Somm David T 
Vineyard 29
Aida Estate Zinfandel 2022
As Zinfandel’s go, (not my favorite varietal) this was nice, ripe, not overly jammy and showed nice purple flowers. Requires another 3-5 yrs in the cellar. 91-93 with cellaring. — 3 days ago
Domaine de Montille
Bourgogne Chardonnay 2022
Good but lean. Would expect more effort from this producer & vintage even w/ a Bourgogne. Not sure if it was from over cropping or something in the fermentation process. As I mentioned, lean and lacked the depth I would have expected. But at $38 a bottle in the wine shop of Compline, worth it. Two glasses on a wine list would likely cost you more. — 11 days ago
Billecart-Salmon
Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne 2015
So this is not exactly Elizabeth. It is the same fruit that goes into the Elizabeth, but they made it only as a vintage. They did not put the Elizabeth name on it. There reason is, they believed it wouldn’t last two generations.
As a vintage, it is better than their N/V but not up to most Elizabeth’s I’ve had. However, it is about half the price of Elizabeth w/o less than half the quality.
It was a bit better than 93, 93.4 so I rounded down. — 12 days ago
Vineyard 29
Aida Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Their Cabernet fruits are nice, ripe and pretty. They should be cellared 10 years before opening one.
Again, the M+ tannin profile along with their level new wood use is extremely dominant and primary young. This was astringent and felt like I had sucked on a wood plank.
The fruits & florals beautiful. Better things lie ahead for this with cellaring. 93-96 in 10-15 years.
Having had many Napa 21’s at this point, this didn’t live up to the balance & softer styles of others I had young. — 3 days ago
Domaine Denis Race
Montmains Chablis 1er Cru Chardonnay 2022
Delicious. Nice viscosity, green apple, yellow stone fruits, lemon, lime, tropical, honey, soft chalkiness, sea fossils, white and yellow flowers, excellent acidity w/ nice balance and full minute finish. — 10 days ago
Jones Family Vineyard
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1997
Absolutely stunning. The most under known & under appreciated producer of Napa Cabernet…a TRB made wine 08 vintages forward, Heidi Barrett made this 97.
Dark core, anise, dark chocolate to pudding, caramel soft, black licorice, dark spice, fresh tobacco, dull, oak barrel shavings, dry herbs, baking spices, perfumed; dark, red, florals, violets, lavender, excellent round acidity and with a lush, well balanced, nicely tensioned/structured, elegant finish that’s last 90 seconds and lands squarely on full beauty. — 12 days ago
Vineyard 29
The Essentials 29 Estate Cabernet Franc 2021
They make a good Cabernet Franc that requires 7-10 plus yrs in cellar before opening.
The most agitating part of drinking their new vintages young is they use too much new wood. Along with the M+ tannin profile, making it very hard to drink early. Young, they drink astringently and bitty on the palate.
They poured me a 2011 Cabernet at the very end, not the best vintage but it was fine, the 11 was made with 20% less new oak. It showed and was preferable. If I were making these wines, I would dial back the new oak and or barrel toast. — 3 days ago
Domaine Vincent Paris
Granit 30 Cornas Syrah 2021
Easy to drink on pop & pour for such a young Syrah.
Reminded me a bit of the Domaine Rostaing’s I’ve enjoyed. Ripe black cherry, crème de cassis, violets, lavender, pepper, stem inclusion, notes of roasted chestnuts, grilled meats, iron pan, spices, dark flowers, nice acidity with good balance and elegant finish. — 10 days ago
Il Paradiso di Frassina
Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2006
Still a shade early but excellent w/ my Veal Bolognese last night. — 12 days ago
Somm David T
Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator
This is a similar story as the others with M+ tannins, too much new wood and lacked the benefit of a better growing season as was the case with 2021.
I would also say their bottles are priced a bit beyond their production quality. There are better Napa reds available at lower price points. — 3 days ago