Jaxon Keys
Domaine Comte de Lauze
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend
Wafting sweetgrass and coriander..
Great structure, and has more of the ripened fruit style than the austere. Plum, rhubarb, wild strawberry, cassis. Wrapping up with solid acidity to wood. Heat shining through, as this was a superbly ripe vintage. I will always gravitate to an bottle that has a pair of Papel Keys.. — 6 years ago
Jaxon
la Brisa Rogue Valley Tempranillo 2015
Very tasty, spicy, medium tannins. — 6 years ago
Parkers Estate
Four Keys Crossing California Pinot Noir 2015
Smooth with hints of caramel, coffee and oak — 7 years ago
8 Keys
Reserva Tinta Roriz Blend
Very dark colour, a bit closed on the nose but dark ripped fruit and berries. Long heavy almost thick in the mouth. Ripped dark fruit but even more of wood, spices tannins and some bitterness like grapefruit zest in the end. Need some air — 8 years ago
Doubleback
Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
Delayed getting out of Austin toThe Keys and found this bottle at Vino Volo. Thanks @Jim Trobaugh @Mike R for the review which prompted me to buy! — 8 years ago
Weingut Hexamer
Eisendell Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Spätlese Riesling 2006
The decision to hold this wine until ready made me think of a musician tuning a guitar. He’s turning the keys and plucking the top two strings until the A and the E are the same. And then he strums a heart melting deeply harmonic E chord.
I imagine this wine was tasted, tasted again, then when everything was in tune, magic happens and it’s time for sharing.
It’s glowing gold. Burnt popcorn kernels. Honey. The sweetest indulgent peach preserves. — 6 years ago
Jaxon Keys
Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2017
This little joe I had when I was faded, it tastes good but would be better with steak & potatoes... ya boiiii is faded — 6 years ago
Jaxon Keys
Assemblage Red Blend 2015
Deep notes of raspberry, blackberry and plum with leather. Wonderful warm finish that is balanced and fruitful. — 7 years ago
Michele Chiarlo
Nivole Moscato d'Asti
Tired from a good day @ work and finally back home after leaving my keys in LA 😌😌😌😌😌what a treat — 7 years ago
Bouchard Père et Fils
Pouilly-Fuissé Chardonnay 2015
2015. Day my wife and I received the keys to our "forever Home". Smashed most of the bottle myself and pretty hammered right now. Was soft and easy, medium dry. Goes well with online shopping for dining tables. — 8 years ago
Parkers Estate
Four Keys Crossing Sonoma County Pinot Noir 2014
Suprised by how much I liked it. Excellent. — 8 years ago
Jaxon Keys
Farmhouse White 2015
Great complex nose with long smooth finish. Tannins softening nicely. — 5 years ago
Domaine François Raveneau
Forêt Chablis 1er Cru Chardonnay 2013
I’ve been staring at this vintage in my collection for some time now. Decided it was time even though further benefits would come with more years in bottle. That’s not to say, we are not throughly enjoying this on a lazy sunny evening.
The nose reveals; lemon custard to meringue, green apple, lime zest, pineapple, grapefruit with pith, amazing honeysuckle, fruit blossoms, honey, flinty notes, some dry herbs, nuts, hints of butterscotch & toffee, some very light vanillin, crushed limestone minerals, jasmine and white spring flowers.
The body is round and voluptuous. The mouthfeel is incredible and creamy. Flat out gorgeous and sexy. lemon custard to meringue that falls into lemon sourness, green apple, lime zest, pineapple, grapefruit with pith, stone fruits, amazing honeysuckle, fruit blossoms, honey, steely & flinty notes, some dry herbs, nuts, more butterscotch toffee than the nose, some very light vanillin, more white spice with a little heat than the nose, crushed limestone minerals, powdery chalkiness jasmine and white spring flowers with greens. The acidity is amazing pure and simple. The long, round, voluptuous, gorgeous, elegant, incredibly well balanced and persists several minutes. Such a great producer! Believe the hype.
Excellent with Brie & white crackers with a drizzle of honey. As well, with the dry white Grand Queso which, has some nice nuttiness that plays well into the wine.
Notes on their vinification. Their viticulture is largely natural, with the old vines severely pruned in winter to reduce yields. After hand-harvesting, the fruit is pressed immediately and settled for half a day. Fermentation is largely in cuve, and the malolactic proceeds at its own pace, followed by a year’s aging in small oak barrels called feuillettes.
The feuillettes, about half the size of a barrique, are one of the keys to the expressiveness of Raveneaus wines. Averaging seven to eight years in age, they don’t contribute new oak aromas and flavors, but serve to gently open the wine during the élevage. This enhances the wonderful perfume and creamy texture that are the hallmarks of these wines, particularly when they are mature.
Their Foret Vineyard is only .67 ha. and the vines are roughly 15 years of age.
Photos of; Owner-Son and half of the winemaking team Jean-Marie Raveneau, Isabelle Ravenea in the cellar and the metal work sign that hangs above their facilities. If not for that sign, you would never know they were there on a quiet back street not far from the center of town. — 6 years ago
Louis Roederer
Cristal Brut Champagne Chardonnay Pinot Noir Blend 1988
One of the two or three most moving wines in this vertical, the 1988 Cristal is eternal. Deep and vertical, with Gothic spires of soaring aromatic, flavor and structural intensity, the 1988 has it all. At thirty years of age, the 1988 is fresh, vibrant and incredibly powerful. Lemon peel, white flower, chalk and almonds are all given an extra kick of vibrancy from the bright acids and underlying energy of the vintage. Even after three decades, the 1988 remains searing, classically austere and beautifully focused, with tremendous pedigree and stunning balance. The 1988 is a rare Cristal where the Chardonnay, at 48% of the blend, is on the higher side. “When I joined Roederer in 1989, we were blending the 1988s,” Lécaillon explains. “They were such hard wines to work with because the acidities were so high. My teeth suffered. I thought ‘am I going to have to deal with this for the rest of my life? Maybe I should change jobs?’” Luckily, he did not. “In 1988, flowering was very bad for the Chardonnay. Yields were quite low and flavors were super-intense and concentrated. This, to me, is one of the keys for making great Champagne with real dimension. Interestingly, the same is not true of Pinot Noir. Keep a glass of the 1988 to compare with the 2008 later. In my opinion, 2008 is the new 1988.” (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, December 2018) — 7 years ago
Jacques Puffeney
Cuvée du Jubilé Arbois Poulsard Trousseau 2014
How do I even begin to comment on the privilege of lapping up the last drops of a life's work? Puffeney's 52nd vintage, his final potion. The wine that made me aware of the Jura, that first sparked sensation of time and place, a wine that exists equally in bottle as it does in brain. When you find yourself paused mid-step on the walk home, paralyzed by the distant sound of a youthful pianist stretching their hands across blessed white and black keys. Recognizing the tension that folds over their shoulders in tandem with the all encompassing lightness of body that accompanies practice. There is something so real about the way they are playing, without too much fluidity, they stop and start again and somehow that's better than an unstopping song. There is no performance here. What is it about the walls, windows and air between you that deliver these wafts of sound in such a pleasurable way? How does the space aid the aesthetic? You keep standing there, basking in this auditory coat, and for a sliver of time you want nothing. You want no one. You have everything. This pianist will never meet you, nor you them, yet there is partnership, a unity, an offer and reception. An electrical circuit you have both worked to complete. You want to cling tightly to this moment and you find yourself searching for evidence to make you present. The sky was blue, the pavement was wet, I was just about there, I was happy. But all of this is already phrased in the past tense, the moment has already slid away from you. You pick up your forgotten step and continue forward, dizzy from experience, left with only a stamp in your mind that you can picture but never fully revisit. Little death. — 8 years ago
Shay A
Finally getting around to posting wines from my annual Napa trip from two weeks ago. Always goes by quick! Lots of fun new stops this year.
Our visit to Arietta was one of the favorite visits of our trip. I had the pleasure of attending an Arietta lunch a couple months ago with owner Fritz, and a lot of the wines we had during our visit were poured during the lunch (2017 White Keys, 2016 Merlot, 2016 H Block, 2006 H Block) which I posted about back in November.
Close to pushing this to a 9.5. Everything in check and firing on all cylinders. This is a good balance between cool climate Cali Syrah and Walla Walla Syrah. It shows wonderfully lifted and perfumed aromatics of potpourri, wild smoked game, licorice and rhubarb tart. Nicely integrated and beautiful fruit paired with savory peppercorn, cherry jerky, sweet tobacco smoke and a good balance of tannin and acidity. Structure is here to cruise for a few years, but I think this is at peak. — 5 years ago