2016 Lutum Pinot Noir La Rinconada Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills
Stunning pinot. Perfumed nose with layers of flowers and bright red fruits laced with higher minerality than usual for this area. Lots of both with mushroom notes on the palate. Youthful enough now at age 6 but concern that it has more acidity than fruit would suggest drinking over the next two years.
2021 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie Les Gras Moutons Melon de Bourgogne
Bright, good fruit and high acidity. More floral than mineral at this point, but good choice for filet of sole.
2011 Colli Di Castelfranci Taurasi Alta Valle Taurasi DOCG Aglianico
Others refer to this as having "ten more years" and "showing relatively young" and "better next day", but this bottle didn't show any of that. It was a bit tart and hesitant on first opening, showed nicely with food for about ten minutes, and then faded into a murky mess. Chalk this one up to "flawed".
2018 Wiens Family Cellars Barbera Reserve, Riverside County
Delightful Cal-Ital from one of Temecula's best wineries. Bright boysenberry fruit with some true Italian flavors (which rarely happens in my experience), great body and finish. Don't expect much from Temecula (or Riverside County, have you ever been to Riverside???), so this was quite a surprise.
2008 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley
Charlie nailed it: "Sold cherry red with slightly translucent rim. Complex nose of black cherry, tobacco, bitter-sweet chocolate. Lush and deep on the palate, blackberry, black cherry, chocolate, cedar box, sweet tobacco. Bright cherry on the mid-palate. Smooth tannins, great acidity, fabulous balance. Finishes long..."
Simply a beautifully made wine. One of the best QC's I've had.
1984 Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Last bottle from an ancient collection inherited by a friend. Wines were passively stored in an underground root cellar in western Washington state, and this bottle was actually covered with scales as if it had spent time underwater. Not outstanding but nonetheless impressively drinkable, all things considered.
2021 Diatom Chardonnay Santa Barbara County
Remember Sir Richard who posted here for awhile? He went on and on about this chardonnay on CellarTracker where he was known as RTHPAL. Bought cases of it, supposedly it was just like a white burgundy. Well, bright yellow. Sweet and leesy on the nose with tropical, extracted ripeness on the palate. Cloying finish; more like an umbrella cocktail than real chardonnay. We finished one glass each then dumped the rest.
2001 Château du Tertre Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend
Fruit fading just a little, not as earthy as one might hope for but still good enough for steak and mushrooms.