Wow.  An amazing wine.  This is only sold in Magnums.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, iodine, graphite, slight earthiness, and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  For all of its power, however, this is not a bomb or monster wine.  There is a lovely elegance to this as it expands to coat the palate.  Flavors of cassis, slight blueberries, cherries with lots of concentration and depth.  Underlying minerality with a slight char.  Great energy and balance.  Long finish.  And, delicious.  This wine is young and will continue to mature and evolve for t

This is from the people who bring you Cayuse and other wines from Washington State.  It is Champagne from France made from the Pinot Meunier grape planted in 1969.  Only made in Magnum and sold thru the Cayuse mailing list.  Golden in color with a slight ruby tint to it.  A nice mousse with a lot of effervescence.  The nose has Vernor's soda notes (sort of ginger and caramel).   With air some cherries and lemons come out.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, the cherries and lemons are more pronounced but there is still that underlying ginger.  Nice minerality.  Very concentrated, it slo

Always a great wine and great "value" in the world of expensive Champagne, it seems as the 2012 is one of the best vintages yet, perhaps surpassing 2008 and going back to 1996 for that level of quality, at least for my tastes.  Light golden in color with slight green hues, clear and bright.  The mousse is consistent with lots of tiny bubbles.  The nose has a hint of toast upfront, followed by pears with a slight  floral quality.  Some citrus on the back end.  Full bodied.

This is a wine with an interesting story and it was nice to get to try it.  Roberto Di Meo utilized late harvest grapes but fermented it dry.  It was then aged in stainless steel before bottling.  The first release of the wine was in 2014.  The wine has gotten rave reviews from some critics and less so, from others.  It is made from the Fiano di Avellino grape in southern Italy.  Fans should keep an eye out as this is a difficult sell and will occasionally appear on close out sites such as WTSO.  As for this bottle, it bottle 7536/9000.  Light green/gold in color, very light and fresh and h

Nice showing for this bottle.  A bit of oxidation, but the wine is almost 20!  Deep golden in color with some orange hues, clear and bright.  The nose has sea air, some burnt orange peel, and apricots.  Slightly viscous.  A touch of sweetness.  This is deep and complex with apricots, orange peel and minerality.  Not so much layered as close to seamless.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This paired nicely with some salted truffle fries but would work well with goat cheese.  Probably better with a touch of food at this point.  Drink over the next ten years.  Note, there are some oxidation issues

The top wine in the Tablas creek stable.  A blend of 60% Mourvedre, 30% Grenache and 10% Syrah.  Tasted along side the 03, this is more animale and a bit darker fruits.  Both were stunning.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has a fair amount of barnyard/brett.  If tasting blind, I would have guessed older Beaucastel.  There is also plenty of plums and black raspberry fruit.  On the palate, this has light tannins left.  Layers of plums, black cherries and black raspberries with plenty of earthiness.  Great balance and energy.  Long finish.  Delicious and demanding of attention o

This is the top wine that Tablas Creek makes.  It is a blend of 69% Mourvedre, 21% Grenache, 7% Syrah, and 3% Counoise.  Wow.  At age 18, this is gorgeous.  Bought on release and decanted for sediment just prior to serving.  Still vibrant and drinking youthfully if closing in on peak.  The nose has plums, black cherries, a slight char and a bit of earthiness.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this layered and complex.  Layers of black cherries, plums, earth and spice.  Tannins seemed resolved.  Great balance and energy.  Long finish.  Drinking on its own, this will be contemplative but will wor

Sadly this was slightly corked.  No fruit due to the TCA, but the texture was great and the potpourri notes were evident.  It happens.  

This is the Tablas Creek version of a Chateauneuf du Pape.  It is a blend of 46% Mourvedre, 31% Syrah, 18% Grenache, and 5% Counoise grapes.  At age 5 from vintage, this is drinking great already.  The nose has plums, black cherries, spice with a touch of funk.  Full bodied with a great texture.  Red and purple fruits; black cherries, cherries and boysenberries with a nice underlying minerality.  Nice finish.  This is still young and should develop more over the next five years or so, and drink well for ten more after that.  It drinks great on its own and would work well with roasted meats

This is a blend of 60% Syrah, 25% Grenache and 15% Terret Noir grapes.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper and roasted herbs.  Full bodied with firm tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries with some char underneath.  Delicious.  Nice acidity.  Long finish.  They Syrah is dominating now but this should gain some complexity with a few more years in bottle.  Drink over the next twelve to fifteen years.  This would work great with Indian or Thai food with a bit of spice.