| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.4 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 330 notes) - hiding notes with no text |
| | Tasted by Davidalan on 10/13/2021 & rated 87 points: Dark in color with mellowed tannins . Opened up decently but at the end. (820 views) |
| | Tasted by Wino Laurie on 11/14/2020 & rated 90 points: Enjoyed with filet. Good structure and dark berry fruit..excellent mouthfeel . (1047 views) |
| | Tasted by Chefcar on 9/24/2020 & rated 87 points: This is at the end of its life - a bit dull and underwhelming upon opening. It opened up a bit after about an hour. But drink soon. (1054 views) |
| | Tasted by Austnalio on 2/9/2020 & rated 92 points: - Garnet color with medium forming legs and aromas of raisin, violet and orange blossom. It's somewhat balanced and has flavours of raspberry and cloves with a light/medium body. Narrow texture with a medium finish - Cork was like sand. Heavy floral smell. Lighter bodied. Good finish. Has to push cork in and filter. (1313 views) |
| | Tasted by mkryan6 on 12/9/2017 flawed bottle: Too late (2604 views) |
| | Tasted by Keckes on 5/12/2017: Drank with Kyle and Chenelle on Mother's Day 2017 (2793 views) |
| | Tasted by Chefcar on 8/20/2016 & rated 90 points: It was a bit taut & stiff upon opening. I let I breathe for about an hour and it opened up nicely. After two hours it was deep, rich and full. Nice balance between fruit and acid. Was great with wood fired pizza! Very drinkable! (3823 views) |
| | Tasted by Mech-E on 7/18/2015 & rated 89 points: A very flexible wine that could go with just about anything. Not too in your face, but the oak is there. Nice, round, and fruit forward. Delicious but nothing to scream about. (5561 views) |
| | Tasted by Xfactor on 1/27/2015 & rated 90 points: Not as appealing as the '09, thinner, a bit less complex. Big red fruit, anise, red oak. (5959 views) |
| | Tasted by deschamp52 on 12/25/2014 & rated 90 points: Full bodied and full flavored. Lots of fruit. Well integrated tannins.
Very nice bottle. (5200 views) |
| | Tasted by MurphyCellar on 12/12/2014 & rated 93 points: Amazing for the price. (4584 views) |
| | Tasted by Night Train on 10/31/2014 & rated 88 points: Evidently, this was in a dumb phase when I had my first bottle, because it has really come around since then. Not a great wine by any stretch of the imagination, but it's now quite pleasant. Great balance, with no rough edges. Fruity, but not a fruit-bomb. Viscous, but not motor oil. Good finish, but not great. Probably at its peak. (3651 views) |
| | Tasted by Night Train on 10/16/2014 & rated 85 points: My assessment of this about nine months ago may have been too harsh. This bottle was pleasant. Reasonably well balanced. Certainly not exciting and only slightly better than any number of $12 grocery store Zins, but a good match with pizza or BBQ. (2292 views) |
| | Tasted by mcole23 on 9/13/2014 & rated 94 points: This was really worth waiting until now to drink. It is a different wine.
Before it was a good drinking wine. Now it has a deeper, fruitier taste and tremendous finish. Have one more, wish I had more. (1976 views) |
| | Tasted by Jettoy1992 on 4/19/2014 & rated 92 points: very approachable now.. fruit forward smooth finish .. dark berry (2734 views) |
| | Tasted by mshellow on 4/16/2014 & rated 83 points: Same as last time. Not impressed. Disappointed. (2675 views) |
| | Tasted by pdemaio on 4/7/2014 & rated 92 points: Aging nicely and perfect to drink. Broad palate with nice integration. Bigger, but not huge. (2563 views) |
| | Tasted by rsalati on 4/5/2014 & rated 89 points: Bottle has been cellared for 2-3 years. Decanted and poured right away. Beautiful deep purple color.
Scents of berry and plum.
Tastes of chocolate, tobacco, and plum, finish disappeared too quickly.
A very enjoyable bottle, especially for the price. (2387 views) |
| | Tasted by BaylinBoy on 3/30/2014 & rated 89 points: inky red color, plum and cherry notes, peppery with hints of tobacco or leather. taninns have softened and it does not linger as long as previously. (2142 views) |
| | Tasted by mshellow on 2/17/2014 & rated 84 points: An old plum, but not a ripe plum. No depth. No length. I'm disappointed. Poured into a decanter and drank with pizza over two hours. Kept hoping for more. 1 more bottle left. Will keep fingers crossed, and rate another day. (1668 views) |
| | Tasted by Night Train on 1/15/2014 & rated 78 points: It's slowly becoming evident (at least to me) that Phinney's wines are flashy, showy, and appealing when they're first released and then......... Kinda like the Jordan Cabernet of Zins, Rhone blends, etc. In other words, ideal wines for restaurants to pour, but not wines you'd want to cellar. This one, which was delicious when first released, was DOA - flat and dull. Unfortunately, I have a couple left. Unless this is in a dumb phase, I have more-than-enough to add to BBQ sauces, use for salad dressings, etc. (1755 views) |
| | Tasted by Castle Peak on 12/25/2013 & rated 90 points: Similar to earlier notes. (1803 views) |
| | Tasted by twinmaple on 12/18/2013 & rated 83 points: Going downhill fast. (2131 views) |
| | Tasted by ddingley on 10/20/2013 & rated 89 points: Liked it, didn't love it. Just a trace hot although that blew off by end of first night and second night. (2433 views) |
| | Tasted by dransford on 10/19/2013: Better than my last bottle but not my style. All fruit (which is fading); no backbone. (2190 views) |
| | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
