Jay Kline

9.5

This was one of those rare nights where I had zero obligations…so I decided it might be fun to grab one of the relative newcomers to my cellar and head down to Mertz, sit at the bar, and share with the staff. Upon arrival, I was met immediately by the incomparable Matt Brown who asked if I would like to sit next to Dan Morgan. “Morgan Ranch Dan Morgan? Uhhh…yuh!” I duly handed my bottle to Matt and he kindly introduced me to Dan. After exchanging some pleasantries, I sat down and suggested we open the Brisset and see what it’s about. Dan was game so we proceeded to enjoy the evening, covering a range of topics from travel to the state of our education system and much more. It should go without saying that we each enjoyed a couple of steaks from his ranch too. I mean, obviously.

Initially, we popped and poured a single glass. It was beautiful, particularly on the nose, but seemed a touch reticent on the palate so we elected to splash decant. We enjoyed this bottle over the course of several hours where it really started to thrill after getting a nice bit of air. The wine pours a deep ruby color with a deep but transparent core; medium viscosity, with very light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous, even unctuous, notes of ripe red (and some black) fruits: strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, Bing cherry, red flowers, licorice, warm spices, and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Wow…such a youthful beauty…and it’s already giving me some sugar. The quality is obvious, almost startling. Drink now with patience but better after 2032 and through 2052+. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass

P.S. I should provide the Morgan Ranch backstory. Located in Burwell, Nebraska, the Morgan Family were one of the very first producers of Japanese Wagyu cattle outside of Japan; Dan brought the first herd from Japan back in 1993. They are, to my knowledge, the only Wagyu producer that exports back into Japan. — a month ago

Ethan Karas

9.0

Good wine. Cool backstory. — 3 years ago

Sean Driscoll

8.9

Day Wines 2020 "Lemonade" Great backstory from a not great year that included smoke from Oregon's fires - but no smoke here. Story aside, great pinot noir rose; cherry, strawberry, good acid and a little mineral. — 4 years ago

David Kline

9.5

26 degree brewing in Pompano Beach, FL. Oktoberfest Marzen Lager.
Auburn amber, hibiscus tea colored marzen with a red-cream head and sharks tooth lacing. Honey-pecan nose also shows molasses and a hint of maple with a bitterness backstory verging on brown bread or coffee rye. Rich palate shows coffee and Brazil-nut, dark roasted almond, root beer, cream soda and chicory. This Marzen brings all the adumbrated beer hall’s charm and rustic gestalt. Thoughtful and authentic.



#26degreebrewing #26degreeoktoberfest #26degree #flbeer #pompanobeach #marzen #marzenlager #beer #bier #biere #birra #cerveza — 8 months ago

with Courtney

Adriana Fabbro

9.2

I’m kinda over Pinot Gris Ramato and then I come across a wine like this that makes me rethink everything. Yes, it has those classic notes of skin contact Pinot Gris (rose hip, red currant, candied strawberry) but it’s so fresh and clearly comes from a place — in this case the volcanic region of Hungary’s Lake Balaton — it’s flinty, with that volcanic licorice spice / allspice — and clearly from a cooler climate. The story behind the winemaker — a brave man in his 70s who has a former wine director for a Soviet Co-op, who now just wants to make good, natural wine his own way—and the label “Abeles” named for the Jewish family whose abandoned estate he found himself making wine out of before discovering an underground cellar and digging up the history of a family whose members were nearly all murdered during the Holocaust. It’s a just a great fucking wine without knowing the backstory; the backstory makes it profound. — 2 years ago

Ted Corvey

9.6

Some backstory, but a bottle I had been after and stumbled into two and couldn’t wait long to open one. Did not disappoint. Lower alcohol - 13% - really suits this wine. Great acidic balance. Always rewarding when a long anticipated bottles hits. — 3 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2021 vintage. Yeah. Medium-heavy bod. Tremendous richness in the frontal palate finding a durty backstory on the finish to complete the project and destroy the competition. This is one of those "I've never had a" wines that catapults tasters into believers/disciples. Forget the Kool-Aid and pour this instead. 7.17.24. — 9 months ago

Kimberly Sebby

9.3

So good! Red blend with a great backstory — a year ago

Izzy J

9.0

Great Hungarian backstory about the strength of bulls blood making them strong against the ottoman.
Pleasant wine — 3 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2019 vintage. The backstory of this wine is essential. The powers that be pushed the A7 highway through Châteauneuf-du-Pape back in the day and relegated this wine/area to Côtes-du-Rhône status. Freeways/highways being the new geographical rivers/mountains/boundaries. Same soil. Same grapes. Same winemaking. The ‘19 vintage not to be missed in Southern (or Northern) Rhône. A “baby” Châteauneuf at roughly a third of the usual Beaucastel CDP pricing. Explosive, dark and dense fruit with particular emphasis on plummy qualities. Some sweetness due to the vintage. Absolutely lip-smacking and undeniably, super-drinkable. — 3 years ago