u/rnjbond

Something about aged Napa just hits different.

Brought this bottle for a lunch at Kokkari with a friend who was visiting from London.

Stood this up a few days ahead of time and brought to the restaurant.

Cork needed a Durand but was surprisingly intact and didn't break.

Decided to let this open up in the bottle and glass, no decanting (and used a filter at the end to get rid of the sediment).

This is in a lovely spot right now.

Great acidity, nice structure, tannins seem fully integrated.

Dried cherries, red plums, blackberry notes, with dried herbs, slight tobacco, some leather.

This actually opened up nicely over the course of lunch.

In a great spot, but will probably hang on for a while.

92 points.

This has probably been the best showing of the 2013 Cain Five to date.

Opened on a Tuesday night and poured into the decanter, then enjoyed over half an hour.

Candidly, needs a little more air, but was a last minute decision.

This one had a bit more structure and weight on the palate compared to prior showings.

Picked up some dark plum, cherry, blackberry, slight eucalyptus, slight graphite notes.

Drinking well, likely will get better with age.

Amazing deal at LB!

91+ points.

Enjoyed with Jersey for a double-date night.

Gave this about two hours in the decanter before bringing over, then popped in the decanter for another 90 minutes before enjoying.

This needed all that air and more!

Nose is incredibly powerful and concentrated.

Dark cherry, dark plum, blackberry.

Also some toasted oak, slight chocolate, pencil shavings, and Rutherford dust.

This is still very young, but likely the best expression of M. Etain I've had to date... the air really helped too.

Drank well alongside paneer pizza.

93+ points.

This is a crowd-pleasing Champagne and I can see why.

Don't get me wrong, it's not worth the $70 you typically see it for at your local grocery store (which, alongside the label, is why many people think this is a high-end, premium Champagne).

But I'd happily drink this any day of the week and it's a nice Champagne to kick off an evening and just enjoy.

This has some nice lemon, citrus, and white peach notes, not as heavy on the brioche or toast.

Nice acidity, but not as much complexity on the palate as I would like in a Champagne at this price point.

88 points.

Enjoyed at Via Aurelia in SF for a double date night.

Cerbaiona is one of my favorite Brunello producers and 2004 was an outstanding vintage for them, so I was very excited to try this.

Gave this about an hour decant before drinking, which felt like the right amount.

This is in a beautiful spot right now.

Loads of red cherry, red plum, slight raspberry, rosemary, and a pleasant balsamic note on the nose.

Great structure and acidity on this.

I'd argue this is squarely in its drinking window, maybe even on the younger side.

Paired well with the primi courses.

Wish I had more!

93 points.

Modern Caymus has a reputation, deservedly so, for being extracted and manufactured.

But old school Caymus was actually something unique.

This was a special bottle that Saison Cellar in SF happened to have on their menu at a not unreasonable price.

Now, to be clear, this is their Cuvée, which was a limited bottling that Caymus did for a couple years that's a little more entry level than the flagship, and likely behind the Special Selection.

But still a great experience regardless.

The color on this was still quite ruby red, very little browning or bricking.

Great nose on this, still very much alive.

Loads of fruit on the nose and palate, red cherry, blueberry, dried plums, fruit leather. Some slight dried spices as well. Slight tobacco.

Shockingly, not a ton of tertiary notes here, didn't get a bunch of mushroom or forest floor, which I was expecting.

Great acidity and shockingly still some tannins present.

This was probably a well-stored bottle, but I find this drinking very well and not over the hill at all.

92 points.

Beringer's single vineyards continue to impress me, especially since these can be very affordable when on sale.

Since 2019 is a notoriously tight vintage in Napa, I gave this an hour decant, then put back in the bottle with the cork and let it open over the following three hours.

That was the perfect amount of air for this.

Drank at Arquet in San Francisco and let the wine open up further in the bottle, since decanting further may have been overkill.

This has the power and concentration I expect out of Howell Mountain.

Loads of dark fruit, brambly berries, blackberry, currant. Also eucalyptus and graphite as well.

This is still very young, but very enjoyable already.

92 points.

This is a lovely wine.

Enjoyed at Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant in SF.

This was great out the gate, but benefitted from an hour decant.

In fact, I'm surprised at how approachable this is, versus 2019 which can be very tight.

Great structure and well-settled tannins that are still present, but far less grippy than I feared.

Acidity was great here as well.

Showed loads of dark fruit, dark plum, dark cherry, cassis, some red fruit as well. Maybe some fresh herbs and eucalyptus.

Drinking super well right now, but will definitely benefit from age. This is probably at the very beginning of its drinking window.

Also, zero smoke taint whatsoever on this.

92+ points.

By the half bottle at Ferry Plaza Wine Merchants.

Gave this a quick decant, but half bottles tend to age a little faster than full bottles.

This has nice balance, lots of red fruit, as well as cherry and blueberry. Also got some toasted oak, slight vanilla, very slight coconut.

This is an enjoyable, easy-drinking wine. Will likely age well from here.

90+ points.

This is a great expression of Aglianico that continues to drink well whenever I open it.

Gave this one about a 90 minute decant before drinking and enjoyed over the following hour at Marina Beach in SF.

In a great place now, great structure and balance.

Picked up notes of dark cherry, blueberry, blackberry, alongside some rosemary.

I also get a distinct hazelnut note with this specific wine, which I find fascinating.

This paired well with the sambar poriyal.

92 points.

Gave this a four hour decant before drinking. Was meant to be two hours, but life gets in the way. But four hours of decanting in the fridge was perfect.

Loads of fruit on this, but not jammy.

Blackberry, boysenberry, marionberry, brambly fruit, thyme, slight pencil lead.

Very balanced wine after all the air. Well-integrated tannins.

This was a steal on Last Bottle. Wish I got more.

92 points.

Enjoyed at Marina Beach in San Francisco to celebrate a friend visiting from out of town.

1987 is his birthyear and is showing beautifully in Napa right now, so this felt appropriate.

In contrast to when I had this about nine months ago, this one received no decanting, but we did stand it up a few days ahead of time to let the tannins settle.

Lots of dried dark fruit, dried plum, dried cherry, dried blueberry. Fruit leather.

Slight green bellpepper notes as well.

Also picked up some dried herbs, including rosemary. Not super heavy on the tobacco, but maybe a hint of it.

We drank this with the appetizers and while it worked well with the sourdough bread and whipped paneer, it also felt more like I was having chakna (snacks) with the wine, versus a pairing. Which is better than having it clash.

92 points.

Second time trying this vintage in the past two years.

Enjoyed at Roaming Goat in SF.

Still very young, decanted and drank over two hours.

The tannins have really settled relative to two years ago.

Still lots of acidity, will tear the enamel off your teeth!

Lots of blueberry, blackberry, red cherry, slight dark chocolate notes, maybe some fresh herbs?

If you drink this now, give it two hours of decanting and then enjoy!

92 points.

Second time trying this in 2026.

This is a winery exclusive that is also available in SFO duty free or in rare cases online.

Being a longtime Beringer fan, especially the Private Reserve, I was so excited to try this again.

When I had it back in January, it needed a five hour decant. Sadly, life gets in the way and that wasn't feasible.

So I opened this at 7 am, gave it an hour decant, then put it back in the bottle, with the cork in, and kept in the fridge for ten hours.

That wasn't enough. The wine was still tight and tasted a bit hot.

Turns out I made a mistake by putting it in the fridge, versus a cool dark place.

So back into the decanter it went and then started drinking about 45 minutes later, then over the following two hours.

This developed beautifully with air.

Dark plum, dark cherry, cassis, blackberry notes.

Also picked up some elaichi (cardamom), laung (clove), eucalyptus, and slight graphite.

Paired very well with spicy aloo tikki burgers. Starch and ghee are great friends to Napa Cab, even a young one like this.

Definitely recommend letting this lay down, but if you happen to have multiple, a long decant before drinking and serving at cellar temp is the way to go.

94 points.

Second time trying this bottle in the span of a few months and enjoyed it sufficiently more this time.

Still drinking young.

Lots of dark fruit, blackberry, dark cherry, plums.

But also some baking spices, including cinnamon and clove.

This has solid structure, nice acidity.

Can go on for a while.

91 points.

Enjoyed at Bar Dominion in Montréal.

This is still very young and needs a lot of air.

Red cherry, rosemary, slight cinnamon and clove notes. Some red plum as well.

Still very tight with loads of acidity, in spite of two hours in the decanter.

Was better on day two.

Drink in a few years.

91+ points.

I'm always happy when I can drink some Tignanello.

By the glass at Mili Wine Bar in SF.

Amazing to have this by the glass!

Still drinking very young, but shockingly approachable now, even fresh out of the bottle.

Great acidity and structure.

Red cherry, blueberry, rosemary, tomato leaf notes.

Apparently this is 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc, which explains the structure and notes.

Having had this a few times over the years, it continues to get better with time.

92+ points.

Enjoyed by the bottle at Velvet 48 in Burlingame.

Gave this a quick decant then enjoyed over 90 minutes.

Henschke is one of the shining examples of Aussie Shiraz, next to Grange, which I just had recently.

This is clearly very young and needs a lot of time.

Great balance of acidity, tannins, and body here.

Lots of dark fruit, blackberry, dark plum, cherry, blueberry. Maybe slight grapefruit skin.

Also some spices, like elaichi (cardomom), laung (clove), but surprisingly no black pepper.

Strong wine in a great place.

92+ points.

I last tried this bottle about 1.5 years ago.

I recognize Sine Qua Non is a very specific taste that some love and some really dislike.

It's a very powerful, high ABV, in-your-face style and I just happen to enjoy it.

Brought this to an Indian dinner at Copra in SF. I'm always a fan of Syrah and Indian food, the spice across both really complement each other in a wonderful way.

Gave this a 2.5 hour decant before bringing it to dinner, then another hour in the decanter before we enjoyed over the following hour.

This is drinking wonderfully right now, but still quite young.

Blackberry, dark plum, dark cherry, plum skins.

Also lots of spice, not just black pepper, but also cinnamon bark and cloves.

Tannins still quite grippy, in spite of the air, but there's great acidity to balance this out.

15.8% ABV, doesn't taste excessive, but you feel it by the end.

This did mellow out with time, but I imagine it may be even better with more air or with a few more years in the bottle.

The pairing went really well, especially with Masala Dosa. I think the spices in the podi and the ghee worked really well with the layers in the line.

I would say this wine was even better than a year-and-a-half ago and I look forward to revisiting it again in the future. For what it's worth, I think it's still a notch behind the sister wine: the 2014 Sine Qua Non Shakti (which is Grenache-dominant), which incidentally also paired very well at Copra!

If drinking now, I recommend minimum three hours in the decanter before your first sip and make sure to serve it closer to 60F, otherwise you will taste the alcohol.

93+ points.

Honestly, this is an enjoyable champagne for $40.

Nice citrus and stone fruit notes, primarily white nectarine.

Great acidity, nice structure.

Slight brioche notes.

Was a nice warm-up and paired well with the starter courses at Copra in SF, especially the gunpowder goli vadai.

90 points.