I had sold some older bottlings and I have some good rated mags from 2014 and 2018 but I could not sell any 2020s…didn’t think it was fair because I was previously in the biz, but I totally get caveat emptor. So using questionable bottles as cesspool filler unless passable enough to cook with.
That said, had some 2015 BdB and first bottle was DOA but second was nice. Very little fizz but nice. The bloom is off on these wines, for a variety of reasons…for me at least.
I will quote my most recent CT note: Normally I would mark this wine as flawed instead of giving a low score, which I believe is more kind to the winemaker. However, since the winery refuses to acknowledge they produced a flawed wine, I shall have to score it as such. 50 points
I had a 2018 BdN a few nights ago and it was really good. Not amazing and didnt really stand out, but a high quality sparkling wine.
You really think he is going to comment and kill his free sample link to UM?
Don’t see why not. It’s more likely he was intentionally not shown the problematic 2020 wines rather than tasting and choosing not to review. Wasn’t it Galloni that commented on Ridge’s smoke tainted Monte Bello recently?
You don’t think it’s more likely that the winery itself made the conscious choice not to show their flawed wines to a reviewer?
The funny thing about writing, something I learned a long time ago, is that you can reveal more about yourself than about your subject :). That is especially true when people post things that are patently false. The only things that are bullshit here are claims that I tasted these wines and intentionally did not publish reviews, and related comments that follow. My recent Sonoma report has notes on wines that did not live up to my expectations. We also buy a lot of wine, FYI. Moreover, anyone who takes the time so look at my reviews of the 2020 Sonoma Pinots and Chardonnays, or reviews from any challenging vintage, will find something quite different from what some or most other publications put out there.
It’s much easier to just ask, “Hey, did you taste these wines?” That’s the right thing to do.
Thanks for chiming in Antonio! Did Cruse/ anyone from Ultramarine speak to their 2020’s at all - specifically the pretty overwhelming feedback from buyers (or past buyers at this point) about the majority of wines being flawed?
Also, is it ‘normal’ to not have wines available to taste because a winery is in-between vintages? I’m certainly not a wine critic and don’t know how that works…but i don’t think i recall you (or any other professional critics) writing about that issue before .
I thought I had long finished my UM wines but today found a wine tote tucked away with a bottle each of 2019 Keefer and Michael Mara. No clue how those to managed to hide for as long as they did but they’ll get sampled at some point soon.
Popped the 18 Hirsch Rose earlier today.
Wow the pic looks dark 
Wasn’t that advanced, but it was very seemingly monolithic. No real verve for a fairly young wine. Technically fine I think, although I did pick up some slight pyrazine too…maybe I was looking too hard?
Regardless, was pretty simple even for a new world Sparkler tonight. I think maybe this and the Rose just have never been?
I think producer and vineyard are a terrible match with Hirsch.
Opened a 2019 Keefer BdB last week and it was 
I think most folks are asking: “Hey, why didn’t you taste these wines?”
Seems odd.
Popped the 2019 Blanc de Noirs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast over the weekend and it was excellent.
did a side by side with the 2020, well actually we had the 19 first and it was excellent… then the 20 was pretty bad, nose worse than the palate… technically drinkable but not enjoyable so it was dumped
Hi Rich,
Just from our experience, the previous two years @Eric.Guido has visited the Valley and our bottling dates have been just prior to his arrival. We’ve held off of showing them to him during his visit, both to avoid having him need to form an opinion on wines that are at probably their worst point and also as he has so many people to see while he’s here that it feels like we would be wasting his time.
And to be fair, we also didn’t submit any samples from 2020 for review. Partly because we only released a small bottling of the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (about 500 cases), a minimal bottling of Durant Chardonnay that was clean fruit, and some small entry level bottlings. It didn’t make sense to show them, as it’s common that you can clean smoke taint up and then have it reappear later on which undermines a reviewer and the winery.
Hopefully, that helps.
Thanks Marcus - helpful for sure. That said…still feels kinda 'convenient ’ considering the clear/obvious concerns with their 2020s.
Also…has Ultramarine ever ‘been between vintages’ in previous years when their wines were being reviewed? I can’t recall that happening but i could for sure be wrong 
I think Jasmine Hirsch is married to Michael Cruse…
Doesn’t fix the wines!
