago
Crushed rocks, snow, white leaches, peach skin, lime zest, verbena, lime blossom, slight kiss of barrel influence, slight nuttiness coupled with some leesy notes. A touch plush on the attack but racy mineral driven finish follows. Crumbly/spritzy texture. Great value. — 9 years ago
Straw colored. Full, ripe, and complex with tropical notes of melon and pineapple dominating over citrus. Rounded out with floral notes of honeysuckle and a pleasant oak influence, this is a beautiful wine. — 9 years ago
Compared to the 05 Ponente that went down last night (the 'palate cleanser'), this wine is quite different. But very true to style for Rian. This wine always tends to go darker. Nose and palate of baking spice, blackberry, chocolate, fig. In the first few years, these tend to also have a blueberry and vanilla side hustle, but really tend to lose that after five or six years. This one didn't have any blue fruit or vanilla notes. Towards the finish, this one stiffens up. Still a touch astringent with stiff tannin. Would have been a great one to serve in the American v French Oak blinded tasting from last night. Not really a lot of discernible French Oak influence even though I'm pretty sure they use 100% French. This one has a long life ahead of it. Have one more bottle, which I will try to hold until approximately 2023. Fat chance..... — 6 years ago
Intense... could be confused with a Barolo if not for slightly rounder tannins, less oak influence, and fruit intensity. This is not a feminine Barbaresco.... the’14 needs a lot of time in bottle, or at least a long decant. SommSelect . Update: 2 days later and after a 90-minute decant, this thing is starting to come alive. Much better now with some rich Italian food. Hold until 2022+ — 6 years ago
Loved the influence of bourbon barrel — 7 years ago
I definitely taste the viognier influence.... there is a crispness, and yet roundness, I know it's counterintuitive. There's cotton and pineapple, lemon and complexity that is just entertaining. I will drink this bottle lovingly with my friends... lots of thanks involved here... xoxo — 8 years ago
Very fruit forward with a bright finish. Slight effervescent feeling with light colored red fruit jammy taste. Medium weight for a Syrah with no noticeable tobacco influence. — 8 years ago
Unbelievably rich, honeyed, and vibrant at 30 years old. This wine had limited release initially due to too much oak influence, but has balanced it out after 30 years... — 9 years ago
Pale color. Subdued white flower and mineral nose. White stone and almonds. Definitely influence of oak. Especially on the finish. Balanced, well made. Not necessarily my style, but good. — 10 years ago
Soft. Not sharp. Not too sweet. — 11 years ago
You were crisp tropical mango, papaya, and pineapple mixed with baked apple. You had Medium+ acidity, with a smokey minerality that shows off your French oak influence. Your finish was nice, and you'll go nicely with my grilled snapper for dinner. Grgich Hills Estate Chardonnay 2010 - Napa Valley. 40% new French oak, no malo. — 11 years ago
Wow! You can smell the influence of the spirits right off the bat. The bourbon barrel aging definitely lends to the taste as well, with the sweetness present but not cloying. This is a really fun wine — 6 years ago
Viscous color and texture. Bouquet is subtly perfumed of roses. You can smell the Italian influence. It’s as if you’re there in the fishing villages of Bandol.
A cool, rustic charcoal flirts with plum and vanilla. Almost perfect balance of fruit, oak, tannic structure, minimal astringency, silky mouthfeel.
Complex and round all at once.
$40. Worth every copperhead. — 6 years ago
Smoother then usual Etna Rosso with Mascalese. Basket of red fruit, clear volcanic influence. Long finish. — 7 years ago
The fruit for this Pinot comes from two of the coolest, most coastal parts of this appellation, linked by the influence of the Pacific’s cool marine air, which delays ripening. Bright Ruby with berry fruit, citrus and warm spice. On the palate, raspberry and cherry, tangy, with cedar notes and earthy tones. Bright acidity, soft expressive tannins, lingering finish ending with woody spice. Very nice, has room to age. — 8 years ago
The 1000 Stories Zinfandel is very dark looking and smelling. And tasting, too. Plum and blackberry flavors get a savory working over from the bourbon barrels, but not as much as I had feared. Or hoped. I don't know which way to lean on this kind of oak influence. On the one hand, too much oak is bad. On the other, too much bourbon oak might be just enough. The savory streak plays through on the palate with a hint of that bourbon-laced oak pushing it along. There’s vanilla, pepper and leathery cherry as well — 8 years ago
Very concentrated. Perfumed and layered with all the influence 100+ year old vines have to offer. Exceptional. Special. — 9 years ago
Not usually a Malbec fan but like this one — 9 years ago
A nice example of Finger Lakes #FLXwine #Riesling from winemaker Eric Bilka. Racy with lime zest, grapefruit, peach blossom & yellow apple with a zesty, wet stone finish. Just a hint of residual sugar. #wine #sommelier #nywine — 11 years ago
Classic rustic Rioja. Dried cherry, shoe leather, anise with underlying subtle vanilla and pine straw. Subdued cherry fruit with definite oak influence on palate, dry, dusty, lingering finish. — 11 years ago
Steve Biondi
Between my wife's fresh tomato sauce and veal meatballs with Incredible spinach the wine just brought in in abundance of complexity intones unequaled in the sphere of my influence — 6 years ago