Scott,
So, That 2013 sparkling wine will benefit from even more time??
Absolutely. I will drink my remaining two over the next couple of years. My guess is that it’s 2-3 years from peak.
Happy New Year dN dudes and dudettes,
My dudette balked at opening 6 wines for a blind tasting on NY Day, so I grabbed one of my new Cabs and gave it a whirl with dinner sandwiched between the football games. Paired with Steak au poivre, which was excellent, and better than the wine. Anyway…
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2018 de Négoce Cabernet Sauvignon OG N.91 - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (1/2/2024)
Nose is oak and warm berries. Palate takes a while to open up, but warmth and smoothness are pleasing, a bit rough on the finish and hint of greenness in the tannins. Reasonable everyday Cab, but seems like leftovers from a winery's lesser barrels, which is likely exactly what this is. (88 points)
Posted from CellarTracker
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276 Napa rose. Have you ever had a wine whose nose is more interesting than the finish? We opened this wine for New Year’s Eve, and remembered from past bottles that it did benefit from several hour decant. The nose on this is like putting your nose in a bouquet of flowers with ripe peaches. It’s absolutely delicious. Then you take a sip and it’s Good, but it’s not as good as you expected. It did improve after several hours, and there was about one glass left in the bottle the next morning… We finished it with fresh orange juice and turned it into mimosas… Sacrilege I’m sure but otherwise it was going to go to waste and they were the best mimosas I’ve ever had
100 Rutherford Cabernet 2019. This has come around beautifully. We had it with barbecue brisket And ribs on New Year’s Day And it held up surprisingly well. I think when I received this about 2 1/2 years ago (This was my first Napa dN case Purchased three years ago) I would have rated it an 86 or 87 For the First 18 months . Now I think it’s a strong 91
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Over the long holiday weekend:
# OG N.1 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Decanted 30 mins prior to grilled filet mignon steak with losbter. (All out for me from Costco here!). Lovely spice aromas off the decanter. Poured dark to rim. Firm and delicious with dark plum, spice cake/chocolate notes. Drinking very nice, fell off a bit near end of night. 89 points.
Saturday into Sunday evening:
# OG N.70 2019 Chehelem Mountain Pinot Noir Blend B,
Popped and poured into glass. Light crimson color in glass, which is transparent through the bowl. Nose of wild strawberries, tart cherries and earth. REALLY nice mouthfeel and smoothness on this Pinot now. These blends are starting to yield what sources described are: single vineyard /clonal cuvees expressions of $65-$80 Chehalem Mtn PN. Served balance of bottle Sunday evening better yet. Going to go with 91 points on this B blend.
Glad to have swapped Scott B a case of this PN for OG Lot n. 41. Headache Cab to a Chehalem delight. We both won.
Cheers, Tim
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# Lot 412 2022 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
412 did not live up to 411. Very harsh. Ripe. Guess this one needs more time. Maybe off bottle. Will wait to see what others say on 412.
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This ticks every box I wanted it to tick.
2021 de Négoce Collio Friulano OG N.379
Pale yellow/straw color. Initially even some dissolved CO2. Nose is pretty simple with citrus/lemon, some matchstick like reduction/nuttiness, white pepper, not very complex, but pleasant. Palate is fresh with lifted acidity, yellow fruits, citrus, seashells, and nice minerality. Finishes long but pretty onedimensional. Still very good stuff.
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I know a couple of folks have tried n.429 (the proprietary red) and liked it, but there weren’t a lot of details. Is this worth trying now, or would you recommend holding off for a little longer? Any details would be much appreciated!
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Drinking lot 352 Coonawarra Cabernet tonight for the first time. For $9 a bottle during a recent case sale, I think it’s great! It’s not too complex, but it’s getting the job done!! I’m definitely picking up the Eucalyptus!
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Lot 214 2020 Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir
With over 2.5 years in the bottle, time to try the first one of 24.
PnP, pours dark, rich, Syrah like and full bodied, red fruits on the nose. Oak and berries on the palate. The firm acidity balances the sweet fruitiness perfectly.
Now it’s a 
double Yum. This will become more even complex with additional aging. I plan to “slowly” deplete my remainder slowly….over about 2-3 years?
with #321 & Tri Tip. 
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#101. Hope it’s an off bottle as I liked this a lot closer to release, but this is already advancing way faster than I expected. Something I didn’t expect to see from a DIAM closure.
So no judgement yet regarding the ageability of it, still have 6 bottles. I’ll try another one in a month or so.
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OG N.105 2018 Rocks District Cabernet Sauvignon
The Biggest surprise of the 2023 holiday season!
I always considered this to be very ready to drink, it’s so extra smooth. It was semi-randomly opened to fill in a thirsty gap, and then was forgotten in the holiday joy.
Soooo, come Day 3 (THREE)!!! It’s friggin’ much better!! Big surprise, yes it’s smooth, yet, VERY age worthy. Who Knew???
with various holiday joy!
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Great to see your comments Scott!
214 and 301 are my favorite dN PNs by far! I’m glad I still have a few bottles of each.
381 Chardonnay
nice and smooth
nothing crazy
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I’ve only had a few of these, one was okay, but nothing similar to the selling note. The rest have been barely mediocre. Can’t really complain too much for $11.
I have a case of these and have only had one as the first I had in 2022 I felt it wasn’t ready yet but I liked it. I figured with it being a 2018 it would need more time. With your note, I’m inclined to open one now and check it as that’s a bit concerning that you think it’s advancing way faster than expected.
Enjoyed NV Dourdon Vieillard La Réserve de Germain champagne for New Years. I have never been a champagne drinker, never invested the time or money to find what I like. But the cheap bottles I have had up until now never enticed me to explore further. This bottle changed that, I really enjoyed it. Loved the crispness, the carbonation, it was very drinkable. Meant to to write down my notes earlier so I wouldn’t forget them all. Unfortunately I forgot. 
But based off of this bottle, I could see adding more champagne to the drinking rotation. Any suggestions on what other producers I may like based on the Dourdon Viellard tasting profile?
Chris,
So I’m a West Coast (SF Bay Area) guy. Been buying wines from K&L for years. They have a REALLY great Champagne buyer named Gary Westby. You can look him up on Instagram. what I enjoy are the “growers” Champagnes. Can find some of these reasonably priced $30-$50 range. K&L ships to most states dN is allowed to.
Cheers, Tim
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Thursday evening:
# OG N.150 2019 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
Decanted back into bottle just before serving. Poured next to a 2016 Ch. Pitray BDX.
After 1st glass of BDX, poured the OG 150. Much darker in glass as expected, opaque in glass. First taste- black cherry, dark plum, leather barely poke through the brutalizing tannins. Holy sheet. Mid palate attack from the Petite Verdot. Finish is medium, but at this point tannins are just what this wine is about. 2nd glass, fruit more prominent, but I think my tongue went numb from the tannins. It’s not a BAD thing. This wine REALLY needs time in bottle and THEN prepare some hearty, rich food to share alongside this. 91 points today. Should get better in time.
Cheers, Tim
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Given that the NV DV was mostly Chardonnay, you probably want to look at Blanc de Blancs or Chardonnay heavy blends with a lower dosage. But the only way to really find out is to buy some and try them out.
I would second going through TNs from Gary Westby and his team at K&L and see what sounds good to you. I suspect you’ll need to be in the $40-50 bottle range to find bottles at the same quality level.
I know a few people who do the K&L Champagne club and like it. I suspect the economics of it if do not pencil out if anything has to be shipped.
And a while back, I did taste through all of the sub $30 bottles at K&L trying to see if I could find anything on the value end. Nothing held up against the NV DV. Cam seriously hit it out of the park with this import, and the closeout at $25 was insane (still wondering if I should have bought more). If you want to see the TNs from that they are here:
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