5/4/2024 - VAGenius Likes this wine:

Nose of raspberry, watermelon Jolly Rancher candy, maraschino cherry, and herbs de Provence. Black cherry, bitter burnt orange peel, cherry wood, fresh thyme, and minerals. Long, lingering tannins add shale, wild raspberry, granite, white pepper and a red ruby grapefruit note with just a touch of oak. Always an interesting bottling.

3/29/2024 - jlgnml wrote:

Stewed prunes.

2/20/2024 - Wrkolbeck wrote:

Beautiful fruit forward Zin with a spicy punch. Nicely balanced & great medium long finish.

1/26/2024 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Darker color. Sweet palate, long length, stunning wine. Time is on its side.

1/26/2024 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Beginning to hit its stride. Really nice

12/9/2023 - AllRed wrote:

Annual Caroling & Chili Party (R&D's): Opens with an abundance of dark zin fruit, piking up a perfumed floral quality as it breathes. Red plum, pepper and something like pine sap as well- kind of a sweet, herbaceous resin sort of quality. (R&D)

8/16/2023 - Wrkolbeck wrote:

A bit sleepy, needed a couple hours to wake up, inviting nose, red fruit palate with a bit of spice, decent acidity to hold up to seasonal heirloom tomatos. Medium finish. Drink up!

8/6/2023 - redz wrote:

agree with previous notes. Delicious, and still fresh at 14 years.

7/23/2023 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Was expecting more pop. Nice and easy drinking. Lower alcohol level, which is nice. Smooth on the palate but a drier finish. Wait?

5/12/2023 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Always liked this vineyard. Still a baby.

5/12/2023 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

What a treat. Dense fruit, lots of weight on the palate compared to the earlier btl of ‘13. Smooth and very tasty.

5/7/2023 - Uradnik Likes this wine:

Tasty. Not spicy but smooth

4/23/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:

Opened to celebrate discharge. Pours a watery medium red. Classic Zin nose of musk, bramble, high acid pepper and strawberry. Flavor profile continues the classic old school zin profile. Fleshed out and gains depth on day two...darker, meatier, losing a bit of acidity and zin bramble and deeper blacks and jam. Very nice.

4/7/2023 - TBaylog Likes this wine:

Super nice. Fruity with just the right amount of spice. Lovely nose and long finish. One of the best Zins I've had.

4/3/2023 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Decanted for an hour. Super smooth on the palate and finish. Served with homemade pizza

1/23/2023 - Acohen Likes this wine:

Sweet dark blueberry with tea and cinnamon

8/20/2022 - Burgundy Al wrote:

Mid-Aged Zinfandel and Cali Cab Dinner (Casa Garard - Northfield IL): Single blind in aged Zinfandel flight. My favorite of the flight, group's #2. Solid black fruit, still fresh enough, all in good balance, even if lacking much particular nuance.

8/20/2022 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Chez Garard older Zinfandels and Cali Cabs: Brilliant color for its age. Tasty and good fruit. A real delight in a flight of Zin’s. My #1 and Grp #2.

6/17/2022 - AllRed wrote:

Friday Night Brown Bagger (J&J's): Double blind. Dark color with notes of raspberry, licorice and peppery spice. Medium- to full-bodied, with flavors of mixed red and black berry fruits, licorice and herbs. Long finish dominated by ripe black raspberry and spice. perhaps a touch of brett in here adding some complexity to the abundant fruit. Delicious.

As an aside, Domino and I happened to be in Napa in Oct '11 and visited Biale just before the rains hit- three consecutive days of rain were in the forecast and Biale harvested in thre few days prior. We drove up to find the parking lot had been commandeered to store bins of the just-harvested grapes. With everything coming in all at once, they had simply run out of room. (R&D)

6/20/2022 - brasstab Likes this wine:

A Father’s Day delight. Supple fruit and bright acid, great structure. Paired with a Royale with Cheese and Fries.

6/12/2022 - Senso-beak wrote:

Enjoyed with a gorgonzola/smoked bacon gnocchi dish.. The real deal....throwing a lot of sediment. Dark, full bodied, jammy with depth and layers of hoisin, toast, some blues and all manner of black fruits. Very classy and the pedigree of the vineyard is noticeable. Excellent.

6/5/2022 - Sanlucar wrote:

Surprisingly still holding together but it will be dead in the next year or two. There's black cherries, molasses, raisins, with a lot of sage and old oak. Reminiscent of a decent Amarone.

5/26/2022 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Was time to drink.

5/19/2022 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Darker fruit with more depth on the palate. Drinking really well now. Drink or hold.

2/23/2022 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Really beginning to hit its stride, delicious with a long finish. Dink/Hold

1/24/2022 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Pepper, spice and homemade pepperoni pizza. Oh my. 😎

12/9/2021 - Darwine Likes this wine:

A nice wine with my bbq ribs! Nose was spice and dark fruit! Flavor followed with some nice Spicy flavors with dark fruit! Finish was dark fruit and a little leathery tannins.

11/6/2021 - brasstab Likes this wine:

Even better this time.

9/9/2021 - WineTimeFineTime Likes this wine:

Very interesting acid backbone. Almost a bit austere. Bits of graphite and maybe mustard seed in the mix.

8/28/2021 - AllRed wrote:

4th Saturday Brown Bagger (EBCC): Double blind. Raspberry and rhubarb notes, with red berry fruit on the palate. Nice underlying acidity. Turns more black-fruited as it sits. (R&D)

8/31/2021 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Smooth. Not a lot of punch.

5/11/2021 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Decanted (not really necessary) for an hour. Good fruit and color, no pepper, soft finish. Drink

2/22/2021 - sdahar wrote:

Silky smooth tannins balance with just the right amount of acidity and fruit. One of the more sophisticated zins I have drank. Probably has a few more years but why wait.

2/11/2021 - SacFrench Likes this wine:

This 2011 vintage has no major impact from age. The fruit might be more red generic, than bright, but they are still present. Finishes dry and a bit tannic.

2/9/2021 - seanucsb wrote:

Thin and acidic. Not a lot of fruit. Either a bad bottle or not my style.

2/3/2021 - jlgnml wrote:

A winner and starting to open up. Drink

1/28/2021 - ebert Likes this wine:

Good body and nice finish. On the first opening, the fruit was rather muted. However, on the 2nd and 3rd night, it was wonderful and very well balanced.

1/22/2021 - brasstab Likes this wine:

Crazy graphite and iron, especially in the mid-palette and on the finish. Heavier fruit on the first day. It became muted on the second.

1/15/2021 - McMalbec Likes this wine:

Some smoke and vanilla on the nose; smooth brambles and spice on the palate; medium finish. Paired nicely with a simple pasta and tomato sauce.

12/3/2020 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Delightful, full of fruit, good color, good finish especially with pizza. A tad light on the palate.

11/28/2020 - brasstab Likes this wine:

Came out of the bottle a little too fruity, even for a Zin. If that’s possible lol. Still, it settled down nicely and delivered with the garlic-intensive meal.

11/22/2020 - ebert wrote:

May be getting past its prime. Noticed some green bell pepper flavors that we didn't notice a few years back. I would drink soon.

11/1/2020 - wbduval Likes this wine:

Drinking very nicely. Big wine, of course, but well rounded and balanced.

10/28/2020 - sclark34 Likes this wine:

Great Zin. Fruit forward fresh and berry smell. Cranberry blueberry notes with slight black licorice spice and cedar finish Very smooth not tannic. Went great with pork Parmesan.

10/10/2020 - Acohen Likes this wine:

Rich dark fruit with elegant blueberry, blackberry and spice

8/3/2020 - WineGeek1989 Likes this wine:

On the nose- Big dark and red fruits, dark cherries, plums, cassis, blackberries, dark blueberries, red raspberries, red roses, mountain herbs, some baking spice and oak

On the palate- Big dark and red fruits, dark cherries and plums, cassis and blackberries, dark blueberries and red raspberries, red roses and mountain herbs, baking spice and a bit of oak on the finish, this wine is big and plush with a smooth and lasting finish, this wine is drinking killer now with some age but I see it aging for another 5-7 years if not long with no problem

7/18/2020 - jlgnml Likes this wine:

Rock solid, last bottle😂

4/27/2020 - brasstab Likes this wine:

Drank like an Italian, which makes sense, given the origins of the vineyard. The acid and minerals cut a nice path through fatty BBQ tri-tip.

4/12/2020 - VinoViking Likes this wine:

Good Zin. Medium/light body. Ruby color. Dry, bold, fruity flavors, with cherry and raspberry. Drinking just fine now, but seemed to flatten out after 90 minutes open. At this price, I wanted more. Low QPR.

4/5/2020 - dlduchon Likes this wine:

I like the more austere style, balanced style and enjoyed this more with age. A whiff of oak that blew off. No overt fruit and a touch sour on the finish that was pleasant. Tasted with a Linne Calodo that made the Biale taste so much better and balanced.