2009 SonkinCellars Persona, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2009
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-

OK.  First, this was served to me totally blind.  Second, read this review with a grain of salt as I am the winemaker/co-proprietor of the winery.  Purple in color.  The nose has nice black raspberry fruit and a bit of coffee.  On the palate, black raspberry fruit with medium to firm tannins.  Some oak showing itself as coffee and spice.  Slightly sweet but it might just be ripe fruit.  Nice finish.  Blind, it seemed like it saw sunshine but I didn't pick California.  I thought perhaps a Portugese wine.  I liked it and scored it 92 points.  Once its identify was revealed, it (of course) mad

2007 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Vintage: 
2007
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-

Ruby in color, purple at the core.  The nose has cherries, slight mushrooms and slight pine needles.  On the palate, plenty of cherry fruit.  Depth and complexity as it unwinds in the glass.  Perhaps a bit more advanced than expected (more for the producer than the vintage) but drinking very well right now.  I would drink in the next 3 to 5 years though.  

2007 Château Pontet-Canet

Vintage: 
2007
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-

Ruby/purple in color.  The nose is nice with cassis and tobacco.  On the palate, cassis and dark cherry fruit.  Medium tannins.  Long finish.  There is some depth and complexity here.  It is nearing maturity given the vintage but easily a decade left.  

2012 Ulysses Cabernet Sauvignon, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2012
Score: 
90
Grade: 
A-

Inky purple in color.  The nose is very tight.  Black raspberries.  spice/oak.  Primary. On the palate, this is lush with a great texture.  Black raspberry fruit.  Seems deep but impenetrable.  Firm tannins.  Doesn't budge much with air.  Plenty of upside on this but it needs a decade to sort itself out and open up.  For now, its enjoyable but seems like the better course is to show patience.  

2015 Faiveley Mercurey 1er Cru Clos des Myglands, France, Burgundy, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2015
Score: 
89
Grade: 
B+

2015 is a great vintage and I was excited to get a chance to try this one.  In Burgundy terms, this is certainly a value.  It was selling for under $40.  Ruby/purple in color.  Very bright.  On the nose, sour cherries and slight cranberries.  Very nice lush texture.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, a bit one dimensional at this point.  Plenty of sour cherry fruit.  It drinks more like a new world Pinot than I expected.  Perhaps those labels mean less and less these days.  It is very enjoyable right now, but I think to justify the money, it should be laid down for at least a decade.  Certain

2014 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard, USA, California, Santa Cruz, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2014
Score: 
90
Grade: 
A-

Ruby in color.  This looked a bit older than it was.  Blind, however, most people were guessing Burgundy.  The nose is very earthy with cherries.  On the palate, again earthy with cherries.  Slightly clipped on the finish.  Medium tannins.  This seemed like it may have been a bit shut down.  Pop and pour, it would have been helped out with some air.  It would be good to revisit this in a few years.  

2006 Rhys Pinot Noir Swan Terrace, USA, California, Santa Cruz, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2006
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A

Rhys makes some of the most "Burgundian" Pinot Noirs in California.  This one, however, seemed more California in style.  Purple/ruby in color.  The nose has dark cherries and a slight cola note I don't remember getting before.  On the palate, black cherries with a slight dark chocolate note.  Tight but quite complex.  It unwinds in the glass.  Still drinking quite youthfully.  Delicious now, but I suspect it will evolve and mature for a decade or two.  Wonderful wine with plenty of upside.  

2006 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc North Coast, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2006
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-

Bought on release ($26) and cellared well.  Light ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice earthy with cherries.  Hints of green tobacco drying in a barn.  On the palate, black cherries and minerals with a nice, slightly bitter streak.  This is at peak now and I would drink in the next few years.  Complex.  Food friendly.  Nice showing.  

2009 Roederer Estate L'Ermitage Brut

Vintage: 
2009
Score: 
89
Grade: 
B+

Light golden in color.  Nice mousse with lots of small-ish bubbles.  The nose has toast and lemons.  On the palate, there is a nice tart apple quality.  Nice acidity.  Long finish.  Very pleasant way to start.  

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