The Long Way Round
Seavey Vineyard
Caravina Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Beautiful, dark red, perfume fruits. Black currants, blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, boysenberries, lots of blue fruits, expresso, anise, leather, some graphite, sweet dark moist soils, medium intensity volcanic minerals, limestone with blue and dark red floral bouquet.
The body is full. The tannins are round and nicely soften. The structure, length, tension and balance have hit harmony with plenty of life left ahead. Dark currants, blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, boysenberries, loads of blue fruits, expresso roast, anise, dark chocolate, a little caramel, leather, some graphite, leather, dry tobacco, touch of dry herbs, sweet dark moist soils, medium intensity volcanic minerals, limestone and blue and dark red floral bouquet. The acidity is round and beautiful. The finish is long, very well balanced, elegant, polished and lasts minutes.
Photos of; The barn used for winemaking and to host tastings. The first harvested Cabernet grapes of the season, an old school basket press that decorates their grounds, Estate vines and a giant fan to dry the vines if needed amongst the hilltop mountains that surround the Estate. — 6 years ago
R. López de Heredia
Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2004
Drank 3/5/18.
Straight out of the bottle the nose is reminiscent if nicely aged bordeaux, with stewed red and black fruits. After 10 minutes some light petrol, tilled earth, and oak notes emerge.
Initially, this is quite closed off on the palate, with red cherry and high acidity. After an hour in the decanter sweet red cherries, balsamic flavors, and currants emerge, backed by finely integrated, medium tannins and medium + acidity in a way that makes me think Bordeaux meets Tuscany. Medium to long finish. This wine is extremely easy to drink and glides down smoothly, evolving and revealing new layers as time passes. Very impressed for the price (around $35).
3/24/9/5/4 + 50 = 95 points.
Make sure to let this decant for at least an hour. — 6 years ago
Long Shadows Vintners
Poet's Leap Columbia Valley Riesling 2015
Delicate on the nose. Floral,crisp red delicious apple, peach, and apricot. A scant bit of R/S. m+ acid, m body. Rich and round. — 7 years ago
Château Cos d'Estournel
Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2008
Another visit to this lovely wine and another confirmation that 2008 was a great vintage and most probably one of the best value vintages in the last decade in Bordeaux. The wine is rich, round, elegant and smooth, already ready for drinking, with earthy notes, coffee, black current, wild berries, full round body, lovely tannins, elegant long finish. A pleasure. My score 91, drink to 2025 — 7 years ago
Long Shadows Vintners
Feather Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Feather is 100% Cabernet. This is made in coordination with Randy Dunn. On the nose, dark, lightly spiced currants. Black oil, loamy soils, black licorice and fresh floral bouquet. On the palate, the mouthfeel is thick & rich. There's a good presence of wood shaving. Rich, ripe blackberries, dark cherries, candied black plum, plum, black raspberries, loamy soils, dark rich moist earth, leather, tobacco, spice-box, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, black licorice, violets and fresh red florals. Acidity is round and mouthwatering. The structure is big. The tension perfect as is the balance of fruit and earth. This is definitely a Parker wine. It's so easy to drink young, yet will cellar 10-15 years nicely. Photos of the tasting rooms hand blown glass lighting...lit up. The Feather artwork and the famous Boushey vineyard in Yakima Valley — 7 years ago
Round Pond Estate
Estate Proprietary Left Bank Red Bordeaux Blend 2014
Very bold blend. Tastes more like a cab than a blend. Thick and chewy with a long finish. Highly recommend. — 7 years ago
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1926
Label was very very new looking. Questionable as to real or not. Cork is correct. Wine us correct. On the way out but just won't leave. Brown to rust color. Better as it went on. Light fruit. Amazingly long Finish. Wow. — 7 years ago
Opus One
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2011
So, while NYE is shining its face of glam and glitter, this old-school favorite blue-jean lady miniskirted her way into my night with dark skin memorably imprinting shear silk as her long legs grab and dance. Very interesting wild-wood nose showing rabbit tobacco, recently barned and stacked hay dripping with spilled plum against new oak adding resin grabbing blueberry all playing with a night fire-funnel warming and suggesting another swig that goes chocolate then back to the berries lingering and seductively clinging -"Ohhh it makes me wonder, what's going on, under, the...." Balanced and beautiful, needing an acid hit to find Nirvana .., that written, drink it up, down, .... — 8 years ago
Château Mouton Rothschild
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1986
Still a long way to go. — 10 years ago
Château Margaux
Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1999
Plenty Of layers Of conomexity on nose. Elegant, silky and round in mouth. Awesome long finish. — 11 years ago
Round Pond Estate
Kith & Kin Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Dry, tasteful, long lasting finish, and very smooth. — 5 years ago
Château Lynch-Bages
Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2011
Very young. Needs 3-5 years to round the tannins. High acidity. Fruit is very nice. Lots if bing cherries. Will be very good in a few years or with a long decant. — 6 years ago
The Standish Wine Company
Single Vineyard Shiraz 2006
This wine is made by Dan Standish who started his career by traveling all over the world learning the skill of winemaking. He returned to Australia to make wine at Torbreck. After making Torbreck, he starting his own project. This wine is produced from a vineyard with 100 year old vines with a yield of only a 1/2 ton on fruit per acre. In comparison to quality Napa producers, their yields are 2-3 tons per acre. Dan is absolutely one of the very best producers in Barossa.
On the nose, mulberries, olallieberries, blueberries, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, blackberries, black cherries, dark berry cola, vanilla, dark spice, black pepper, dry crushed rocks, limestone minerals, soft leather, saddle-wood, coffee grounds, black licorice, dark, rich soil, lavender and violets.
The body is full, rich, ruby, lush and very inky. The texture is elegantly sexy. The 06 is still youthful & fresh. It still needs more time but, it’s delicious tonight. The length, tension, structure and balance are just coming into it own. mulberries, Olallieberries, Boysenberries, blueberries, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, raisins, blackberries, black cherries, dark berry cola, vanilla, dark spice, black pepper, dry crushed rocks, limestone minerals, soft leather, saddle-wood, coffee grounds, black licorice, dark, rich soil, purple flowers, lavender and violets. The acidity is round and beautiful. The finish is long, thick, ruby, lush, elegant, well balanced with deep heat penetrating dark spices that rise off the palate and lasts several minutes. The 06 is still 5 years from it peak.
Photos of; The Standish Cellar Door, Owner/Winemaker Dan Standish, beautiful Barossa Vineyards and the old tasting room — 6 years ago
Château Lafon-Rochet
Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2002
Since this is the last Friday of the year, my Cabernet fix is going to be a little different this time.
Dark ruby in color with a short brick /orange rim.
Earthy nose of blueberries, blackberries, black currants, earth, wood, light vanilla, tobacco, peppercorn, espresso, forest floor, leather, pencil lead, light barnyard, licorice, light vanilla, bell pepper and vegetables.
Medium plus in body with medium plus acidity and nice legs.
Dry and earthy on the palate with blueberries, cherries, oak, licorice, cloves, earth, wet leaves, vegetables, herbs, beef jerky, spices, dark coffee, pencil lead, green pepper, black tea and peppercorn.
Long finish with round tannins and tangy cherries.
What a wonderful Cabernet based red from Saint Estephe. Nicely balanced and very complex with a great mouthfeel. Earthy and still young, but drinking very nicely now.
Not a great vintage, but so enjoyable by itself or with food. The nose is so complex, that it's so nice just to sniff on.
Needs 3 hours to open up properly and show some tannins.
I paired it with cheeses and light appetizers.
13% alcohol by volume. — 6 years ago
Round Pond Estate
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Deep ruby/purple in the glass. Powerful aromas of dark chocolate, violet and cassis are layered with black currant and plums. The medium plus acidity drives the lush ripe fruit in the midpallet, centered around wildflowers, baking spice and dark berries. The finish is long with polished tannins and a touch of tobacco. — 7 years ago
Valdicava
Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2006
Dry but delicious. And sweet once you have the right food pairings. Decanted for 6 hours. Not enough. If I do it for 12+hrs it could be even better. You can tell this is a powerful wine and can hold on to that finesse taste even after being opened for hours. Addendum- I decanted two more bottles. One for 8 hrs one for 18 hrs. 18 is way too long, the wine lost a lot of its magic. The sweet spot might be 6-8hrs. — 7 years ago
Seavey Vineyard
Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
Bright cherry colored in the glass. The nose explodes with cassis and blueberry jam, graphite and tobacco. There is no way you would ever know this was a 2011. EVER. This has a rich palate dominated by black fruit and cassis with a subtle mineral vein. Long finish. Great balance. Their wines are consistent and classic in style. I have had every vintage of this wine from their inaugural release in 1992 and with maybe (?) one exception have loved each one. If you have not yet tried a Seavey or visited them you should put them high on your list. Their Merlot is also insane. — 7 years ago
Château d'Yquem
Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2010
Very young but lovely fresh apricots, peaches and pineapple. Honeysuckle and white flowers. What really makes this wine amazing though is the body. It's big and round the whole way through where so many Sauternes fall either in the middle or finish. Lovely. — 8 years ago
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2009
Almost CA like at this point in its evolution. Long way to go... — 9 years ago
Château Cheval Blanc
St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2000
2000 Cheval Blanc with a blend of almost 50:50 Merlot & Cabernet Franc, even though some reports say 53:47 dominate Merlot (not all CB are dominate CF). Tasted with 03, 05, 05 and I had this vintage a few years back, and I must say the tannins have come a long way- lush, almost melts into the wine. Explosion of blueberry and cassis with tarragon, smoked meats, and bark. Even though it is such a pleasure now I have a feeling it has a lot more to give. — 10 years ago
Château Gloria
Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2015
As I said with the ‘14, I know this is way too young. But I have a couple as thank you gifts, so I got one for me too and wanted to try. It’s terrific. But my advice? Cellar it and forget about it for at least 5 years. Lush blackberry and fig fruit. Brambly and woody, with wet earth and a LONG loamy finish. This is super taut. Be patient. But if you just can’t resist, it needs to see serious time in the decanter. One of my go-to Bordeaux’s thanks to Big Steve and a sleeper. A WS Top 100 this year. — 5 years ago
Château Cos d'Estournel
Les Pagodes de Cos Saint-Estéphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2005
Is there anything better than Ribeye & Claret? From my perspective, no. This is the second wine from one of more prestigious Chateaus in St. Estephe. Bordeaux rule number 2, buy the hell out of good producers second wines in very good vintages, like 2005. You’ll get great wines at more affordable prices. Providing, you exercise patience; which is rule number 1. Decanted for 3 plus hours. On the nose, ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, baked strawberries, black plum & cherries pull up the rear. Incense, herbaceous character, anise, scorched dark earth, burnt ambers, anise, baking spices dominated by vanilla, black tea, black cherry cola, loamy dry soils, dry & fresh red florals with violets for days. It’s in a great phase with many years ahead. The body is full and round. The texture has you wanting more. It’s velvety and ripe. Tannins soft and powdery, around 65-70 resolved. The fruits are ripe & ruby...showing the excellence of the 05 vintage. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, baked strawberries, black plum & cherries pull up the rear. Incense, herbaceous character, anise, scorched dark earth, dry stones, leather, cigar with ash, burnt ambers, anise, baking spices dominated by vanilla, black tea, black cherry cola, loamy dry soils, dry & fresh red florals with violets for days. The acidity is dead on. The length, structure, length & balance is harmonizing like America on the album, “ Horse with No Name.” The long finish is; ruby, rich, elegant, round, beautiful and lasts a minute plus. Beautiful wine. 9.4 with the steak. 9.2 on its own. Photos of; Chateau Cos d’ Estournel, hosting/tasting area, private wine stock and barrel cellar. Producer notes and history...Chateau Cos d’Estournel has a long history in the appellation of St. Estephe. Louis Gaspard d’Estournel, gave his name to the estate after founding it in 1811. It only took a few years before Chateau Cos d’Estournel became famous with wine lovers and royalty all over the world. In the early days, the wines of Cos d’Estournel were not sold through the Negociant system. The owner preferred selling his wine directly to his customers. In fact, Chateau Cos d’Estournel was exported to numerous countries across the globe, with a large portion of the production being sold to India. It was that connection to India that inspired much of the unique, east Indian design we see at Cos d’Estournel today. Chateau Cos d’Estournel was one of the first Chateaus to bottle, label and sell their own wine. This practice continued until the death of Louis Gaspard d’Estournel in 1852. After his death, the estate was purchased by an owner that sold their wines on the Place de Bordeaux, using the negociant system. If the Chateau had not been selling their wines through the negociant system, it would never have been included in the 1855 Classification! Chateau Cos d’Estournel was sold to the Charmolue family, the owners of the neighboring Chateau Montrose. They continued to own the estate until 1917, when it was bought by Fernand Ginestet. The purchase was the next major step in the development of Cos d’Estournel. The next era in the development of Chateau Cos d’Estournel took place in 2000, when Chateau Cos d’Estournel was bought by Michel Reybier, who made his fortune in the food industry. Michel Reybier hired the son of Bruno Prats, Jean-Guillaume Prats to manage Cos d’Estournel. Things improved with the efforts of Jean-Guillaume Prats who helped design the most modern wine making facilities in the entire Bordeaux wine making appellation at the time. A complete renovation of Cos d’Estournel took place in the winemaking facilities and cellars. The wine making facilities are completely modern, using 100% gravity. On October 15, 2012, Jean Guillaume Prats announced he was leaving Chateau Cos d’Estournel to join LVMH. Jean Guillaume Prats was replaced by Aymeric de Gironde. Following the departure of Aymeric de Gironde in 2017, the owner, Michel Reybier took over managing the estate. In 2018, the estate released COS100, produced from their oldest Merlot vines that were 100 years of age. It was limited in production to a 100 Jeroboams, (3 litres) and 10 Balthazars (12 litres) and a few other sizes were produced from only 2 barrels of wine. The proceeds from COS100 go to the charity, Elephant Family, that is devoted to protecting and nurturing Asian elephants in their own, natural habitat. Cos d’Estournel’s new cellar is a joint reflection by the technical team, the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Jean Guillaume Prats. It’s a marvel blend of simplicity and modern technology. Cos d’Estournel is unique to Bordeaux and the rest of world. What makes this special is that the cellars of Cos d’Estournel are entirely operated by gravity. There are no pumps of any kind to force the wine. The purpose is to allow a gentleness to the wine and improve its purity allowing for expression of their special terroir. It set a new benchmark for cellars not only in the Left Bank, but in all of Bordeaux. The new cellars at Chateau Cos d’Estournel include 72 isothermal cone shaped stainless steel vats. The vats are specifically designed for thermal inertia. The 72 vats have a wide range of capacities to correspond with the needs of each parcel of vines. The vats range in size from as small as 19 hectoliters all the way up to 115 hectolitres. 12 of the smaller vats that are designed to handle between 19 and 60 hectoliters that have two levels in each vat. In other words, this offers the technical equivalent of 24 separate vats. Each of the vats are double lined, which allows for more exact and temperature control. None of the vats use interior heat coils. Perhaps the most inventive part of the cellars is the four 100 hectoliter lift tanks or wine elevators that replace the pumps used in the traditional pumping over and racking off processes, which introduce air and often destabilize the marc. From the moment the grapes arrive, everything travels by the flow of gravity. Jean Guillaume Prats called this process a pumpless, pump over. What takes place is, the wine is released from the main vat where the skins remain. By gravity, the juice is then moved into smaller vats which are on wheels. These small vats are sent to the glass elevators where they are moved up one floor and returned back into the vat by gravity to cover the skins. At this point, the process is still unique to Chateau Cos d’Estournel. The wine production of Cos d’Estournel is labor intensive starting the moment the grapes enter their new facility. The berries travel through a tunnel that instantly lowers the temperature of the fruit to 3-5 degrees Celsius. This sudden chilling stops the loss of juice while also slowing oxidation. Next, the grapes are cold macerated at 7-9 degrees Celsius for about a week. Pump overs are done by gravity recycling. The juice from the top of the vat moves to the bottom of the vat entirely by gravity. The fermentation takes place at low temperatures to avoid over extraction or harsh tannins. The 91 hectare vineyard of Chateau Cos d’Estournel is planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The vineyard is located close to the border of Pauillac and Saint Estephe at the southern tip of the Saint Estephe appellation. The vineyard has cultivated 84 hectares of vines. Even though the vineyard has been expanded over the years, the grape varietals planted here have remained consistent. The vineyard, located on the hill of Cos, has gentle elevations of up to 20 meters. On average, the vines are 35 years of age. However, the estate has very old Merlot vines as well, which date back more than 100 years. Part of the terroir is situated on the hill of Cos, which is at a high elevation for the Medoc at 20 meters. Cos d’Estournel is translated from old Gascon speech; which means the hill of pebbles. It describes the terroir along with clay, gravel, sand and limestone soil. However, there is a unique aspect to the soil at Cos d’Estournel, as you find more gravel and less clay here than you do at other neighboring vineyards. Because the fruit is grown close to the Atlantic ocean in a cool climate, Cos d’Estournel is often among the last of the properties in the Medoc to harvest. The vineyard is managed by teams and each team member is given 45,000 vines to look after. The vineyard, which is almost one large block, can be further divided into 72 separate parcels. — 6 years ago
Domaine François Raveneau
Valmur Chablis Grand Cru Chardonnay 2002
2002 vintage. In Au Fil du Zinc, Chablis. Medium lemon green hue. Lemon curd and honey, some buttery notes. Rich. Deep concentration. On the palate, medium plus acidity, full body, medium alcohol, full concentration of honey, vanilla and lemon candy pieces. Wet stone minerality present in the mid palate, rather than the nose. Quite long, but not lingering in the way some Raveneau can be. Developing in the glass. Great complexity. Still relative youngster. Drink now until 2032. NB: decant at least one hour before drinking. — 8 years ago
La Rioja Alta
Reserva Viña Ardanza Rioja Tempranillo Garnacha 2005
2005 vintage in Sept 2015. Deep red color. Bouquet described as "funky" by server lol... It does have a very musty aroma at first but opens up nicely to a covered fruit with hint of pepper. Flavor: at first opening, bright fruit up front balanced with some (not overwhelming) bitter tannins, evolving into a full-mouth of cherry with astringent tannin and then into a moderately long slightly overly acidic linger. But this wine really came into its own after being decanted and sitting for about 90 minutes - acid lingerhas smoothed out and the full, round, fruity character has matured into a really delicious wine. Not a "bold" wine, but definitely one to savor. — 9 years ago
La Rioja Alta
Gran Reserva 904 Rioja Tempranillo Graciano 2001
Time and again a great bottle of wine!! Incredibly, despite the age it still benefits so much from a couple of hours breathing. I guess it can go a long way still in the cellar. Recommended — 9 years ago
Long Shadows Vintners
Chester-Kidder Columbia Valley Red Blend 2010
Full bodied and big in every way. Tight tannins, with core of ripe black fruits, blackberries, black plums, cigar box, vanilla, and spice. Still tight but will open up beautifully over the next couple of years. — 10 years ago
Aaron Tan
Popped, poured, and blinded this wine. It didn't take long for the notes to lead me towards Hermitage (so intense!), but I didn't think it was Chave's because it was lacking the meaty notes that I associate with his wines. I am, however, not an authority on Chave - I can count the number of times I've drank his Hermitage with my hands. Regardless, the 2014 Hermitage was certainly impressive and my WOTN. Full-bodied, dark fruits, quite ripe, but in no way jammy, spice - anise, juniper, and bay leaf, licorice, deep minerals, sexy supple texture. As the night progressed - seriously stony, air has brought out the meatiness (bacon), along with some gamey and musky tones. The fruit adamantly refuses to subside on the palate. A real masterpiece, especially for the vintage.
Here's another case of infanticide on my end, but at least in the name of research, I can attest to the excellence of this wine. Personally, though, I was missing some floral and crushed pepper characters which I love in Syrah. Just nit-picking. — 5 years ago