Forty Five North Vineyard & Winery
Castello di Volpaia
Riserva Chianti Classico Sangiovese 2010
Last tried in March of ‘18 at 8.9...with note of “early stage of drinking window...touch of modernity.” Forty-five months in we are definitely within the wine’s drinking window; don’t foresee further development. Typical CCR tasting notes but atypical added richness. Pairing it with homemade pizza. — 2 years ago
Goldeneye (Duckhorn Vineyards)
Estate Grown Gowan Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005
Nose has ripe blackberry, perfect black cherry, strawberry, tanned leather, moist chocolate cake, dry leaves and a touch of alcohol.
Palate has brown sugar dusted ripe strawberries, over-ripe black cherry, dehydrated strawberry, forest moss and moist soil; medium finish. Decanted 4H at the time of notes.
Paired with Taiwanese Five Spice Pork (Lu Rou Fan | 卤肉饭) over Jasmin rice with lightly fried eggs from our private egg factory in the backyard. Locally raised NY pork (Kinderhook Farm, Valatie, NY), Columbia Co. ❤️
Inaugural vintage. This was shortly after the time Duckhorn acquired Goldeneye and started a massive diversification program, isolating the vineyards into singular bottlings. For better or worse, we only lasted a few more years on vigorous collecting before withdrawal. Pricing was really getting detached from quality IMHO. — 2 years ago
Masút Vineyard & Winery
Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016
Tons of ripe Bing cherry aromas, laced with soft baking spice notes and a hint of almond. The nose reminds me of a freshly baked, homemade cherry pie. At five years old, it's well-integrated on the palate and the ripe cherry very much comes through, followed by a bit of dusty earth and a pleasing oak character. Very enjoyable! — 3 years ago
Colgin Cellars
Tychson Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
11’Colgin Cellars Tychson Hill Vineyard. Located just north of Saint Helena. Not that far from Grace family Vineyards.
Tightly wound straight out of the bottle. Decanted for 90 minutes. Certainly has made a world of difference.
Still full-bodied & depth, bursting with dark fruit, licorice flavor’s, back by nice floral notes, polished tannins. Slightly backwards!?! Last time I had this was five years ago & it wasn’t open for business. Now it’s screaming drink me. — 4 years ago
Hawk and Horse Vineyards
Red Hills Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
It's time for my #FridayCabernetfix. Here is a nice one from Red Hills.
Dark purple in color with a purplish rim.
Fruity nose of blackberries, raspberries, black plums, oak, light vanilla, licorice, herbs, tobacco leaf, earth, spices, chocolates, dark coffee and black pepper.
Full bodied and smooth with medium acidity.
Dry on the palate with plums, cherries, black currants, oak, tobacco, licorice, peppercorn, coffee, cinnamon, earth, spices, light vegetables and herbs.
Medium plus on the finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.
This is a very tasty Cabernet Sauvignon from Lake County in California. Fruit forward with lots of coffee and chocolates notes.
Needs a few hours of airtime to open up, but drinkable right out of the bottle too. Big tannins come out after a couple of hours of air.
Showing nice complexity with a nice mouthfeel, but still very young, and needs five years in the bottle to mature properly. Would be nice to revisit it in 3 years. Will age nicely in the next 10 years.
I had the 2017 vintage a year ago and it is very consistent.
Easy drinking and good by itself or with food. Will pair nicely with BBQ Meats.
14.3% alcohol by volume.
91 points.
$75. — 2 years ago
Walter Hansel Winery
The North Slope Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005
Simply one of the best Northern California Pinot Noirs for the money.
It takes four or five sips to get what this wine is meant to be when switching from the white burgundy.
This is another producer like Williams Selyem is good young but, amazes in 10-15 years.
The nose shows, ruby, candied & floral; blackberries, dark sweet & sour cherries, dry cranberries, poached strawberries, touch of baked rhubarb, mix of blackberries & raspberries, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, dark spices, black licorice, mix dark & mid fruit cola, dark rich, black earth, steeped fruit tea, dry twig, tree sap, underbrush, dry crushed rocks, limestone, volcanics with dry, withering & candied: red, dark, blue florals set in a field of violets.
The palate & body are elegant and sexy. Fantastic, glorious mouthfeel. Ripe, ruby, candied & floral; blackberries, dark sweet & sour cherries, dry cranberries, pomegranate, poached strawberries, touch of baked rhubarb, blackberries & raspberries, burnt rhubarb, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, dark spices, black licorice, mix dark & mid fruit cola, anise to black licorice, sweet tarriness, dark rich, black earth, steeped fruit tea, dry twig, tree sap, underbrush, savory meats, touch fresh & dry tobacco, suede leather, dry crushed rocks, limestone, sandstone, volcanics with dry, withering & candied: red, dark, blue florals set in a field of violets with hints of lavender. The acidity is like a gentle, cool, stream. The long finish is just flat out amazing. It’s; candied, florals, well knitted & balanced, floral and is endlessly persistent.
Still has 5-8 years of good drinking ahead.
Photos of; Walter Hansel tasting room & bistro, beautifully harvested Pinot Noir bunches & vineyard. — 4 years ago
Jody Scharf
surprisingly aged well for a 20ish dollar wine..
light acids, but dark fruits were smooth.. — 4 months ago