Sipping Fine Wine

8.9

Wagner family project now owned and run by Joe Wagner. Sunshine yellow with aromas of green fruits and nutty notes. Barrel fermented in French oak (50% new) for 14 months with full malolactic fermentation. On the palate flavors of stone fruits and citrus notes with a creamy texture. Good balance, medium length ending with a honey character. Good value. — 10 days ago

"Odedi"

8.9

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Fruity nose with plums, cherries, oak, blueberries, vanilla, licorice, cloves, chocolates, mocha, spices, green vegetables, bitter herbs, light barnyard and black pepper.

Full bodied with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with plums, black currants, coffee, oak, cloves, light vanilla, vegetables, wet leaves, bitter herbs, spices and peppercorn.

Medium on the finish with soft tannins, bitter herbs and tangy cranberries.

This is a nice Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State. Not fully balanced yet, with a nice mouthfeel and mild complexity.

Still young and bitter on the mid palate. Needs a couple of years in the bottle to mature and remove some of bitterness.

Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up.

I paired it with a cheese plate and crackers.

A blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

89 points.

$20. — 5 days ago

"Odedi"

9.1

Dark ruby in color with a short purple/ reddish rim.

Fruity nose with black currants, black plums, cherry pie, spices, oak, vanilla, mint, chocolates, dark coffee, black pepper, earth and leather.

Medium plus in body with medium plus acidity and long legs.

Dry and fruity on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cherries, earth, wood, spices, peppercorn, light vegetables, vanilla, licorice, herbs, beef jerky, dark chocolates and coffee.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This Washington Cabernet Sauvignon is always enjoyable. Well balanced with nice complexity and a great mouthfeel. I really liked the length on the finish.

Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up (one hour), and shows the complexity.

Drinking very nicely now and will be better in a couple of years.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$18. — 10 days ago

Ely Cohn

9.3

Quiet wines of place. You can’t help but fall in love. Ovum hits a few notes for me. 1. They are German inspired. 2. They are intrinsically culturally relevant. 3. They are unpretentious. Give this wine time and it will sing.

The aromas are deep, made of smokey, chalky limestone, white flowers, and honeyed peach. Texture and acid juxtaposed - flavors of ripe pear and yellow peaches. — 11 days ago

David Shaw

9.2

Found one last bottle. Purple-red, lightly extracted, very good clarity. Spearmint and funk notes in nose. Blackberry, blueberry flavors with hints of cola, sassafras. Moderate skin, seed tannins. — 4 days ago

Brandon Boesch

9.7

What a unique beer. The lime leaf and gin barrel really come through the funky wheat in such a nice way. Perfectly balanced. I could imagine this being even better in a year or two. Another winner from break side. — 4 hours ago

Shay A

9.4

Monthly WTF group. Theme this month was merlot. All wines tasted blind.

This was my contribution. Everyone guessed Napa. This was decanted about two hours prior to being poured and it was firing on all cylinders (I thought it would still be a little unforgiving). Large and in charge merlot. Mocha, sweet pipe tobacco, and a lot of ripe blackberry. Nutmeg and cinnamon. Rich and opulent. — 2 days ago

with Jack, Andrew and 3 others

David Shaw

9.1

Purple, light to moderately extracted, very good clarity. Blackberry and barrel smoke notes in nose. Cranberry, blackberry flavors with a touch of canned green veggie. Some seed tannin bitterness, light skin astringency. Crisp, austere. Minerality and cherry skin emerge within 30 minutes while veg note disappears. — 6 days ago

David Shaw

8.9

100 cases made. Ruby red, moderately extracted pigment, very good clarity. Bramble, red fruit and white pepper notes in nose. Slightly gritty as unfiltered, fine tartrate crystals and/or tannins initially (but these melt away fairly quickly) Lovely flavors, somewhat tight initially, puckery acidity and moderate to high skin astringency with a solid, long lasting seed tannin backbone. Blackberry, black currant, cherry candy and mint flavors emerge with white pepper in the finish. Allow at least two hours for wine to open. Fruit and seed tannins aplenty here — 14 days ago

David Shaw

9.4

Walla Walla Valley. Grapes from five vineyards, 76/9/8/7 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Merlot. Dense purple in color, highly extracted. Butter, mustard green and black currant notes in nose initially. Similar flavors in mouth with light seed and skin tannins, light astringency on opening. Blueberry seed and black pepper flavors emerges after 30 minutes, Herbal, caraway seed aromas and mustard seed flavors emerge after 45 minutes. Well balanced, well crafted. Light seed bitterness persists in an attractive way. Light, bright mostly citric acidity in finish with cool minerality that gradually emerges. My last bottle of this vintage; wish I’d bought more... — 8 days ago