Steve Linskens

9.0

Drinking in 2024, the 2017 is still young but it's a solid chianti and will age well for another decade or two. Black cherry on the nose with fleshly plum. A tad of blood orange too. A good infusion of sandalwood, subtle spice, and some minerality behind it all. High acidity. Medium to medium+ tannin, but it's integrated pretty well. This has nice length on it. Overall, very nice! — 10 months ago

Steve Linskens

6.7

Total Wine rated this as their #1 best buy of 2023, so I thought I couldn't go wrong. It's hard to analyze any other aspect of this wine besides its overwhelming syrupy sweetness. It just overpowered everything in the bottle. You wouldn't want to see the awkward look on my face when I took the first sip. I poured the majority of the bottle down the drain. Just awful. Who are they marketing this stuff to anyways? — a year ago

Steve Linskens

7.3

It's a no for me, dog. This is a big ol' vanilla bomb. The wood influence is overpowering. I'd guess they used ex-bourbon barrels to age it. Lots of vanilla, butterscotch, chocolate, and smoke on the nose. Also bubblegum and sweet jammy berries. This is not how wine should taste. They're taking their queues too much from a whiskey distiller. Medium-minus tannins. Medium-plus acid. There's a lingering spice and black cherry reduction note on the palate. Overall, not for me. — 2 years ago

Steve Linskens

I can't find anything about this wine after lots of research online. I'd love to know if anyone knows anything about this vineyard/winery. They went out of business a long time ago, but I'm assuming another modern day winery owns the former Inverness Wine Cellars or vineyard. — 6 years ago

Steve Linskens

8.6

Deep dark ruby. Almost completely opaque. Lovely on the nose. Lots of fruit: black cherry and toasted cherry pie. There's also some earth and rustic leathery qualities here. It's very fruit forward though. Medium to medium+ tannins. Medium+ acidity. It's got decent length on the finish. There's some things I really like about this wine, but what stands out, however, is just all that vanilla character from the oak. I've had much worse before, but to me it's still a bit too much. That's what throws the balance off here. With a little more refinement this wine could be better. It's got some good things going for it. — 10 months ago

Steve Linskens

8.5

Somewhat inky; dark ruby. Medium+ body. Rich and fruity on the nose with boysenberry, prunes, vanilla and chocolate and a little bit of herbs. They probably used new oak. On the palate, dark fruit, prune compote, and sweet mocha. Medium tannin. Medium+ acidity. Medium alcohol. Decent length on the finish. Both a little sweeter and more oaky than I was expecting. May improve slightly with a little age. — 2 years ago

Steve Linskens

8.7

Not bad at all. Dark, brick red in the glass. Dark plums on the nose, dried violets, faint grilled mushroom, and just a hint a leather that I really wish there was more of. On the palate it's mostly dark cherry. Acidity and tannin are both medium, the latter being toned down a bit compared to most tannat wines. The finish is between short and medium. At first I thought this was a one-dimensional wine, but then found some of the secondary aspects to be present but somewhat veiled. This is a decent wine. But it has potential of being an even better wine. — 5 years ago

Steve Linskens

8.6

A good, everyday Spanish red blend. 85% Garnacha and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Tannin medium+. Acidity medium+. Alcohol medium to medium-high. Nothing crazy unique about this blend, but nothing offensive either. — 10 months ago

Steve Linskens

8.4

Initially, the dark fruits consisting of plum and fig leap out of the glass. There's also some baking spices, an herbaceous note reminiscent of bell peppers, and a touch of oak. On the palate, more plum. The oak is not too overwhelming. While the acidity is medium to medium+, tannins is only medium-. Some might like this wine because it's an easy drinking California cab, but it needs more tannin/structure to make it more balanced. Length is medium with a somewhat bitter aftertaste. At the end of the day, the imbalance is what's holding this wine back. Also, not a whole lot of complexity here. However, can't complain too much for $10.
Purchased January 2024. — a year ago

Steve Linskens

9.1

Loads of fruit expand on the nose -mostly strawberry with a little bit of cranberry. Not much spice, but some mild toasted oak. This is medium to full-bodied for a pinot noir. Acidity was medium low, and perhaps for that reason I wasn't getting the more tart fruits, like pomegranate, that the description was touting. The oak gives it a nice custard note on the palate. Tannins are low and smooth. At 14.5% ABV, I was surprised; the alcohol is very well concealed going down. Overall, it's a good wine. Fruity and smooth; a crowd pleaser. Nothing to complain about, but I would have liked a little more acidity and complexity perhaps. — 4 years ago