Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2007 vintage. Nice fill, nice cork. Opened with a Durand. Decanted with minimal sed. Tasted 30 mins and 2 hrs after decanting. Light-medium body. Impressions of black olive, earth, mushrooms, baking chocolate and dark plum/cherry. As befitting the Elyse style, not a demonstrative effort but more of an enduring one focused on subtleties. More comparable pleasure ahead...for at least 5-7 years. 01.15.26. — a day ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2007 vintage. Perfect fill and excellent cork. Used a Durand. Decanted with some expected unfined/unfiltered sed that was the size/texture of Ovaltine or Folger’s, freeze-dried, coffee crystals. Gamey, meaty nose mated with cranberry. Tasted after 45 minutes open. Still medium-heavy body although another few years of aging will drop it to medium body. The cranberry and gamey/meaty impressions remained intact in the flavors and some pomegranate spritz and blood orange notes came along for the ride. Complex and impressive. No rush to crush. 1.9.26. — 7 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.1

2019 vintage. Decanted and tasted after one and two hours. Medium body. Pretty throughout with decently consistent push and focus. Another decade might bump this up to a 9.2 or 9.3. 1.9.26. — 7 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2015 vintage. Decanted and tasted after one hour. As expected, darker than your worst nightmare(s). A little white/black ground pepper in the nose along with tobacco and mud. Some raisin + ripe dark plum impressions in the mouth plus the aforementioned. Decent, but not scary, grip. Medium heavy/heavy body. 16.1% ABV but zero overt heat. You know it's there but tough to prove until you crush two glasses worth. As with all the SQN/NOK wines (including the whites), you can drink now or in 2 decades-your choice. 1.14.26. — 2 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2023 vintage. Medium-heavy bod. Smoky nose and flavors with plenty of supporting stuffing. Some tannins but easily lost in the predominantly plummy fruit parade. Super-drinkable and a food match for pretty much any land-based, animal protein. 1.9.26. — 7 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2023 vintage. Opened but not tasted for 6 hours. Medium bod. Closer to an aged Côte-Rôtie that mimics Burgundy. Ballard Canyon AVA. 14% ABV. Delicate, gorgeous and delicious. 1.9.26. — 7 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.0

2023 vintage. The usual, zippy spice compendium in play here with some mineral "componentry." Medium/medium-heavy bod for Sauvie Blanc. 1.9.26. — 8 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2020 vintage. Via Coravin. Three glasses just to confirm the quality of said experience. Not nearly as structured and deep as the 2018 or 2019 but still very very nice. At $45 a glass, did not feel cheated. — 3 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2022 vintage. Last tasted a year ago 01.15.25 (9.1). Continuing medium body . The prettier, perfumed side of Syrah currently vs. the knuckle-dragging, monolithic style of Syrah. Excellent intro into this grape for those timid souls afraid of the big, bad wolf from previous wine escapades/near fatalities. The white pepper, black pepper, dustiness and Chambord hallmarks swirling about in both nose and mouth. Second pass after chilling down to the mid-60's (from 70 degrees) added a pleasantly gauzy layer of smoke and tobacco. Still trying to figure out what it wants to be when it grows up but gaining in both confidence and street cred. Show some respect...er...patience if you can. Screams for a double decant. 01.11.26. — 5 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2023 vintage. Opened but not tasted for 6 hours (a tad busy!!). Eventually circled back to it. WoW. Medium-heavy bod. Earthy, muddy, rich in the nose and in the flavors. Tremendous length of finish. Supposedly from an Auguste Clape clone, cuttings or some such. This didn't suck. Tannins relatively folded into the overall vibe. Ballard Canyon AVA and 14% ABV. Tasted slightly hot so a little surprised only 14%. So good. 1.9.26. — 7 days ago