10/17/2022 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

This was our last bottle. I was still great! Oak with almonds and peach. Medium to full bodied and very well balanced from beginning to end, with a medium length finish.

9/21/2022 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Good balance & full bodied. Always a nice wine

9/7/2022 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Aged in French Oak. Nicely balanced with a little butter. Medium -full bodied. Great Chardonnay!

9/7/2022 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

This still needs a few years, but it was excellent.

3/18/2022 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

I always enjoy Martinelli

3/18/2022 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Still a little tight, but shows good promise.

10/2/2021 - AlphaL Does not like this wine:

It was probably passed time to drink. I poured it out. Jan thought it was actually back of the palate while I thought it tasted like high viscosity water.

7/15/2020 - AlphaL wrote:

waited too long to open this bottle

4/5/2020 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

The wine was great!! All I can say is we are starting to drink our wines while we self isolate. We were on international flights trying to get home from NZ to the US last week. I guess I should keep the bottle.

We were exposed to Covid-19 and we have another week to self isolate. We have prox 800+ wines, some good, some crap and it is time to drink them. Stay safe and enjoy your wine.

10/28/2019 - AlphaL wrote:

The bottle was slightly corked, so I can't give it a rating.

3/3/2019 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

According to CT it should have been consumed by 2009. We just opened it and it was very good. I was surprised, it had great color, good nose and finish. Even inexpensive wines can last if properly stored and when drank, can taste a lot better than their initial rating.

1/19/2019 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

It has been three years since we tried a bottle. It was even better than 2015. It was a nice deep red with black cherry, blueberry and blackberry on a strong nose. It seemed to have a little more body than I remembered last time. It still had a good balance of acid and tannin with a nice finish. We served it along with a Sea Smoke.

1/19/2019 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

We can't wait for another allocation. Always a great wine.

12/31/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

St supery 2014. It is not an expensive wine and I was impressed with this at the $30 price point. The color of this particular bottle was nearly as dark as a Petite Sirah. The bouquet was dark cherry, chocolate and tobacco. It was a little jammy which was part of it's full body. It had nice tannins running over the palate but not a lot of acidity. Mid palate was with more dark cherry and a little chocolate. The finish was medium. A really nice every day wine. I will have to buy some more to see if they are the same or I somehow got a different batch.

12/29/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Pretty good for this price. The color was very light and it was mid bodied, a little fruit and fairly balanced with slight oak and butter. The finish was fairly short as well.

12/29/2018 - AlphaL wrote:

This was a very simple wine. I never know when I buy this price point, but I like to take a chance and try different ones hoping I will find a good Barolo at a good price. There was nothing really wrong with it but it did fall apart the 2nd day (most we open never make it several hours, much less days).This Barolo was very light with very little nose. Mid palate was about the same- not much to write about. The finish was short as well.
All in all, it was barely ok, but I will not buy it again unless I forget the label and buy it by mistake.

12/24/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

I started drinking wine in the 70’s and have tasted a lot of vintage and non vintage champagnes over the years and there are plenty better and many, many worse, but for the price point, it is one of my favorites. As one person said, “it is like coming home”. I know what it will taste like and it is perfect for a group of friends who have different tastes. This Veuve had a nice amount of bubbles that flowed straight to the middle of the glass. The color was a pale amber and the nose was citrus fruits like lemon and grapefruit along with green apples. Baked yeasty bread also came through. Mid palate was a little fruit and a little toast. The finish was nice and mid length.

12/24/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

We had this with many wines at a Christmas Eve dinner with friends. It was medium bodied and had a slight perfume nose with red fruit and some black tea. The color was a light ruby and it was well balanced with tannins and acidity. Dark cherries, earthy pepper a little mushroom was mid-palate. It had a medium-long finish. A very good Pinot that will pair with many foods.

12/24/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

A very nice nose with dark candied cherry and plum. The color was a nice dark purple and it was full bodied and jammy. It is definitely a “new world Pinot” and not old style, but as Bodyfxr said, when you are in the mood for it, it is very good. It was not as complex as a lot of Pinots, and the finish was medium. In a blind tasting, I think I would pick it out as a “new world Pinot”. I like to drink this style alone since it can overpower some foods, but we had this one with many wines for Christmas Eve dinner with friends and it went well.

12/25/2018 - AlphaL Does not like this wine:

It was medium bodied with a pale yellow color. The bouquet was somewhat floral with honeysuckle and somewhere between mild citrus and orange blossom. I don’t remember Franciscan having so much oak. This was not balanced and had too much tannin with more oak coming through mid-palate. The finish was short, but not short enough to stop the bitter aftertaste of oak. I could not identify this as a bad bottle, just not good wine. We were planning on having this with a chicken and crab dish Christmas, and walked to the beach to view sunset with a glass before dinner. We ended up pouring it out and opening a bottle of Nickel & Nickel Chardonnay. I have a few more bottles of 2014 Franciscan but will wait to try them until I forget what this bottle tasted like. If they are better, I will do another note.

12/13/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Pretty much like it was last time we tried it.10/1/17

11/9/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

It is much better than my original note on 3/1/13 and the effervescent quality has been gone from every bottle since then.

12/4/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Very nice Pinot Noir- medium to full bodied with raspberries and dark fruit on nose as well as a little earth. Mid-palate is a little vanilla, slight oak and Carmel. The acidity and tannin creates a nice balance. The finish was medium. This should be even better in a few years.

10/10/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

I actually liked this wine. It was much better than I thought it would be. I normally like a more full bodied Chianti and it may be a little light for some people. It was mid ruby colored with medium legs. It had blackberry, black currant (cassis) and a little earth on the nose. The taste was a light Sangiovese with a little earth, herbs and leather. The body was light/medium. The wine had a slight coarse texture and low but acceptable acidity. The wine could have had a longer finish. I had never tried this wine and we drank it alone before we went to a seafood dinner. I want to see how it will hold up with food and time, so I will buy several more.

10/5/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

This was pretty much the same as my last note in 2017. Too bad it was my last bottle!

9/26/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

I was surprised, it was drinking really well, but the cork completely came apart and I had to decant it. The color was a dark purple. The nose was dark fruit and tobacco. Mid-palate it was fairly balanced. The finish was short.

9/20/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

This was our last bottle of 2007 and it was still drinking well. It had a nice nose, good color and fair balance. The finish was fairly short but acceptable.

9/20/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

This is our last bottle of 2005. It had a very nice nose of dark fruit with a nice balance of tannins and acidity. The finish was a little short but still acceptable.

9/16/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Drinking very well. Nice complexity.

9/11/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Ok, I thought it was at its prime a few years ago and it turned out we had one more bottle. Janet is a Pinot drinker and she pronounced it still drinking very well. A little too light for my taste, but still very good.

9/11/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

I was really surprised, this was still drinking well. Since I remember the old Freemark abby, we held on to the bottle.

8/29/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Drink now

8/4/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

We drank this at Le Dinner en Blanc. Sea Smoke has always been a favorite. It was well balanced and went nicely with our Salmon dish. I am glad we have more.

8/29/2018 - AlphaL wrote:

This is past its prime, but still drinkable.

8/29/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Still showing well. Glad we have several bottles lest

8/29/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Just like my last tasting note in 2014. This had Red berry, lavender and sweet basil with spices and dried herbs. The front and mid-palate flow with more red flavors like cherries and raspberries. It is a well balanced wine with just the right amount of acidity and tannins. The finish is mid length.

8/29/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

I thought it was at its peak in my 2016 review, but this is still showing well. Still have a couple of bottles to try in a few more years.

8/29/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

First time we have had a bottle in a while. It was excellent, but probably need to decant it next time or open it an hour or so in advance. That is what happens when you randomly pick one from your cellar without planning on enough time before consuming.

8/29/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

This was still showing pretty well and followed my last review of it in 2012 when we had it with BBQ chicken. It had a nice peppery nose that was full of brush scent. It was still a deep purple and mid palate showed dark tree fruit. It had a mid-length finish with just enough pepper and spices to compliment the food.

4/13/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Drink now. Medium body, dark color, not a forceful nose, but good amount of dark fruit and a little black pepper on front palate. Nice acidity and a lot of tanin creating a lush coating mid-palate. It was more like a Cab. The finish was a peppery medium.

4/11/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Drank with friends on a cruise. Very nice bottle.

4/8/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Drank with friends on a cruise. Very nice bottle

4/10/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

It has been nearly two years since I opened a bottle and I believe it is decidedly better than the last one. It was a nice dark garnet in color and the bouquet of dark cherry and earth jumped out at you. Mid-palate it was full of nice acidity with more cherry and a little spice with earthy leather. It was medium bodied and had a good medium finish

4/10/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

A really nice wine. Dark ink in color. Medium body with nice tannins and good blend of acidity. Mid palate dark fruit with cassis and chocolate.
The finish is medium.

4/4/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Very nice Pinot for the cost

2/27/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

I liked this a little better than the last time. It had a nice garnet color and nose of red fruit. It seemed better balanced than I remember with a nice chewy tannin feel. It was medium bodied with a little spice and pepper on the palate. The finish was medium.

2/28/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

We brought a bottle from Tuscany and finally opened it. It had a nice deep garnet color and good nose with chocolate, dark cherry and herbs. It had a nice balance of tannin and acid. It was medium bodied with a nice medium finish.

2/20/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Drank in Oslo with dinner

2/12/2018 - AlphaL Does not like this wine:

This was the best bottle I could find after tasting the rest of the selection at a local pizza place in New Orleans. It probably is not even an 80 point, but since we were desperate for wine with our pizza, it worked the best of all their wines. Light color, fruity nose, no complexity and very short finish.

2/20/2018 - AlphaL Likes this wine:

Very nice cabernet