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Displaying [101-125] of 1000
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2001 Turley
Zinfandel
- Hayne Vineyard
(USA / California / Napa / St. Helena)
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RATED: 01/11/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
I have had this bottle at as many as 6 tastings. While it may improve some with additional time, it is amazing now. Classic Turley Zinfandel with a deep purple color, body, and floral and berry nose. Very nice, long after taste. Reminds me of the mid 90's Jackass Hill's from Martinelli.
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1998 Marcassin
Pinot Noir
- Blue Slide Ridge
(USA / California / Sonoma / Sonoma Coast)
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RATED: 01/29/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
One of the finest Pinot Noirs I have ever had. A nose straight out of Burgundy, with loads of earth. It's a dark plum color, with notes of dark cherry. A 14.7% alcohol content was well hidden, with very rounded tannins.
Had this in a tasting with the also excellent 2001 Martinelli Blueslide Ridge, the Marcassin was clearly superior, deeper, darker, and more complex.
I found the Marcassin on a wine list for $295, for that price I felt it was well worth it. For $350-$450-$550? I'd skip and go for a single vineyard Kistler.
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2001 Adrian Fog
Pinot Noir
- Savoy Vineyard
(USA / California / Mendocino / Anderson Valley)
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RATED: 03/01/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Stylistically one could argue that this doesn't rate such a high score because it simply just isn't very "Pinot Like." Having said that, it is a truly amazing wine. Deep, rich, extraction with extremely well integrated tannins. Inky purple in color, much richer and deeper that any of the other 2001 Domestic Pinots I've had. An aroma of smoke and berries, with dark fruit and oak on the tongue with a full 45-second finish. One of the top wines I tasted in 2003.
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2001 Peter Michael
Pinot Noir
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Le Moulin Rouge
(USA / California / Monterey / Santa Lucia Highlands)
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ALCOHOL: 15.4%
CASES: 421
RATED: 03/26/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
One of the best Pinot's I've had, on par with Marcassin's I've had. Dark fruit, figs, and earth. Medium body, with deep extraction. I think this is worth the investment, but would wait to drink for a few years. Currently I'd give it a 93+ but think with some age it'll go 96 or beyond.
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1998 Allegrini
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Amarone
(Italy / Northeast / Verona / Valpolicella Classico)
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RATED: 04/12/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
With the proper amount of decanting (3-4 hours) this wine is amazing. Full bodied, rich color, deep extraction. The long decant hides the 15+% alcohol, and leaves with a very smooth wine, filled with dark fruits and earth!
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2001 Ojai
Syrah
- Melville Vineyard
(USA / California / Santa Barbara / Santa Rita Hills)
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RATED: 05/01/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
One of the best domestic Syrah's I've had to date. Inky purple / black color, with deep extraction, taste of dark fruits and melted licorice. With a release price of only $45 +/- this is an excellent value and worth seeking out. Fairly high tannins and the extraction tell me it's worth a few years of cellaring, but a great experience now!
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2001 Archery Summit
Pinot Noir
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Arcus Estate
(USA / Oregon / Umpqua Valley / Red Hills)
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RATED: 05/06/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Very simple, one of the BEST OR Pinots I've ever had. Burgundian in style, medium body, nose of earth, and spice. Well worth seeking out.
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2001 Merus
Cabernet Sauvignon
(USA / California / Napa)
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RATED: 05/29/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Of the dozen or so high end 2001 Cabernet's I've tried this year, the 2001 Meurs is a true standout. At a recent Wine Commune dinner this appeared on many guests lists as WOTN, and it was clearly mine, followed by the 2001 Togni.
This wine has noticeable tannins, but is not 'hot' in any way, despite the 15%+ alcohol level.
Color was a dark inky purple, aromas of chocolate, and dark fruit.
Very cellar worthy, drinking excellent now after some decanting, but will only get better with a few years.
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2001 Montes Folly
Syrah
(Chile / Valle Central / Rapel / Colchagua)
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RATED: 06/08/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
A truly amazing wine! Full of black fruit, and roasted meats. Full rounded, sweet tannins. I've tasted this inky gem on a half dozen outtings over the last year and a half and it keeps getting better. A real "crowd pleaser" the Folly won WOTN at our Atlanta Area Syrah / Shiraz Dinner.
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2001 Rotllan Torra
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Tirant
(Spain / Catalunya / Priorat)
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RATED: 08/24/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Tasted on 8.24.04, along with 1999 Au Bon Climat "la Bauge Au-dessus" and 1999 Sfursat Valtellina. It was $110 on the Wine List at Bluepointe in Atlanta (Buckhead). The Tirant was drinking well after just a short (30 mins) of decant time, very surprising considering how young it is. Taste of minerals, blue & blackberries, with a very nice long finish. Party of 8, 8 of 8 gave it WOTN by some ways. One of the top spanish wines I've had ever, worth seeking out.
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2002 Clarendon Hills
Syrah
- Liandra Vineyard
(Australia / South Australia / Clare Valley)
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RATED: 09/08/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
WOW! Tasted on 9.8.04, very very impressed for a $60 bottle of wine. Both a fruit bomb, with a great deal of earth and truffles as well! Glycerine, and super intense! Not the beast of the Dead Arms or Integrity, but well worth seeking out!
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2001 Sebastiani
Cabernet Sauvignon
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Cherryblock
(USA / California / Sonoma)
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RATED: 06/09/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
This wine scores a little bit high because of the quality you get for the price. At around $65 this is a great option if you want a good Bordeaux but can't afford it...perhaps from the Margaux app?
There's no getting away from the expressive oak that is everywhere present in this lavishly rich wine, notes of black cherry, loam, cola and chocolate are presently intertwined with subdued tannins at such a young age.
In a word - Opulent.
Drink over the next 7 years. Serve with minimal decanting.
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2002 Paul Hobbs
Chardonnay
- Walker Station Vineyard
(USA / California / Sonoma / Russian River Valley)
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ALCOHOL: 14.7%
CASES: 83
RATED: 06/09/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Seductive, with creamy toasty oak, rich pear, fig, caramel and pineapple notes that are complex and concentrated. Finishes with a long, lingering aftertaste. Strikes just the right balance between lush, ripe fruit, and acidity.
Paul Hobbs is on fire this vintage. Across the board his wines are of high quality and reasonably priced. Well done!
Drink over the next five years.
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1986 Chateau Leoville Las Cases
(France / Bordeaux / St-Julien)
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RATED: 01/08/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Of the three best vintages of LLC from 1980 through 1990, the 1986 is in the middle. It lacks the complexity of, has less forward fruit than and will not age as well as either the 1982 or 1990, it is still an excellent example of what a great Second Growth from St. Julien has to offer. In a recent tasting of this wine, I could still find the subtle distinctions between Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc coming through and dancing around in my mouth at different points in the tasting.
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1995 Opus One
(USA / California / Napa / Oakville)
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RATED: 01/08/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Although the 1995 is not the 1996, it is a very fine wine (and certainly worth its original release price of about $90) with lots of complex fruit and ageworthiness that is still showing better this year than two years ago and could drink well even after 2010.
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| SCORE: 96
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| BY: mxpbuy
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| PRICE: $90 |
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1997 Chateau Montelena
Cabernet Sauvignon
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Estate
(USA / California / Napa)
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ALCOHOL: 13.5%
CASES: 12,000
RATED: 02/23/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Sampled 2/23/04. The nose screams high-end Napa Cab (fruit and cedar), but the flavors are a unique blend in this vintage of fruit bombs. The flavors can be described as a chalky and minerally mocha, spice, black currant, cedar, and black cherry blend, but that would make it sound potentially harsh and/or bitter. This wine is neither and somehow these flavors are all subtle and wrapped together in a smooth drinking wine. The first signs of sediment are starting to appear, so I'm not sure it will last the 30 years Parker claims, but it certainly does seem like it will age for a while longer.
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1996 Shafer
Cabernet Sauvignon
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Hillside Select
(USA / California / Napa / Stags Leap District)
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RATED: 05/02/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Sampled 5/2/04. This wine spent about 45 minutes in a decanter and it was ready then. This wine is silky smooth and loaded with layers of ripe fruit that create some understated but nice complexity. I'm more partial to wines with more noticeable tannin structure and more radical complexity, but there is no escaping how good this wine is.
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1995 Peter Michael
Chardonnay
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Belle Cote
(USA / California / Sonoma / Knights Valley)
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RATED: 05/02/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Sample 5/2/04. This wine took about 1/2 hour to fully open up and has many of the qualities of the finer White Burgs. There are no weaknesses to this wine, and the only thing that keeps it from a higher score is that it is not so complex or unique or bold that you instantaneously and have to say "Wow" upon tasting it. The "wow" standard being my not-so-analytical way of determining whether the wine is in the 97-100 point range.
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1996 Bollinger
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Grand Annee
(France / Champagne)
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RATED: 06/30/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Sampled 6/30/04. After uncorking this wine, it took an hour for it to open up. It initially had too much citrus/lemon/dry puckering flavors, but as it opened the complexity and balance of the wine started to show and the nutty flavors emerged. This wine needs to stay in the bottle for another 8 to 10 years, but its greatness is already showing.
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1997 Arrowood
Cabernet Sauvignon
-
Reserve Speciale
(USA / California / Sonoma)
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ALCOHOL: 13.8%
RATED: 07/10/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Sampled 7/10/04. Since Arrowood lost its best grape source when Kamen started producing its own wine in 1999, the 1997 Reserve Speciale will probably be the last of Arrowood greats and great it is. Deep rich color, classic black currant fruits layered on top of each other with a little oak, spice and herbs thrown in. Smooth and long finish. A real winner.
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2001 Paloma
Merlot
(USA / California / Napa / Spring Mountain District)
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ALCOHOL: 14.8%
CASES: 2,510
RATED: 07/10/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Sampled 7/10/04. The black fruits and spice run rampent through the glass from the color to the nose and to your palate. Because of the firm tannin structure in this still young wine, the finish is not as smooth as it will be some years down the road. This is an excellent wine and truly among the finest California Merlots ever produced. I can see why it was the 1 wine of the year for WS, but what clearly vaulted this wine to its 1 spot was its low release price of $42/bottle. Nonetheless, I can understand why people are now willing to pay $110+ a bottle for their taste of greatness.
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1994 Robert Mondavi
Cabernet Sauvignon
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Reserve
(USA / California / Napa)
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ALCOHOL: 13.5%
CASES: 10,000
RATED: 10/12/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Sampled 10/12/04. The wine is Mondavi's at its best and the color and nose are medium to full bodied Bordeauxish but the stamp of California ripe fruit is unmistakable. The wine seemed as though it was mature but it also seemed a bit closed, which characteristic did not change for hours. I believe the complete absence of even so much as a pepper sprinkle's worth of sediment tells the real story. This wine is no where near it's peak and is still evolving. Although excellent now, I suspect it will get better and become one of the very greatest California wines of the 1990s in time.
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1994 Dunn
Cabernet Sauvignon
(USA / California / Napa / Howell Mountain)
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RATED: 11/20/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Sampled 11/20/04. This wine was throwing off quite a bit of sediment but nothing else about this wine was showing any age to it. The wine actually took the better part of an hour to open up. Beautiful black currant and fruits layered with some understated herbs, tobacco and spice. An elegant wine that was perfectly balanced with a finish of 20 seconds (after the wine opened up). It is quite possible this wine could last another 5 years but given how much sediment there is and not knowing how fast it might turn south, I suggest drinking within the next few.
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2001 d'Arenberg
Shiraz
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The Dead Arm
(Australia / South Australia / McLaren Vale)
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RATED: 06/14/2004 |
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| COMMENTS: |
Inky dark purple. Concentrated and rich nose of cassis, blackberry, black cherry, black raspberry, blueberry, violet, green leaves, graphite, eucalyptus, mint, cedar, burnt toast, leather, anise, and chocolate. Full body. Semi-sweet to semi-dry. Medium tannins. Long finish. Black to the core. Decant for 1.5 hours or more. Needs some more time, but it's the best Shiraz I've had to date even at this young age.
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1990 Bruno Paillard
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Brut
(France / Champagne)
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RATED: 12/31/2004 |
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Sampled 12/31/04. Young and fiesty, light color, sharp and bold fruit with crisp acidity that rounds out and shows greater complexity of citrus and minerals after being open 45 minutes. Style is very much like Krug and is a worthy competitor.
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Displaying [101-125] of 1000
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