Brad Jensen

9.4

Cork fell apart but the wine lives! Bought after Tiva’s baby shower, drank with Mr. Eckstein and Dad, the wine is a DEEP dark red, pale brick color to the edges, which needed about an hour or 2 to open up. The nose slowly emerged with ripe red fruits, crunchy ripe plums and cherries, with hints of soil and a little balsamic so far. Full bodied but not HUGE in alcohol, with a loooong palate with great pepper notes, ripe dark fruits, rasberry coulee, dark chocolate and long finish, softened fruits but still good acidity, with tannins just starting to emerge towards the finish and hints of briar and green peppercorn, with slight menthol freshness. This is at its prime right now! — 20 hours ago

Brad Jensen

9.4

Incredibly light in color, crystalline and clear, but with surprisingly a bigger body than one would expect from looking at it, this is a very mature rose for being so young. It also required quite a bit of time to open up, being very austere at first, and needing at least 30 minutes to bloom. The nose is VERY complex. At first you come to it and its floral with a hint of citrus, and then it begins to evolve into honeycrisp or pink lady apple, some slightly ripe, almost meaty undertones, a mineral freshness polished it all off at the end. The palate is very dry, but not acidic, with a roundness and fullness to the body that’s surprising considering the color. Silky fruit and florals on the front, spreading out to a paper like dryness, that then evolves further into more candied, riper berry fruit. The mid-palate features some strangely vegetal notes, almost like celery, with a looong finish of fruit, like slightly underripe strawberry. Really one of the most complex roses I’ve had from the U.S. — a month ago

Brad Jensen

9.0

First Georgian wine. Full bodied, orange with beautiful fruit, really refined. — 2 months ago

Brad Jensen

8.9

Jammy, fruity, easy going, with a long fresh finish. Juicy raspberry, strawberry and plum, with a tingly acidity, slight tannin, and notes of dark chocolate, woody bark and some slight smoke, the medium body and dark rose color make for an elevated glou, the nose is slightly more floral, but still plenty of fruit, with a slight mushroom hint and great crunchy fruit. Really enjoyable, incredible value, great for easy drinking! — 2 days ago

Brad Jensen

9.2

So first, a caveat: This NEEDS food! It just does. When first opened I really wasn’t a fan, tried to pair it with some lighter charcuterie fare and cheese and it just did not gel. It isn’t the crisp, light bodied chard you’d expect it to be, it’s full bodied, thick, and complex, but once we found the right food, paired with steelhead salmon cooked in butter and bacon grease, wooooah, this moves like you’d found the perfect dancing partner. The color is typical Chardonnay yellow with green hues towards the middle, with strong Meyer lemon and slight dusty stone in on the nose, maybe even some leafy, vegetal notes hidden in there. — a month ago

Brad Jensen

9.3

Very rustic and musty, from what I hear this amount of time must have really softened its rough edges because this has some refinement to it. Amber red color, with slight coppery hints, the nose is musty like an old felt book binding, or some velvet church pews, with prominent fruit as it’s allowed to open up, and even some hints of dusty bubble gum and deep floral notes towards the edges. Looong legs on a medium body, the tannins are well integrated and grippy, with a strong foundation, but melt after a little while. There’s serious graphite and minerality here, but that opens into some savory notes, black currant and olive, as well as some balsamic, but after the tannin let go you get some serious cacao or dark chocolate notes, even some tobacco smoke, with fig and blood orange at the finish. I don’t know why people dog on this wine, it just needs time to mature, more than folks realize. Paired with spek, sheep’s milk cheese, and the film “A Prophet”. — a month ago

with Tiva

Brad Jensen

9.2

Beautiful freshness and energy! A slightly grassy and salty nose, with notes of hay, lime and citrus rind. Color is like a crystalline yellow, with green hues deep in the core. — 2 days ago

Brad Jensen

9.0

Heavy fruit and fragrant nose, with slight meaty and smoky notes, almost like beef jerky to the ends. Light to medium bodied, with bright, fruit forward flavors. Blueberry, blackberry, and a nice minerality with a long fruity finish. Great chilled red! — 8 days ago

Brad Jensen

9.2

Medium bodied, so punches up in weight class, but still nice acidity that paired well with a crustless quiche. Pale yellow/slightly green color with a delicate nose of crisp citrus, with ripe yellow fruit on the palate lasting a long time, but spreading out into some slight brioche and creaminess to the edges, with even some grassy and leek like vegetal hints at the end. — a month ago

Brad Jensen

9.0

DEEP red color, almost black and non-see-through. Big fruit forward nose, jammy dark ripe fruits, with hints of blood orange and violet peppered in. A big fruit palate with hints of graphite, vanilla and wood, with tight tannins that hang on and don’t let you forget, with a lithe, tight acidity that shows that it still needs some time to reach its peak, despite the pedigree. This is a prime example of modern Napa cab, dry but fruity, but bombs, American as hell, distinctive and brash, and not ready to play on the big stage, but lots of potential. — 2 months ago