I’ve gone through 2 so far. I thought the 2017 was tremendous QPR.
2018 Our Wines Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (1/13/2024)
Raspberry and rhubarb with a hint of earthiness. The fruit was tart and lightly bitter. We enjoyed the 2017 more than this wine, but still a good value for the ridiculously low price.
2017 Our Wines Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (10/22/2023)
No formal notes, but thought that this was quite nice. Restrained, balanced and at the beginning of a good window. Should drink well for 10-12 years from vintage.
We drank the Sun Break Rose Vermouth straight on the rocks and also mixed with a little club soda. I preferred it just on ice. It is dry, not sweet. I did not use it as a cocktail mixer but have a bottle lined up to do so. The botanicals are floral and herbal, light and crisp. 3% RS
I also have their red vermouth but have not tried it. That one is 9.5% RS, so probably right at home as a cocktail mixer
Also drank the Kelley Fox vermouth, straight up, chilled. That one hit the spot, bold, woodsy, lots of botanicals. Might be a bit strong in flavor for a cocktail mixer but delightful on its own
Purchased a half case of each Sun Break Rose and Red Vermouth (along with three Kelley Fox Vermouth through the club). Both Sun Break’s are wonderful as Classic Negroni mixers. The Kelley Fox is a little “big” for the Negroni but just love it chilled straight!
2015 Campesino Syrah Las Madres last night. Jeez, this was an insane QPR. It’s still pretty young and it’s just starting to stretch out. All the olives in the world.
had a great bottle of 2020 Lagier Meredith Mondeuse tonight. The best one I’ve ever had from them and so very promising for future improvement. Mondeuse really scratches a particular itch for me.
I think it needs a little more time ageing . Compared to the limited number of napa bordeaux blends I have tasted, it seemed more restrained. No stewed/dried fruit characteristics or overt oak notes.
Really enjoyed @Saul_Mutchnick ’s 2021 Lost Coastlines Pinot Noir. Strikes a great balance between fruit and earthiness and never lacking flavor. Some darker fruits here, but never heavy, shows great finesse for a powerful site.
2019 Briceland Vineyards Gewürztraminer Ishi Pishi Ranch - USA, California, North Coast, Humboldt County (1/21/2024)
Pale yellow in the glass with aromas of white flowers accented with spice. The palate is quite flowery, with notes of lychee in the background. Bone dry, with a zippy acidic backbone that makes this a pleasure to drink.
Similar notes to my last bottle 2.5 years ago; the wine has rounded out nicely. This should easily last through 2030.
This was a really fun bottle of wine to open on a cold winter day. The intense floral notes transported me to springtime.
From Berserker Day 2014
Drank last night.
Hard pressed to pass up a JE offer.
This is where the benefit of GCC pays dividends as the cabs sometimes sell out on preview day
This was so tasty I can’t call it infanticide. Very primary / juicy now, accessible to the point where I can’t really tell where this will go. Don’t overthink it: this is just loads of fun, great with food (Asian- spiced duck in our case).
Also, love Stereophonic labels in general.
From CT review:
Still very primary, has a sweet edge to it but that’s a matter of youth rather than too much extraction. I found the bouquet rather strong on florals, like a wave of violets. Oak is kept in reasonable proportions. Lots of plum / cherry on the palate. I really have no idea how this will evolve.
I liked this more and more as we drank it. At this stage of its life it struck me as a perfect gateway drug for people who like mid-priced blueberry milkshake Napa cabs — because that’s all they’ve ever had — and can take them somewhere a lot better. This wine had the non-threatening taste profile of wines that are inferior to it; however unlike, say, The Prisoner this also has interesting balance and just a little tension to it. And although it won’t scare the horses that doesn’t mean it’s boring - not at all. A crowd-pleasing wine in the best sense and maybe my favorite Stereophonic wine so far.
Score: 92. Relative to expectations: ++
Thanks for that note. I have been enjoying the Gewurztraminer as well. We did a wine / chocolate pairing with Dick Taylor Chocolate which was fun and surprising. Adam Dick paired a Dark Chocolate with that wine with surprising success. Their chocolate is the real deal, BTW.
2013 Chester’s Anvil Hattori Hanzo with Flannery aged hangers. This is really hitting its stride. A perfect match. Still can’t believe this wine was $15 when they were blowing it out. Berserkerday at its finest!
The Cabot sparkling thread gave me FOMO, so I placed one last BD order today so we could try them.
We haven’t opened a Cabot in a long time, so here we are.
This syrah is still going strong. Very earthy, herbal profile… Looking forward to seeing how it develops in the next couple of hours.
