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Joule Rosé of Mourvèdre 2021

2021 vintage. Loved it! Don’t drink it ice cold or you will miss the experience. Amazing @Stanley Barrios — 3 days ago

Severn, Brian and 2 others liked this

Viña Ventisquero

Grey [Glacier] Single Block Trinidad Vineyard Carménère 2022

Nose of tart fruit and spice which shows up in the palate as well. Silky tannins that take a little time to build up. Easy to drink for a medium bodied red. It's holding up well to hearty spicy chilli, and the spice of the food is letting the fruit show more through the spice notes of the wine. Curious to see how it develops when I have some tomorrow. — 2 months ago

Boekenhoutskloof

The Chocolate Block Cinsault Blend

Is so good, finish test of chocolate and vanilla. Love it — 3 years ago

Regusci

Block 27 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Plum and dark fruit with a nice kiss of oak. Delicious. — 4 years ago

Hirsch Vineyards

Block 8 Pinot Noir 2014

Stated to open up nicely after 30 minutes, should have decanted. I think the wine is at its peak and should be drunk now, starting to get a bit of leather and prune elements. Nice cherry, raspberry aromas. — 5 years ago

Ellie K
with Ellie
Ron, Matt and 3 others liked this

Spier

Creative Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2020

For me, subtle tannins, balanced acidity and flavors of blackcurtant, dark chocolate and cedar spice. Consumed 11/16/25 w steak. — 2 months ago

Paul liked this

Ghost Block

Pelissa Vineyard Zinfandel 2021

Inky in color with a wide reddish rim.

Fruity on the nose, and medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate and easy drinking.

Showing red and black fruits with light cedar, earth, herbs, chocolates, peppercorn, cola, Mediterranean spices and light licorice.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a delicious Single Vineyard Zinfandel from Napa Valley. Elegant and rich. Fruit forward and complex. Nicely balanced with a soft mouthfeel.

Good right out of the bottle and better with airtime. Will continue to age nicely in the next 7 years.

Good by itself as a sipping wine, and will pair nicely with burger and fries.

14.9% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$40.
— 3 months ago

Tom, Robin and 8 others liked this
Tom Casagrande

Tom Casagrande Influencer Badge

Nice to see this come in under 15%. It takes thoughtfulness and care to do that amid climate change, and is particularly admirable in Napa, where wineries could easily grub up low-profit Zin vines, replace them with Cab and charge higher $$.

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1990

From magnum. No formal notes. The fill was top-shoulder. Underneath the capsule, the top of the cork looked nasty which I wiped down as best I could. About four hours before service, using a Durand (which is almost essential with old bottles) I was able to pull the cork completely intact and decant for sediment. The cork was completely saturated but appeared to have done its job! At this stage in its life, the 1990 Chateau Mouton Rothschild pours a garnet color but it doesn’t appear particularly tired and the nose supports that. While it’s certainly a vinous wine, there is a lot to like: a mix of red and black cassis, rip and desiccated cherries, tobacco leaf, cedar box, old leather, damp earth, some mushrooms and baking spices. The structure is still sound and while the tannins have integrated and the acid is keeping this very much alive. In fact, this seemed to brighten with air and almost get a second wind! As I find with all great Bordeaux wines once they enter this stage, they seem to live forever. This was a lovely pairing with a Prime, Niman Ranch porterhouse served with corn, squash and porcini. This is squarely in the “drink now” window, not that it will be falling off a cliff anytime soon. Decant for sediment and enjoy through 2030+ — 2 years ago

Bob, Daniel P. and 18 others liked this

Jones Family Vineyard

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

Somm David T
9.8

I have posted a number of older vintage Jones Family Cabernets. Many 20 yrs and older. Three to four 97’s…none better than this one. I give few wines a score above 96. This is different. It is so close to perfect. Some might give it a 100. I struggle to give a wine a perfect 100. I have only done it 4 times in an estimated 25k wines tasted or bottles I’ve enjoyed. One was a port made before 1886 and tasted in Oporto at Taylor Fladgate’s tasting room in 2015, it was their Scion. Only sold there and at the time 5k at bottle. You end up there purchase the Scion taste regardless of the current cost. They put on a tasting show for you. I am half tempted here to give out a 100 but will refrain.

I am not sure what to add to that but will attempt to do so.

The nose is a beautiful, perfectly evolved Napa Cabernet. Nothing overpowers any of its singular components. I think the word I am looking for is harmony. Lush, plush, ruby dark currants/cassis. The best, mid, subtle/gentle/soft, dark spice box I certainly can remember, lush blackberries, both plums, dark, not quite liqueur cherries, a mix of subtle purple fruits, poached to baked strawberries, some light hints of raspberries, dark sweet tarriness, melted dark chocolate, anise to black licorice, steep fruit tea leaning into black tea, sweet/soft leather, moist tobacco, sandalwood, dark, rich forest floor, sweet graphite, hints of dry twig, a flutter note of eucalyptus, dry, withering & slightly candied florals that are; dark, red & blue & framed in light lavender with more pronounced liquid violets.

The palate wire to wire is even & stupidly, gloriously, grand. It mirrors the nose very closely. Lush, plush, ruby dark currants/cassis. The best mid, subtle/gentle/soft, dark spice box w/ some light palate heat, best I certainly can remember, lush blackberries, both plums, dark, kirsch not quite liqueur cherries, a mix of subtle purple fruits, poached to baked strawberries, some light hints of raspberries, dark sweet tarriness, melted dark chocolate, anise to black licorice, steep fruit tea leaning into black tea, beautifully layered baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick & vanillin, caramel, sweet/soft leather, moist tobacco w/ a hint is ash, sandalwood, dark, rich forest floor, dry, crushed rock powder, dry top soil, crushed limestone powder, sweet graphite, hints of dry twig, a fluttering note of eucalyptus, dry, withering & slightly candied florals that are; dark, red & blue framed in light lavender with more pronounced liquid violets, perfect, rainfall acidity, extremely well balanced, even & subtle tension-structure that stands up on the long set, refined elegance with a finish that goes on and on and eventually lands on spice & beautiful, refined earthiness.

What a bottle! 98 that leans into 99. I paid somewhere between $80-$90 on the secondary market for this bottle.
— a month ago

Paul, Andrew and 14 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

1989 vintage. WOTD! Funky, old grandparents nose for a spell, then blew off. Still a bit of the feminine (blueberries, raspberries, cocoa powder) characteristics evident. Better than the last bottle tasted (4.4.23 a 9.4) but not as good as another fairly recently (12.9.22 a 9.6). Still pretty damned delicious and still at the top of the bell curve for another half-decade or so. Hit. It. Now. Ain’t getting better. 5.5.23. — 3 years ago

Jan, Bob and 14 others liked this
Severn G

Severn G Influencer Badge Premium Badge

Very nice!