Far From The Tree

Château Brane-Cantenac

Grand Cru Classé en 1855 Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2008

#AgedWineTuesday

Ruby in color with a wide reddish rim and medium plus intensity.

Pretty nose with red and black fruits, wood, earth, tobacco, black coffee and spices.

Dry on the palate with raspberries, cherries, plums, light oak, spices, chocolates, licorice, peppercorn, forest floor, earth, black tea, vegetables and herbs.

Medium finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This 16 year old from Margaux, is drinking very nicely now. Showing nice balance and elegance. Soft and very dry.

Good right out of the bottle, and gets much earthier as it opens up, with lots of earth and forest floor notes. Really enjoyed the nose.

The 2008 vintage was not a good one, and although it's still very tasty, I don't see it getting any better from this point.

I've had a few vintages of this Second Growth Bordeaux, and I found it to be all over the place. The 2016 was my favorite so far.

Wine Advocate 92 points. Wine Spectator 87 Points.

Paired very nicely with a burger and fries.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

13% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$130.
— 3 months ago

Bob, Paul and 12 others liked this

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1996

Quite deep ruby slightly narrower rim . This is more closed than any of the previous wines . Quite austere and more mineral , grafite notes . Quite serious on the palate with mineral and dusty cassis , cedar . Good refreshing acidity , slightly dry gritty tannins noticeable . This probably shows the best balance of the 4 so far , all the parts seem better integrated. Dark cassis , cedar and grafite , though not the marine/seashell influence of the 1995. Better length than all the previous wines . This will go further and is probably in the middle of its drinking window, from now and onwards for another 10 years perhaps ? — a year ago

Tom, Severn and 11 others liked this

Robert Mondavi Winery

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Overrated. I’ll go as far as to say all Napa wine is overpriced these days.

Like… it’s good. But really, I can buy a better Italian wine for half the price.

These days, the best American wine is coming from Oregon, not California. Don’t @ me.
— 3 years ago

Bella Union Winery

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

From the Far Niente folks. Ripe, fruit forward Napa but it’s got enough lift and purity. Not really what I drink but I had no problem smashing a glass of this with my steak frites at lunch. — 7 months ago

Far Niente Winery

Post & Beam Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

From the Far Niente winery. Deep Ruby with aromas of dark berry fruits with floral spice and oaky notes. On the palate flavors of raspberry, blackberry and red plum with licorice, vanilla, leather and espresso. Tannins are fine, a bit tight, long finish ending with fruit, toasty cedar and earthy spice. Enjoyable now but a few years will reward. Pair this with a fillet mignon with a Cabernet sauce. — a year ago

Ericsson, Juan and 6 others liked this

Ferrari

Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore Trento DOC Chardonnay 2009

Popped and poured; no formal notes. Bright golden color; persistent mousse; lemon citrus, meringue, brioche for dayzzz. Fantastic acid. Long finish. Gastronomic bubbles but so good it can be enjoyed on its own. This is far and away the greatest sparkling wine I’ve yet had from Italy. A wow wine. Too bad it’s priced like tête de cuvée Champagne. Regardless, whenever someone is pouring it, you should shift your attention to this. “I know I would. Heck, I’d go back for seconds!” Drink now or over the next 10+ years. — a year ago

Bob, Severn and 6 others liked this

Ridge Vineyards

East Bench Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2019

Intense and dense but vivid aromas of strawberries, raspberry toffee, bramble, roses, Pronounced savoury and earthy spice character of cinnamon, nutmeg and a sweet vanilla note that brings a balanced complexity.
Palate is dry, medium acidity and Medium fruity tannins, soft and approachable but still it provides a solid framework that guards the palate, well integrated alcohol in a full body with a sweet and ripe, toffee like red fruit, profile that remain its nerve and tension and is far from feeling heavy. A dimensional complexity of vanilla and spice brings nuance a cross the mid palate through a solid finish that falls a tad short from the major league.
— 3 years ago

Ira, Ericsson and 7 others liked this

Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Crushed rocks and mineral rocks. tannin is resolved and pencil lead and cassis. no vegetal but floral. i just not sure how far is from the latest vintage with those high scores — 8 months ago

Peter, Peter and 9 others liked this

Nicolas Joly

Clos de la Coulée de Serrant Savennières Chenin Blanc 2010

A buddy brought out this bottle of 2010 Clos de la Coulée de Serrant to help toast a great achievement this past weekend. One can probably imagine my excitement as I’m a massive fan of these wines by Nicolas Joly. However, I feel compelled to admit that these wines are not for everyone. They vary wildly from one vintage to the next and there can often be quite a bit of bottle variation to boot. None of this has swayed me from my position; that these are amongst the most exciting, singular expressions of a place that I have ever experienced.

Popped and poured. The 2010 pours a deep golden color with medium+ viscosity and no signs of particles or gas. On the nose, the wine is redolent of white tree flowers, desiccated apples and apricots with orange marmalade, honey, lanolin, marzipan and light clove. On the palate, the wine is dry with borderline high acid that is somewhat masked by the equally high alcohol (15%). Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and remarkably rich with wooly, unctuous texture. The high alcohol only becomes apparent as the finish lingers but there is so many other more fascinating things for me than to get distracted by it. Is it oxidative or not? That’s an argument that other people can have. I’m content to simply appreciate these wines for what they are. You can drink these now but knowing how these react favorably to air, it’s probably best to open it well in advance and probably even better to decant. Otherwise, I would expect sound, well-stored examples to live through 2040.
— 8 months ago

Ira, Ceccherini and 11 others liked this
Jay Kline

Jay Kline Influencer Badge Premium Badge

@Lyle Fass I can only imagine. @Ely Cohn shared his experience with me which was, in its own way, surreal.
Ely Cohn

Ely Cohn Premium Badge

lol 🤣

Cameron Winery

Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2018

Pop and pour, 1hr slow ox. Third btl from a half case. No brett or reduction on this btl, go figure (see previous notes for context). Lovely Cameron mushroomy funk, sandalwood, dark wild strawberry..fantastic purity. My favorite btl so far aromatically. On the palate: very good acidity, nice and savory with some earthy bark notes, maybe thinner than I would like, but very finely grained tannin on the finish. This btl is drinking very well now. — 3 years ago

Josh, Andrew and 11 others liked this