4/22/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Hard as nails on the open. Really needed time to open up. Once it settled, it was very enjoyable but this is not a classic wine. Open it up several hours before you need it and your in-laws will be impressed.

4/7/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Very good bottle tonight--much better than what I was expecting. This wine was dark crimson read, not the typical lighter PN color. It was sweet and viscous, buy not syrupy. I would buy this again. I would put this up there with the Three Sticks PNs.

3/21/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Very good tonight.

3/12/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Unremarkable, but when I revisited what I had paid, I should not have been as surprised as I was. Maybe in the past I had a specific bottling that left me with a better recollection than tonight?

2/23/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Still showing a lot of alcohol on the nose. Way to hot right now. Sort of surprising given that it is already nine years old Rich ruby coloring. Disappointing at this point given how excited I was when I received it as a gift.

2/19/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Thin, watery and overly sweet. Pass on these.

2/11/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

This took a long time to open up and got better with the passage of time. Initially however, this wine was just ok and does not represent a good QPR. The most recent vintage I have had from this producer was the 2003 and it is much better.

2/6/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Very woody but it's beautiful fruit does come through. This is a very good $70 wine, but it is not great. Sorry to know this is my last one.

1/28/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

High alcohol--more than I remembered. Good but not great. The more time I let it open up and let the alcohol blow off, the better I feel.

1/21/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Initially very disappointed by this high-quality producer in a great year. I am not sure if it was the temperature coming up or the wine opening up, but it did get better with the passage of time. This is not the outstanding wine I remembered. Very disappointed in the outcome given the Chateau, the vintage and the price...

1/16/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Busted cork--always gives me pause. Maybe I remember this better from the winery, years ago. Good but not great. Happy to put this one to bed.

1/2/2024 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Better than the last couple I have had. While I still feel like it is a lighter styled wine, it is well priced at $25/per.

12/30/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Weak and thin tonight

12/16/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

First one out of an epic wait. These are great. I am so glad that Ralph Sands put me in these almost 20 years ago and told me to wait. Such typical BDX mustiness on the nose, which fills the room when the cork is pulled. Dark crimson red. Tonge numbing but without the high heat you might expect. In perfect balance tonight. So glad I had it to myself! Interestingly, the cork was very difficult to extract--maybe it was my bush-league wine key but I have never experienced anything like this.

12/6/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Really good tonight. I feel like it is fruity, smooth with a reasonable finish. Given that I have finally pulled myself out of '09 pricing, this is a pretty good QPR.

11/24/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Initially very fragrant as soon as the cork was pulled. Sweet and zero high alcohol or heat. At this point I would have to say somewhat of a disappointment given what I paid for these. Delicious and smooth but it did not have the finish to be great. Saved some for the next day to see how it goes.

10/28/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Somewhat bitter and throwing lots of sediment. This is not how I remember this wine.

10/14/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Needed time to both come up to temperature and open. Very good. Total crowd pleaser.

10/5/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Still the best $13 bottle of wine I can recall drinking in some time.

10/2/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Excellent. In very good balance at this stage @ $65 from yester-year. I little less fragrant and floral than earlier bottles.

9/30/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

I am a seller here. This was like a super thin pinot. I don' t see the hype at all.

9/19/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Good but definitely not great. I would probably be a seller here.

9/13/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Very good the first day, less so on the second day. I delicious sweetness but lacks the finish to be great.

8/24/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Produced a lot of sediment and had almost a bitter twang to it. Not like the others I had rememberd.

8/18/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Very good QPR from Costco. Sweet and viscous. Lacking a real finish to be among the better wines that I have drank. Is sure to be a big crowd pleaser.

7/31/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Really good tonight and better than the first glass a couple of days ago (salvaged via Coravin). Feeling like this was a pretty good QPR now at $75. Purchased these bottles from PremierCru. For those of you old enough to remember, now I wonder if I even drank the real thing...

7/15/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

With Gino and Heather at their house

7/10/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Fully in balance right now. Great QPR if you bought these at or close to release...

7/5/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Outstanding as always.

6/30/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Good but not great. Prior vintages of this wine have been better.

6/28/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

This was in perfect balance tonight. Sweet, floral, earthy. I had this open for 45 minutes before devouring and that I believe was the difference between this one and the last one. Great QPR at release at $46/per.

6/17/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

My last glass was the best one and I feel like it is finally open. Last glass was floral, bouquet and velvet. I feel like I wasted my first few glasses as it simply wasn't open. Needs time out of the jar.

6/12/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

This is not the stunning wine that K&L billed it as when they ran a special. I should have known better under the circumstances. Initially when I opened it up I could immediately smell the wine. I was really encouraged but the taste didn't live up to the smell. It is thin in the middle with hints of a more compelling finish, but it ultimately falls short.

6/5/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

No specific numeric score but this did not show well tonight. Dark crimson red, flat, musty. One dimensional. Not the way I remember these from the past.

5/20/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

I love this wine. It has a unique finish in that it is soft, floral but then ends with a cherry Jolly Rancher-styled close

5/9/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Simply my favorite CA cabernet, no doubt

4/30/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Thin and somewhat unremarkable. This is priced right at about $25

4/25/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Not sure what a 100 point wine tastes like but this is really damn good. Perfect balance of fruit, viscosity and finish.

4/18/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Passed its prime and lots of sediment. Still good enough. Did much better with more than an hour out of the bottle

4/9/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Utterly unremarkable.

3/14/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Always a crowd pleaser at a great QPR

3/12/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Drank really well immediately upon opening. I am sorry to see theses leave me.

3/6/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

This wine punches so far above its weight. I cannot believe this is a $14 wine. I wish I had many more.

3/1/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Very good. Sweet, soft without a lot of alcohol but maybe the slightest bit flat and viscous.

2/24/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Better than the last one. Barnyard and funk initially but with the passage of some time, this opened up nicely. Consumed with a friend who is a big CA fruit bomb fan and, if that's your thing, this isn't your wine.

2/19/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Excellent. Smooth, sweet and in total harmony

2/18/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Much better than the last time I drank this. Now I would say I am a keeper. Not sure this was better than the last Lamborn, Snowden or Faust I had.

2/11/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Unlike my experience just two months ago, I feel like tonight this wine was tired, gritty, tart and past its prime. Such a disappointment when compared to just a couple of months ago. A bad bottle somehow?

2/4/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

High quality QPR on these. Drinking slightly more flat since the last one.

1/19/2023 - pikemasterflash wrote:

Excellent, completely in balance.