Shay A

Digital Marketer - Texan - Wine Nerd Herd Member

2091 wines • 382 followers • 565 following

Kapcsándy Family Winery

Roberta's Reserve State Lane Vineyard Merlot Cabernet Franc 2006

9.4

Happy Father’s Day! Wonderful pull by my father in law.

I’m a big fan of this winery as you don’t see them around very much. Such high quality with impeccable wine making. Slow ox for 1-2hrs. 95 merlot/5 CabFranc. Espresso and dark cocoa dusted black cherry, ripe blackberry and currant aromatics...intoxicating. So soft, yet ripe fruit, on the palate. Cherry swisher sweets, baked mixed berry figs, and still tart red and black fruit. Can’t believe how tart and ripe the fruit is even at 13yrs. Outstanding. — 3 days ago

P, Severn and 47 others liked this

P A

@Shay A Shay Thanks and happy Fathers Day to you. Good post on a quality yet an under the radar wine. Cheers 🍷

TheSkip

Anytime now you’ll be part of the club and expected to pull big bottles!

Shay A

@P A : Cheers!

@TheSkip : Due date for our little girl was July 5th, then June 28th, and as of last week our doctor said “y’all won’t make it that long”, so we are waiting and ready at a moment’s notice! Happy Father’s Day to you, buddy!

Cibonne

Cuvée Spéciale Côtes de Provence Tibouren 2016

Shay A

9.1

Not sure I’ve had a wine like this before. Heavy peppercorn crusted smoked meat and iron but where I thought it would continue a NRhonê power profile, it turned thin/lean. The palate showed more pepper and salted cured meats. Finish of black pepper, violets and old potpourri. A lean CdP? — 4 days ago

with Dan and Mark

David, Ryan and 24 others liked this

David T

I know HoneyBaked hams are not quite culinary delights. However, I really enjoy this wine with it on Easter & Christmas.

Shay A

@David T : I could certainly see that pairing working well with the notes I was getting on this wine.

Hartford Court

Seascape Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010

Shay A

9.2

Shay had this 4 days ago

with Dan, Bradley and 1 other

Shay, Ryan and 25 others liked this

Shay A

I quite enjoyed this after it opened up. I found there to be a lot of crunchy cranberry...it was floral with potpourri notes and maybe slightly stemmy? Herbal. Balanced and open on the palate with black cherry, bay leaf, cedar/evergreen (don’t recall that note in a wine before). Finishes with fresh squeezed red and black fruit. Drink up.

9.3

Schramsberg Vineyards

J. Davies Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Shay A

9.3

Sweet and ripe fruit...black cherry, raspberry jam, with fresh squeezed blackberries (which I always pick up with this wine, and I attribute that to the decent percentage of Malbec in it). Good bit of licorice too. Quite silky and medium bodied on the palate...not as hefty as expected and definitely not as tannic/chalky as expected. Kiss of mint with raspberry infused dark chocolate with hardly any savory/herbal notes towards the finish. This seems totally open for business. — 3 days ago

with Mark

Jimmy, Ryan and 37 others liked this

Mark Flesher

Fruit in your face, great balance, excellent from pop and pour, ready to kick some butt. Very approachable wine. Blackberry that has juuuust ripened on the front and quite a bit of it without seeming to be overextracted. Just right. This wine would go with a myriad of foods, not just a steak. Tannin starts to build in the middle, but is actually quite soft for a 2014. Touch of pepper on the finish without being obnoxious. REALLY balanced wine.

9.3

Nickel & Nickel

Hayne Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Shay A

9.3

Loads of pure fruit here. If you enjoy your Napa cabs with more fruit before they go to secondary notes, I’d say it’s time to enjoy this one. It’s beginning to show some muddled fruit profiles, with blackberries, black cherry, and currant but it also has a nice graphite note. Savory in terms of it having a charcoal like note but not meaty. Mid palate is dense and soft. Very nice. — 4 days ago

with Dan and Mark

Mark, H.B and 35 others liked this

David T

Honestly, I’ve had some good Napa 10’s but overall, I am not a big fan of the vintage.

Château Musar

Bekaa Valley Red Blend 2008

Shay A

9.3

Shay had this 4 days ago

with Dan, Bradley and 1 other

Shay, Dick and 32 others liked this

Bill Bender

We all want to drink like @John Van Trijp though @Adam Beasley so there are hoops to jump through. You are well on your way sir!

Laith A

Funny... I JUST had this for the first time this weekend... lots of green olives on the nose and palate I thought.. I was pleasantly surprised by this!

Mark Flesher

The "First Growth" of Lebanon!

Quilceda Creek

Washington Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Shay A

9.4

A splendid wine. QC flexing its incredible age-ability muscles with this 18yr old powerhouse. I had this about 6-7 months ago and this actually seemed better than the previous bottle. Youthful. A harmonious medley of blackberry, black cherry, plum accompanied by dark cocoa shavings and dates. The oak takes a back seat and compliments the fruit and secondary cedar/baking spice notes wonderfully. Great bottle, @joe leatherwood . — 4 days ago

with joe and Dan

Severn, Mark and 41 others liked this

Hugh O'Riordan

I love their wines. Get a case or so a year

Kistler

Kistler Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2004

Shay A

9.2

This was very ripe...almost overripe? The fruit (raspberries, blackberries, candied cranberry) seemed stewed. Fig, maple, and baked mixed berry pie. More baking spice as opposed to herbal spices. Dense and flavor packed. — 4 days ago

with Dan

Mark, Ryan and 31 others liked this

Bryan Kesting

@Shay A : bummer...I would guess past it’s prime?

Shay A

@Bryan Kesting : Not sure. Bit of a head scratcher. Think I just expected a bit more finesse.

Kistler

Vine Hill Vineyard Chardonnay 2015

Shay A

9.3

Shay had this 4 days ago

with Dan, Bradley and 1 other

Shay, P and 30 others liked this

Shay A

One of the younger Kistlers I’ve had, so no surprise there was bracing acidity up front. Packed full of mango, guava, stone fruits and savory popcorn kernel aromatics. Sharp. A deep herbal/white flower density on the mid palate. The finish almost had a chalky limestone note before it had an added citrus/lemon characteristic.

9.3

Marcassin

Three Sisters Vineyard Pinot Noir 2003

Shay A

9.2

Shay had this 4 days ago

with Dan, Bradley and 1 other

Shay, P and 27 others liked this

Shay A

I got to this after it had been opened an hour and it was just FANTASTIC. Marcassin is always special, but some of their older pinots are just on a different level. 16yrs and while it’s not getting better, what a testament to the quality of this wine that so much perfumed red fruit is up front. Ripe raspberries accompanied by candied cranberry and black cherry. Trends more herbal on the palate with a streak of powerful black cherry right down the middle. Finishes more savory/earthy with spice and underbrush. Thank you, @Dan Fitzgerald .

9.4