Ron R

9.5

Outstanding example of Cali Pinot. Even more so since this is 2012 vintage. Overripe cherries and coffee notes explode on the nose. The palate displays crunchy black fruits along with syrop de cassis. Superb grainy tannins combine with bright acidity. A reference point in Sonoma/Cali.

Here are my top 2023 tastings by type. Let me know what your favorites are…

2023 Wines of my Year
Sauvignon Blanc - Modus Operandi (2021) - $45
Chablis - Domaine Genot-Boulanger Puligny Montrachet (2020) - $85
Chardonnay - Kongsgaard (2020) - $120
Pinot - Aston Estate (2012) - $70
Cabernet - Sinegal (2019) - $75 &
Cabernet - Lewelling (2019) - $59 — 4 months ago

with Anne-marie

Bill Bender

9.1

A completely different take on a clone 777 than the Aston. Restraint, less red fruit opulence but the balance of a ballerina. — 7 years ago

with Shawn and Martin

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Dark tary cassis, blueberries, stewed plums, black raspberries, dry floral bouquet, herbs, milk & dark chocolate, coffee grounds and underbrush on the nose. The fruits melt in your mouth upon entry. The fruits are full and round. Blackberries, dark cherries, blueberries, dry plum and ripe slightly juicy raspberries. There is a strong sense of dark barrel toast as I taste a fair amount of sawdust & baking spices. This couldn't have been in bottle very long. Mocha power & milk chocolate follow. Then, herbs dominated by sage, dry coffee grounds, dry dusty brown soil with crushed volcanic rocks, graphite, leather, dry florals. Tannins are still chewy. It's such a baby. This wine has all makings of a cult Cabernet. It's has great structure, length balance and nice acidly. However, It shouldn't be opened for 10+ years. Its so young, It's hard to score this wine higher than 95 but certainly has the all makings of a 95+. Sodhani's winemaker is Thomas River Brown has made 8x 100 point wines in his career. He's made wine for; Outpost, Turley, Schrader, Maybach, Aston Estate, Vieux-Os & Double Diamond. It's certainly worth keeping an on this very young estate. 2013 was their first vintage. Notes from a Coravin tasting.
— 7 years ago

Laith A

9.3

Very elegant Pinot that leans more Burgundian than Californian but still has good purity and density. I’ve had Aston and Boar’s View pinots from TRB but I like this one the best! — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.2

Celebrating my buddy Luke's birthday at Town Hearth in Dallas. Talk about over the top style/decorations! More chandeliers than I could count and yes, that's a yellow submarine in the picture. Not pictured is the old Aston Martin by the kitchen and two Ducati bikes above the bar (which is on the menu as a "Primo Side" and can be ordered for a cool $75K 💸😱).

My buddy is slowly getting in to wine and has been loving Bordeaux's. They had a few on the list, but most were 2012/2013. Way too young. This being an '05 made our pick an easy decision. Don't know much about this winery, but it was a solid drinker. Needed about 30mins of air as it was pretty tight at first. Surprisingly very full of blue and dark fruits. Charcoal, blackberries, plums. Blueberries were faint, but welcomed. Quite smooth from start to finish on the palate. Didn't seem super complex, but I'd probably buy again if it was priced in the $50-70 range. — 7 years ago

with Luke

JKT

9.3

GL Burg Parent tasting 2/8/17. Very masculine and firm and strong in structure and powerful. Long finish and strong notes of stones earth and dark red fruit. All 3 1er Pommard made exactly the same way. Interesting. Argillieres lightest and elegant. Like a race car. Chaponnieres like an Aston Martin. This like a Porche. — 7 years ago

Sabrina Schatz

10

Two glasses of this from a magnum and then he let me take his Aston Martin for a ride... I'll remember this wine forever!!! — 8 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.0

Nose Deep. A bit stewy fruit is on the stewy side but not bad. Spicy. ok texture. Nice Internal aromatics. Juicy finish. — 5 years ago

Edmond Bordelon

9.5

Another night, another amazing wine from Thomas Rivers Brown. We ran into him at the vineyard, but luckily all he wanted to talk about was cars! Even though he is an Aston Martin fan, he just picked up this new Mercedes AMG GLE 63S, and was enjoying it thoroughly. So since we did not talk about this wonderful wine, I am plagiarizing their website for tasting notes...which are spot on. “Located just off Hwy 29, north of the town of St. Helena, lies the Tournahu Vineyard. Rocky with exceptional drainage, wines from this vineyard tend toward a mix of powerful fruit and bright acidity. Velvet-like in texture, the wine covers the entire palate in a silky mix of red & black fruit. With additional time in the glass, a creosote-like minerality appears in the mid palate as a harbinger of things to come. A thrilling wine to drink now, those with patience will be rewarded as additional layers of complexity emerge 4-5 years post vintage. A wine & vineyard worthy of our first single vineyard designate.” — 6 years ago

with Katherine

Mark Coleman

9.4

Awesome, well balanced, well aged Pinot with great finesse. Light in color, strawberry, earth, black tea notes and decent acid. Need to replenish this stock. — 7 years ago