Shay A

9.3

One of the bottles from my annual WWC hosting. I opened this as a side by side to a 2019 Saxum White as the makeup is fairly similar.

80% roussanne/ remaining a mix of Grenache Blanc, Clairette, piquepoul blanc, picardan and bourboulenc.

Nicely expressive at pop, it then faded and hid in a shell for a few hours before coming back at last glass. At 80% roussanne, I expected a more consistent expressive profile (honeyed tropical fruits, some orange) and for the acid to show a touch, but it was a roller coaster. More melon and light fruits vs bigger/more tropical. Medium bodied but not as rich as expected. It’s clean and shows some floral and mineral/stony nuances, but I’d spend the extra and take the Roussanne VV to get more complexity and flavor. — a month ago

Phil Kessling

9.0

New arrival in the shop but had to take a bottle home. Coravin the first night, it was closed and a little bitter on the finish. Pulled the cork the next night and it was a different wine. Tart fruit and great minerality, 14 ABV but didn’t drink hot. No RS. Gong to let the other bottles sit for a while. — 3 years ago

Ed Tostanoski

9.4

Dark fruit, earth/iron/funk. Probably peaking or close to it, as the fruit is starting to take a back seat and I think this one needs the fruit to stay in balance — 4 years ago

Willie Carter

8.9

A nice dark cherry red color with a wide brim. The nose opens up with some nice spice and green earth. Plenty of funk and fun on display here. Dense moss and forest woodland screams before the bright red fruits show up to play. The floral aromatics really set this one off.

45/30/25 of Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah, this is a Central Coast take on Chateauneuf du Pape and baby, it works. It’s a gentle onslaught of goodness. Mounds and mounds of bright, fresh fruits come in waves. Wild strawberry, red cherry, and raspberry. A hint of dark chocolate with menthol and more greenery. It seems like people don’t know how good these are and that’s a crying shame. Beautiful wine and so hard to beat. — 4 years ago

Ira Schwartz

10

Wine stimulates our sense of smell and taste but in this case it also created a tidal wave of emotion. Through a tremendous act of generosity a dear friend shared this special bottle when he heard me lament I was not able to secure a bottle of wine to celebrate my mother’s 100 birthday. My friend stood the bottle up for several days. We decided it made sense to PnP. As you can see the cork was intact and the color of the wine defied its age. The excitement to take that first sniff was overwhelming for me. Old but alive scents wowed me. Lots of tobacco, leaves, leather and dried fruit. In the mouth those same scents were transferred to my palate thanks to a tsunami of acid. At about the one hour mark the wine quickly entered a death spiral. I cannot imagine another bottle of wine that will ever conjure up that amount of emotion and happiness. When I described my experience to my mom, a very broad smile came over her face. A blessing to share this experience with my mom and a privilege to taste a wine like this. — 6 months ago

with Richard

Brian Hearty

8.9

2011. Very interesting up or down reviews on this wine. Several mention funky notes, where I tasted none. Several noted high tannins, where maybe mine had mellowed. Body was a little thin and it did take over an hour to start opening up, but I paired it with some Indian takeout and it paired great! — 4 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

The 2014 Seavey Merlot is in the zone right now. Although a lot of Seavey offerings take time to develop, this Merlot can either be kept or consumed. But, after having this one I just don't know how much better this will get. It is balanced well between brambleberry and slightly underripe plum on the front, herbs and a hint of a nitrogen note in the middle. Acidity is good throughout. Well structured, this wine went well by itself and also went well with a chicken burrito. Finished darker than it started. I think this one is right where it needs to be right now. I think you could hold this for 5-7 years but really just is a nice drinker now. — 5 years ago

Jerry Raphael

9.4

I usually bring at least one older wine to a favorite BYOB restaurant for NYE dinner. I selected this 33 year old cab and trying to open it the cork crumbled and some came out and some stayed it so decanted through a tea strainer into my take out bottle. I could tell just by the color this wine had promise. Poured about 2 hours later and the color was deep dark red to the edge. Not much on the nose but the taste had a lot of black fruits and a bit of spice and seemed like a young wine. The finish was long and smooth. It was still drink great as we finished the bottle about 2 hours later. Luckily I have another bottle and have to figure out when I’m going to open that one. At Anthony’s in HH — a year ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Presented double-blind. The wine pours a deep, ruby color with a near opaque core. Medium+ viscosity with significant signs of sediment. Moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, dark fruits are predominant with some purple flowers, tobacco, subtle pyrazines and a touch of earth and baking spice. On the palate, the fruit set is confirmed. The wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. The finish is very long and savory. I believe a significant amount of new French oak is being used. Based on the aforementioned, possible varieties are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc or some combination of Bordeaux varieties from either France or California. While the fruit is no-doubt abundant, there is hefty structure and a complexity that makes me lean towards the Old World. And now that my head is there, it’s very hard for me to get outside of Pomerol and I think the fruit is more of a result of the vintage. So I went with it, calling it 2009 Pomerol from a great producer. Welp…I was close and probably a huge compliment to Amuse Bouche since I think this wine is supposed to be their take on Pomerol. A very sexy wine that is drinking very well right now without a decant. — 3 years ago

Matti Jokelainen

9.0

Brilliant light ruby color. Upon opening very shy nose, pronounced acidity, sandy/powdery tannins and bright red currant/red cherry/granberry taste. After 2h the wine starts to open and the nose picks up the Nebbiolo typical wonderfull mix of flowers complemented by cherry, cool tones bit like menthol and red currant. Palate remains tight but full of promise. As good as this is, it still falls behind thw excellwnt 2016 torre in sheer depth and fruit intensity. I take this will reach prime drinking in 2-3 years so nice cellar defender when waiting the 2016 — 4 years ago