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I bought some Paloma last year - 2012, 2013, and 2014 vintages. I have had one of each, and would agree with Otto that they are aging really fast. Much faster than the ones I had from 2000-2005, which were amazing. I actually liked the 2002 better than the 2001.

if I am remembering correctly, the winemaker worked for Thomas Rivers’s Brown, and the first vintage was 2010. I bought a few out of the gate, and thought they were too tight/structured out of the gate, but showed promise. Maybe it’s time to revisit.

Interesting that someone else drank this wine yesterday (and posted on CT). My only follow up notes are that after I put the food away, the last glass did seem hot on the nose, and less balanced. I didn’t get the port notes as strongly as the CT note, but I also wonder if this has any chance and com...

So, tonight I opened up a 2007 Lewelling Wight. Maybe I am a masochist, but I have had so many underwhelming 2007 Napa cabs of late (flabby, hot, disjointed), that after a really (really) bad performance by a 2007 Maybach, I just wanted to see how bad things could be. I checked CellarTracker, and th...

J a y H a c k wrote: ↑
May 28th, 2019, 7:13 pm
With the caveat that if they sell out to Mega-ultra Conglomerate Winery, I'm outta there:

1. Saxum James Berry Vineyard

That.

I have had great luck with the 2011s. The mountain sites have been consistently good, with the Cimarossa cabs (for me) being wonderful. But, recently, I’ve had great bottles from VHR, Greer, Blankiet, and Congruence. I’ve also heard from several people with better experience that I have, that they f...

I have no experience with Neal. How would you describe the house style, and who would you compare them with? Thanks.

Bill Tex Landreth wrote: ↑
January 23rd, 2019, 6:06 pm

John Webber wrote: ↑
January 23rd, 2019, 5:55 pm

JW.Vazquez wrote: ↑
January 23rd, 2019, 5:42 pm
[removed by admin]
2 posts. Both posts nearly identical promoting Ellman. So, welcome to the board and do tell us what your connection to Ellman is?
Beat me to it.

Director of Hospitality...if he is the same Justin Vazquez as on the website.

JW.Vazquez wrote: ↑
January 23rd, 2019, 5:38 pm
[removed by admin]

How much are the wines? Also, they say on the website that their grapes have been a source for one of the great brands in Napa. Do you know which one?

Greer. And you’ll save yourself some money (I think current release is $175).

I opened a 2011 Beta a couple weeks ago at a dinner party. I uncorked it and pushed it aside, planning to give is some air and then pour it for dinner. However, the first taste was very promising and I told one person. Before I knew it, half the group had some in their glass and the bottle was nearl...

Really interesting. Like Dennnis, I spend at least as much time drinking beer as I do wine, maybe more. So, I was trying to think about what would make me drink wine at a Brewery. If the beer is worth the visit, then the primary driver (for me) would be a hard to find wine at a great price. But, I d...

Without getting into the language of the reviews, I thought this was an interesting preface from Antonio: “Quite frankly, it is not easy to write these reviews. I very much wanted to like Tynan's wines. Perhaps I caught them on a bad day, but I found the wines dense and heavily extracted. Tynan told...

My allocation included a new bottling from To-Kalon: the M Block, which is on the far western side of the vineyard, as part of a seven-bottle pack. I like that they are keeping prices the same (after the purchase by Constellation), but I think I have to skip it this year. House expenses, travel to s...

Brett - I don’t t think you can go wrong opening any of the 2007s. I would heed the advice above - give the Booker, Bone Rock, and James Berry a bit more air. 2007 Epoch Ingenuity - totally forgot to add this note. This wine changed the most over the course of the day. Immediately upon opening, it w...

Things didn’t go off as smoothly as hoped (real, non-wine life sometimes gets in the way), but we were able to open up all five of the 2007 Saxums, and amazingly none of them were corked. Nine people tasted: most had a passing knowledge of Saxum wines, but a few had no experience. And, even though t...

BLittle wrote: ↑
November 9th, 2018, 10:29 am
will love to hear your impressions as i still have some that I want to check in on

Shall do. I think there will also be a 2007 Epoch, which Justin made (or consulted on?), and maybe some other Syrah/GSM blends. I’ll to my best to bring back some notes..

Thanks Alan. I reached out to the winery, who recommended uncorking 1-2 hours before serving. That seemed low/short to me, so I will try something in between most likely.

I will be at a tasting this weekend where all five of the 2007 Saxums will be opened/tasted. I have looked at Cellartracker, but does anyone here have any recent experience with any of them, and have thoughts on what decanting should be done (if any), and what I should expect? I am a huge fan, but a...

Fair enough.

I don’t know if this has been mentioned, but what about Roy Piper’s wine? Small production, amazing attention to detail, good/great vineyards. Plus, if you even wanted to know/learn about how to grow grapes and make wine, Roy’s video’s will teach it all to you. No idea if he wants to be considered i...

15 Rocket Block was not to my knowledge available in 750, only in mags for $296 What was the review on Vinous saying out of interest Josh Raynolds tasted it in 11/2017 and 9/2018. Both tastings resulted in bracketed scores. First was 96-97, the next a point higher. Lots of comments about power and ...

Just ran across the scores while reading a copy sitting at a local sushi restaurant. Couldn’t believe my eyes. I asked the restaurant if I could borrow their copy for a couple days to read the entire article and see some of the other scores. I haven’t had all the wines reviewed, but from the ones I ...

So, I heard back from the winery. Here is what they said: The acids were too high in this vintage, so I had to de-acidify. I rack the wine to get rid of it but some floats in the wine and you can’t always get rid of it all. I had a University trained winemaker plain the chemistry of wine some remain...

Victor Hong wrote:That happens when we boil chicken heads and feet at excessively high heat, to make soup. It is called snot and toe cheese.

This just keeps getting better.

Yes. Definitely gross. And thanks Jim for the explanation and links.

Is this a bottle by bottle thing, or is this something that starts before bottlings, making it more likely that I will experience this in the remaining bottles I have?

Sounds like a wicked case of pediococcus. This would be a rare instance where the specific bacterial spoilage results in a “ropey” character in the wine. Usually caused by excessive ripeness, low TA and high pH. Well, not caused by that but that environment engenders the growth. Here is some sort o...

Has anyone ever had this issue? I was pouring a wine - not going to mention the producer, but it was a 2012 Merlot - and the wine seemed off from the start, but I decided that I wanted to pour half of it into another bottle and cork it for another day. I poured the full bottle into a half bottle, an...

I agree with many of these points. I got the save the date, but had a last minute work trip. Was in a deposition all day, and didn’t look at my phone during lunch. When I finished, I had to run to the airport to catch a flight, and then only noticed/remembered when I got back home. But, I’m more ups...

Dang. Out of town for work and missed.

I went back and looked at my notes, and all of my Bone Rocks were spritzy. But, time seems to have helped, as age and decanting have helped each successive bottle.

I can’t go back to 2000, but I can go back to the 2001 vintage with a Bone Rock purchase. It was my first six-bottle purchase of any wine, and I drank my last Bone Rock last year...and everyone, from Burgheads to SQNers, were shocked at how good it was. That is one of those bottles that got me hooke...

I have had some of the Herb Lamb “Herb Lamb” and enjoyed them immensely, but it has been many years since I had them. I initially wondered if my tastes had changed, but then with a little thought/focus, I realized the more likely scenario was that there was something off with the KL bottle. Not sure...

I tasted through all four of the Karl Lawrence reserve bottlings from 2007: Dr. Crane, Herb Lamb, Morisoli, and Beckstoffer To Kalon. I have never tasted the reserve bottlings, but have enjoyed the regular Napa bottling from numerous vintages. I drank all four across three nights, dusting off my Cor...

Never heard of them. Thanks. I will look them up. How did you learn about them?

Went through three cases of this last summer. My wife said after her first sip (no kidding), “I think this might be my favorite rose ever.” Got a couple cases of the 2017, and have enjoyed it just about as much. I have two of the 2016 left - need to do a comparison tasting.

Has anyone had any recent vintages of Paloma merlot? I had some from 2002-2005, and it was very good (mostly). But, it fell off my radar for some reason.

Detert makes my favorite cab franc in Napa. I have tried their cab, and although I like it, I prefer the cab franc. I would drink it in the first ten years, but that is just my preference. Great stuff..

i wasn’t sure there were any more bottles left. I had my last 2001 last year, and thought it was amazing - and it confirmed my belief that Saxum wines age quite well. I have one 2002 left, and will try to hold it until age 20. Until then, I will have to get by with some from the late 2000s.

Circling back to another thread, I'm wondering how these have stood the test of time - anyone have experience opening older ones (say ten years of age or more) to see how they've held up - or not? Cheers. I haven’t had one in a while, but I still own a few from 2008. I have wanted to try them, and ...

Based on Roy Piper’s recommendation, I bought Greer in the 2008 vintage, and immediately fell in love with the wine. Never had a bad bottle, and think the 2011 is one of the best of the vintage. Came across VHR later, but heard great things. Was able to pick up three bottles of the 2011 for $125 eac...

Dang. Logged in on day one, but got dragged away at work and forgot to finish my order. Just went back and both reds (Incubo and Space & Time) are sold out. Need to focus better next year.

Great wines. Thanks for being a part of BerserkerFest!

Great to see Weston here on Berserkers. I’ve had the good fortune to drink Weston’s wines, and to get to drink other wines with him as well. He has a great palate and an incredible passion for making wine. Had his 2015 Syrah blind with a large group, and when revealed, most everyone wanted to buy mo...

For the money, I have always enjoyed his Myriad Three Twins Vineyard cab, or for a little big more, the GIII. If price isn’t an issue, I would pick one of the Carter wines. I have never had the big boy, the G.T.O, but I have loved the O.G. and the Three Kings.

Steve, I opened your regular, not the Reserve - I forgot that I had a couple bottles. I had a bottle of the 2011 before, and liked it, so the strong bell pepper notes for distinct to that bottle (for me). But, you are right, it would have been more interesting to open the Reserve. The prices of the ...

Don - my first few 2011s were exactly as you say. Thin, lacking fruit, and a touch green. I was about to give up on the vintage when I tasted the Greer. From there, as mentioned above, I have had some very good wines. But, I have come across some that seem less successful. Mike - I have had the 2011...

Awesome notes, thanks for posting! Glad you had good luck with some 2011 cabs. I've tried a decent amount and really only been happy with a couple (2011 Tor Kenward Cimrossa being the main one). The others have been super disappointing, and in some cases flat out bad (for my palate). Most disappoin...

Over the last two weeks, including Christmas dinner, I have opened four different 2011 Napa Cabs (among other wines). Not sure why I opened so many wines from that vintage, especially with the risks that seem to go along with it, but ultimately it was an interesting exercise - one that showed me, at...

I ordered a case during BeserkerFest, and after two sips, my wife said “This might be my favorite rose ever.” After that first bottle was finished, I ordered two more cases. No idea what the 2017 blend will bring, but I can’t wait.

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