5/23/2023 - GQG Likes this wine:

Fantastic! Ready to drink upon opening and on day 2 even better. Full-bodied savory blueberry and raspberry fruit, smooth tannins, balanced acidity, and a nice long finish leaves me wanting nothing more at the moment. I'd put the enjoyment factor of this cuvee up against many $200+ Napa wines, so it's a deal. Bought in Spain for around $55. Aged 2 years in a mix of new French and American barrels, then aged another year in bottle. Produced from the oldest vines in the vineyard.

7/28/2022 - GQG Likes this wine:

Wonderful wine that's so fine to drink. See previous notes, it was more of the same tonight. Never tire of the morphing character of this Bordeaux blend.

1/8/2022 - GQG wrote:

Just a really solid showing tonight, besting another of my favorites, a 2012 Bevan Wildfoote also opened. And that's no small feat!

It just has so much complexity. There's herbal sensations one second, there's dark black fruit another, then morphs into cherry and flirts with blueberry with swirling intensity all around, and the fruit's all there, it's still quite pure. I don't know what barrels it came from but it had to be from one of the upper echelon of Rudd's Oakville offerings. Maybe my best QPR buy ever.

11/18/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

2018 Classified Bordeaux Tasting -- 39 Wines (Old Woodward Cellar Event, Michigan): Full-bodied mouthcoating flavor bursts out of the glass at the attack, fills the palate from top to bottom, doesn't ever let go, and finishes long and strong. It does so with a purity of sweet (but not too sweet) dark fruit, structured yet smooth tannins, and buoyant freshness that all seems very ebullient and alive. It's powerful and accessible which makes it a blast to drink young.

Of 39 vintage 2018 Bordeaux wines sampled, this was clearly the wine of the night. Click on the link above to see the 39 wine tasting story.

9/9/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

First M Etain and it made a really positive impression. Smooth and silky with a perfectly clean nose of cassis and a fullness on the palate that never got heavy at all. Judicious oak is well balanced with pure fruit, earth, and perfect acidity that really delivers through the lengthy finish. It's an elegant and well made Napa blend that hits all the right notes for me as I sip into the evening.

Decanted 4 hours but really it was drinking well after 30 minutes or so. The pure fruit and Rutherford dust are fully there right away at PnP.

8/31/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

Another bottle, another review. Well, sort of... it's become more like a stream of consciousness experience, otherwise known as rambling. It's a bit lazy, not much better than my last Caterwaul review that simply incorporated other reviewer's work with my stamp of approval added. Lazy. Ok, don't expect any more now other than a wee little story. TL;DR: get yo'self some Wildroots CoastalBerry Trail Mix at Costco and put it out next to the red wine.

So, a group of us were thrown together on a hike in Crater Lake, Oregon, and there was a French-speaking guy from Boston/France who knew a lot about wine and only drank wine with meals. Right there, that was a big disconnect for me as I mostly sip wine into the late hours of the evening. He waxed poetic about food parings with wine, and I heard him out with mild curiosity as food isn't something I use to enhance the wine I'm drinking. Actually, he was making sense, but I had nothing to offer in return. Not exactly true, there was my visit to B Cellars where their food pairings were so eye-opening and delicious that I had to forget most of my sarcastic wine/food-pairing jokes because they showed me there's really something to it after all.

Maybe I grew a bit talking with him, or maybe just to humor him I started to think about wine and food pairings. I mean, more than, "Hey, BBQ goes great with this Paso Robles field blend Zin!" My CT reviews have all been about how a wine delivers while sipping it by itself over time.

Don't expect sophistication, I am only an egg, but here's a really nice food pairing. Ok, snack pairing, because it's got "Trail Mix" in the name and anyway it's way past dinnertime, it's late! Try Wildroots CoastalBerry Trail Mix from Costco with any red wine.

This 2019 Caterwaul works perfectly! Sure, put out the cheese and crackers, and this trail mix, and see which gets scarfed up first. Those of you that drink white wine will have to go out on a limb and experiment for yourself and let me know how it worked out. My guess is just fine.

Oh yeah, this was a fine bottle of Caterwaul after having been given a couple of hours of air time, and maybe even better than the last bottle I opened. Really smooth and pure. 93+

8/20/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

Really good after a 2 hour decant, high QPR at $49, others have described it well at this early stage. Give it some air time for sure. Thomas Rivers Brown winemaker

7/18/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

Pure dark cherry and cassis flavors with a nice, sweet smoothness coats the palate with fullness from top to bottom. Decanting for a couple of hours delivers the smoothness. There's plenty of freshness and drive across the palate and on through the lengthy finish.

It seems to have filled out well since Badmonkey's 2017 review and is in a great drinking window right now.

7/13/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

This smooth Cabernet is showing impressively right now. Lively acidity, black cherry, blueberry, leather, and dry tannin with a bit of sweetness. It's a balanced and delicious wine. Decanted for an hour or so but it's ready at PnP. Wish I had more than a bottle left.

7/9/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

With a 2 hour decant this beauty is hitting the palate with rich and full-bodied raspberry, dark cherry, cacao, white pepper, lively acidity, smooth tannins, and finishes with awesome length. With a 4+ hour decant it just goes deeper, darker, and more delicious.

This is an interesting wine in the sense that it offers a good example of the tannin contribution from stems in addition to tannins that derive from seeds and skins. Ya, it's a Syrah, so there's that (for you Cab aficionados), but the tannins from the stems present in a smooth and herbal way that this wine highlights. More dimensions are good, right? Here that's true. Super smooth and delicious, and after 9 hours it's still wonderfully fruity and fresh! Stems = freshness = long life, but not always; stems are extremely powerful and sometimes can dominate a wine in an unpleasant way. Here Mike Smith got it way right!

6/30/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

A lifted, floral nose is followed by red fruit with mocha and notes of oak and graphite that expand over 2 hours of decanting, and there's a nice push across the palate from the acidity. Very round and dusty tannins are well balanced by the red fruit that turns a bit darker over time in the glass. I sorta get why some other reviews mentioned a green element but it's not bell pepper, herbal, mulchy, or anything objectionable for me. Instead it comes across as a part of the "Rutherford dust" kind of, sort of... in a non-descript way... and may be from a fraction of whole cluster grape stems used in the fermentation. The floral nose and the freshness both support my whole stem guess. Anyway, the green element is not strong and will diminish further over time in the bottle.

First bottle for me, sub $100 price, and it's drinking well after a 1 hour decant.

6/29/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

This wine is killing it right now. I likened it to Thor/Avengers 3 years ago (young and cartoonish, but worthy), now it's like Deadpool (mature and awesome). It's just as big, full, sweet, smooth, and delicious as a Sonoma blend can be anywhere near this $40 price. While it's not a Bevan Ontogeny or Kinsella Jersey Boys, it's 90%+ of those at a killer price. The anti-flavor folks should just keep moving along. Thanks, Kirk Venge! Glad I backed up the truck and loaded up. Great at PnP (though a bit sweet) and needs a 2 hour decant to really strut its stuff.

6/20/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

Following Bad's and #1's 4 hour decant recommendation, I'm joining with them in confirming that it's kicking a** right now as Carters so often do in the early years. Not that it's a powerful behemoth that needs to be tamed by decanting, though, it actually stays in its lane from PnP sip to swallow. That would be the fast lane as it's no slouch! Right from PnP I found it delicious and accessible. Big, but not heavy, and its dark fruit, earth, minerals, and smooth texture grabs on in the attack, expands mid-palate with plenty of energy, and then eventually lets go after a lengthy finish. I'm impressed at this early stage.

I believe it's smoother than the 2016 Carter^2 yet just as full-bodied at the same point in time. If the 2019's are anywhere close to this 2018 Carter^2, I'm fully onboard.

6/19/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

Typical juiciness and smoke flavor for Scout's Honor, although this vintage seems more pure, balanced, and fresh than recent vintages. What's notable with this 2019 is its full flavor offers notions of fruit clarity and energy rather than coming across as more opaque and dense.

5/5/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

Badmonkey nails the current state of this wine... currants, black cherry, blackberry delivered with purity and spice with a rich, round, charming, sweet singular mid-palate. It's a bit more sweet than the 2016 Carter Three Kings I had last night but still under control. For me the sweetness complements the overall roundness of the wine and doesn't drift anywhere close to the jammy label. 96 score and down to my last bottle of this old friend.

5/4/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

Pure cassis/blackberry and deep red fruit, powerfully delivered in a structured package of smooth tannins and good tension that is in a great place right now. It needs two hours for the initial sweetness and hot finish to dissipate, and then it starts bringing on the charms.

As a point of reference in time for this wine's developmental arc, the initial sweetness/jam is far below, for instance, a 2017 Maybach Materium -- this Three Kings is downright elegant in that comparison! The initial sweetness is more on the level of a 2016 Bevan Ontogeny, but the fruit pureness and precision blows both comparisons away... and I like both of those wines!

I sit here contemplating this wine and wonder why couldn't (ya, more like wouldn't) Mondavi make a wine like this from their To Kalon Estate? Mark Carter cares more is the major answer I get. That, and they didn't hire Mike Smith as winemaker. But it starts with Carter, another in a string of reasons I'm planning to get down to Justins' House of Bourbon in Kentucky to find out how much Mark Carter cares about his Old Carter Whiskey, too.

5/2/2021 - GQG wrote:

A 1 hour decant releases a delicious and elegant old world profile with nods to the modern world.

Driven by its Howell Mountain energy and ripeness, on a scale from Dunn to Caymus it falls closer to Dunn, which is no surprise given that Phillipe Melka was involved. A clean nose leads to dark berries and cocoa on the full, creamy, bold palate. Well-integrated tannins, acidity, and minerality tail off slowly on the finish. Well done for $60 and in a great drinking zone but no rush, it's got years left.

4/26/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

This is the first of my 2018's to hit the ground running on opening, an easy 92 score to start.

Clean menthol and vanilla on the nose leads to a medium body of black and blue fruit that's got depth and character but not in a dark, Gothic way. I'm not getting Route 66 road tar or charred embers, rather it's a nicely deep, creamy expression of blueberry and dark cherry with a bit of a darker punch from the Malbec. There's expansion on the palate with plenty of fruit extraction suitably balanced by rounded tannins and enough acidity to push it all the way through the med+ finish. Everything smooths out further by the 4 hour point where it has all come together very nicely, ending with a 94 score. Time may help, but I'm not sure about that if you like the fruit-forward Napa cabs with structure because it's already so good! I'm guessing I'll drink 3 out of 4 early and leave the last to age. That's unique for a Napa 2018 in my experience so far (ya, it's from Sonoma...) as almost all others will need a lot more time in bottle.

A pleasant discovery for me of this brand/winemaker and it's a no-brainer re-buy at ~$60.

2/7/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

It's Superbowl night, so what wine to pick? Really, it should be beer, but I'm doing the keto thing, so it's wine. Fine wine. I went with Macauley and Venge, like Brady and Gronkowski, a good bet, a sure thing! Starts off with a clean nose and hits on the attack with a plum note that after an hour in the decanter morphs into a seamless and viscous blueberry and raspberry mid-palate with expansion into the nice stretched out finish.

Tonight's wine was picked because continually good makes great, and continually great makes legendary (refer back to Brady and Macauley.) Yup, despite its several opportunities for improvement, this Macauley Reserve delivered the goods. What was the other potential game-time wine? A 2010 VHR, not opened tonight, though it's been a champion in the past and will be again!

1/10/2021 - GQG wrote:

This wine caught my eye because it's sourced from the famous M5 block of Stagecoach. The vineyard's previous owner Jan Krupp said, "[My favorite] might be the flagship M5, which takes its name from [my] favorite block of Stagecoach cabernet sauvignon. It’s our most complex block. The wines age forever. Of all of [them] this one sets my heart on fire."

Turns out in 2017 the Krupp brothers sold the Stagecoach Vineyard to Gallo so the 2016 flagship Krupp M5 Cab was their last vintage. This producer apparently got some of the 2018 M5 block fruit from Gallo.

I was hoping for a great QPR deal but as we all know the vintage and fruit source do not by themselves determine the quality of the final product. This wine is a perfect example. Although I've not had the 2016 Krupp M5 Cab, the reviews of it could not be more different from this 2018 that I drank.

At opening, a reticent nose is followed by a ruby red colored, thin-bodied palate of red fruit. It was fresh and had grip but it was austere and out of balance and had a very linear trajectory with a short finish. No heaviness or over-ripe issues but no complexity either. Maybe the best way I could describe its taste is to suggest this wine may have come from a highly filtered last forceful press of the grapes after all the free-run juice and light pressings went elsewhere. I have no idea what sort of barrels were used for ageing and for how long. Oak/mocha/vanilla/dill/smoke/wood/char notes were not strong.

After 2 hours in a decanter the fruit got a bit darker and it was less unbalanced but complexity never developed. I've had much better wines at half the $35 cost. Maybe it'll fill out a bit over the next few years...

1/3/2021 - GQG Likes this wine:

Integrated layers of dark cherry, blueberry, and cedar are delivered with freshness across the palate. Two hours of decanting makes it very drinkable. I enjoyed the visit to the winery and hotel in Sardon de Duero (west of Ribera del Duero) in 2018.

12/31/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

Smooth, full, deep, pure, dark, lengthy, and complex, but a bit less intense than the last bottle in 2019. Really delicious after a 1 hour decant, and it continued to drink amazingly well for 9 hours. I shaved a point off in its current state as I miss the intensity of years past. It's got the structure to go years more and it may yet reclaim its triple digit score.

For now, guess I'll go scratch that intensity itch with a 2016 Purlieu Teucer. Happy New Year to all you CT'ers!

12/22/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

Impassioned, unreserved, and forceful on opening, it's delicious from the get-go and 4.5 hours later it's smoothed out and has opened up beautifully. Solid depth and tannins blend full throttle with dark fruit, licorice, and minerality, delivering it all through the finish with energy and avoiding any semblance of flab. Drink now with a long decant or hold as this wine has years left in the tank.

11/25/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

I've had a couple of these so far and have posted my thoughts. Right here on this page my prior self told my future self to give this 2013 vintage another year. With adult restraint I listened to myself and I waited. Wine don't care what I say, it's still acting like a teenager.

I'm sure this wine's gonna turn out to be a real QPR winner some day, but I only have 1 more bottle and who knows when that'll happen. The nose is great, it gives a mouthful of flavor, it's got the right stuff, and once the structure more fully integrates with the fruit it'll launch. 'Till then, it's living at home in the basement.

11/24/2020 - GQG wrote:

It's time to conclude the bottle shock test after letting this bottle sit a month in storage. Conclusion: well, this test, while interesting, didn't provide proof either way whether bottle shock is real or not. However, this bottle definitely outperformed last month's bottle, so there's a data point for y'all.

What I noticed the most now was that the perceived hollow mid-palate and lower acidity from last month's bottle have both really improved (5 hour decant both times) though it doesn't reach the high bar set by the 2016 LPV. The nose funk is still there, and if I had been tasting blind I would have guessed there was some Cab Franc blended in because of the herbal/sage notes... and the profile still seems different from a 100% Napa Cab Sauvignon from LPV. I'm looking forward to reading other CT notes on this wine.

11/23/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

It's been almost 2 years since I last reviewed this wine, although I've been pulling bottles at about 4 month intervals in the interim. Biggest change I've noticed since my review in 2018 is that it's become darker and deeper which just adds to an already wonderfully full wine.

I love the 100% Cab Sauvignon Trespass wines, that's for sure, but the 48% Cab Franc blended here adds a delicious earthy dimension and an acidic freshness across the palate that is phenomenal. Great 30 minutes after PnP; decant 3+ hours for an exceptionally deep, dark experience.

11/19/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

Great nose of blueberry, almonds, menthol, and olives is followed by energy in the attack. Across the palate, deep oak notes and drying tannins engage with the dark blue and black fruit, each jockeying and maneuvering for attention, driven on by the fresh energy streak running throughout. Smoke and mineral notes add support on the medium length finish.

The tussle mentioned between these elements implies questions about the current level of integration. It was a bit early to open this wine as it turns out, even after a 5 hour decant, and it has the bones to develop for years to come. Being ripe yet more fresh and structured than other Napa low energy fruit-forward bombs gives this wine a savory goodness today, and the oak and tannins that are presently in control imply a good future trajectory. Some sediment noted. Decant 2+ hours today; better in 2022. 94+

10/29/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

In my last review of the 2015 Trespass about 11 months ago, I called this wine a "head-turner." After opening another one tonight, I want to take this opportunity to update that statement: this Trespass is a buy-upon-sight. Wait, that's completely insufficient. I need to issue an urgent missing bottle alert to every Napa Cab lover who doesn't have this in their cellar.

Why did I pick this bottle to open tonight? Because the 2018 wines are currently arriving. Recently I opened one of those and the wine didn't match my expectations. OK, it's 2020 after all, so maybe it's me? Thus, it was time to recalibrate, and to do that, I picked out a Trespass (it didn't have to be the 2015, but it'll do very nicely!) And, it's not me.

Dark fruit is pushed across the palate with energy, speed, and depth, followed by a very lengthy mineral-tinged finish. Full bodied and structured fruit is well framed with mocha, graphite, acidity, and spice. The tannins are perfectly balanced with the fruit.

OK to PnP and gets deeper and more delicious after several hours of air.

10/24/2020 - GQG wrote:

Note: after receiving it (a 7 day in transit cross-country ground shipment) and then putting it in the cellar overnight, I opened it which is typically not recommended due to bottle shock.

A mostly alcohol and menthol nose with muted fruit and a bit of earthy funk that 5 hours of decanting didn't blow off. Pure dark cassis and blackberry fruit and lots of char/embers pushes the meter decisively to the dark side which is a good thing in my book and in character for Mike Smith/LPV. Where it falls just a touch short for me are the lower levels of acidity and depth of flavor. There's a lot of ripeness here (though short of jammy) and I miss the energy, drive, fullness, and oak/mocha frame of the 2016. I haven't had the 2017 so I can't compare it. The finish, surprisingly for LPV, has little sense of minerality (and, as mentioned, acidity) which shortens it.

In its current state I wouldn't call it either intellectual or sexy. It's just a baby and I'm hoping it'll fill out in the years to come. 93+ for now.

10/18/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

Plush blueberry and dark cherry delivered with fullness and purity after a 30 minute decant, and it became smoother, a bit darker, and more earthy after a few hours. The finish was short, fresh, and spicy with some satisfying minerality. This 2016 seems to be the last vintage of Le Petit for a while (never say never) so I looked around and bought all I could find locally, including a couple of magnums. This is such a good wine at its price point.

10/7/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

A gamy and spicy oak nose is followed by full and dark cherry fruit, minerals, and chewy soft ripe tannins driven with purpose by the acidity across the palate. The savory finish is lengthened by undulating waves of pepper and spice.

There's plenty of fruit here, yet the overall delivery is firmly framed by the structure and energy with the savory fruit always nearby but not assertive at this point. Age could improve the score, it's got the bones. Decanted for 1 hour.

10/6/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

A garnet red wine with visible extract (not sediment) in the glass upon opening, the first sip demands attention as a big, mouth-filling wine. It needed a 1 hour decant and some swirling in the glass to settle in, whereupon the attack and mid-palate of energy and dark red fruit were drumming out a one-two beat in perfect synchronization followed by the essential high-hat cymbal finish. It's big, complex, and delicious; it's more intellectual than hedonistic. No yelling for more cowbell here.

10/4/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

My last bottle, and as I've noted in a previous review, it balances power and elegance, being light as silk while delivering velvety power framed by a mature, integrated structure. Decanted 2 hours.

9/30/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

I've enjoyed Faithful Hound (Andy Erickson, consulting winemaker) in prior vintages and I figured this 2015 was a sure bet at $15, and it's darn good.

This is a classic Bordeaux blend of 32% Cab Franc, 31% Cab Sauv, 21% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, and 9% Malbec. The Cab Franc makes itself known right away in the super clean & fragrant nose. Its modest tariff belies the medium-bodied tart cherry, cassis, vannila, and cacao palate that's delivered with smoothness and some complexity. Ya, really, for $15, gotta love Stellenbosch! The medium length finish gives one just enough time to wait before having another go at it. Ready at PnP.

This wine takes the top crown for under $20 wines I've had in 2020.
Second place goes to 2016 Paydirt Going for Broke (Paso Robles, Red Blend)
Third place: 2006 Glaetzer Shiraz Bishop (Barossa)

Honorable mention (Under $20): 2015 Dylan's Ghost Red Del Barba Vineyard Lot 21 (Stags Leap District, Red Bordeaux Blend), 2013 Rust en Vrede Syrah (Stellenbosch), 2010 Rust en Vrede Estate (Stellenbosch, Red Blend), and 2015 Domaine Lafage Côtes du Roussillon Bastide Miraflors (Syrah Blend). Ya, that's the list so far at the end of the 3rd quarter... note that Stellenbosch, South Africa is well represented, and should be further investigated by any value-seeker.

9/29/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

Dense, dark, and a bit muddled at this point. Came off more as a blend than a single vineyard / single varietal wine, but that could be due to its current development arc which may resolve with more time in the bottle. Nice nose followed by plum, tobacco, pepper, leather, and good energy/grip. Improvement potential, no doubt, as a 2 hour decant brought it more into focus. Very drinkable, but I didn't get the purity and sharpness expected of a single vineyard wine. I'll let my last bottle sit for a year or two.

9/26/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

--H-E-'-S---G-O-N-E-- VANGONE
Lyrics By: --R-o-b-e-r-t---H-u-n-t-e-r-- me (apologies)

Van in a vineyard, caught on a rim
You know Vangone was named by him

Like I told you, like I said
It'll steal your face right off your head

And now Vangone
Now Vangone, Lord Vangone
Vangone
Like a steam locomotive rolling down the track
Vangone, it's gone, and nothing's gonna bring it back
Vangone

Nine mile pour on a ten mile ride
Hot as a pistol but cool inside

Wine is decanting, dogs in a pile
Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

Drank one round but the price wasn't anything
A case in the back with more of the same

Original song (followed by great '72 versions of The Other One and Wharf Rat, Boulder, Colorado, 9/3/72): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50YIko97OFs

9/24/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

Some nice deep blackberry and dark cherry notes along with a purity of fruit not often experienced in this price range. It's not overly ripe nor sweet, it hits a pretty good balance for a medium-bodied Napa Cab. Drinking well after a 30 minute decant.

I also picked up some of their Black Aces, a higher-end wine (from Beckstoffer Georges III in Rutherford & Candlestick Ridge Vineyard Howell Mountain) that I have yet to try.

9/10/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

The hunt for the sweet spot drinking window... drink now? Wait?

There's an undeniable purity of fruit here, so the question is reduced to when will the structure balance out the fruit. Obviously there are many sub-categories to the equation, but that's the general thrust. One rule of thumb is 1 hour in the decanter = 1 year of ageing, 2 hrs. = 2 years, and so on. This is an easy rule to remember/apply but very approximate because wine, as an organic substance, evolves by chemical kinetics (rate of reaction) that, once in the bottle, are driven almost exclusively by time at temperature. One hour at room temperature really doesn't equal one year at 55°F because each of the many organic substances in wine converts at its own rate of reaction based on temperature (and oxygen exposure.) To get the "right" flavors over time, it seems by experience that at 55°F in a bottle (more or less) all of the rates of reaction of all of those organic substances come together appropriately over time. Too warm means some of the organic kinetic reactions happen too quickly, spoiling the final taste. Too cool, the opposite happens, the tastes don't develop. Expecting one hour of decanting to equal one year of proper storage is like trying to have a baby in one month by using nine women.

But decanting is useful for predicting what the effects of time may eventually deliver. Three hours of decanting really resolves a lot of the initial tartness here without reducing the fruit to complete and desolate darkness, shutters slapping in the wind, tumbleweeds rolling by, etc.. No, this wine holds up, smooths out, and by becoming more balanced offers hope that in a few years all those organic molecules will convert properly and play even more nicely together. That said, it was a pretty enjoyable quaff today (after a 2 or 3 hour decant.) Expect some tartness on PnP.

9/5/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

'Bout time I opened the wooden box and hefted this heavy bottle outta the case, seeing as some here are sayin' its best days are behind. Well, I don't know 'bout that, it's my 1st bottle. Time flies, don't it?

OK, we got the cassis, we got the blueberry, we got the dark cherry, all wrapped up in a mouth-filling glide that brings a smile. Nose is a bit hot, so's the finish, but in between there's energy and fruit that'll git all y'alls attention. I'ma tellin' it to ya straight y'all, ya done heard me say 'bout the energy and dark fruit that knocked me back on my hind end. Minerality and tar, sure 'nuff, ya don't need nobody to tell ya nothin' cuz ya already know ever'thang. I'ma only tellin' ya the half of it. I reckon if'n I told all of it, they'd be a post so long the Interweb would'n even hold it all. On account'a that, if ya's fixin' to drink now, that ain't a bad thang, or go 'head and hold so's ya might have the good life later on!

8/21/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

Ya, sketchy nose, but this wine grabs your palate at the attack and doesn't let go. Fruit intensity, ya, with a structure to match. Dark fruit, mocha, cigar, and acidity ride high on the palate along with plenty of smooth lower register tannic goodness and spice that will improve with age. A serious improvement after 2 hours in the decanter means Winemaker Fayard has this wine dialed in for ageing. But for now, after cutting firewood logs all day, kick back and soothe your pains and bruises with this big Cab. I did just that. Legit high QPR at 29.99, 93+

7/18/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

A pleasant first experience with this wine. Cherry, black currants, espresso, herbs, tobacco, smooth tannins, and plenty of concentration and energy deliver an overall great expression of Cab Franc across the whole palate (no green bell pepper or other green herbs noted.) Nice long finish with waves of energy and fruit, all well controlled. Better after a 1 hour decant.

7/4/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

Headline reads, "Acidity saves the day."

A spike of energy and freshness on the attack is augmented by dark fruit and spice mid-palate. The high register carries through on the finish, undulating back with mouthwatering acidity. There is some development over a couple of hours. My first bottle since purchase from the winery.

7/3/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

Picked up recently in the secondary market and this one's a winner. My first bottle from Kind, and I'm already looking forward to the next. Wonderfully full Cab Franc with a creamy mouthfeel and enough structure to control the fullness. No overt green bell pepper taste at all, rather a nice herbal background with plenty of fruit and acidity to finish long. To all you Cab Franc lovers (you know who you are) it was a real treat. Decanted for a couple of hours which mellowed it out but it was ready at PnP.

6/5/2020 - GQG wrote:

Well, the 2017's from Napa... and from Bevan no less... the good, or the bad... good first... the attack is solid, hits you with dark fruit... blueberries, cassis, tobacco, and energy from the acidity... no goo... and then...

Then, well... there's no middle... only a finish, which stretches out on the top of the palate with acidity and some fruit. It lacks the depth of the 2016, and about complexity, let us not speak of such things. A definite notch down from 2016. Sediment noted, decanted for 3 hours.

6/3/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

A year ago this wine needed 4 hours of decanting to coax the tannins into line. This time 'round that all happened in about 2 hours and with a big improvement in clarity, too, as if a veil was pulled off and the dark red and blue fruit snapped into focus. There is a smoky note here along with the Crane minerality that I found satisfying after some air time. Needs a few more years of slumber, hopefully continuing to hone its precision. 95+

5/26/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

A bright nose is followed by red fruit that's darker than is typical for Zinfandel. Notes of blood orange and raspberry result in part from the nicely acidic drive across the palate. Its medium-full body and smooth texture turns darker with time in the glass, and delivers notes of pepper and oak on the satisfying finish.

5/22/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

Initially a bit tannic, and after an hour or so it started gliding across the palate as it developed a nice smoothness. Dark red fruit, herbs, and spice are full-bodied although not weightless. A bit more acidity might have extended the short finish. A decent buy @ $32.

5/20/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

SpaceX is targeting lift off from Kennedy's historic Launch Pad 39A soon, hopefully a heavenly achievement. This wine's mission has already launched from Las Piedras and is a terroir achievement right here on the ground.

A full payload of dark cherries and black raspberries is effortlessly lifted across the palate by twin boosters of deep minerality and silky smooth tannins. Currently tracking flawlessly in the first stage, in a few years this Memento Mori variant's second stage will propel this vintage into high orbit. Thanks to Sam Kaplan's super hardcore work ethic, a talent for making wine, common sense, & trustworthiness, all systems are go.

5/13/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

Wonderful wine and an improvement since my last note a year ago. It sports a core of black and deep red fruits layered with cassis, anise, spice, peppercorns, earthy elements, moderate acidity, and smooth tannins. The lengthy finish adds notes of vanilla. Very drinkable and delicious after an hour decant (substantial sediment noted.)

A $29 wine that drinks like $100+, what's not to like? Oh yeah, it was a close-out special; congrats if you have some, and good luck finding any more. If you do, jump on it (or any of the Reserve vintages 2012-2015.) Thanks Mr. Rudd, entrepreneur, RIP.

5/12/2020 - GQG Likes this wine:

This wine is drinking well after a couple of hours of decanting.

Integrated fruit and oak along with great acidity keeps this 14 year old wine vibrant and alive. No dill notes detected from the American oak. Dark cherry fruit and tobacco along with medium tannins put on quite the show after all these years followed by a medium length finish. This 2006 vintage and the 2011 vintage are standouts over the past couple of decades. I look forward to enjoying many more bottles from my cellar (last one I tried was 4 years ago.) After visiting the winery last year, it was hard to miss the large collection of 2006 vintage they had in one of their most favored storage locations... inside tip?