Upside Down

Sine Qua Non

Turn the Whole Thing Upside Down Grenache 2009

#AgedWineTuesday

Deep purple in color with a short, cloudy purple rim.

Strong nose of black currants, black plums, stewed cherries, dried figs, raisins, ginger, oak, eucalyptus, spices, green beans and peppercorn.

Full-bodied with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and fruit forward on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, tobacco, licorice, peppercorn, chocolates, herbs, spices and coffee.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This 16 year old Grenache from California feels like it peaked a few years ago, but still drinking beautifully. Elegant and rich.

The Syrah notes are very dominant, especially right out of the bottle.

Complex and interesting, with a beautiful nose. Extracted and fruit forward.

Robert Parker 96 points.

Needed 2 hours to open up, and delicious by itself as a sipping wine.

A blend of 84% Grenache, 11% Syrah and 5% Mourvèdre.

15.6% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$330.
— 7 months ago

Paul, Tom and 14 others liked this

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

Artemis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Paul K
9.1

Glad I picked up a bunch of these from Costco a few years ago. Great value! Looking forward to enjoying for the next few years. Don’t think this is a long term lay down but over next five years a great mid week bottle. — 3 years ago

Vanessa, Severn and 27 others liked this

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2007

A great special occasion wine. Sous vide ribeye and truffle butter pasta made a perfect pairing. Heavy leather on the nose initially but really calms down after only a few minutes of decanting. — 4 years ago

Eric, Paul and 7 others liked this
Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

My favorite opus, purist will say it has too much fruit. But I think it had distinctive fruit, it was a bottle I would crave. I wouldn’t want a Cabernet when I got home I wanted an 07 Opus.

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2009

This has been on my bucket list for a while, and we just got a few bottles in my area. I went in to this with high expectations and it totally delivered. One of the most complex wines I’ve had - there is just so much going on here. The nose on this just doesn’t stop evolving. Beautiful oxidation and so many distinct aromas that I’m not going to rattle them off. Texture, flavor, this has everything to offer for my palate. Need to hunt down an older bottle next time. For me, this lived up to the hype. — 5 years ago

Eric, Ericsson and 11 others liked this
Severn G

Severn G Influencer Badge Premium Badge

Yeah, great young, epic 15-20 years from now!
Josh Morgenthau

Josh Morgenthau Influencer Badge

These are so good. This is the reserva no? Gran reserva current release somewhere in the 90s I think...
Adam Beasley

Adam Beasley

@Josh Morgenthau correct, it’s the Reserva. I did snag a bottle of the 2010 Grand Reserve Rose though, which I’m pretty pumped to try.

Chapel Down

English Rosé Blend 2019

Lekkerste rose die ik tot nu toe gehad heb. Licht droog en bloemig van smaak. — 7 years ago

Louise liked this

SLO Down Wines

Stand Out Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Outstanding cab/merlot blend. Sister of sexual chocolate. Excellent price point. Around $20. — 8 years ago

Mouton Noir Wines

O.P.P. Other People's Pinot Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023

nice pinot, acids carry, color is strawberry red, screw cap, well worth a try, glad I did.! you down with opp? yeah you know me! — 9 months ago

Tom, Dave and 5 others liked this
Dave

Dave

You're dating yourself 😆
Jody Scharf

Jody Scharf Premium Badge

ha 67. yeah that's what I do now...lol

Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

Baron de Pichon-Longueville Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1995

1995 vintage. Great fill, foil and label. Perfect cork. From a top-notch cellar. Decanted and tasted over the course of two hours. Volcanic ash-styled sed vs chunky-style. Big funk on the nose that resolved after 7-8 minutes. Wine was showing decently (in the 69-72 degree range) but lacking any tannic structure. Placed the decanter atop an ice bucket bath to drop the temp down to 60 degrees or so. Took about 20 minutes but the tannins kicked in the door to say hello. Fruit components stayed constant. Pauillac tendencies were all there. As is the case often with older BDX, the decaying matter/leaves at the onset transitioned to graphite/lead pencil and espresso flavors. This was a superior bottle in great shape. Top of this wine’s specific bell curve. Comparable bottles would look to be drinking this well for the next 5-7 years without dropoff. Out of larger format…could possibly push this into 9.4 status. 2.5.24. — 2 years ago

Ron, Jan and 17 others liked this
Ron R

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Gonna do a “fly by” one of these days. Buckle up…
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego Premium Badge

@Ron R Let me know if you’re headed to SD. E-mail me at: scott@asrestaurant.com
Ron R

Ron R Influencer Badge Premium Badge

👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2016

Paul K
9.4

Wrapping up a long weekend in Miami celebrating with friends.
Really good. The fruit is round. Get the Malbec and Petit Verdot. Classy finish that shows off the Cab Franc. This will improve with time as fruit settles down.
— 5 years ago

Daniel P., Tom and 31 others liked this

SLO Down Wines

Broken Dreams California Chardonnay 2013

Whole Foods, C Golden, apple, pear, nice acidity — 7 years ago

Chapel Down

Classic Non-Vintage Tenterden Brut Pinot Blend

OK, I’m in. This English sparkling wine thing is legit. Fresh, crisp and nicely balanced toasty biscuit character. — 7 years ago

Château Palmer

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1961

Another beautiful btl that shows no signs of slowing down. This was exotic & rich showing cherry, plum fruits, cassis, violets, truffle, fruit cake spice & tobacco. Everyone’s favorite of the Bordeaux flight. — 7 years ago

James, Keith and 8 others liked this

Larkmead Vineyards

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Dense red currant is ‘wrassled’ down by fennel aromas, mint and black cherry with strawberry and blackberry hidden beneath its thick canopy of fern and forrest; including moss and mushroom. Actually amazing! Not going to ever guess that this herbaceous monster with rim to rim colt density is an 11 yr old Calistoga! Meaty notes of grill and marinated fungi. Celeriac root, fennel and licorice notes define this angel with a minty coolness persisting! Blackberry and black cherry emerge in the finale to shine like young wine despite the years!#Larkmead #2007cab #Calistoga #Napa #napacab — 8 years ago

Marchesi Antinori

Tignanello Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 2018

2018 vintage. Last tasted 04.08.23 (9.5), 12.01.22 from a 375ml (9.5) and upon release 06.07.21 (9.5). Decanted and tasted after 45 minutes. Mysterious, dark-fruited and dusty nose. Medium body with excellent darkness of night color. Previous baby-fat overtures approximately 90% gonzo. Slimming down and getting more toned. In a state of transition with undeniable tension that can easily be misconstrued as underperforming. Last wine I tasted that was under this sort of metamorphosis at this level was the 1996 Pichon-Lalande about 1.5 years ago. Such a privilege to experience world-class wines in such a vulnerable moment. Everything is laid out bare/naked before you and you can see where the wine is headed and whether it will be following a trajectory that agrees with you. Definitely unusual to find this occurring in a wine this youthful but the 21st Century is smashing the old 20th Century clay tablets and digitizing. For most wine enthusiasts sampling this wine now, expecting some disappointment in the scoring. For myself, this is currently in the perfect symmetry of past, present and future. Will it show critically better in the future according to the accepted trials, palates, judges and juries? Probably. Will they experience the potential, doubts, insecurities and questions? Doubtful. This kid stays in this exact picture for another 2-4 years imho before striking another pose and I would love to taste this again during that time frame. An above and beyond thank you to FLB (Friday Lunch Bunch) regular Todd. 08.15.25. — 9 months ago

Dave, Ruud and 19 others liked this

La Rioja Alta

Gran Reserva 904 Rioja Tempranillo Graciano 2004

Columbia county 2.0: end of a meal, nightcap of sorts. So so perfumed with dill & vanilla & tree sap, as if Willy Wonka decided to get into winemaking. Really just lived for a while breathing this in. On palate it’s remarkably agile & light, even though the body of red fruits is firmly medium boned. No signs of decay or slowing down- even the cork was perfect-easily can go on another several decades ( it feels). God what a treat. — 3 years ago

Owen Mazon
with Owen
Severn, Daniel and 7 others liked this

Dark Horse Wines

Double Down California Red Blend

For the price, this is a very good/every-day table wine. — 5 years ago

Chapel Down

Tenterden Bacchus 2018

Waitrose. Delightful English white. Melon and peach, grassy and zesty freshness to it, slight acidity to cut through things but without lingering. — 6 years ago

Chapel Down

Vintage Reserve Brut White Blend

Dry and crisp refreshing wte — 7 years ago

Dark Horse Wines

Limited Release Double Down Red Blend

Joe F.
8.9

Very enjoyable, found this very bold in the first taste and mellowed out towards the finish which was very smooth. Fruity and balanced. — 7 years ago

Laurene Feriozzi
with Laurene

SLO Down Wines

Sexual Chocolate California Red Blend 2015

Not worth its weight in gold nor wine. Over priced but I’d pay for the label all day everyday. Hahaha the French are annoying — 8 years ago