Mike - we haven’t had a 19 in a while (hmm maybe open one up this weekend for a progress check). We usually decant our younger cabs a minimum of 90 minutes. Hope this helps! Karen
3 Likes
no decant but opened it a couple hours before drinking and consumed over 3 hrs. 30 min of air would prob do it some good!
Opened a bottle of the 2018 Vincent Armstrong Pinot. Cherry, spice, a little earthiness. Very tasty. There is probably a little less than 2 glasses left in the bottle that I am looking forward to trying tonight.
1 Like
Firing up the the Way-Back Machine and drinking a 2016 Wilde Farm “Heritage” Bedrock Vyd., which is mixed blacks.
It was depressing several years ago to learn that Wilde Farm was shutting it down. Loren Grossman always made a killer BD offer and was great at interacting with us knuckleheads. This must have been a BD11 or 12 purchase. I don’t remember. But I was surprised when I found this in the cellar because these bottles served as defenders to permit the WF Syrah to age.
Anyway, I’m glad I found it today. The wine is still youthful. As you might expect, it is dark garnet in the glass and tries to trick you into thinking Cotes du Rhone with its peppery, brambly, raspberry fruit and wildflower notes. But it is just bursting with juiciness. @loren.grossman – it has been a while, but I am still enjoying WF wines and hope you are doing well! 
4 Likes
Thank you for the kind note! Yes, that wine is drinking great! From a great spot in the Bedrock vineyard. Kudos to Morgan for growing such fantastic fruit and to Pax for not getting in the way! 
Have to crack one of those soon myself!
2 Likes
He was always good like that. 
Thanks for jogging my memory. Turns out I have one of the WF 2018 Bedrock, and some 2018 WF Halcon as well.
Agree, these are lovely wines, and I’ve found they reward some aging. Will have to check in on these soon.
1 Like
I opened the Vincent Berserker Pinot last night, and unfortunately it was bretty. I think it would have otherwise been a really nice wine, but I’m not a fan of brett. I noticed it on the nose, and tasting it, the 4-EP really showed through with a bitter medicinal aftertaste. I opened a second bottle, hoping it was a one-off, but it was the same. Both went down the drain.
I’ve had a number of Vincent wines previously, and have never run into this. It’s especially disappointing because I bought two cases - one for me and one for a friend who asked me to order one because I recommended it based on my previous experiences with Vincent wines. I’d be curious to hear from others who have opened one.
Extradimensional tasted for like a good quality barbera. Which meant I didn’t like it much. people at the table who like barbera loved it,
1 Like
Tercero 2021 Trilogia
My first Tercero wine and I was impressed with the quality at this competitive a price. If I had had to guess blind I would have said Chenin Blanc: the blend (which is free of Chenin and Chard) has the roundness of Chardonnay with an extra floral zip of Chenin. A nice match of tropical richness and citrusy acidity. Very slight grapefruit pith edge near the back that gives the wine a welcome extra contour. At $35 retail this is a no-brainer. I thought it went well with the fish we had and preferred it as a food wine over stand alone tasting.
4 Likes
We opened our first bottle of Vincent’s Chardonnay Tardive tonight. A rich nose of lemon, matchstick, dried herbs and summer rainstorm. The palate is ripe lemon, white pepper and a vegetal note. This wine showed best when warmed to cellar temperature from the refrigerator and got some air. Quite the value in this bottle; a very impressive effort…thanks Vincent.
We had the Sandler 2020 Sonoma Coast Cuvee Kemuri last night. Very nice. Dusty nose, cherry, cassis, earth. All the good Sonoma pinot notes you want. Good introduction to Sandler pinot and very good QPR, especially as part of the recent BD deal.
1 Like
I’ve opened two bottles so far and neither had brett (and I’m pretty sensitive to brett).
Last night, I opened a 2008 Lagier Meredith Syrah from what must have been a pretty early Berserkerday. I was not taking notes, but it was really nice. LM Syrah seems to reward aging, and this one could have gone several years longer. Very enjoyable.
2 Likes
2022 Ser Vineyards Sparkling Gruner Veltinger
I usually really don’t care for GruV. I think it’s that the typical white pepper finish and the pithy sides don’t match well (to my palate) with the floral and citrusy nose. So this was a kind of redemption quest for me.
And, yeah, this was very enjoyable! So much so that I think sparkling wine is GruV’s destiny 
. We had this outside on a warm late afternoon and this wine just fit in perfectly.
From CT review:
Lime and verbena on the nose. Lemon/lime, ginger, and a slight touch of grapefruit on the palate. White pepper/ citrus pith finish. Acidity was strong but not unbalanced. I normally don’t care for Gru V but this was just the thing for a warm afternoon outside.
1 Like
Thanks for the reply, and I’m glad to hear you had a couple of good bottles. I’m pretty sensitive to brett as well, but can tolerate a little bit. My two bottles so far have been well above my tolerance threshold. My wife is far from picky about wine and isn’t into the details of it, but without my saying anything, she said something was “off” with the wine and mentioned the aftertaste. I’ll try another bottle with my regular tasting group next week.
I’ve had about a dozen Vincent Pinots, one had Brett. It was a 2019 Eola AVA
2022 Sabelli-Frisch New Gold Dream Zabala Vineyard Riesling
Wow, was this ever different!
From CT Review:
Very dry, reticent expression of Riesling — I can’t really think of an equivalent from anywhere else. Quiet nose of florals, tart citrus, gunflint and — as weird as this sounds — tobacco leaf. Astringent citrus and bergamot taste. This is a very stylish (in the sense of in a signature style) wine that will polarize opinion. We found it worthy of extended conversation. I ended up liking it quite a bit after a period of wtf. Regardless, something this unexpected makes me very excited to try the other Sabelli-Frisch wines in my sampler pack. Very different, makes a statement.
Score: 90. Relative to expectations: irrelevant.
5 Likes
I could start almost every note about a Sabelli-Frisch wine this way.
5 Likes
Thanks John!
Yes, it’s a pretty tight Riesling and I always recommend trying this one first out of anything, because if it comes at the end of some other Riesling, it will for sure feel extremely austere! 
2 Likes