Freddy R. Troya

9.1

Enaya – Essence Monastrell 2024
Yecla D.O. – Murcia, Spain 🇪🇸

Overview
100% Monastrell crafted from organic grapes, vegan-friendly, and showcasing Yecla’s sun-drenched Mediterranean terroir. A youthful, modern take on Spain’s classic variety.

Aromas & Flavors
Fresh berries, pomegranate, and red plum with subtle floral and herbal touches. Very pure fruit expression without heavy oak interference.

Mouthfeel
Light to medium-bodied, juicy, and approachable. Crisp acidity keeps it lively, while soft tannins make it an easy, refreshing sip.

Food Pairings
Perfect with tapas, grilled vegetables, charcuterie, or Mediterranean fare like lamb skewers with herbs. Also a great casual wine for pizza night.

Verdict
Fresh, youthful, and beautifully approachable, this organic Monastrell delivers lots of flavor with a clean, modern style. A delightful introduction to Yecla’s potential.

🍷 Personal Pick Highlight
A great value everyday Monastrell, lighter and fresher than its neighboring Jumilla counterparts, making it a standout for casual sipping and food-friendly versatility. Cheers! — 8 months ago

Patrick O Driscoll

9.1

A recommendation from the owner of this restaurant, wow a great guy, great customer awareness that engaged and built my loyalty. Get your self here and enjoy the fine wine great pasta creations by in house chef. Wine is great and comes as a recommendation to your chosen menu — 5 years ago

Erik Longabardi

9.5

Always a huge fan of Hardy and his creations. This just rips when you decant it four a couple of hours. It hits that floral, aromatic note but bends beyond that with spicy and savory notes. Hazy sunshine in a bottle — 5 years ago

Jerry Raphael

9.0

Remembrance of my trip to Edinburgh. Cadenhead’s is a great place to taste all types of whisky. I bottled this and others myself from casks. Taste was sweet with hard candy and some apple notes. Got to go back. — 5 years ago

with Barbara

Tobin Trevarthen

9.4

One of their top shelf creations and for a reason. — 6 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.6

Dessert in a bottle, new release from Anchorage Brewing Co. is a blend of two of the brewery’s most popular creations.

Endless Ending is a 15.5 percent ABV ale that is composed of a blend of A Deal with the Devil barleywine and Darkest Hour imperial stout. The ale was then aged for 18 months in barrels that previously held Woodford Reserve Double Oaked and then blended into Missouri oak barrels to age for an additional three months before being bottled.

— 6 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.6

Nightcap, and a very good one! — 7 years ago

Norman

9.0

Cadenhead’s Coleburn 19yr 1978 ABV 59.1% (Silent) - Whoa I’m calling this hot. It’s hot on the tongue and lips. Strong finish but it’s there in a big way so hard to get a lot of flavors picked out. — 2 years ago

Steven Beishuizen

9.4

On the nose, the rice is evident as well as a note I can only describe as concrete... On the palate, this one starts singing... Cantaloupe, pear, mineral... We enjoyed this one at Black Rice Izakaya and it played extraordinarily well with so many dishes with its substantial unami... One great experience was with one of their aburi sushi creations with salmon under a single slice of raw jalapeno... That raw jalapeno POPPED here with this sake in a way that didn't happen with other spicy items like wasabi... This sake was the highlight of my evening! — 4 years ago

with Anita

Aaron Tan

9.0

Remnants of a revolution

An oldie from one of my favourite saké producers, Hidehiko Matsumoto, who's been a maverick in the world of saké with his "interpretation" of traditions and championing of terrior. Sadly, this may well be the last bottle of Shuhari I get to drink considering Matsumoto-san's highly publicized departure from the family brewery (Sawaya Matsumoto) last year due to internal conflicts. Fret not! Matsumoto-san's got some exciting projects in hand (Suginomori Brewery being one of them), so it won't be long before we get to taste his creations again.

Golden in the glass, with aged aromas of soy and nuts looming over melon and peach notes. The palate's surprisingly energetic and youthful considering the maturity of the nose - rich and juicy with a light spritz and herbal undertones. Signature Shuhari texture (reminds me of white wine phenolics) and acidity in the bitter-sweet finish. Paired perfectly with our wagyu donburi. — 5 years ago

Ryan Gillay

9.5

Grilled cheese and vlog creations — 5 years ago

with Kerry

Leonard Huot

9.0

One of the original creations out of the category 12 lab. A surprisingly different IPA, pours like a stout and has a mild hoppiness. Toasted malt comes through for a smooth beer. — 6 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.5

It's times like this when Aramasa makes me think of Keller. Notwithstanding that they both make completely different beverages, it is their ability to bring an incredible drinkability to their otherwise Herculean creations that evokes the comparability. In other words, power without weight. And, of course, I love both producers!

The Aramasa's Ecru is exceptionally pure, in the same light that KP's kabi's are. As Aramasa aptly describes it (and Google not-so-aptly translated it), "reminiscent of thawed water from some cold regions". I like to think that they're referring to pure glacial meltwater, but you get the gist. Even Aramasa's name for this cuvee is perfect - 'unbleached' purity.

Smells like pear, melon, flowers, light cream, and river stones. The palate has a light bittersweet character, which is so alike some mineral water. Trademark citrus acidity and phenolic grip. Finishes juicy, clean, and long. Mind-boggling lightness to what would otherwise be akin to engine oil in weight. In one phrase, a hyper elegant saké.

And oh, this is Aramasa's entry level cuvee too 🤯 — 7 years ago

Brian Reedy

9.4

So “California” compared other Luc creations but... WOW! Delicious fruit, currants, graphite, and dry field grass. Still young but the tannins are fairly light. I think another 3-5 will be perfect. — 9 years ago

with Sarah

Bob McDonald

9.1

Delectable - this is the Jane Eyre Hospices de Beaune Premier Cru. Not offered in your choices. Red and black cherries. Quite dense and flavoursome showing the ripe 2015 vintage. A juicy dark fruited Pinot Noir. Could easily be mistaken for a new World Pinot. Elevage by Jane Eyre an Australian winemaker who works in both Burgundy and Victoria. This is a good wine but not worth the $195 I paid. A wine that makes you wonder if Burgundy is worth double what you would pay for an equally as good a wine in Australia. One of JANE’s creations from the Mornington Peninsula is just as good. — 4 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.5

Dark, impenetrable black, explosive dark berry, juicy midnight cherry aromas boiling out of the glass. This is OG, throwback Cali zin conjured by a master. Actually more approachable than I anticipated, smooth silky sexy grape-ness. Balance is impressive, tannins come through in the finish… but round, not green or bitter. I remember falling in love with Joel Peterson’s masterful creations 30 years ago. Sometimes you can go home again. Well done Joel— I salute your life and work by raising a glass in your honor. This is some VGS! — 4 years ago

Kristin the Wine Girl

9.1

Menthol and oregano jump onto the nose directly from the bottle! Swirling encourages juniper added into this fresh herbal bouquet. High acid, will compliment spicy oil and vinegar herbed pasta creations with fresh tomatoes. Toast with warm herbed focaccia bread dipped in EVOO and balsamic. — 5 years ago

OMG PEDRO

9.4

Excellent BLEND Garnacha (mostly), Tempranillo, Merlot, Syrah .... when I saw the blend and where it was cming from I thought to myself : “... How can I possibly Go wrong with this !!!?? “ ... And I was soooo right !!! BIG wine with intense flavors of dark fruit (especially blackberries, raspberries and plums), violets, pepper, herbs and spice. It borrows smoke, underbrush and eucalyptus from the Tempranillo. The sweet roundness of the merlot and the sharpness of the Syrah...ONLY missing a bit of complexity and mineral undertones but still a GREAT wine from an area that has been delivering truly amazing creations year after year and haven’t reach yet their full potential ... — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

With Covid-19 and the country in extended lockdown, mass economic shutdown & unemployment, one has extra time to enjoy some extra bottles, explore their creative side & dabble in a third career.

You can now not only follow my notes but, also my wine inspired landscape design. Here are some of my first creations. Strong beginning huh? I think I have a bright future after this is all over.

The nose reveals; lemon chiffon/meringue, lemons, lime zest, green apple, just ripe pineapple, grapefruit, green melon, some slightly bruised golden apple, lychees, cream, vanillin, very light caramel, elegant, soft chalkiness, volcanics, sea fossils/spray, bread dough to baguette with yellow florals, spring flowers & jasmine.

The body is rich with beautiful mousse & excellent micro-oxygenation. lemon chiffon/meringue, lemons, lime zest, green apple, just ripe pineapple, grapefruit, green melon, some slightly bruised golden apple, lychees, white peach, cream, cream soda, vanillin, very more caramel, elegant, soft chalkiness, volcanics, sea fossils/spray, medium white spice (ginger)with just a touch of palate heat, bread dough to baguette with yellow florals, spring flowers & jasmine. The lively, delicate acidity is excellent. The rich, well polished & balanced finish delicious & even throughout with nice, delicate, palate penetrating white spice that persists minutes.

Photos of; David’s Wine Inspired Landscape Designs, LCC. All rights reserved. TM. 😂 — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

This is one of the more usual and pleasant creations I’ve had in Napa.

Dark amber in color. Dried stone fruit; apricot, nectarine & peach. Marmalade, dry pineapple, caramel & butterscotch notes, Lipton tea with sugar, burnt top of creme brûlée, very nice round acidity and a delicious polished finish.

This makes for a great dessert wine or will drink nicely on its own. Worth picking up a bottle and trying at $35. I definitely did.

The Matthiasson Sweet Vermouth is made from a very uncommon varietal in Napa, Flora. It’s a varietal created in the 1950’s from a cross between Semillon and Gewurztraminer. Surprisingly, this varietal still grows in the Yount Mill Vineyard in Oakville.

They pick the fruit late increasing the sweetness during fermentation and adding cane sugar or in wine terminology, capitalize it. 17% ABV but, you never sense it as such.

Photos of, Steve and Jill Klein Matthiasson, shots from around their property and their Calistoga vineyard.
— 7 years ago