Mark Flesher

9.8

@Delectable Wine this is the 2016 Family Reserve but not Ashe.

The 2016 Spoto Family Reserve is packed with power and youthful exuberance. I was honored to be able to give this one a drive today. This wine was popped and sampled, slow-oxed for 6 hours, and then decanted for another 2 hours. This definitely woke up this monster and got it going. This is a red-fruit dominant, full-bodied behemoth that will stay for 20 years in your cellar. Lighter violet pour with a clear meniscus. The nose of this wine is amazing, and the poured sample really wasn't tasted for 2-3 hours because I kept coming back to the nose on this wine. Smells like a pastry shop around the holidays and has a touch of a wildflower garden if you huff this one long enough. Tne entry of this wine is dominanted by black cherry, red currants, red licorice, bing cherries, red-hot spices, cinnamon, hint of fig. Very bright acidity and loaded with tons of power throughout. Finishes with young oak, stiff but punchy tannic character, tapping you on the shoulder and saying "Yeah, I'm this good now, but you should come back to the others you bought in a few years." This wine is dressed to impress. Rating: 98+ — 5 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.3

A great balance between fruit and funk. In my opinion, this one is right at the peak of drinking, because it is only going to get Bordeaux funky from here. On the nose and entry, lots of black cherry in fig, baking spices give way to haymore weedy and herbaceous sign that turns to a hint of Brett and funk towards the finish. Although this wine is very good, someone who likes this style a little bit more may have rated this a couple of points higher than I did. Very enjoyable wines, and definitely belonged on the table next to a high-profile Napa cab, high profile Australian Shiraz, and twenty-year-old CDP. — 6 years ago

with Dan, Bradley and 2 others

Mark Flesher

9.3

Really good chard. Poured more of an amber color than I thought. Nose of bay breeze, oyster shell, salinity, yellow fruit. Entry of cantaloupe, banana, herbal character. Very round on the front, and then dries to an acidic character in the middle and finish. This wine is really quite dense on the front and yet doesn't seem to impose with whatever is paired with it. Has a lot of density, complexity and balance, and I think this one has many years left. Bottle didn't last long! — 5 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.7

Best Australian Shiraz I think I've ever had and I can say that with absolute confidence. At almost 20 years of age, this one is something special. Nose of eucalyptus and roasted black fruit. Cedar. Entry still has sweeter roasted blackberry and tar. This is a monster. I was getting some coconut and chocolate. Tasted like a girl scout Samoa cookie. And that is an absolute compliment since that is my favorite. Finish with roasted tannin which is a bit soft but still very present. Lots of black pepper on the finish. Amazing. I could have downed the whole thing myself, but I had to share. Darn it! Drink now or you could probably hold this another 10 years! — 6 years ago

with Dan, Bradley and 2 others

Mark Flesher

9.4

This wine IMO has matured and is in the ripe drinking window right now. This wine has some blackberry influence but a lot of the fruit in the front and middle seems to be boysenberry, black cherry, dates, and sweet plums. Compared to other vintages that I've had (they've all been more current in the last few years), they have all been darker for sure, but Aloft has always seemed to be a touch sweeter than the Charles Krug Cold Springs and has also usually had a bit more punch. I think this one is starting to show a tiny bit of age. I think it's been a while since I decided to open an 09 Aloft. Finished with some pepper notes and a little eucalyptus. Went well with a huge variety of seafoods in the fact that it wasn't a unidimensional blackberry bomb. Enjoyed on the last night of our beach trip. — 5 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

@Delectable Wine this is the 2017 Right Bank Chardonnay. It was not in the database... First time that I and every experienced any wine that was not sake from Japan. This one was served blind to the crowd. Several guesses of Rhone White, some guessing California Chard, one Cali SB, one person who maybe knows my eclectic collection a little bit more guessed Texas White. On the nose, a little bit of funk at first. In the glass, a hint of funky mushroom but this had some herbal quality and definitely more yellow fruited. One person called it tropical, but I don't know if I agree with that. The entry has a little bit of minerality, maybe a hint of grassiness but there was more white peach here than anything. Was actually there a rounded in the middle, and finished with medium density and still quite a bit of oak which means I might hang on to the Left Bank Rivalis Chard maybe a year or two. Definitely a left field the kind of wine by a continent or two. At the price paid, I would definitely seek out more of this. — 6 years ago

with Dan, Bradley and 2 others