Time Place Wine Co.

Domaine de la Butte

Mi-Pente Bourgueil Cabernet Franc 2018

Jacky Blot sadly passed away recently, and oversaw in his time two Loire domaines that produce Chenin and Cabernet Franc respectively. I tried last year one of his whites, which blew me away, and enjoyed a similar experience with the 2018 ‘Mi-Pente’, a single vineyard Cab Franc from Bourgueil. This being my first wine from Bourgueil and one of a tiny few Cab Francs that I’ve tried from the Loire as a whole, I would have no idea where to place this in a blind tasting. But my word, what a spectacular wine!

It’s so enticing on the nose - initially quite bretty, but then broadening out to reveal aromas of fresh cherry, cranberry and blackcurrant, along with a savoury edge comprising cedar, tobacco, lavender and tomato leaf. The palate is at once fresh but powerful, structured and elegant; savoury with flecks of sweet cherry chocolate. This is an engrossing wine, utterly drinkable with great ageing potential. I am totally smitten, and look forward to trying more wines from this domaine in the future.

94+
— 4 months ago

Peter, Bob and 1 other liked this

Textbook (Jonathan & Susan Pey)

Mise en Place Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

With a little air time it opens up nicely. Black and red fruit, grippy tannins, oak, licorice, fig, vanilla, plum. Nice finish. Smooth mouthfeel. — 2 years ago

Paul and Milissa liked this

Colgin Cellars

IX Estate Napa Valley Red Blend 2006

1.5 hour decant (lots of chunky sediment). A stupendous dark ruby red color with some bricking. On the nose: Beautiful aromatics burst from the glass with dark cherry, boiled meat, sandalwood, worn leather, toasty oak. Taste: smooth, creamy, silky, intense wine with cassis, currants, tobacco, glycerin, earth, and a spiced licorice long finish. In a great place with time to go. YUM!!! — 2 years ago

Eric, Bryan and 16 others liked this
Hugh O'Riordan

Hugh O'Riordan

The good stuff
Tom Garland

Tom Garland

@Hugh O'Riordan RP 100 pt wine why not. Cheers!

Clos du Val Wine Co.

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Great every single time — 6 months ago

Jay and Douglas liked this

Clos du Val Wine Co.

Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1996

JKT
9.2

Wine dinner with big group including Butch neighbor Art, Philip and Bewan. Great wine and needing more time! Still prominent but soft tannins and wrapped in more sumptuous garb than the regular Cab. So keep the remaining three in storage! — 10 months ago

Bedrock Wine Co.

Papera Ranch Heritage Russian River Valley Red Blend 2016

Dan
8.9

Very rich but has all characteristics of old world Syrah. Really drinking well now but probably has some time too. — 2 years ago

Palmer & Co

Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Chardonnay

Shay A
9.2

I’m between a 91-92 (same as I was for the Brut Reserve). After going through 6 of these and 6 brut reserve over the last year, I feel confident in the longevity of these Blanc de Blanc champagnes.

For a Blanc de Blanc, this shows plenty of yeasty/toasty notes with fleshy characteristics. Sea salted flaky honey buttered biscuits with lemon scone and honeysuckle aromatics. While the palate is similar, the finish is so drastically different than the rest of this champagne…almost too tart. Palate profile is rich with yellow fruits, kiss of nougat, and some classical limestone. The finish is just crazy underripe and again, tart. Razor sharp acidity. I think this is a champagne that benefits from time, whereas the Brut reserve is perfectly fine to consume now.
— 3 years ago

Jan, Douglas and 36 others liked this
Joshua Fisher

Joshua Fisher Influencer Badge

You should get a job at a wine magazine Shay
Shay A

Shay A Influencer Badge Premium Badge

@Joshua Fisher : Ha. I appreciate that. Just love wine…and part of the nerdy aspects of it! Hope to catch you at Brasswood once or twice when out that way the first week of September.
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

@Shay A Delectable just tagged this post of yours on their Instagram account. Kudos!

Bedrock Wine Co.

The Bedrock Heritage Sonoma Valley Red Blend 2022

This is amazing!!! Pomegranate, red apple skins, plum jam, pine tree, some shortbread, more herbs and fruit on the finish. This has time! What a wine! — 9 months ago

Tom and Raul liked this

Château Musar

Bekaa Valley Red Blend 2011

It was Father’s Day and I had decided on grilled rack of lamb for dinner so I selected this bottle of 2011 Chateau Musar rouge from our cellar. According to Musar’s records, the 2011 vintage was one of the most challenging since the early 1990’s. It was ultimately a late-maturing vintage with harvest taking place on October 13th, the latest since the 1983 vintage!

I decanted this bottle about eight hours prior to dinner. It should be noted that immediately upon opening, the bouquet was strikingly gorgeous with powerful aromatics that were obvious from several feet away and this trait carried through until dinner time.

In the glass, the wine presents a deep garnet color. Slightly turbid with a near opaque core. On the nose, black plums, blackberries, cassis, tobacco, organic earth, exotic spices, leather, spiced meat, and pomegranate. I detect a touch of VA as well. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the nose with an added bit of red rope licorice. Lovely, long, savory…amazing. This was a brilliant compliment to the lamb (which was served with beets and goat cheese and fattoush) and everything I wanted in a Musar tonight. Drinking well now with a hefty decant and I expect well cellared examples to drink well past 2035.
— a year ago

Ira, Brian and 18 others liked this

Bernard Levet

La Chavaroche Côte-Rôtie Syrah

This was presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine appeared deep ruby with a nearly opaque core. There’s slight staining of the tears and the viscosity appears medium+. On the nose the wine is intense. It’s slightly funky with an almost cheese rind sort of thing going on. There’s a combination of red and dark fruits with some purple flowers, dried tobacco leaf, something that sort of resembled pyrazines and a little bit of baking spices which suggests there’s some French barrique being used. On the palate, the wine is bone dry and fiercely tannic. Acid is medium ++. It’s definitely on the darker fruit side with some black berries and blue berries, black pepper and baking spices which all but confirms French barrique at this point. Long finish. I’m scratching my head with this one. It’s wild. Clean and fresh…but wild.

I could see this in a few places: Moulin-à-Vent is one possibility considering all the darker fruit and firm structure. However, I find some real Italian sensibilities to this wine. Despite the monumental structure, I cannot place this in northern Italy. Given the presence of French barrique, I could see this being a Cabernet Sauvignon-based Super Tuscan with a little Syrah and Sangiovese for good measure. So that was my call: 2015 Super Tuscan.

Wow…what a lovely surprise. I mistook the Rotundone for pyrazines (a recurring issue for me) which had me thinking Bordeaux varieties instead of Syrah. And to be fair, we don’t see a lot of Côte Rôtie at Tasting Group. This was my first time tasting the 2016 “La Chavaroche” and while it was a real treat (big thanks to the generous member of the group), it was also a reminder as to why I cellar my bottles of “La Chavaroche” for so long. This is a wee babe and frankly, pretty tough for me to love right now. That being said, the quality and character is unquestionable. I say give it until 2030+ and these will light up your right prefrontal cortex like a supernova.
— 3 years ago

Andrew, Romain and 6 others liked this