399 last night
fantastic as usual, was $129 for a case
5 Likes
OG N.151 2018 Napa Valley “Reserve” Meritage
PnP, ~ 3.7 years in the bottle. This 47% CS Meritage is a delight! This was bottle 14/24, it is now fully ready to enjoy. Smooth and moderately lush palate. Somewhat Bordeaux like, Moderately complex nose. Medium finish. Very pleasant, single 
yum, Plus!! Will be Drinking one per month until it is all gone? 
with NY steak
4 Likes
Lot 399- friend Chris brought one over 2 months ago. I took two sips and politely dumped my glass out, reached into my DEEP cellar for something more palatable. For me, it was too “boozy” and found a bitterness that I could not tolerate. Too each their own, and now Chris knows on Thursay evenings, bring something beside 399. He enjoyed it.
A definite “No Yum” for me.
Cheers, Tim
3 Likes
399 is a party wine. I’d be happy to buy more of that one. I had two cases and any time we had people over a few more bottles would go.
1 Like
-486 Napa 2023 Chardonnay. Absolutely delicious. I’m not a big chard drinker (wife does). We had this with a great Persian meal and a white seemed right. I don’t think I’ve had Rombauer (which is what it’s described as being in the style of) but this wine is amazing. Lots of fresh ripe fruit. I don’t get a lot of “butter” which is described in the pitch. But maybe I like butter in wine more than I thought. I’ll be buying another case or 2 of Napa 2023 Chardonnay if the pitch is right.
3 Likes
486 is very nice. It does Not have the butter or richness of a Rombauer, still it’s very yummy.
1 Like
It’s the best dN chard we’ve had. (We have 128,133,167, 207, 245, 328, 330 to compare to…never had 77 which I hear is legendary… we love all those but 207 and 330…which to their credit, those 2 have not been horrible in the last 2 tastings).
Over the past week or so:
2019 de Négoce Cabernet Sauvignon OG N.240 - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain (11/7/2024)
I wouldn’t say that this wine is shutting down, but it sure is taking longer and longer to be cohesive after opening. I didn’t really enjoy it until the second day open due to a battled pitch between the tannins and alcohol. Let them sleep on it overnight and voila! - best of friends. Still youthful and boisterous both, but the fruit profile is now able to be appreciated. The bouquet shows good intensity blackberry and cherry, lavender and jasmine, cinnamon and kefta spice. I still wish the alcohol wasn’t over my personal preference level and that the finish had more distance, but that could improve with more time, too. Paired with BBQ spareribs, as it should be.
5+12+16+8= 91 (91 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
2019 de Négoce Shiraz OG N.280 Centenarian Vines Lou Miranda “Winery Church” Block - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley (11/3/2024)
Followed over 3 days open and it was dramatically better at the end. Dark ruby color throughout and throwing a little sediment. Just a big nasty bruiser to start on day 1, then it mellowed out and revealed some exceptional layers in the bouquet, not all of them entirely pleasant, including a struggle between sweetness and acidity on the palate. I can see most of the crowd liking this, while the wine geeks will be evenly split between love and hate 
. Best with smoked and/or charred red meat or pizza.
5+12+15+7= 89 (89 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
2019 de Négoce Pinot Noir OG N.184 - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (10/31/2024)
Still an incredible value from the good ol’ days at dN. This is my 8th bottle consumed, but the first in almost 18 months. Color is fading just a little, but this bottle was in good shape. Bouquet and flavors are happier with a couple hours of air and it held up fine into day 2, though it could be that the best days for this were in the not too distant past. 5+12+17+7= 91 (91 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
8 Likes
Eleveur 2021 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard
This has improved markedly since a few months back? Seems richer and more rounded out.
Lemon, pineapple, tropical with a hint of butter.
Very delightful! I rarely give a white wine a yum plus, this one rates! + !
with Salmon the fish was palatable……
Day 2 - still fresh, nice, Sandalwood incense?
2 Likes
Lot 270 2019 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
PnP. Powerful and rather dark for a PN. This will age looooong and very well, it IS delicious now without a decant. No hurry to finish them. Big, not subtle.
with Shake ‘n Bake Pork Chops extra very palatable 
Days 2-4, no deterioration zero, it’s amazing to me
8 Likes
Feeling some nostalgia tonight about the early days. What a journey this has been. I owe it all to Matt.
I don’t even know how to begin with tasting notes, but this one is way better than I remember. It’s probably been a year since the last time I opened a N.01.
11 Likes
Tried the Russian River Pinot Lot 506 tonight. Decent wine but may need some time.
Also tasted the Lot 503 Chardonnay from Napa - 2023. Nice wine. PnP. Light bodied. Good fruit up front. A bit bitter on the back end right now. Maybe decant?
5 Likes
#400 seems to slowly find its place, but it’s still as I predicted when it was brand new, good, not great.
2020 de Négoce Cabernet Sauvignon OG N.400
Young purple with lots of extract in the viscous legs. Nose is young and primary with cassis, vanilla, oak, florals, rhubarb, red fruits and quite a bit of alcohol. After decanting the oak becomes more prominent and takes over some of the more subtle notes underneath.
Palate is medium+ bodied with pretty decent acidity. It’s ripe, red fruited, fresh but has this touch of grit that seems a little out of balance.
Finishes medium, decent tannins but a little simple.
Good, not great.
10 Likes
I opened N. 400 last night, gave it an 8 hour slow ox, had a couple glasses. It was enjoyable except there was some funk or unknown/ unpleasant taste on the finish. Will pnp my next one.
5 Likes
Wonder what this could be on a 2020 Napa cab from the valley floor…
Edited to add: particularly an NDA wine that was bulked out
1 Like
You know, I never even gave it a thought that it was smoke, and still now as I think about it, don’t think it was (am I in denial???) but it was definitely a flavor I wasn’t accustomed to and I’ve had Tench sourced wines before. So not the vineyard IMO.
rahulg,
Give those wines at least 6 months rest in cellar, they should be clear of bottle shock.
Cheers, Tim
2 Likes
My 3 tasting notes called ash, grit and ash on the finish. The second note I wrote was fully blind and I noted smokiness/ash.
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Man, I wonder if @Cameron_Hughes would be willing to chime in on the Smokiness/funkiness of lot 400, since it’s a 2020 and we know he sourced it!
We also know what the wine is, and that it was bulked out as the original brand did not want to release it under their own name.
Im not gonna call it smoke tainted, but I’m not the only one who notices that weird character on the finish.
And knowing where the vineyard is, it’s impossible it wasn’t under at least some smoke. The extent of taint/damage is impossible to predict.
3 Likes