Shay A

Digital Marketer - Texan - Wannabe Wine-o

1265 wines • 302 followers • 510 following

Chasseur

Umino Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009

9.3

Never heard of this producer? Burgundian. Spice, herbs, peppercorn and a black raspberry core. Tinge of green, but not in the way that is off putting...more just a part of this wine’s lean structure. A red and black fruit medley emerges after time in the glass. Whole cluster going on here for sure. Very cool. — 4 days ago

with Dan and Trent

Bryan, Anna and 37 others liked this

JJ Lumia

@Shay A where’d you get it? Intrigued.

Shay A

@JJ Lumia : This was a bottle kindly opened by a close friend of mine, @Dan Fitzgerald . Dan’s knowledge of new world Pinot and Chardonnays is second to none I’ve come across, so I’m never surprised when he pulls out bottles like this.

Martinelli

Moonshine Ranch Pinot Noir 2004

Shay A

9.4

Probably my surprise of the night. Would have never guessed it was 14yrs young. Very youthful. Deep red in the glass with explosive aromatics full of rhubarb pie, lingonberry, black tea and nutmeg. Nice acidity carrying this. Secondary notes of sandalwood, herbal spice and tar. — 4 days ago

with Dan, Mark and 1 other

Phil, Eric and 32 others liked this

Mark Flesher

For me, this was a great aged Pinot. The nose was very herbal with aged raspberry. Has perhaps lost a bit of its elegance but did gain some heft as it opened. Minerality and shale. Finished very well and longer than I expected. Really a nice bottle of wine from Dan! Scores of those one at this point will be all over the place as there are those who love the sweeter youthful side of Pinot and those who like this side.

9.3

Sami-Odi

Little Wine #7 Syrah

Shay A

9.5

Shay had this 4 days ago

with Dan, Trent and 1 other

Mark, Shay and 33 others liked this

Shay A

The nose on these wines is nothing short of a symphony. I’ve had a nose like this only once before, and it was from the other current release Sami-Odi. Incredibly insane potpourri, violets, crushed blackberries, and graphite...yet it remained so light! Palate was not near as dense as you’d expect. Beautiful purple color. A liqueur like finish that struts between cocoa dusted fig and dark fruit. @Fraser McKinley , you are a genius and I’m eternally grateful to @Roman Sukley for introducing me to these wines.

9.5

Fraser McKinley

Great to hear Mark!

Roman Sukley

Sami-Odi is easily the best new wine discovery for me in the last 5 years. @Fraser McKinley is absolutely killing it and well deserves all the accolades. I’m just happy to hear that more people are enjoying his work.

The Debate

Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Shay A

9.3

Think my rating here is slightly below others, but the only reason that is is due to its current stage. I believe this will jump 2 points or so in the next few years. Right now though, it’s a bit disjointed. I don’t have much experience with this vineyard so I’m not sure of its normal profile. Very dark red and black fruit dominant. Pipe tobacco, charcoal and blackberries. A bit hot on both the nose and palate. Boysenberry, tar, licorice, cassis, black cherry with a tannic-grip finish. Needs a few years to strut what it can be. — 4 days ago

with Dan, Mark and 1 other

Mark, Phil and 36 others liked this

Mark Flesher

Some dude who was getting a locker and his buddy opened it as they were signing papers with Mark Nelson

9.4

Mark Flesher

Per Shay's memory he was the guy who opened up a Roy Piper at a previous 4th Friday.

Shay A

@Benjamin Keator : His name was Jeff. Older gentlemen. He attended last month’s 4th Friday for the first time. Nice wine but definitely too young (and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t mind enjoying wines on the younger side!)

William & Mary Wine Company

Shifflett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Shay A

9.5

Shay had this 4 days ago

with Dan, Mark and 1 other

Mark, Phil and 29 others liked this

Mark Flesher

Had an opportunity to taste the 2014 and 15 side by side. This wine had a note that was less sweet fruit on the nose, definitely more black and mineral-rich. This wine is showing some youthful acidity up front, but the power up front comes from a medicinal black cherry. Finishes a little stiff, even though it was decanted for an hour. This was my personal fave of the two. This one has 10-15 years ahead of it.

9.5

Mark Flesher

Thanks @Trent Fletcher !

David Lentine

A extraordinary vineyard. Soooo under the radar!

Progeny

Special Selection Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Shay A

9.6

Shay had this 4 days ago

with Dan, Trent and 1 other

Shay, Phil and 22 others liked this

Shay A

These Progeny wines...underestimated and always over delivering! Need to stop putting them off and order more. Very soft and round. Wonderfully perfumed nose of blackberries, graphite, currant and red fruit. The palate has a “crunchy”/slate type of note highlighted by underripe blackberries. Just a touch of cinnamon/nutmeg. Drinking fantastic right now. Great bottle by @Mark Flesher

9.6

Mark Flesher

Round, round, round. Nose of punchy, powerful black fruit. Entry is black fruit, herb, a bit of tobacco, a bit of shale to the middle. The finish is almost volcanic black and peppery fruit. Great weight. Very rounded but peppery dark finish. Has a lot of structure, great weight, great balance. Stunner. This one is just starting to show everything that it has. Was in the decanter about an hour and is getting more powerful and more youthful.

Spoto Wines

Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2013

Shay A

9.3

Couldn’t end on a bad note, so trusty ‘ol Spoto made an appearance. Spoto wines are such a cool, unique and small production winery...every wine I’ve had has been fantastic. Some typical RRV traits were here like raspberry, black cherry cola and cedar but this is no high octane/extracted Pinot...really nice balance. Some definite spice here with a gripping finish. I’d say this is best enjoyed now and over the next few years. Thanks Mark! — 5 days ago

with Mark

Mark, Paul and 26 others liked this

Mark Flesher

Last one of these opened alongside a 2013 Sangiacomo Pinot from another producer, and this RRV Pinot definitely showed an incredible density from start to finish. A nose of youthful raspberry, mint, and spice. The entry is youthful red berry, but then goes to more of a minty and herbal side. Finishes with good weighty fruit. Nice Pinot, and I think this one is probably right at its height. Glad I decided to open this one because I cannot imagine this one really improving much more at all, and likely this one is on the decline in a few years.

9.3

Cimarossa

Rian Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

Shay A

9.4

This was my contribution today. I remember this, along with the ‘14 Cimarossa Ponente were the wines of the tasting when we visited Cimarossa in February. Another example of a quality winery churching our wonderful wine in a tough vintage.

You could maybe, MAYBE, pick this out as an ‘11 if you’d had it before. Dense, powerful and complex. There is a red clay driven note here that moves everything along. Blackberry, basil & cardamom on the nose. Young on the palate...years to go. Definitely showing notes of tar, slate and pipe tobacco. Dusty. — 4 days ago

with Dan, Mark and 1 other

Eric, James and 34 others liked this

Mark Flesher

@Delectable Wine your app for Android leaves little to be desired. Very hard to delete multiple comments and confusing Windows. Any plans to give us a better app soon?

9.5

Delectable Wine

Hi @Mark Flesher!
Thank you for your feedback. You will be pleased to know that the the ability to delete comments will be available on the Android version of Delectable within the next few weeks.

In the meantime, today we rolled out an update that includes the single most requested feature for Android: the ability to easily search through all your wines. In order to do that, go to your profile and click on the number of wines (to the left of number of followers and number of people you follow). You'll be taken to a new page where you can search all the wines you've tracked on Delectable, ordered by rating or by date.
We look forward to following more great posts. Cheers!

Mark Flesher

Excellent @Delectable Wine this has been a desire as well! I look forward to the push update!

William & Mary Wine Company

Shifflett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Shay A

9.4

Hats off to @Trent Fletcher for opening both the ‘14 and ‘15 William & Mary cabs in honor of their current release this week! Both were decanted for about 3hrs prior to consumption.

I love trying similar wines side by side. In comparison to the ‘15, after the decant, this was sweet red fruit all over the nose. Cherry liqueur, strawberry cream and cherries jubilee. Palate was balanced and very agreeable. Some cedar, licorice and rhubarb for a bit of spice. — 4 days ago

with Trent, Dan and 1 other

Mark, Phil and 23 others liked this

Mark Flesher

Compared to the 15, this wine has a little more of a youthful fruit nose. I'd say that the fruit is more red at the opening, but as it sat in the decanter it gained a lot of black fruit depth. Not as hefty as the 15 even after sitting in the decanter for 4-5 hours. Pencil shavings. Some stiff tannin on the finish still abounds. More impressed by the 15, but this 14 is still rockin'. Going to have to acquire some next year.

9.4

Wm. Harrison Vineyards & Winery (William Harrison)

Napa Valley Cabernet Franc 2009

Shay A

9.3

Shay had this 4 days ago

with Dan, Trent and 1 other

Shay, Phil and 20 others liked this

Shay A

This had such a unique nose on it. Couldn’t place the main component. Definitely more dark chocolate, pipe tobacco and some black cherry. Dense all the way through from front palate all the way to finish. Benefitted from the decant. Older CabFrancs are always some of the most complex wines. There was an herbal/baking spice type finish on this. In its prime drinking window. Nice @Mark Flesher

9.3

Mark Flesher

Thought I would peek into this one. The initial taste told me that this wine needed to be DECANTED. It was, and oh mama it did it well. Dark chocolate nose laced with a bit of tar and some black cherry. Almost kind of a basil or oregano in the middle but nice backbone of aged raspberry. Finish where it is still even a little bit acidic but it is rather resolved. Showing everything it has.