Ground Truth

Penfolds

Bin 389 South Australia Cabernet Shiraz 2012

The Description: Dense deep red color. Complex and true to House Style and brimming with mocha/coffee ground aromatics, heightened by tar/bitumen "black" notes. Appealing char and creamy, vanillin oak detected ever-so-subtly in the background. Naturally, a flurry of fruits, spice and varietal markers abound. The palate, in a couple of words, voluminous and powerful. A sensory stratification of layers of taste – separated via time-of-detection and unravelling of flavors. At first, Christmas pudding with roasted nuts, then rare lamb and black olives, then sarsaparilla spice. Tannins awashed, oak absorbed, fruit awakened.
The opinion: agree with above, excellent
— 4 months ago

Apaltagua

Gran Reserva Envero Apalta Vineyard Selection Carménère 2016

Compost on the nose, although we just opened this 6 year old bottle. So, ok. Truth time. We've had carmenere wines before and thought they were oddly flavored, off balanced, and overall not so great. Whew! Got that off my chest. This wine shows some real promise. Fully flavored with lovely red fruits, smooth tannins and silky finish. We enjoyed this and am sure it will open up. — 2 years ago

MacRostie Winery & Vineyards

Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2018

A nice middle ground between oak and steel finish. Not overly fruity but the Chardonnay fruit is there. Smooth finish with a little butter. Great with food. — 4 years ago

Adelsheim

Breaking Ground Chehalem Mountains Pinot Noir 2015

Capitol Region Wine Collectors Club (WCC), USA West Coast Pinot Noir; 26 October 2023 at Fort Orange Club, Albany, NY

Group scoring, No. 3 bottle of the night.
— 6 months ago

Jay, Mark and 16 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

2005 vintage. Almost tastes like it could have been released last week. Super youthful with dark berry and plum blasts. Decent structure but not oppressive. Catching this one just below the top of the bell curve. Hopefully, you’ve got more than one bottle kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown. Other-worldly now but methinx it’s about to get even better. Last tasted in mid-June and same score but this bottle was slightly better. Seek this out-now. — 2 years ago

Ericsson and Peter liked this

Duckhorn Vineyards

Napa Valley Merlot

v18. Very nice. Soft white pepper and smashed black cherry nose. Rich black cherry and blackberry fruit. Smooth, tight, cola, mocha , soft leather and ground pepper finish. Lot of words , but well balanced! — 3 years ago

Truth and Valor

Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

Kelly and Craig both liked it a lot. Wonderful dinner gift from@the Huebers — 7 months ago

Arianna Occhipinti

SP68 Bianco Terre Siciliane Albanello Muscat of Alexandria 2022

Delectable Wine
9.0

Pungent florals, ground ginger and grapefruit form a zesty bouquet as the 2022 Bianco SP68 opens in the glass. It’s soft and round. Juicy acidity and tropical citrus tones enliven its tart orchard fruits. This finishes surprisingly long, leaving exotic inner florals and sour melon notes to fade slowly. What a treat. The SP68 Bianco is a blend of Albana and Zibibbo. (Eric Guido, Vinous, September 2023)
— 8 months ago

Bodegas Muga

Reserva Rioja Tempranillo 2017

Bold notes of plum, ground pepper leathery notes with dusty, mouth drying tannins and a medium to heavy body, this was really a good blend for the smokehouse at the resort. — 2 years ago

Tiva Feltman
with Tiva

Poggio Antico

Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2012

Dark, ripe cherry with integrated soft earthy tannins giving it a very nice finish. Notes of leader, fig and spice. We drank out of a stainless steel thermos with our picknick, baguette, salami, fig spread and various Italian cheeses picknick after a 2.5 mile hike along the abandoned rail road with a roaring Payette river as the back ground. Fun times! — 4 years ago

Tammy de Weerd
with Tammy
Dennis, Alane and 1 other liked this