Shay A

9.4

@Delectable Wine : This is the Madson little cloud vineyard Pinot Noir. I didn’t see it in the database.

Here I am a few days later still thinking about this wine…asking myself why I’ve never heard of this producer? Why aren’t these wines more common? Most importantly, when can I get more?

13.3%ABV; 100% whole cluster; 1 barrel (20 cases); 70% Little Cloud Vineyard, 30% Savaria Vineyard

It’s not common these days to have a domestic wine catch me off guard due to exposure across wine platforms, tasting groups, reading/research, etc, so I had no expectation of this wine. When I poured it in the glass, the translucent ruby color and the smell of whole cluster snapped me to attention real quick. Aromatics of cranberries, green herbs, violets, fresh potpurri fill the glass immediately. It drinks like the old Calera Jensen Pinots of 15+yrs ago…feral, crunchy, stemmy, bright, electric acidity but so much power carrying through to a wonderful finish of spiced rhubarb.

I don’t seek out many Pinot producers (especially Cali ones) but I’m going down the rabbit hole with this one. — 3 months ago

Rod Carril

9.1

Smooth, nice warmth — 2 years ago

Deborah M

9.4

The wine that sent me down the rabbit hole. Not sure if it was the silky texture, boysenberry and licorice flavors, or the chocolate. In my mind the 2012 Altamura was brilliance in a glass and I needed to learn more.

Altamura Ranch is located in Wooden Valley. The valley is described as a small, almost round valley, approximately two miles wide at its widest point and located 9 miles northeast of the town of Napa within the Napa Valley appellation. It is is bordered by the Vaca Range to the east and “Napa Mountain” to the west.

I will always remember the first time I enjoyed this wine. Fairly confident I could pick this wine blind. The 2013 is just as good as the first time. — 3 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.3

Really like this one, there are others not so much, but found this to be very different in a good way — 9 months ago

Austin Moberg

9.5

Rieslings from around the world tasting. Spätlese is absolutely delicious or atleast the two I had today really need to go down a rabbit hole with it. — a year ago

Charlie C

8.9

Per Bianca of PBB: The City Glou red is made of 100% Chambourcin from an organic vineyard in the the Outer Coastal Plain of New Jersey with sassafras sandy loam soils. Chambourcin is a tenturier grape, meaning both the skins and the flesh inside are red/dark, as opposed to regular red wine grapes have that have red/dark skins, but clear flesh. The grapes were hand harvested and spontaneously fermented in stainless steel, with 50% going through carbonic maceration. The wine was then aged in stainless steel for 10 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal SO2.

Tasting Notes:

I tasted this wine for the first time back in January during the ABV wine summit, and I remember how taken I was with it, especially because it was 100% Chambourcin. Chambourcin typically has notes of black fruit flavors like blackberry and kirsch, with low tannins and juicy acidity. I've had some Chambourcin sparkling wines that are super fun and make for a great Lambrusco substitute. There's a vibrancy with this wine that makes it super approachable and drinkable, and very versatile in terms of pairings. Notes of fig, raspberry, plum, fig, spices, and herbs are framed by bright acidity and soft tannins. Chill it down before drinking and pair it with mushroom dishes, red pasta sauces, and game dishes (think rabbit or lamb!) — 2 years ago

Aaron Tan

8.9

Su. Na. Wi. = Super Natural Wines

The unmistakable philosophy aside, this comes from a little winery in Northern Italy that's owned by a friend in KL along with his Italian mates. So when the said friend describes this as an interesting red with heaps of balsamic notes, you can be sure he’s spot on. The Lampo was an oddly pleasant savoury red - made of 100% Gropello, it had tons of seaweed flavour with balsamic and soy sauce accents. Crunchy acidity made this flow down the wine hole way too easily. Could use more fruit, but it may just have needed more air to express itself. — 3 years ago

Jeffery Heavner

9.1

Carmel on the nose. A bit of a burner on the nose — 10 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I purchased this yesterday from an A+ wine storage facility that also sells its clients wine when requested. This has been stored there since its release. I bought this perfect bottle for $35 because it has sentimental value and for $35 bucks…come on!

In a former life, I only drank well made CA Chardonnay. I know it’s hard even for me to imagine, let alone remember & admit it. Now, I hardly drink CA Chardonnay.

My sisters were visiting and they like reds. So I stopped at the former “Wine Club” retail shop in Santa Clara. It was the 1999 Pine Ridge “Stag’s Leap Cabernet” (2x) I bought that started me down the red rabbit hole. The Andrus is as close to that as I’ll get to their Stag’s Leap bottling at this point. Close enough and one of their best. We enjoyed it with Chinese takeout! 😂

This 99 is just and I mean just the other side of its peak bell curve. Still has another 5 years of life left. It is its unbelievable storage that has kept this 99 fresh as it’s not from not an awful vintage, but certainly not a great one, not like 98. Yet, it still shines 25 years later.

The nose reveals dark currants & cassis. Hints of barrel toast. Brambly blackberries, black raspberries, stewy black plum, poached, dark cherries & strawberries, burnt cranberries, black tea, burnt brush, old tobacco w/ ash, old baking spices, baking soda and dark, red, withering florals.

The palate shows; ripe, juicy, brambly blackberries, black raspberries, stewy black plum, poached, dark cherries & strawberries, burnt cranberries, raspberries, blueberries, black tea, mid berry cola, burnt brush, touch of black pepper, softened, dark spice, old tobacco w/ ash, well used leather, baking spices-clove, cinnamon, nutmeg & vanillin, cooked caramel. Some dry sage, baking soda, limestone powder, dry top soil, grey volcanics and dark, red, slightly withering florals set in violets, rainfall acidity with an elegant, juicy, well balanced/structured & still showing nice tension on the finish that lasts two-minutes plus.

I had this corvined over two nights and at the halfway point threw some very chunky sediment.

What a great remembrance! — a year ago

Aaron Tan

9.5

What a surprise this was. I thought KP’s most burly vineyard from a very warm vintage would have been a hedonistic treat for science, but the drinkability on this did not warrant such contemplations. Expectedly baroque in presence, yet the saliva-inducing acidity and the intense mineral saturation made this go down the wine hole way too easily. A reminder to always trust the producer! A one on the binary scale. — 3 years ago