4/5/2015 - swp3 wrote:

Clean, balanced and restrained but not especially interesting. Not a great value at $50 or $60.

11/30/2014 - swp3 Likes this wine:

Dark fruit, smoke, black pepper. A little too much green-olive, vegetal tinge around the edges, but that integrates with a little time? Satisfying combo of linear, precise flavors, ripeness and grip.

4/7/2013 - swp3 wrote:

Notes below are spot-on. Great complexity and weight, but never cloying. Impressive and totally enjoyable.

4/11/2015 - swp3 wrote:

fantastic, sweet, floral aromatics anchored by lavender and earth. sweet flavors of red fruits and lush texture up front that give way to a dark core, and a raw, tannic roughness. there's a fun paradox here of obviousness, pureness and transparency set alongside something unyielding, hidden and unresolved. hints of profound balance and tension, but it will take time.

10/19/2014 - swp3 wrote:

Drank alongside a 07 Domaine de la Janasse Cuvée Chaupin. The styles were surprisingly incongruous, and the Alban suffered from it. Alban came off as fruit candy, green wood and alcohol. Even though the Janasse was in modern style, it was a clash that left me wanting a dimmer switch for the Alban, plus something earthy or herbaceous to anchor the the whole thing. Weird, surprising experience, bc the Alban's been such a treat in the past-packed with flavor, but never so woody and out of balance.

4/7/2013 - swp3 wrote:

Big, ripe and generously oaked. It's also beautifully complicated if you keep an open mind. The cough-syrup criticism has merit, but it's also an easy, clichéd criticism of this style. Delicious beverage and a great rendition of this style.

4/19/2015 - swp3 wrote:

quality issues with these BPW '07 CDPs continue. is this heat damage? i'd venture that the vintage was just impossibly ripe and the wines have turned into oxidized mess, but that's not evident from the notes of others. this was pretty much undrinkable.

3/21/2009 - swp3 wrote:

Triggs over for dinner. Opened 4 X 2007 Pinots: August West Graham, Sojourn Gap's Crown, Breggo Savoy, Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast. All decanted and breathed for a few hours.

Weighty, even meaty, with dark fruit flavors and low acidity. It's a big ripe style, but nicely done. Heavy oak on the big, tannic finish. Real nice in a couple of years.

10/19/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Like the 07 Resonance, this has smoke and leather aromas I haven't encountered with Sineann. More fruit than Resonance with cherry dominant (vs cranberry/citrus). Firm structure. Tannins pretty chewy. Overall my favorite of the 07 Sineann Pinots so far. Packed full and tight. Long, vanilla spice finish. And then more chewing... Should be excellent in 2-3 years.

3/1/2009 - swp3 wrote:

Super surpised by this. Balanced and ripe, leaning towards red fruits. Good combo of assertive savory and sweet pinot aromatics (lavendar/black tea/baking spice). A little stemmy at first, it opens and broadens with an hour's decant. Great value. At this stage, much prefer Verna's over Estate, which seems heavy and dull by comparison.

3/1/2009 - swp3 wrote:

Sweet grapey, blackberry/cherry juice with a bitter, tannic finish. Clunky and heavy now. But there's purity too, and this will be a lot better in two years.

10/14/2008 - swp3 wrote:

I've come around on this a bit. First glass last night had grapey, violet candy aromas, and flavors were thin and sweet. It had a barrel sample attributes and disjointed qualites. I actually hated it, thinking it was unfinished, with manipulated ripeness. After a night in the fridge and a couple hours to warm up, it's changing. Dramatically. Now it has weight and depth and texture. Don't touch again for at least 6 months. Huge potential, and I notice my notes on 05 Lachinin have same complaint about the candied aromas. Sort of wild strawberries in a glass. Time to try an '05 again and see how these evolve.

4/1/2009 - swp3 wrote:

This was impressive tonight. I think showing better than the Graham (which I found grapey and primary with a too sharp mid-palate). Rosella's is full of vanilla, citrus, cherry/berry and floral flavors, plus just a touch of skunk/earth to give it some aromatic tension. Super soft, creamy mouth-feel. Fruit-first, low acidity, but with some tannic structure around which it will develop for a year or two. Prudish, austerity-lover steer clear! This one's pretty, curvy and articulate, which means it'll only anger and intimidate you...

4/19/2015 - swp3 wrote:

First of these 2007 CDPs from BPW that doesn't smell of oxidized, stewed fruits. Nose leads with earth, smoke and herbs followed by ripe red and dark fruit. Concentrated and long, but with structure. Runs a little hot, but really enjoyable overall.

11/16/2014 - swp3 Does not like this wine:

Virtually indistinguishable from generic vintage port. Another reviewer wrote something akin to that and it's dead-on. Or cheap Amarone. Opened a bottle last night and didn't finish bc it tasted so overripe and oxidized and hot. Alongside a Saxum Broken Bones, which seemed restrained by comparison. Leftovers were even worse today, so opened a second bottle straight from the cellar, assuming a flaw in #1. Same experience. No bueno.

4/17/2015 - swp3 wrote:

horrendously ripe and pruney. maybe a flawed bottle, but no the first time I've run into this with '07 CDP. wondering if these were heat damaged in transit somehow.

3/21/2009 - swp3 wrote:

Triggs over for dinner. Opened 4 X 2007 Pinots: August West Graham, Sojourn Gap's Crown, Breggo Savoy, Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast. All decanted and breathed for a few hours.

Graham Family the least interesting in the group. Presents sweet, grapey flavors and a sharp mid-palate followed by a lot of new oak on the finish. Maybe we got an off bottle? Overall light-bodied, primary and disappointing with very little of others' multi-layer experience. Try again in fall of 2009.

3/13/2009 - swp3 wrote:

Restrained and balanced. Its weakeness will be lack of depth, but overall this will integrate and become very good. Try again spring 2010.

3/31/2015 - swp3 wrote:

Bright, fresh and well delineated flavors, in spite of the ridiculous concentration and ripeness. Finishes hot and chewy with lingering wood notes. Not my favorite, but maybe it integrates better and settles down with time. LP enjoyed more than me. Try again in 2020?

8/13/2012 - swp3 wrote:

Will benefit from at least 2-3 years bottle age, probably more. Or vigorously decant. Great aromatics, depth and structure, but it's astringent and has some hard edges right now. Still, this has big potential, which you can tell will be realized. The 91-point scores aren't getting it. It's actually an unusually good bottle of Pinot and a great value.

3/21/2009 - swp3 wrote:

Triggs over for dinner. Opened 4 X 2007 Pinots: August West Graham, Sojourn Gap's Crown, Breggo Savoy, Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast. All decanted and breathed for a few hours.

For me, this edged out the Kosta Browne as WOTN. Chewy blackberry and blueberry. Big and ripe with 5-spice aromatics. Almost over the top, but I'm a fan. Long finish.

5/26/2009 - swp3 wrote:

Outrageous surprise. Just finished a bottle of '07 BC Zotovich and carelessly proclaimed it exceptionally open-knit for a BC wine. This bottle is equally (more?) forward, with even more pronounced floral and spice aromatics, minus the prune hints of Zotovich.

Plush mouth feel, dominated by black fruit that melts into a a firm, tannic backbone. Flavors are just a tad disjointed with oak and fruit both needing to sit down, but overall there's a suggestion of monstrous pleasure just around the corner. Great intersection of easy-access hedonism and complexity. Tannins a little bitter on the finish, but overall I'm guessing these '07 BCs will peak early vs '06 and '05, by which I mean this one should be singing in 18 months. I was starting to give up on these guys, but now I'm back bc while these Pinots aren't orthodox, they are thoughtful and challenging if you go at them with an open mind. This has familiar BC aromatics (tea, citrus, stems, and flowers) plus that Syrah quality that seems so prominent in ripe years of Santa Rita Pinot. Pinot Fundies, steer clear.

5/26/2009 - swp3 wrote:

Based on last year's experience tasting all the BC Pinot's, and this year's tasting only this one (maybe one other?) I'm going to venture a careless prcolamation that Zotovich drinks well earlier than all the rest. It lacks the astringent, briary grip of the other vineyards in the lineup. It's fleshier and more open. This '07 has raisiny hints, which might really detract in a year or two, but right now these hints are in check and there's lots of orange, apricot, tea, anise and clove flavors working in tandem with this ripeness. Unconventional Pinot for sure, but full of interesting aromatics and harmonious. Super enjoyable right now with a short decant.

8/22/2016 - swp3 wrote:

Our experience of this was a complete surprise tonight. Was braced for a high alcohol, stewy mess given the vintage and too much time past?, but this was a wonderful surprise. Yes, it's a little hot, but there's good acid back bone, some interesting, black cherry/dried cherry flavors with a lift of red cherry and even bitter citrus notes. All that with pretty Asian spice and cola and long, silky finish. I haven't written a wine note in probably 6 months, but this deserved one. Best BC experience in a long time.

12/21/2009 - swp3 wrote:

Undrinkable. No clues in its appearance but the nose of prune, latex paint and burnt rubber leaves little doubt. Hopefully not a widespread problem. Will try another one in a few weeks.

10/18/2008 - swp3 wrote:

I've spent 2 days with this wine and it's still not yielding much. Leather and floral aromatics, but slammed shut in the mouth with flinty cranberry flavors followed by a smokey, tart finish. Unexpected old world style. Antithesis of previous experiences with this vineyard. Clean and lean. Needs years in the bottle, and then we'll see. Try again in Fall of 2010.

12/6/2015 - swp3 wrote:

Past it's prime... muddled, stewed and hot. Maybe a bad bottle and will try the remaining one tonight. Perfectly stored since release, but not drinking well. We dumped it down the sink after a couple of hours of hoping something would changed.

11/24/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Youthfully disjointed, but great parts here that will fit together sooner, not later. Leans toward red fruits with lots of 5-spice aromatics and some smoke. Remarkably similar (from memory) to Anthill Farms Compache Ridge 2006. Try them together next time.

3/21/2009 - swp3 wrote:

Triggs over for dinner. Opened 4 X 2007 Pinots: August West Graham, Sojourn Gap's Crown, Breggo Savoy, Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast. All decanted and breathed for a few hours.

A close second-place finish behind the Breggo Savoy and within a group that was excellent overall. Lots of sweet spice aromatics, and in the mouth it has that tell-tale KB creaminess and mouth coating quality. Nice combo of red and blue fruit along with lots of cola and sassafras flavors.

2/24/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Very nearly Syrah in appearance and dark fruit and brown sugar aromas to match. Flavors and aromatics are compressed, but there is a purity and softness here that still prevail. A little closed and young and even clumsy, but all the structural components are in the right places and proportions. With time, drowsy muted dark fruit flavors should evolve and lift. Better in a year.

5/18/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Dark fruit, black cherry. Comes on with more heft than it finishes. Becomes pretty and soft on the back end. Earthy elements underneath. More approachable than other PG's that I've had, although that's probably a vintage issue. Simple but pure flavors, nice polish and a little depth to spare...

10/10/2008 - swp3 wrote:

dark, rich ripe w/ excellent texture. a little clunky/monolithic, but will integrate and broaden with a little time. Will go till 2015 easy.

3/5/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Compressed dark fruit flavors and earthy aromas right now. Even after an hour+ in the decanter it's too tight to give fair assessment. Concentrated, but just barely yielding some dark cherry floral hints around the edges. All the key components are represented here in a masculine, structured style. An infant. No need to try again for at least 2 years. Extremely promising. There may be magic here.

2/19/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Darker fruit than the Zepaltas wine from this vineyard. Black cherry, cola, vanilla. Texture is terrifically soft and mouth coating, but there's a greenish high note that really comes through on the finish and detracts. Maybe this integrates or goes away, but right now both the '06 wines from this vineyard impaired by this.

2/19/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Black cherry cola with a little bit of an acid pull and a meaty finish. It's not saying anything too profound, but it's balanced and mouth filling.

2/21/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Brown sugar and candied notes, cherries and slightly green tannin. Kind of disjointed with a little too much oak and sweetness, but also firmly textured which sort of resurrects the whole thing.

3/19/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Frangrant, forward nose of earth, leather and lavender, but then an utterly flat attack in the mouth with a washed out, thin middle palate. Where's the fruit? Is it hiding under the saliva sucking tannin? Is this what too much stem inclusion does? Similar experience as Brewer Clifton 2006 Mt Carmel for which I had high expectations. Maybe I just don't get it. How can a wine from this vintage taste so lean? Maybe age will transform these wines. Right now the Copain has a gaping hole in the middle where you expect to find something fruit-like. It finishes with smoky oak, sour cherry and chewy leather. Definitely better with food than on its own, but still... Despite really lively, appealing aromatics, the overall experience isn't there. Increasingly suspect that I'm just not a fan of the Copain Pinots. Hope to find I'm wrong in a few years which is how long I'll wait to open another one of these.

2/15/2009 - swp3 wrote:

Similar experience as with other KB 2006 vineyard designates (Sonoma), meaning the experience is a little disjointed, with a sharp sweet/tart mid-palate and a clunky finish. Good, not great wines that need some bottle time. Also these probably suffer from expectations engendered by '04 and '05 KB vintages which have been more harmonious and accessible on release.

Of particular note on this Koplen bottling is some stemminess on the nose which carries straight through to the palate and into the finish where it ends with a mildly bitter chewiness. Perhaps that will integrate and soften with bottle time, as a couple hours in decanter seemed to help.

4/23/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Sour plum and citrus. Some raw notes too and all of it's pinched up against a dark, tannic wall. Just not my style, but an intersting intersection of old world/new world. Taste again in a couple of years. Not for immediate consumption.

Follow-up... went to dinner and now a few hours past. This has softened a bit, but still compressed. Well made and precise, but not great.

11/29/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Mid-palate too forceful, too sharp, even after a few hours of air. Flavor profile is black cherry, raspberry, chocolate, mocha and then dried cherry. Hints of creamy texture to come and even though they're a little unproportioned, the flavors surround your mouth in a great way. Will be a lot better in 6 months.

4/22/2008 - swp3 wrote:

A lot of confectionary notes in the nose. Easy drinking, but not quite complete. Drank alongside '06 Papapietro Perry Leras and contrary to my expectations the Leras kept calling me back.

2/24/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Candied cherry, kirsch aromas. Excessively sweet with raw oak notes. Disjointed like a barrel sample in transition.

2/23/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Hugely fragrant with layers of dark berry, earth, leather, lavender, violets, wet rocks... There's a ton going on aromatically. Fruit forward in the mouth with round, sweet, dark berry flavors, lots of glycerin and a meaty/chocolatey finish. Mid/rear palate is a little hollow, but overall there's excellent depth and an intense push from the front that finishes with chewy blackberry, cherry, and cocoa. Sounds like dessert or over the-top-syrah, but it's unmistakably pinot and more structured and refined than I'm describing. Fantastic.

3/18/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Opened this and tasted blind alonside Kosta Browne RRV and Sonoma Coast from same vintage--all decanted for a few hours. Initially, this was the winner for me, and we tasted them blind. L felt differently and sided with KB RRV.

Long story short this lived in a decanter in the refridgerator for a day before we revisited. And what a revist. Brought it back to cellar temp and it was stunning. Impressions were the same for me as on the first night, but now it's got an added layer of integration. Nose is full of dessert spice smells without being sweet or cloying. Launches into dark berry, black cherry, cola, spice and licorice flavors. Great texture and round mouth feel and everything singing together hamoniously. Finish is long and too much oak/cream soda for old world purists, but packed with layers of red and blue fruits and a continuation of fantastic, creamy textures.

2/25/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Of these the 3 Le Cadeau 2006's, this is the most immediately approachable and obvious. It's also a flawless rendition of what it is. Black cherry and dark berry aromas and just a hint of coffee or milk chocolate. In the mouth, there's not an edge to be found--just round, blackcherry and black berry coating everything and joined by caramel/coffee notes. The finish is long and satisfying with chewy ripe tannins giving it a serious foundation and then just a slight lift of oak and spice as it tails off.

10/24/2008 - swp3 wrote:

mostly primary and a little rough around the edges. Not super special, but solid. Better in a year or two. I now see I have a previous note for this. It still applies.

2/19/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Red fruits, mostly sour cherry, and oak. Texture is excellent and there's enough acid to provide structure, but there's also something green, almost chemical in the finish. A little disjointed. Tasted alongside Suacci-Carciere and slightly prefered the latter, which had a darker fruit profile and even broader, softer texture but also finished with a greenish stemmy note.

2/14/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Light color which matches the body... at least initiallly.

Not a fan of the candied notes on the nose, but after a few hours of air, these die down and evolve into something floral and the whole experience becomes more interesting. Mostly red fruits, light anise, brown sugar, and a lot of sweet baking spice aromatics which are especially pronounced through the finish. On the negative side, the mid-palate is kind of hollow and there's a just a slight greenish, bitter stem note on the finish. The latter will probably integrate.

3/2/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Mostly primary--cherry, strawberry, cola. Medium weight, soft front- and mid-palate, and good concentration. Some baking spice aromatics on the finish, which is just chewey enough to give some structure. Open knit, balanced and tasty.

3/24/2008 - swp3 wrote:

Big dark fruit flavors, plus smoke and meaty depth. Chewy with a long, sweet smoky/oaky finish. On the negative side, it wouldn't be wrong to label this as brash and loud or obvious. Ripeness is on the verge of over-the-top (you smell it right away) and the oak hits you like a hammer. Overall, a lot to love and not much to hate, but it's in that ultra-forward style that annoys some people. I don't want to drink this every day, but it has its place. And it's a ton wine for the money. Amazing value. Mandatory to decant a few hours.