Fat Sparrow

Sparrow Hawk

Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Delicious notes on the nose and dark berries and oak on the palate. Smooth. Enjoyed outside a cool summer night in the east bay with grilled meats. — 2 months ago

Paul Jaboulet Aîné

La Chapelle Hermitage Syrah 1989

Found a box of this the other day in the cellar, the original Jaboulet box was damaged and so I’d moved it to a non-Jaboulet box 7-8 years ago. Further, this was the only bottle showing any real ullage (about 1.5”), so opened it first (I do have more, and will report when I open the next bottle).

Color is medium-dark ruby, some bacon fat and meaty aromas, lovely fruit still, structured has softened, long finish, but I’m sure a pristine bottle will show even better!!
— 4 months ago

Jim Powers
with Jim
Ira, jesus and 6 others liked this
Ira Schwartz

Ira Schwartz Influencer Badge Premium Badge

@Doug Powers A good find 😁
Tom Casagrande

Tom Casagrande Influencer Badge

I will look at my non-Jaboulet boxes to see if I’m so lucky, but since I never bought this, I’m thinking probably not. 😐
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@Tom Casagrande, you never know, so good luck!!

E. Guigal

La Mouline Côte-Rôtie Syrah 2004

Shay A
9.6

A bottle I contributed during a trip to Napa’s Premiere Napa Valley week. This was opened at Torc, alongside a ‘97 Leflaive Les Pucelles, ‘11 Leroy Blagny, ‘89 La Chappelle and two young Napa cabs from Simon Estate. La Mouline is always my favorite due to the amount of co-ferment with Viognier.

Deserving of a 1-2hr decant, this got about an hour open in bottle by the time we got to it. I opened the ‘04 La Turque just a few weeks prior, so I had a reference point to work with. Heady aromatics, as expected…dark potpurri, spice, mesquite and mocha. On the palate, the youthful bacon-fat of Cote Rotie was gone and had channeled the classical tangy barbecue profile alongside black olive, peppered red and black berry fruit, and smoked meat at the finish. Whereas the LaTurque was almost Burgundian in profile (elegant, light), this was somewhere in-between the “bigger” LaLandonne and LaTurque…big, but balanced, likely due to vintage. Aromatics and finish here were standouts. Open now with a quick decant or hold another few years.
— 8 months ago

David, Tom and 17 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

Beautiful line up!

E. Guigal

La Turque Côte-Rôtie Syrah 2011

Great vintage for the La La’s. But it’s not ready. The nose is stunning, captivatingly aromatic after a few hours in the decanter, layered with Northern Rhône classicism of blackberry, camphor and bacon fat. The palate is massively concentrated but oaky and stiff. Needs more time to integrate but all the pieces are there! — 2 months ago

Jan, Bob and 7 others liked this

Sparrow Hawk

Reserve Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir 2020

good hopin it doesn’t have glyphosates cherry plum tabbacco conifer vinegar — 6 months ago

Château Malescot St. Exupéry

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

2016 vintage. From Coravin. Medium body. Phenomenal smoky, mineral nose. Almost all traces of the baby fat gone. Transitioning from the teen years into young adulthood but still visiting the parents to do laundry on occasion. Tannins picking up and slowly becoming more pronounced. Need to taste this again in a year or two. Very promising. 5.9.24. — 6 months ago

David, Ruud and 12 others liked this

Pierre Gonon

Saint-Joseph Syrah 2015

Love these wines. 2015 is excellent tonight after sufficient air, densely concentrated and a clear child of the solar 2015 vintage, wafting layers of dark fruit, olive tapenade, camphor, bacon fat and black truffle. The palate shows exceptional balance and detail despite the massive concentration and warm vintage with great acidity, melting tannins and superb length. Beautiful wine, but very young. — 3 months ago

Sharon, Shay and 6 others liked this

Cat Amongst the Pigeons

Fat Cat Barossa Shiraz 2022

Dry red.
Has depth… I enjoyed.
— 6 months ago

Domaine Jamet

Côte-Rôtie Syrah 2012

Another great btl of this vintage consistent with my prior notes showing clean & pure aromas of dark cherry, raspberry, smoked meat, bacon fat with savory spice, graphite, pepper, olive & violet — 7 months ago

Ira, Jeroen and 10 others liked this

Château Prieuré-Lichine

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2015

Recently tasted 9.8.21, 7.28.21 and 6.1.21. Like the old Van Morrison album...a period of transition. Mid-palate a tad dumbed-down but the nose is clearer and airy with spearmint and tobacco. Some new cinnamon/clove infiltrating the bouquet and palate now. Still a little richness/baby fat/smoke lurking about but said intensities increasing less every time tasted. Really need to lock and key this until 2030. Good luck. — 3 years ago

Eric, Daniel and 11 others liked this