Very nice white wine, but not very complex at the same time. Stand alone, it is a citrus packed, high acid, crisp white similar to the way a dry Sémillon from Australia drinks. Combined with the Mediterranean spices in Greek and Med cuisine, and it is perfectly at home. Might just take a little journey through Greek wine this next month and see what I find! — 8 years ago
The definition of easy drinking and crowd pleasing, except you don’t have to sacrifice style or substance. Wonderful aromatics going on here with freshly cut gardenias, bright strawberries, and muted spice. This is a Central Coast take on Chateauneuf du Pape and while it doesn’t exactly reach that level, to me, it still hits all the high notes. Medium bodied with black cherries, Dr. Pepper, wet earth, light smoke, and cocoa powder on the more complex than expected palate. Add in some interesting minerality on the medium finish and you’ve got yourself a winner. — 8 years ago
Fantastic once opened! Standout mid-range Californian Pinot Noir, with pleasant berry, oak, and vanilla notes. Clear and transparent, medium body means it is good with or without food. Makes me miss home! — 9 years ago
This might be the most structured Home released to date, but it's not closed. It is however very busy with a jumble of things going on right away - a streak of green stemminess, bright, zingy red fruit, a dash of sophisticated oak spice. Sometimes the Rhys wines on release show a lot of sweet primary fruit that needs some airing to mellow out, but that's not the case with this one, the fruit is already fairly restrained right out of the gate. it *still* moves to the background though, and it doesn't take much time before the wine is barely showing any fruitiness at all, just a blue/black complexion and an intense sensation of crushed stones, which combined with the powerful tannin make the texture of this thing very palpably grainy. It stays very drinkable though, never drying on the palate. Not as elegant as some vintages of Home have been, but the complexity is here. — 10 years ago
The usually tight tannic punch has faded and melded with the usual Washington velvet, a dark abyss of blackberry, plum, black cherry, it's in a nice place, I honestly wanted the kick in the mouth, but it's more elegant than you would expect. And I'm okay with buying her dinner, cause she delivers! She wore the long dress, thought I'd be looking at a short skirt, but this long dress is taking me home, thanks! She got feisty after she opened up & she delivers impressed! Give it 1hr and she will sing in your ear! — 11 years ago
Classic SH, these wines really take on a personality of their own, especially with age. This was all about the non-fruit and earthy notes for me, combined with the blocked malo style makes these zip well into their life. I did find this to be showing a little more oxidation than LBT, giving a slight imprint of fatigue on the wine. Dried apple, bruised pear, kiss of honey, apple blossoms, wet clay, mushrooms. — 7 years ago
Very good. Earthy with some pleasant funk. Reminded me a little bit of Clos de Trias Ventoux rouge. Took a bottle home as well. — 7 years ago
Continuing in my Napa cab education this showed up at the door for me. It is excellent winter wine. It would warm you even if chilled—at 15 % abv no doubt but the taste is coziness defined too: ripe cherries, blackberry preserves on some sort of cheese on an earthy whole whole wheat cracker. The tannins could use, say, one or two more years to fully integrate but they aren’t objectable. Holiday spices and a whiff of forest floor and a long plummy finish round it out. Take this wine to an ice skating party if such things exist in your life. — 8 years ago
With Hillstone recently deciding to A). add a $15 corkage fee to their menu and B). take the Smith-Madrone Spring Mountain Cab Sauv. off their wine list (crime of the century in my opinion!), I wondered if there were any good wine finds left on their menu. I was pleased to find this one and enjoyed it thoroughly with my French Dip! Even better was the cute guy seen sitting across the bar from me! I would have gladly shared! Now, just need to curb my addiction to their creamy horseradish and all will be right in the world-well sorta.... — 8 years ago
Got to take advantage of another Wednesday Wine Committee and boy was it worth it. Wow! Killer wines brought by Glenn for his 60th! As always, wines tasted blind. 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert wine.
En mag. Possibly WOTD for me. I don't know if it was due to it being in a sweet spot or what, but this was firing on all cylinders. Room was split on Bordeaux or old Napa cab. A jamminess trait to it, but the finish had a great plum note that lingered. Some cocoa and blackberry pie, too. So good! — 8 years ago
Always love me some Seghesio. Home Ranch is one of my favorites. — 9 years ago
Toasty, smokey. Old school reds. A little umami/ soy without va. Perfect foil for some home smoked pork ribs. Old vine Mendocino Grenache & Petite Sirah - what John Parducci used to tell me was a great combination to slake hearty pastas or roasted meats. Nice wine. — 11 years ago
A customer opened this to taste, and gave me the bottle to take home. Opened up quite nicely on the way home! — 12 years ago
Only back home for three days since our grand excursion, oh Burgundy how I miss you and your beautiful landscapes with tiny villages.
(I don't miss how tall my damn grass grew in the lawn during our absence!)
Flinty nose with beautiful white flowers.
Flint, minerals, lime-honey on the palate, acidity is noticable but not distracting. Finish is like forever. We will attempt to restrain ourselves from drinking this whole bottle this evening, as based on recent Saint Aubin tastings, this will continue to evolve with air and patience. I feel this bottle is still young, many years ahead for enjoyment.
Thanks @David T for turning me towards Lamy... I'll be back for more!
24hr Update: So creamy, beautiful Chardonnay fruit, yellow apple, faint flinty notes today, acidy is still noticable, and enjoyable. I'm not sure I like it more or less than the initial approach, it's a different, also great, wine today. — 7 years ago
My notes on this from May of 2017 still apply. Popped and poured. Drank well over two days. Immediately this wine impresses visually. Sure, the color is an expected deep garnet but what's most striking is the fact that it's never completely opaque at the core. You can just barely get the faintest amount of light to see through it. It's quite beautiful, really. The nose is initially a bit reticent but a few minutes of air in the glass does the trick and then it really begins to show off the most lovely perfume of mixed red and dark fruit; so fresh and pure with just a flash of garrigue. No perceptible heat on the nose. On the palate it's a veritable wonder of berries, Rainier cherries, black berry liqueur, and just a touch of fine white pepper. The body is perfectly proportioned and the finish lasts for over 30 seconds. In summary, this is an incredibly balanced 2010 CdP that is already hitting its prime. Personally, I felt it was really at its very best about two hours in which leaves me to believe it should be a great pop and pour for the next couple of years and potentially has the balance to be great for longer. That being said, there is no need to decant, just pull the cork, pour and enjoy the evolution in the glass. The hard part is allowing it to last for two hours and longer. It should be noted that this is dangerously quaffable wine and it wouldn't be hard to take the whole thing to the head. Might as well drink these sooner than later as I'm always a bit wary of CdP much beyond the 10 year mark, where I tend so find many of them fall apart on the palate. Perhaps others with more experience in the long-term ageing of CdP can chime in though. Absurd value at $30.
As a side note, this paired very nicely with pan fried pork savory bacon wrapped filet mignon. — 7 years ago
Medium garnet red. Solid Pinot nose with notes of red cherries, branches, and floral notes. Solid acidity and low to medium tannins (4.5/10). Layers of red fruits, and branches. Not bad at all, great value Pinot from Oregon. Drink till 2021. — 8 years ago
When the waiter poured it, it smelled just like when I bake banana bread at home. Interesting, one is probably enough for me. — 9 years ago
Definitely grew on me. Enough substance to take it seriously, sufficiently smooth to be enjoyable. — 9 years ago
This beer makes me want to take an UberX in the middle of a weekday to the nearest liquor store in San Francisco and toss one of these back standing in the aisle gnoshing on a triple size Tabasco Slim Jim while the store owner screams at me to pay for it. I love the combination of a fully hopped IPA with a darker ale backbone. Truly a double but not overwhelming. Yet again, another killer IPA from San Diego. Quite possibly my absolute al time favorite. — 10 years ago
Oooh take me home and adopt me — 13 years ago
Miguel Ostrowski
Yes please, I’ll take some more, the texture on this wine always catches me by surprise, so velvety, so complex and then it hits you like Mike Tyson. — 7 years ago