schellbe's Wines

1/2/2011 rated 95 points: Nose of ripe olives, with a little fecal, earth, and petunia. Flavors of ripe plum, olives, cedar, and tobacco well integrated with the wood, Show full fruit and nose immediately when opened. Fully evolved wine that should be drunk up. A lttle mint and herbaceousness in the smooth finish. Great accompaniment with elk steak and baked potatoes. This is what good bordeaux is all about.

Acacia Sangiacomo Vineyard Chardonnay Carneros 2007 $26 (not what the title says). Anther overoaked Chardonnay from CA. A creamy oak with some pleasant light toast. There is just too much of it. It seems young. Maybe a few days in the frig, it will open up, but I doubt it. If you like in your face creamy oak monsters, this is the wine for you.

Sweet fruit and fresh cream on nose, ending with white pepper. Very sweet flavors with dark tannins. Good vanilla in background. A definite new world style, but one I like. Wonderful with antelope burgers on a cold, snowy day. It's good that it's been such a cold spring that the trees are just barely leafing out, so no damage from this storm. It allows us to enjoy some more hearty reds. Eat your heart out, poor unfortunates who live in warm climates. (0 views)

Lots of oak and cedar in nose, with a bit of Sangiovese in background. Flavors very coarse, and finish sharp. Antinori started with good grapes and ruined it with too much oak. Bad wine making! International style at its worst.

Very Burgundian. Rich earthy nose of cherry, spice, toasted oak, and bacon fat. A little truffle. Very smooth, sweet flavors that match the nose. This is a step up in complexity from the Matariki PN served last night. Everything is in balance with this wine. Drinking well now, can last another couple of years. This is a wine that definitely merits bottle age.

This wine continues to amaze me. Rich flavors of sour cherry melds nicely with toasted oak and fresh hay on the nose. Such a light brick color of an aged wine but with so much body. Finishes smooth. This wine has an elegance lacking in so many new world Pinot Noirs. (0 views)

Rich plum-like nose. A little oak melded in. Sweet flavors with mustiness in nose. With time, reveals fresh hay and cherry. Gets better with time, but maybe a litlle alcoholic. Not as smooth as the Amisfield PN 04 or the Dom Chandon les Collines 05, tasted at the same time.

The nicest wine out of four PN tasted last night. Smoke and wild mushrooms covering sweet flavors in nose. Flavors match. Plenty of spice and pepper reveals in nose. Soft finish. With time, develops ripe olives and complexity. This wine just confirms my previous impressions that NZ is making the best New World PN, and with generally better prices than OR or CA.

Lovely sweet spice in nose. Very delicate. Simple cherry flavors with a little leather.

A lot of candied fruit covering up a lot of tannin. Good with beef. An in your face wine. A little softer tannins and less overripe fruit would be more to my taste.