Scott Cowan

9.1

Less $$ than most CdP. Definitely recognizable as from its appellation… and a good deal, but, sure, you gotta expect to get no more than you pay for. Less nose than I like. Plenty of heat. Green cerignola olives w/o any brine. Tannic (in a good way for me). Tart red fruits. Bit of gravel juice. A Sturdy wine. Not terribly nuanced. Missing the highlights of many spiky, delicious flavors that all meld together brilliantly of the higher end CdPs, but, hey, i paid half as much as those cost…twice as much as some Côtes du Rhônes which are “correct” yet lack even more nuanced yumminess. I am happy to but this again at this price. — 9 months ago

Scott Cowan

9.0

Pinot Noir? From Sancerre?!? Mais, c’est vrai. In the glass: very pretty reds, light at tops, pink-red near sides of the bowl, darkening to a velvety rich dark rouge-noir center bottom of the glass… “La Vie en Rose” nearly leaps out pf the glass. On the nose: fresh paper and new spring acacia leaves. A pack of Marlborough’s still wrapped in plastic wants to announce itself at the end of a deep sniff. Ahhh, there it is—the spring cherries of a light pinot dance forth over the lips… en point…and plier mid-palate to let roll in lush cherry juice—just a little tart-sweet and delightfully bright… Edith Piaf coloratura leads to French Oak-inflected vanilla on a pillow-soft finish…oh!
A lingering finish at that—extra points, thank you! — 10 months ago

Scott Cowan

9.0

Excellent QPR @ $28 for the 2017 vintage at Rustic Bakery (always a lovely soot for excellent pastries, sandwiches, soups, salads..,and now also a bit of a wine shop?!?) Day 1: more the cherry of cough syrup at the very first sip but that quickly turned to more rounded cherry vanilla cola w/in five mins of aeration. RASPBERRY mid-palate and socko heat plus finish with that delightful taste of vanilla associated with time in Toasted French Oak barrels mingling with blackberry leaves and dark bing cherry in that longer (and hotter) finish than any other pinot under $40 I’ve ever found stateside. Day 2 (under argon gas) zero of the sweet cough syrup and all above deliciousness plus more rounded mouthfeel. — 3 years ago

Scott Cowan

8.9

Delightfully quaffable. In Jan 2024, the 2019 has green bell pepper stem and tobacco leaves on nose and—until fully aerated—on entry past the lips. Also, on the nose and that first mouth sensation: Two-days-after-the-campfire wood chips come through. Tannic for a little bit—but, hey! swirl that sip in your mouth… keep swirling (we are among friends) and—yeah! It gets rather sweet. Vanilla cherry soda, though light on the sugar. Hooo-haa. Nice finish! Warm cigar wrapper and a sense of a favorite uncle’s hug. No No No , not THAT kind of uncle. Sheesh! A truly beloved nice guy. The legs running down the sides of the bowl after a vigorous swirl of my wine glass combine with that warmth to make me believe the 13% alcohol listed on the label is a tad bit under the actual mark — 10 months ago

Scott Cowan

9.4

Delicious. Nose of crushed plums, rose petals, and earthier tones too. First sensation on and past the lips makes good on all the promise in that nose and the mid-palate seals the deal. LUSh. Layers that meld seamlessly. Whiffs of toasted cinnamon just barely poke through deep plum jam, unlit Havana cigar (no smoke here of any kind), light vanilla brandy, teensy blackberry bramble, just a nod to portobellos…and a more than medium long finish — 2 years ago

Scott Cowan

9.0

Excellent QPR @ $28 for the 2017 vintage at Rustic Bakery (always a lovely soot for excellent pastries, sandwiches, soups, salads..,and now also a bit of a wine shop?!?) Day 1: more the cherry of cough syrup at the very first sip but that quickly turned to more rounded cherry vanilla cola w/in five mins of aeration. RASPBERRY mid-palate and socko heat plus finish with that delightful taste of vanilla associated with time in Toasted French Oak barrels mingling with blackberry leaves and dark bing cherry in that longer (and hotter) finish than any other pinot under $40 I’ve ever found stateside. Day 2 (under argon gas) zero of the sweet cough syrup and all above deliciousness plus more rounded mouthfeel. — 3 years ago

Scott Cowan

8.9

Delightfully quaffable. 2019 has green bell pepper stem and tobacco leaves on nose and—until fully aerated—on entry to past the lips. Two days past the fire wood chips come through both these times too. Tannic for a little bit—but, hey! swirl that sip in your mouth… keep swirling (we are among friends) and—yeah! It gets rather sweet. Vanilla cherry soda, easy on the sugar. Nice finish! Warm cigar wrapper and a sense of a favorite uncle’s hug. The legs running down the sides of the bowl after a vigorous swirl of my wine glass combine with that warmth to make me believe the 13% alcohol listed on the label is a tad bit under the actual mark. — 10 months ago

Scott Cowan

9.3

Scrumptious oct 2022. Not going to get much better, i don’t think. Drink up! Chocolate raspberry whiff of smoke, fairly long finish with bit of ripe dried mellow tobacco lingering nicely. — 2 years ago

Scott Cowan

8.9

Good QPR. little nose. Rich red fruits fill the mouth and lead to a moderately long, hot finish. Not much structure but plenty of flavor and a general rounded smoothness that holds up to spicy foods likely perfect for steak — 3 years ago

Scott Cowan

9.0

Total Rhône Ranger: 56% Syrah, 16% Mourvèdre, 13% Petite Syrah, 11% Grenache, with 2%, each, smoothing things all together, of Viognier(!) and … Alicante Bouschet. I bet the Alicante was added for color more than for flavor, though also to smooth the tiny ping of pepper notes I assume follow the teensy bit of Viognier. All in all a delightful crowd pleaser. Inoffensive to sensitive palates and yet bold+complexly layered just enough to please those who want some drama in the bowl (present 🤚 ).

Pairs well with… just about everything: mild chicken to game and lamb… also all cheeses from mildest to most piquant — it’s that kind of utility player wine!
For this reason, I give it the full 9.0 instead of the 8.9 I’d planned on mid-dinner last night. I had been straddling that fence between best of a strong platoon player who’d see 80 games a season, some starting and some pinch hitting/fielding, vs an everyday starter who could cover the infield as passably as the outfield and bat just about anywhere in the lineup, 1-8, save the super power 3 and 4 spots — though a few sips hit the spot sweet just right to serve as barely clearing the fence home runs during a brief period that this wine lingered at just-right aeration time.

Darker red pour with flecks of bear black and hues of orange highlight… Bing cherry skin color center to lighter Rainer cherry reds near glass sides. No tears to speak of from alcohol and this wine does not feel as if it’s high in alcohol at all, but the label reads 15.2%. I wonder if someone transposed those last two numbers which straddle the decimal.

Zero cherry flavors — just those colors. The mix of velvety raspberry, very mild dried laurel leaves, under-roasted coffee, and mild chocolate all muddle together more than layer over one another, as I prefer, but they do so in a way that forms a comfy soft blanket of flavors and those tiny peeps of black pepper do make that blanket more interesting. Medium finish says good-bye with a soft wave to the smell of cardboard-surrounding a delicious dark chocolate bar…if that smell could be distilled into a thick liquid that coats the top of the throat before evaporating away slowly.

This 2018 seems to be nearing peak of flavors and has the potential to drink pretty well until 2023; probably not much pizazz will be left to extend its contract after that. I’d be glad to drink this again anytime. A good wine for Justin S. and/or David M.
— 3 years ago