Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

Nice Aussie Chardonnay. Front forward lemon, green apple & both colors of stone fruit. It was just a tad sweet for my taste, but nonetheless good. Still very much a baby.

On SQ11. — 2 months ago

Zach D

9.4

Lemon yellow hue, moderately viscous. Aromas of white flowers, orchard fruit, hazelnut, marzipan. Orchard fruit, mixed nuts, marzipan, and a mineral edge on the palate. Oak seems mostly neutral. Nice texture. Nicely integrated acidity. Alcohol is not overpowering. A balanced wine, excellent. — a year ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

See previous note from 2 years ago in November 2022 - this covers it all. Dusty plum and black currant, herbaceous and intense - in some respects more SA than WA. An unbelievable Trophy Cabinet from Wine Shows around Australia. I won’t list them all - a few highlights are Best Cabernet and Best Red Wine at Royal Adelaide 2014; Best Cabernet or Bordeaux blend at Royal Melbourne 2014; Best Red Wine Royal Hobart 2014. This is just a cross section. This was the 2nd of 6 purchased. Will cellar through to the early 2030s. — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1996 vintage. Redonkulous, mid-neck fill and pristine cork (have had 17-20 similarly stored/performing bottles of different producers, varietals, regions from this particular cellar). Decanted with a mix of small chunk and coffee ground sed. Tasted immediately and over the course of two hours. That aged, silvery sheen in the color with a noticeable meniscus. Quiescent nose in the early going and showing. Took approx 30 mins of repeated decanted agitations to coax out a mix of herbs, orange zest/peel and slight beefiness. All this plus some American milk chocolate coalescing in flavor land. Light body. Still going strong after two hours. Likely another 7-10 years of drinking pleasure left from an above average vintage. 12.30.23. — 3 years ago

Erik Longabardi

9.6

One of my favorite OR producers. Profound wines — 3 years ago

John Pavlovich

9.6

A wonderful bottle of wine, that you usually don’t drink on a lovely warm July evening. But what the heck, why not. We don’t get many evenings like this in our neck of woods. From the first whiff you know it’s a serious wine. In its prime, deep colour, slight bricking at edges, dense and deep, earthy, definitely not a wimpy wine. A long and persistent aftertaste confirms that this is a serious wine. And highly enjoyable one, too bad I don’t have more. — 4 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.6

From a great looking bottle with a fill almost into the neck. Double decanted and left in the bottle for 5 hours before attacking it. Amber color. Good weight and haunting nose. Notes of old cedar, mocha, plums, cola, dark fruit, molasses and some sweet red cherry. Early on it’s all about the amazing nose. But with time the wine gains weight and you have a gorgeous old St Estephe in front of you. Still giving its all, and although the fruit is somewhat faded, this has complexity and structure that still drives the experience. And that nose is simply stunning. Great showing. — 5 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

A profoundly backward Jessie James that took a strange, winding path over several days. Initially reduced and giving maybe 10%, with matchstick, damson, sour and mid-season cherry, mineral and very little aromatic expression. The palate was completely discombobulated at first, but the material was obvious: beautiful velvety tannins, tiny-berry fruit intensity, tremendous depth and an extraordinarily long, persistent finish. After about ninety minutes it briefly opened into something spectacular, with deep, voluminous perfume, sweet and sour cherries, mossy minerality and exotic spice, the nose easily operating at a 9.7 level. Then it closed again, the tannins took over and both nose and palate retreated. Two days later it is much more composed, silky and elegant, with pure red fruit, sour cherry and beautifully refined tannins. Very good, serious and clearly built to age, but not at the level of the great 2021 or 2022 Jessie James. — 3 months ago

Turd Ferguson

9.2

Clean, bright, pure. Tastes like eating a bowl of red berries in a Pacific Northwest pine forest.

— 2 years ago

B A

9.2

Exemplary Oregon Pinot. No surprises here but gets absolutely everything right. The slight percentage of new American oak pops up with some extremely pleasant vanilla notes — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1994 vintage. Incredible color for a nearly three decade, Napa cab offering. Decanted and tasted after 5 mins and 2 hrs. Threw an absolutely ridiculous ton of sed...1963 vintage ports are both envious and jealous. Tight meniscus...looked like a 5 year old wine. Drank with the combined passion of age and youth. Shocking amounts of richness and integrated fruit. That pleasant surprise mated with the anticipated, back door tannins. Acidity still on point. Neck and neck with the 1994 Chateau Montelena estate Napa cab as the best 1994 Napa cab enjoyed this year. This has miles to go before it sleeps. 10.19.23. — 3 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Herbal, balanced and juicy. Hint of leather on the nose. Juicy and clean. Dusty tannins. It’s not gobby. Huge spectrum. Outrageous. Complex. So fine. So dusty. One of the wines of the day. — 4 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Been a while delectable family. Flu then covid and only 3 wines in that period. Well I am back and smell and taste are as they were before all of this. Nose has peach skin, some ripe peach flesh but not too ripe, confectionary aromas. Loads of wet stones and pulverized shale. Super aromatic. Like a cross between Pfalz/Alsace. Palate is lean and precise. Really clean, balanced and so pure. Fiercely mineral. Lovely peach flesh, skin and sap on the very long finish. Really juicy and engaging. Delicious! — 5 years ago

Zach D

9.3

Very nice wine. On the nose a mixture of mostly red fruits, sweet floral aroma; palate with crunchy red fruit, good acidity and length. On the palate there initially was a strong taste of what I best describe as potpourri; almost like a Christmas candle. Initially this was too much for me. I let the bottle sit for 48 hours and revisited, and it was much more integrated. I think a few years of aging might benefit. — a year ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1979 vintage. Last tasted 07.15.25 (9.4). Bottom neck/top shoulder fill. Employed Durand with cork (60% saturated) easily extracted. Decanted with a funnel + decently small screen. Godzilla-styled sed. Tasted immediately after decanting and 30 mins later. Light-medium/medium body. Initially reticent but started to blossom after 20 minutes. Chunkiness flowed to cocoa powder, spearmint and milk chocolate. There was a 10-15 minute period of subtle, raw green bell pepper that shook out. Wine was gonzo after an hour so no further developments noted *shrugs.* Great time capsule enjoyed with more than a few people that could appreciate the history and experience. 13.7 ABV. Haha that is a current Napa pipe dream. 08.15.25. — a year ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

1995 vintage. Light-medium body. Opened but not decanted. High neck fill. Solid cork. Relatively light sed. Tasted after one hour. Dusty with velveteen notes up front and a gradual thinning of intensity on the finish. As per the LR style, no explosive characteristics, only a seamless quality evident. This will hold in place for 7-8 years. 8.16.24. — 2 years ago

George Chen

9.4

Damn…perfect cork, high neck, in my cellar maybe 2 decades! Had to move over 1000 bottles due to leak …found some fun stuff…agree with rest of pro comments…all there! — 3 years ago

Daniel Ciolek

9.1

Consistency is good - see my notes from earlier vintage. Approachable on opening. Floral on the nose. Dense spicy raspberry and a touch of leather on the palate. Starting to show some mineral on a moderate long finish. Tannins show at the finish. Perhaps the vines are getting more mature as it seems as if the profile is moving towards an old world style that may need cellaring in future vintages. — 3 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

Tasted blind. Yellow gold in the glass, with similar notes as the 96 BBM and Batard next to it. Massive acidity. More floral than the other two. Very rich. This went neck and neck all night with the Batard as the best of the three. At first I liked the Chevy more but the Batard was right there too. 97+ — 4 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Gorgeous herbaceous nose. Beguiling mid to late cherry and a top note of an 18th century German Apotheke. Really fragrant, clear and vivid. Cola, cherry flower and loads of intense minerality. Really firing on all cylinders. Tree bark. Undergrowth. Just so complex. Palate is stuffed with structure, sappy vivid fruit and a banging long finish. Really long. Superb purity and density. But remains elegant and nimble. Wow this is long. Great inner mouth aromas and so juicy. This will get better with air but 9.4 off the bat. This ramps up the finesse as it gets air. Sweeter fruit as well but not too sweet. — 5 years ago