Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

2008 vintage. Yeah, some wackoid(s) gave this 100 points. Whatevs. Arrived at 70-72 degrees. Zero chill. Immediately plunged into an ice bath. Used a Durand to open but the über-dry cork just laughed at it and decided to pixelate into small, broken safety glass-styled fragments. Not the sign I was looking for. Here comes the funnel + screen + decanter to save the day. That screen needs a raise come review time. Put the decanter atop the ice bath with a protective serviette between and gave it another 5-6 mins in the chill. Color not quite yellow Chartreuse but pretty close. Tasted at approx 58-59 degrees. Like a trip to the confectionery + bakery. Whoa! Medium/medium-heavy body and this was popping. Splashes and suggestions of fruits, bread products and baking spices without an overriding, final boss. Phenomenal. Can’t give it a Wilt but it did not suck and should drink as such for at least another half-decade. Have had plenty of Marcassin whites and reds and this was the best of the lot. Transcendent. For all that…? 9.6. Soviet…er…Russian judge mode deployed. 3.6.25. — 2 months ago

"Odedi"

9.1

Purple in color with a wide reddish rim.

Nose of red and black fruits with wood, earth, herbs, spices, tobacco leaf, dark coffee and peppercorn.

Full-bodied with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with blueberries, black currants, cooked plums, oak, spices, chocolates, coffee, peppercorn, herbs and black tea.

Tangy finish with round tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a very tasty Bordeaux blend from Walla Walla Valley. Complex and nicely balanced. Rich and fruit forward, with a Bordeaux feel with a new world twist.

In your face kind of wine, and bold right now. Still young, but already enjoyable, even by itself. Needs a few years in the bottle to mature properly.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years. Would be nice to revisit it in 5 years. Has good potential to become a 93+ point wine.

A good sipping wine that will also pair nicely with a big piece of steak.

A blend of 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 16% Petit Verdot, 11% Malbec and 8% Carmenere. Aged in (50% new) French Oak barrels for 20 months. Vegan.

15% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$85. — 6 months ago

GaryWEdwards

9.5

The fruit tumbled more as the decant wore on. Zero sediment upon decanting , this baby has legs for much longer haul. Beautiful balance and a gratifying long finish. I may come back in 5 years with a higher score. That's where this is headed. — 2 years ago

with Logan

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2011 vintage. Solid aging cork in great shape along with a good fill. Decanted and tasted immediately and over the course of 1.5 hours. Threw zero sed. Light-medium body. Earthy, rhubarb, sous bois nose. Same in flavor profile with an additional, pleasant trace of dirtiness. Well-made and holding up very nicely but clearly on the subtle side of the ledger at this point. Any overt NSG fruitiness in the nursery is gonzo. Pretty but not in a youthful way. Aging very gracefully with another 5-7 years at this stage before changing addresses. 12.2.23. — 2 years ago

Phil Kessling

9.0

Brut Zero Rosé from Tarlant. Grower Champagne with an even split of Pn and Chard; 5% Meunier too. Zero dosage. Terrific bottle of Grower Champagne. Each glass got better and better. Great fruit and great acidity.l — 3 months ago

"Odedi"

9.2

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Fruity nose with black fruits, cedar, tobacco and chocolate notes.

Full-bodied with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and very fruity on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, spices, cedar, vanilla, leather, earth, chocolates, tobacco, coffee, cola, licorice and bitter herbs.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and cherries.

This 12 year old Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley is drinking deliciously now. Rich and extracted, and 'In your face' kind of wine.

Fruit forward and good right out of the bottle, but would have been even better after a couple of hours of airtime, but it finished way too quickly.

Showing nice complexity with a soft mouthfeel.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 5 to 7 years.

A great sipping wine that will pair nicely with a big piece of steak.

A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Merlot. 924 cases produced.

14.6% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$150. — 4 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2013 vintage. Nice fill. Excellent cork. No Durand needed. Decanted with some sed and tasted multiple times over the course of two hours. Origin story medium-heavy body now a light-medium body but with zero loss of color intensity. Primary flavors completely evacuated with secondary and tertiary flavors rushing in to fill the nature-abhorred vacuum. Initially, pretty bretty and likely too much for many...especially those not enamored with/used to such. Black olives, garrigue and cracked black pepper throughout mitigated the sweaty saddle and in serious leather (apologies to Frank Zappa) tendencies in the first hour. Overt, bretty notes dissipated after 45 minutes, This particular wine and vintage at the zenith/absolute top of its' particular bell curve and tastes like it can hover there another 5-6 years without drop-off or apology. 10.28.25. — 7 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2000 vintage. Great fill and cork. Opened with a Durand and decanted. A little sed but manageable. tasted 40 minutes and 1.5 hours after opening. Medium body. 14% ABV on the label and not questioning it since this effort was throwing nearly zero heat. All secondary and tertiary impressions at this point and they were unified and present. Some dark fruit still but emphasis capably drawn towards the black olive, durty earth, finish. Really knitted together currently. Maybe another 5-spot in this guise? Maybe another decade? Hard to tell but showing beautifully now. 01.28.26. — 4 months ago

Shay A

9.4

Unique offering from Marie Courtin. Aged in amphora 11 months. Zero dosage.

60 Chardonnay/ 35 Pinot Blanc/ 5 Arbane

Not sure I’ve had an amphora aged champagne before, but it’s hard to not sense a creaminess in the texture that I’m assuming was intentional. Intense cheesy-leesy aromatics with plenty of spiced ripe fruits (pear, white peach, lemon). Yeasty but restrained. Not as powerful as other Marie Courtin champagnes but plenty ripe, suave, and balanced. My mind kept wondering what a simple gram or two of dosage would do to this to lengthen the semi-short finish, but this was lovely. I need to seek another out.

To this wines’ credit, it was amongst 2008 and 2015 Cristal, 2000 Krug CdM, Prevost La Closerie, and other grower champagnes and more than held its own. — 6 months ago

Doug Powers

9.3

So, Barbara and Jim Richards (RIP) planted 5 acres back in 1991 (1990?) of Syrah on the northeast (downslope) corner of their Paloma vineyard on Spring Mountain in what visually looked like a “low spot” (partially shaded and also maybe an area that maybe occasionally got standing water back in the days when California got enough rain). The rest of the vineyard was of course Merlot and also some Cabernet Sauvignon used mostly for blending with their fantastic mountain Merlot. The vineyard is just east of Pride Mountain and across the road from what used to be (??) Schweiger Vineyards.

Anyway, Bob Foley, who was making the wines for Pride in those early days, was consulting for Barbara and Jim early on, but I have ZERO information as to what involvement he had with the Syrah, if I recall correctly, the first Syrah in 1995 was less than a barrel (12-15 cases), and was aged in a super OLD, neutral barrel. My Chicago friends, who knew the Richards, dragged me along to taste that fateful day. That 1995 Syrah, first wine they ever made from those young Syrah vines, was, frankly, eye-opening and FANTASTIC, as I told Jim Richards that day. After tasting the INCREDIBLE 1995 Syrah, which was so northern Rhône-like and so pure, I begged Jim to sell me a bottle or two, but he politely declined. Later that day, after tasting the rest of their great wines, as we were leaving, Jim GAVE me a 4-pack box of that 1995 Syrah, which he wouldn’t accept any $$$ for, and that 1995 Syrah still in my memory remains the GREATEST CA Syrah I’ve ever tasted!!

As you can probably tell, I adored Jim and Barbara Richards, amazing people and generous to a fault!! Amazing people!!! I don’t think I ever met their son, Sheldon, but from all accounts he is continuing the tradition of great Paloma wines, though that great Syrah vineyard was pulled out in the early 2000s — Sheldon, if you happen to see this post, I welcome any corrections if I got any details wrong!!

Oh, and this Syrah is pretty dang good as well!!! — 2 years ago

with Jim