JohnMcIlwain

Tasting Notes

• 2014 Cristom Pinot Noir Mt. Jefferson Cuvée

  Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View JohnMcIlwain's profile
  • Report Issue

  4/30/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

  So, from all estimations this is the middle of the pack for the Cristom wines, though you’d be hard pressed to say that based to this bottle. Fine color and excellent cork (on a WineBid bottle, no less!). Pale ruby robe with a bit of bricking on the meniscus. The nose offers a few artifacts of elévage and an array of red fruits, crushed (woody) herbs, baking spice, and balsam. The palate is well on the path to resolved, but with fine energy offsetting mature, burnished notes. Plenty of cherry and red plum flavors with enough juicy acidity and ripe tannins to accompany a pan roasted rose veal chop with polenta and a shiitake pan sauce. Fine cut and long expansive finish here. Sensational retro-nasal persistence here—plenty of that peacock’s tail. I like this a bunch. Real flair with all the earthiness. If I can find some bottles, absolutely a buyer. Yum!

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• 2021 Bedrock Wine Co. Ode to Lulu Old Vine Rosé

  Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View JohnMcIlwain's profile
  • Report Issue

  4/27/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

  So perhaps (definitely) I could drink my rosés quicker—no argument here. But such haste can result in pleasant surprises. “What if a couple years revealed what all the Mourvèdre vineyard sites have to offer in sapidity?” A niche interest, to be sure. But I have to tell you, there's something delicious, albeit a far cry from the fresh melon, salted stone fruit, juicy Lulu-ness of the fresh releases.
  The 2021 has a pale pink salmon robe. The nose offers an array of watermelon rind, bruised rose, rosehip, and crushed Mediterranean herb aromas, with a whisper pine needle and dashi on the periphery. The palate is concentrated and driving with a decidedly persistent, if focused finish. Now, I find this compelling, but this is also being enjoyed with a meal of head on spicy prawns, with spring vegetable ragout and polenta. The wine is shining here, though as a cocktail wine, I’d put this down as past its prime; it isn’t, but I’d relegate this to the table rather than the patio.

  2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• 2022 Domaine les Fouques Cuvée L'Estelle Rosé

  Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View JohnMcIlwain's profile
  • Report Issue

  4/26/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

  Watermelon salt, garrigue, fine texture and a savory kicker. Surprisingly felicitous pairing with pasta all'Amatriciana. This particular cuvée always seems to benefit from the extra time in bottle.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 455 Tasting Notes