Keep Wines
Château Pontet-Canet
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2013
Pontet Canet tasting and dinner with Alfred Tesseron.
The 13 was a brutal tannin vintage when I tasted it at En Premier. The tannins are still bitty but, nothing like they were out of barrel.
The fruit in the 13 shows the difficulty in the vintage. They are duller and it’s really stands out from other vintages and not in a good way.
It’s lean and there is nothing that really draws you in. Fruits are; dark cherries, rhubarb, blackberries, some blueberries@and the strawberries show some ripeness the other do not. Lots of dry earth, dry stones, some herbs, dark withering florals, decent acidity and a uneventful dry finish.
Photos of; Clyde and Alfred at the bar, their Amphora style cement tanks they ferment part of each vintage now, road signs of the good neighbors they keep and Chateau Pontet Canet. — 6 years ago
Krug
Brut Champagne Blend 2004
Razor sharp acidity and minerality at the core, on the linear side at the moment but with enough flesh on the bones to keep it from being too austere. Right now it is better with food than on its own, but just sipping it still delivers plenty of pleasure. — 7 years ago
Abreu Vineyards
Madrona Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
This was just amazing tonight. Perfect blend of black cherry, plums, licorice, and earth tones, with broad palate and just enough acidity to keep everything lively and fresh. Killer. — 7 years ago
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California White Blend
Nose is honeyed, floral and saline, with some ripe apple. Nice acidic finish makes this one an easy sipper with some intrigue up front. — 8 years ago
Arianna Occhipinti
SP68 Bianco Terre Siciliane Albanello Muscat of Alexandria
Lillies, lemon zest, peach on the big aromatic nose. Dried apricot (lots), lemon, orange, chalk on the palette. Lingering minerality and bitterness on the finish. Keep tasting and smelling new things throughout the first glass. — 9 years ago
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Kahn Vineyard Syrah 2017
Pure, clean, genuine. — 5 years ago
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Yount Mill Vineyard Pinot Meunier
Strawberry/basil agua fresca. Silky. Not the cleanest nose. — 6 years ago
Myriad Cellars
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Deep dark fruit!! Liquid Smoke....Cedar...Mocha...Milk chocolate.
Graham cracker ...Cassis...just enough spice to create a wonderful balance. As others have stated @Mike Smith magic! Tomorrow 58th Birthday...was going to keep tradition and do a nice long run in a.m....but Iowa weather has different plans..sometimes compromise is best! Could not have chosen a better wine! — 6 years ago
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California Ciliegiolo 2017
Amazing chilled! — 7 years ago
Realm Cellars
Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Well, I fired up a couple of fullblood waygu fillets for tonight (and Vanessa made a KILLER polenta), so the competition was tough. This is a terrific cab nevertheless. Classic nose of black fruits, violet, cedar, and black currants with a hint of leather. Not as tannic as I was expecting, but still had enough backbone to keep it interesting. If you have this, I’d suggest waiting a couple of years, as I suspect it will be more interesting once it starts acquiring more secondary flavors. Still a terrific cab! — 8 years ago
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
Artemis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
Deep ruby with aromas of dark fruit, sweet spice and herbs. On the palate of this mostly Cab Sauv with a splash of Merlot, sat on French oak for 18 months (about 1/3 new), flavors of rich and juicy cherry and blackberry with savory spice and integrated toasty oak that gives this medium+ length wine a satisfying finish. Artemis should keep well for at least another 5+ years. — 5 years ago
Château Cos d'Estournel
Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2005
Absolutely wow!! Tannins have been well integrated but there’s still enough acidity to keep it fresh. Good drinking now but this will continue to evolve for a loooong time. #makersdinner — 7 years ago
Robert Craig Winery
Affinity Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Needed a little time to open up, but once it did, this wine had some wonderful layers. This opened with plum, blueberry, purple flowers and rich soil before changing over to more notes of leather, and subtle pepper and nutmeg. The tannins were still pretty firm but balanced. It was a good match for a filet with blue cheese/black pepper/parsley. It was interesting to keep finding the changes in the wine over a couple hours. — 8 years ago
Domaine Tempier
Bandol Mourvedre Blend 2014
First time trying one of the Tempier reds. Damn, this is some towering, dense wine. Perfectly balanced though. Intense concentration without any overripeness or hyperextraction. Even this, the entry-level cuvée, obviously has the stuffing to age for a while. However, it's surprisingly giving now with expressive aromatics and layers of flavor. Nose of ripe strawberry and blackberry, fresh thyme, an almost smoky, arid, gravelly soil character, rich tobacco leaf, licorice root, a slight gameyness, and a slightly volatile, balsamic character. Palate is equally dense and ripe, but still has some lift to keep it from being quickly fatiguing. More ripe strawberry and raspberry, thyme herbaceousness, smoky gravel earth, tobacco, savory gaminess, and slightly volatile balsamic character. Medium (+) acid, medium (+) to high intensity incredibly fine-grained tannin, medium to medium (+) body. Begs to be joined by a rich lamb or beef dish to stand up to it. I'm gonna get another bottle of this and not touch it for quite a while because there's still so much room to unfurl and smooth out, even with it being as good as it is now because it's just almost too intense right now. Will be an amazing wine at maturity. — 8 years ago
Ainsley
Made from organically, dry farmed, untrellised vines planted in 1961. A fresh Chenin blanc that states pineapple, mineral, lemon zest on the nose. Lemon, pineapple, pear and stainless steel on the palette. Fantastic pairing with fresh garlic Argentinian shrimp. Great find! — 5 years ago