I made the horrible mistake of pushing the wrong button to reply to Bill's post. Instead, I copied over it--it's an easy mistake to make when you have superpowers, and unfortunately there are no guardrails to prevent this happening. So I went over to Wine Berserkers which I know Bill usually also posts on, but he hasn't posted this one there yet. If I'd found a copy there I could have copied it and inserted it here, moving my comments down past John's. But they're not there and I have to go to an event. My apologies to Bill: hopefully, in the meantime, from my responses you can tell pretty much what he said. --Jenise
The theme was Spring, hence me bringing chicken for the main course.
2018 Bodegas Salentein Chardonnay Single Vineyard Las Secuoyas - I really liked this. Gorgeous nose and complex on the palate, yet it didn't remind me of any chardonnay I've had before. Closer to France than California, though. Loved it.
2023 Kobayashi Winery Marsanne-Roussanne Weather Eye Vineyard - My wine, from one of WA's most sought after indie vintner; wines are highly allocated, and pretty much mailing list only. Was taken aback by the weight and deep, almost extracted, yellow color. This was not at all similar to the bottle I had in Nov '24 about which I wrote: "Another CT review says "not a knock out". Well, for some of us, this IS what a knock-out tastes like: not decadently ripe or bombasticly concentrated, but ladylike and confident with layers and layers of elegance and nuance. Best version of this blend I've had from our state. Way to go, Travis, way to go." To put it another way, the earlier bottle really showed the delicate roussanne; this one presented like 100% marsanne. Not the evolution I expected!
2015 Dr. Loosen Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett - Wasn't this a GG? Can a riesling be GG and Kabinett at the same time? I liked this a lot.
2025 Terravista Mencia - this reminded me of the first rose wine I ever had that wasn't Mateus. It was on a camping trip up in Santa Barbara, I was 19, and I bought it at the camp store. It was a Ballard Canyon Winery rose of Cabernet Sauvignon. There is a dry, dusty character to CS rose that I've experienced in a few others since, in fact most recently about 10 years ago from another BC winery, Church & State. I love that, wish I ran into it more often.
2016 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé - burnished copper--visibly aged but agree it's showing really well right now.
On to the reds:
I liked the red Mencia but it needs more time to develop. The first red Mencia I ever had was an '06 that drank like a cross between a heavy hitter Cal pinot and a young Cabernet Sauvignon. I don't know that this could get to that place, but I didn't sense it.
1995 Ridge Lytton Springs - Yes, this was very good. But it's a lot more advanced than the '91 I brought two months ago. Which isn't a contest, just saying that I wouldn't wait any longer if you have more where the '91, which drank more like a 10 year old than a 35 year old.
2007 Torres Cabernet Sauvignon (Black Label) Mas La Plana - Yup, needs time.
2000 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac - What you said.
2015 Markus Molitor Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese - What you said.