Wine Notes
2021 Elio Altare Barolo
"Decanted for 1 hour. Aromas of tar, cranberry, cherry, rose petal and earth. Flavors of cherry, raspberry, currant, tar and touch of earth. Ends with a 35-40 second finish with cherry and tar notes. This is quite nice for a young Barolo. (95 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Sep 6, 2026
2025 Tenuta S. Antonio di Castagnedi Scaia Bianco
"Aromas of honeysuckle, flowers, mineral and hint of citrus. Flavors of lemon, grape, grapefruit and shortbread. Ends with a nice finish of 15-20 seconds with citrus notes. (91 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Sep 6, 2026
2008 Alpha Omega Era
"Quick decant like 30 minutes. Aromas of currant, plum, blackberry, iron and cherry. Flavors of dried cherry, blackberry, melted chocolate, plum, and currant. Ends with a long finish of 40-45 seconds with chocolate and blackberry notes. This is drinking perfect right now. Smooth tannins. Fruit is in a real good place. Classic earmarks of Tokalon showing through. (96 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Sep 6, 2026
2010 La Fortuna Brunello di Montalcino
"Popped, waited and hour then poured. Aromas of rose, tar, cherry, iron and raspberry. Flavors of raspberry, cherry, tar, hint of vanilla and hint of earth. Ends with a long finish of 40+ seconds with tar and cherry notes. This is quite stunning for the money. Perfectly stored and in perfect balance. Everything is in harmony here. (95 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 29, 2026
2025 Château Pradeaux Bandol Rosé
"Aromas of the watermelon, strawberry, lime and sea spray. Flavors of lime, cherry, watermelon and strawberry. Ends with a watermelon and cherry finish that goes on for 20-25 seconds. Excellent rose and best so far this season. (92 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 29, 2026
2021 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Old Vines
"Decanted for 1 hour. Aromas of blueberry, strawberry, cherry, currant and wet earth. Flavors of cherry, strawberry, blueberry, fruit cake and hint of asian spice. Ends with a 30-35 second finish with blueberry and fruit cake notes. First time having the old vines and I was expecting something a bit different. Never had this much blueberry on a Pinot Noir before. Typically I get that from the Papara Vineyard Zins. Interesting wine. If it changes with air will update. (94 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 28, 2026
2018 AldenAlli Pinot Noir Sunchase Vineyard
"Pop and put. Aromas of cranberry, strawberry, cherry and bit of earth. Flavors of strawberry, cherry, cranberry, mushroom and earth. Ends with a 25-30 second finish with strawberry and soy spice notes. Reminds me of the later Kosta Browne wines. (93 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 22, 2026
2007 Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve
"Decanted for 2 hours. Aromas of mint, blackberry, dried cherry, currant and hint of menthol eucalyptus. Flavors of cherry, mocha, blackberry, currant and hint of plum. Ends with a 30-35 seconds with cherry and blackberry notes. Finish is a bit clipped. Still for a 19 year old Cab it’s aging nicely although would say this was a bit better in its youth. (93 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 21, 2026
2019 Wine & Soul Douro Guru
"Aromas of mineral, beeswax, lemon and fruit cake. Flavors of lemon, wet stone, mineral, apple strudel and sour patch kid. Ends with a 30+ second finish with lemon and mineral notes. This really improved while drinking it. Probably the most impressive bottle of Guru I recall having. (93 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 14, 2026
2017 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc
"Aromas of gooseberry, cat pee, fresh cut grass and matchstick. Flavors of orange marmalade, lemon, mineral, kiwi and star fruit. Ends with a 35-40 second finish with passion fruit notes.quite good and aging nicely. (94 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 14, 2026
2015 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
"Pretty much a pop and pour. Aromas of boysenberry, currant, cherry, hint of iron and flowers. Flavors of boysenberry, currant, licorice, cherry and bit of earth. Ends with a 30-35 second finish with boysenberry notes. This probably could have used a decant but didn’t have one. Still, quite nice. (94 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 13, 2026
2019 Ferren Wines Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard
"Aromas of mushroom, strawberry, maraschino cherry, forest floor and umami. Flavors of candied cherry, strawberry, earth, licorice and hint of soy sauce. Ends with a long finish of 35-40 seconds with cherry and strawberry notes. This is excellent and still has some room to develop I think. Leans more towards William Selyem than Marcassin in my opinion and in this case. (95 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 12, 2026
2018 The Third Twin Nuestra Señora del Tercer Gemelo The Third Twin Vineyard
"Consistent with prior note. (98 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 11, 2026
2004 Rudd Oakville Estate Proprietary Red
"Pop and pour. Aromas of currant, blackberry, mint, lead pencil and iron. Flavors of melted chocolate, blackberry, currant, wild cherry and hint of earth. Ends with a 40-45 second finish with blackberry and wild cherry notes. Perfectly stored but cork broke coming out. This has just as much fruit on it that I remember having it. Not even dried at this point. Very delicious and sad my last bottle from my first Napa trip. (95 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 11, 2026
2020 Domaine Jean-Claude Marsanne Saint-Joseph Blanc
"Aromas of apricot, mineral, honeysuckle and crushed rock. Flavors of passion fruit, apricots, orange marmalade and quince. Ends with 20-25 seconds with tropical notes. Not sure the hate on this one. Nice acidity and quite refreshing. (92 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 11, 2026
2020 Ferren Wines Chardonnay Lancel Creek Vineyard
"Aromas of papaya, pineapple, lemon meringue, banana and mango. Flavors of mango, pineapple, papaya, lemon meringue and mango. Ends with a 40-45 second finish with tropical fruit notes. Dead ringer for Marcassin but not a surprise. (95 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 10, 2026
2022 Jean Dauvissat Pere & Fils Chablis Vendanges
"Aromas of slate, green apple, mineral and lime. Flavors of green apple, mineral, lime and slate. Ends with a 20-25 second finish with lime and mineral notes. Benchmark Chablis. (92 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 9, 2026
2006 De Castelnau Champagne Brut Millésimé
"Aromas of macadamia nut, shortbread, mineral and slate. Flavors of mineral, shortbread, cracker and hint of citrus. Ends with a nice finish of 20+ seconds with mineral notes. Nice 20 year old Champagne. (91 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 9, 2026
2024 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussière
"Decanted nose but more Cali then Sancerre. Flavors of mineral, kiwi and passion fruit. Not a bad Sancerre but not
a lot of minerality. (88 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 8, 2026
2021 Carlisle Zinfandel Montafi Ranch
"Pop and pour. Aromas of boysenberry, huckleberry, cherry, licorice and currant. Flavors of huckleberry, boysenberry, cherry, bit of earth and hint of cranberry. Ends with a 30+ second finish with red berry notes. Not the best Montafi I have ever had but has all the classic hallmarks. Have one bottle left and then this is gone forever unless I can source more. (93 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 8, 2026
1986 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes
"Best days were certainly behind this but was still hanging on. Saw the cork floating out of the neck so figured I better open this. Seems the metal foil did a decent job of preserving this for the few days I had it on its side. Nose was a bit oxidized but the palate was nice. Lot of Carmel and vanilla. Interesting to drink. Storage was questionable but only paid $10. (88 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 4, 2026
2015 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
"Decanted for 1 hour. Aromas of boysenberry, dried cherry, huckleberry, currant and date. Flavors of boysenberry, cherry, currant, root vegetables and a hint of earth. Ends with a long finish of 40+ seconds with boysenberry notes. Might have been a hair better the last time I had it but still an excellent wine. (95 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 2, 2026
2023 DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc
"Aromas of macadamia nut, shortbread, passion fruit, lemon and sour patch kid. Flavors of shortbread, lemon, star fruit, passion fruit and mineral. Ends with a nice finish 20-25 seconds with shortbread citrus notes. You can put this up against any White Bordeaux and I don’t think anyone would guess Washington. Great acidity as well. (92 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 2, 2026
2020 Escarpment Pinot Noir
"Aromas of cherry, mushroom, strawberry and forest floor. Flavors of cherry, strawberry, umami and rhubarb. Ends with a decent 15-20 second finish with cherry and earth notes. Veers more towards California than Burgundy. (90 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Aug 1, 2026
2014 Morlet Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Passionnément
"Decanted over 2.5 hours. Aromas of blackberry, currant, lead pencil, iron and dried cherry. Flavors of cherry, currant, blackberry, roasted herbs, licorice and hint of mocha. Ends with an incredibly long finish of 50-55 seconds with cherry and currant notes. Got a bit of heat of this the first few sips but dissipated. First time having a Morley red and it is stunning. Layers of depth and complexity. I’m mad at myself for not trying these prior. (98 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 31, 2026
2024 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
"Aromas of cherry, mushroom, earth and currant. Flavors of cherry, strawberry, hint of boysenberry and hint of mushroom. Ends with a 20-25 second finish with cherry notes. (92 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 26, 2026
2019 Saxum G2 Vineyard
"Decanted for 6 hours. Aromas of fig, currant, iron, cherry and heat. Flavors of fig, boysenberry, cherry, iron and kirsch liquor. Ends with 35-40 second finish with cherry and iron notes. Lot of heat on this and holds it back from being a better wine. The stuffing is there though. May update if I let it sit for a while. (93 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 25, 2026
2021 Bevan Cellars Chardonnay Bennett Valley
"Aromas of pineapple, guava, banana, lemon and nutmeg. Flavors of lemon meringue, pineapple, papaya and guava. Ends with a tropical fruit finish of 30-35 seconds. Very close in style to Aubert. (94 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 25, 2026
2017 Aubert Chardonnay Powder House Vineyard
"Reading the comments here and very worried. Nose of lemon oil and mineral. Nose bit shy but served a bit cold. Flavors of lemon meringue, papaya, mango and pineapple. Don’t think this is oxidized but this is definitely getting tired. But in this situation this was probably a 97-98 and down to 93. (93 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 19, 2026
NV Philippe Gonet Champagne Cuv e Or Brut Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
"Aromas of ginger, citrus, bread dough and mineral. Flavors of lime, cream, mineral and pastry. Ends with a great finish of 15+ seconds with great acidity. Great for the money! (90 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 19, 2026
2018 Domaine des Petits Champs Lins Meursault Les Tillets
"Aromas of honeysuckle, lemon oil, mineral and slight hint of tropical fruit. Flavors of papaya, mango, lemon oil and banana. Ends with a 25+ finish. (93 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 18, 2026
1969 Louis Jadot Nuits-Saint-Georges
"Cork disintegrated as I pulled it but not to bad. Not in tiny bits but big chunks. Aromas of taffy, sherry and prune. Nose clearly oxidized. Flavors of dried cherry, raisin, date and mushroom. Ends with an earthy mushroom finish of 15-20 seconds. Clearly past its prime but hanging on for dear life. Fun to drink though. (85 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 18, 2026
1976 Pierre Olivier Montrachet
"Aromas of Carmel, lemon curd, vanilla pudding and slight whiff of sherry. Flavors pretty mush the same except no notes of sherry. Real Montrachet. Pretty crazy this was still alive and kicking.
Update: after an hour this really kicked it up a notch and was really stunning. Upgrading from 92 to 95 (95 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 18, 2026
2021 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard
"Pop and pour. Aromas of lemon meringue, papaya, mango, nutmeg and clove. Flavors of banana, papaya, lemon pie, vanilla and mango. Ends with a long finish of 45+ seconds with tropical fruit notes. Outstanding but reminds me more of Aubert than what I am used to with Marcassin. Little higher alcohol than usual so that might explain it. (98 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 17, 2026
2022 Ferren Wines Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
"Pop and pour. Aromas of blueberry, cherry, strawberry and forest floor. Flavors of cherry pie, strawberry, rhubarb, touch of Asian spice and earth. Ends with a 30-35 second finish with cherry notes. This is quite good! (94 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 5, 2026
2021 Sine Qua Non Distenta White III
"Aromas of honeysuckle, pear, Asian spice, apple and stone fruit. Flavors of honeysuckle, pear, apple, apricot and shortbread. Ends with an amazing long finish of 40-45 seconds with apricot and shortbread notes. Can definitely detect the Viognier in this one but not super overwhelming like is some of the other whites. Will be interesting to see how this ages. (97 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 4, 2026
NV Eric Rodez Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs
"Aromas of slate, mineral, cream and shortbread. Flavors of shortbread, cream, mineral, and slate. Ends with a great finish of 25-30 seconds with creamy mineral notes. Best champagne I have had in a while and reasonably priced, especially for a grand cru. Love this. (93 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 4, 2026
2025 G.D. Vajra Rosabella
"Aromas of strawberry, cherry, lime and currant. Flavors of cherry, strawberry and currant. Ends with a pleasant finish of 15-20 second with cherry notes. Not terribly complex but enough to please. (90 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 3, 2026
2023 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc
"Aromas of passion fruit, kiwi, gooseberries, lime and mineral. Flavors of passion fruit, lime, kiwi, and lemon. Ends with a 25+ second finish with passion fruit notes. Great acidity. (94 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jul 3, 2026
NV Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuis
"Aromas of toast, shortbread, mineral and lime. Flavors of shortbread, mineral, lime and ginger. Ends with a 15-20
Second finish with mineral notes. (90 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jun 28, 2026
2019 Château Fombrauge
"Pop and pour unfortunately. Aromas of iron, leather, cherry, plum and currant. Flavors of cherry, currant, iron and mineral. Ends with a 25-30 second finish with currant and iron notes. Doesn’t feel like 15 percent alcohol. Wish I could have decanted this. (93 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jun 26, 2026
2005 Ridge Monte Bello
"Decanted for over 2 hours. Aromas of leather, blackberry, iron, lead pencil and currant. Flavors of blackberry, sour cherry, currant, hint of plum and earth. Ends with a 45+ second finish with blackberry and cherry notes. This didn’t taste like 20 year old wine. Fruit was still very fresh and this is just a baby. (97 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jun 21, 2026
2023 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussière
"Aromas of passion fruit, stone fruit, kiwi, mineral and hint of peach. Flavors of stone fruit, nectarine, passion fruit and mineral. Ends with a stone fruit and mineral driven finish. (93 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jun 21, 2026
2023 Silver Ghost Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
"Pop and pour. Aromas of currant, blackberry, cherry and hint of green pepper. Flavors of blackberry, currant, cherry and hint of mocha. Ends with 20+ second finish with currant notes. Solid Napa Cab. Nothing spectacular but solid. (90 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jun 19, 2026
2019 Morlet Family Vineyards La Proportion Dorée
"Nose of honeysuckle, passion fruit, beeswax, mineral and hint of smoke. Flavors of passion fruit, hint of honey, mineral and plum. Ends with a mouth watering finish of 40+ second with passion fruit notes. This is tasting quite young quite impressive. Might be the best white Bordeaux blend from Cali I have had. (95 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jun 13, 2026
2025 Gérard Bertrand Languedoc Cote des Roses
"Nose of watermelon, cherry and strawberry. Flavors of watermelon, cherry, strawberry and lime. Ends with a lingering watermelon finish. This is the best vintage of this in recent memory. Fresh with a nice acidity. (90 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jun 12, 2026
2016 Château Gloria
"Opened for over an hour. Aromas of leather, iron, blackberry and currant. Flavors of blackberry, cherry, currant and iron. Ends with an iron infused finish of 25+ seconds with blackberry notes. (92 pts.) "
- Matthew Slywka | Jun 7, 2026
