Pray Tell
Emidio Pepe
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2010
Still..... way....WAY too young to thoroughly enjoy. Even 11 years in, it has the concentration and tightness of black, syrupy cough medicine. I really wouldn’t approach this for another 10 years (yes...literally). You can tell what it WILL be, but not drinking well now. — 4 years ago
Caymus Vineyards
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Drinking a 3L from 2013 in late ‘24. Love the big format bottles and aging potential. This could go a lot longer I think but is also fine to drink now.
Standard Caymus flavors and aromas that made the brand known. Dark inky crimson color. Blueberries and blackberry fruit mixed with vanilla alongside the tell-tale signs of wet band-aid. Great tannins, medium-to-big acidity, good long finish. Really nice. — 2 months ago
Mas de Boislauzon
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 2019
McCarthy & Schiering, $50
Bittersweet occasion and went way above my budget to celebrate my birthday and also mourn Grandma Julie's passing. She loved CdP so thought I'd splurge on one. I've only had a couple but have loved every one I tried. This was a bit different, I'm used to bright fruit forward but this was very muted cooked dark fruit with a lot of emphasis on the baking spice and earthy tobacco notes. Incredibly complex - licorice, coffee, clove, tobacco with an underlying subtle dried/cooked dark fruit. Crazy smooth, but I'm comparing it to sub $20 wines that I'm used to, and you can barely tell that it's 15% alc. Nice tannins but I think it would benefit from a touch more acidity. I'm being picky since I paid so much for it but in summary it's one of the best made wines I've ever had, but not among my favorites. But it's still a great experience and I don't regret the purchase — 3 years ago
Limerick Lane
Russian River Valley Zinfandel 2018
We drank the 2018 and not the 2012 but I forgot to take a pic like a real delectable noob. Nonetheless this was great. Glad I stashed a few away in the ol vault. Bree crushed a complex PCI today and we felt like opening up something tasty to celebrate and let me tell you, that limerick zin hits different. Jammy yes But also dried fruits and anise, light smoke. Clean finish. — 5 years ago
Château Raymond-Lafon
Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2008
This delivered the goods ! Half as apéritif and another half two weeks later on a vacuvin closure. Excellent Sauternes on the more elegant side. Plenty of years ahead, you can barely tell the age. — 10 months ago
McPherson
Don't tell Gary Shiraz 2020
Vintage 2020 | Licorice in smell, cherries, blackberries, I thought it to be pinot noir because it has a certain frivoliy. Wine with a story. Good effort. — a year ago
Château Pavie Macquin
Saint-Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 1994
Bright fruit (blueberry, lingonberry) with mild vegetal notes and tannins. Had @Natasha Bray stumped on this one! Hard to tell what vintage it was. Good structure. — 3 years ago
Herman Story
Late Bloomer Grenache
No surprise to see a Herman Story review from me but this Grenache was real nice. It had a very rich mouthfeel and coated your entire mouth in a satisfying blanket of goodness. The flavors waited a minute and came rushing in. It was a bit of a strip tease frankly. This is a richer and more fulsome Grenache with complex stories to tell. Very much enjoyed this! — 5 years ago
Andrew Cullimore
No formal notes . Medium deep ruby . This seems a bit more advanced . This is a bit harder and more structured on the palate , more tannin , less velvety and a bit more astringent . More spicy , drier on the palate . This needed more time to open . This was quite difficult to judge , I wasn’t 100% convinced about this bottle as it just seemed a little oxidative, however it did actually seemed to come together better after an hour or so , but still quite hard and astringent in comparison to the others (especially La Mission) . Showed a touch more mineral and grafite on the finish too after a while. This needed time , and I would imagine another bottle might tell a different story . — 22 days ago