2/11/2024 - blakel wrote:

I often love these Halcon wines young, and in the past when drinking aged ones, I have sometimes felt like I actually preferred the wine young and fresh. Not this time! Opened this one tonight because the written drinking window ended in 2023. It is stunning. Deep, rich, savory, perfectly balanced, and brimming with ghosts of Esquistos past.

1/5/2024 - blakel Likes this wine:

I guess I drank these too early? Good but not great, and would not buy again at this price.

11/12/2023 - blakel wrote:

Just singing right now with dark fruit, smoke, violets, minerals... One of the best Halcons, one of the best California wines... One of the best wines, period, I have ever had.

5/29/2023 - blakel Likes this wine:

Beautiful, complex, another great vintage of this wine. Tropical fruits, almonds, a hint of petrol, minerals. Drank over three nights and it continued to evolve and transform.

5/13/2023 - blakel Likes this wine:

Delicious and fantastic QPR at $15 from Last Bubbles

5/9/2023 - blakel Does not like this wine:

Seems like it has faded and past it's prime

4/29/2023 - blakel Likes this wine:

A nice champagne, but I'm not really seeing the value here at $75

4/29/2023 - blakel wrote:

A bit too sweet for me

4/27/2023 - blakel Likes this wine:

Intense blueberry. White pepper. Violets. Slightly closed compared to a year ago. I bought four of these and have now drunk three. I will try and save the last bottle until the 2030s, but I don't know if I have the discipline.

4/7/2023 - blakel Likes this wine:

Heavy

3/24/2023 - blakel Likes this wine:

The pepper notes are mostly gone, which I liked when present, but this is now delicious in a different way.

2/22/2023 - blakel Likes this wine:

Amazing, complex, perfumed, dark

12/15/2022 - blakel wrote:

A prefer a slightly less sweet riesling, but this is a well-made wine.

5/7/2022 - blakel wrote:

Lovely, bright, refreshing, citrus. Ryo said it was her favorite new type of wine.

4/16/2022 - blakel Likes this wine:

Beautiful complex wine, wish I had more bottles.

4/19/2022 - blakel Likes this wine:

Delicious, classic rosé. If it was a few dollars cheaper it would be my house rosé.

3/24/2022 - blakel wrote:

past peak

3/13/2022 - blakel Likes this wine:

Drink up, not gonna get better.

1/29/2022 - blakel Likes this wine:

This did not live up to its reputation, lacking all the complex notes I was expecting. Probably just an off bottle.

12/3/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

Better as it gets more bottle age

1/24/2023 - blakel Likes this wine:

Found a bottle of this in the cellar - thought I had drunk them all. I wish I had left them all in the cellar for five or six years! Ridiculous QPR on this wine, as with many of the entry-level Bedrock wines. Just a great aged Syrah.

10/5/2021 - blakel wrote:

Left this last one in the cellar too long, it's declined significantly.

10/3/2021 - blakel wrote:

Disappointing

9/2/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

Lots of character

9/3/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

Sad to realize this was my last bottle of 2016 after I opened it. Previous notes stand. This has many years ahead of it.

8/5/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

I can drink this all summer. And I do.

7/3/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

This was delicious but I was expecting something more unusual, so slightly disappointing as far as value goes. A lovely wine nonetheless.

7/9/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

Sensational

6/21/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

Absolutely delicious. Reislingfan's notes are spot on.

6/24/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

Not as good as the previous bottle... not sure if it has peaked or this was just randomly lesser

5/7/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

Still very young with powerful tannins but amazing complexity and spice profile

5/2/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

buy more

5/7/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

Delicate, delicious

4/22/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

Delicious - right at the edge of too sweet, but not. Buy more!

4/6/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

I like this much more than a couple years ago. Mature and integrated, delicious.

3/24/2021 - blakel Likes this wine:

Intense blueberry pie nose on opening. Didn't notice the CO2 that others have mentioned. Powerful tannins, but not unpleasant. Concentrated berries and violets on the palate.

I love the Alturas when it's young, and this vintage is no exception. A wonderful wine.

12/17/2020 - blakel Likes this wine:

Delicous. Vert tart - definitely better with food.

11/23/2020 - blakel Likes this wine:

I've had every vintage of this since the 2010, and this is possibly the best ever Esquisto? Pretty sure it's the most complex. Dark fruit, pronounced note of white pepper, lots of other subtle things going on. The cellartracker drinking window on this lasts 42 years! No way mine will stay un-drunk that long. It will mature and change, but I don't think I will like it more in the future. A beautiful, delicious wine.

11/6/2020 - blakel Likes this wine:

My last bottle of 20 purchased! Fully integrated, deep and smooth, perhaps just past its peak. Cork crumbled on opening.

9/22/2020 - blakel wrote:

Others like this but it has too much vanilla/oak for my preference.

9/24/2020 - blakel Likes this wine:

Fresh, tart, red fruits and sour candy, delicious.

9/14/2020 - blakel wrote:

Sadly past its prime

9/4/2020 - blakel Likes this wine:

Rock solid, consistent, so good, never fails to deliver satisfaction.

9/2/2020 - blakel Likes this wine:

Very nice sauvage petillant... slight grapefruit color and taste. Some sediment. Great with food. It was INCREDIBLY FIZZY on opening! Gushed everywhere, and I was worried it would be flat once it calmed down, but no. Nice wine, good value, would buy again.

9/4/2020 - blakel Likes this wine:

Very nice classic brunello, rich and smooth - so much better than the last bottle, purchaed at the same time, which I drank eight years ago!

7/10/2020 - blakel Likes this wine:

Tasty, but nothing special and questionable QPR

6/5/2020 - blakel wrote:

Spoiled - tasted corked, even though it had a screw cap.

5/25/2020 - blakel Likes this wine:

unusual, spritely, light, zingy

5/13/2020 - blakel Likes this wine:

Enjoyable, but would never have pegged it as grenache!

5/8/2020 - blakel Likes this wine:

Fresh strawberry on the nose, distinctive on the palate with some garrigue notes and tart cherry Not like a zin at all to my palate, which is fine. Lively acid, long finish.