12/6/2016 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

Deep purple grape, thick and juicy with solid body for a Syrah. Strong berry note upfront, medium and smooth finish. Very drinkable right now.

3/22/2016 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

Decanted only for about 1/2 hour. Deep ruby color. Pleasant berry and floral to the nose. Very easy to drink but not too light, has good body but not that long of a finish. Red currant. Strong tannins.

1/20/2016 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

This is an excellent wine, great fruit, spice notes, full flavor and great body. Easy to drink. I would buy more.

12/24/2015 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

Christmas Eve 2015. Decanted while we went to church about 2 hours. Great balance of fruit and spice. More of a spicey afternote. A little hot, even after 2 hours of decanting. This will cellar longer. Too bad we opened the only two bottles we had. I got plum, pomegranate, a good woody oaky note. Excellent. Getting better as we work through the two bottles

11/22/2015 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

We opened the De Ponte and drank about a third of the bottle then re-corked it. About three days later finished the bottle. During this time, it had a chance to breath for a good couple hours. Wow , what a difference. The De Ponte became very smooth and easy to drink, picked up body and mouth feel. I was picking up boysenberry and spice, decently long finish. Going to hold onto the remaining bottles till next Thanksgiving.

8/1/2015 - jpgarnold wrote:

second of 12 bottles consumed on July 30 2015 with the Fickinger neighbors. Had this with, guess what, pesto chicken again. Didn't plan that. Also opened a bottle of 2010 Hellidoro Pinot from Russian River valley. The Hellidoro was noticeably heartier with more character. Huge edge to the Hellidoro at $27 vs $47 for the De Ponte. Both are recommended.

11/15/2014 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

Decanted for about 1/2 hour. Very pleasant to the nose, fresh herbs and rose/floral. Reminiscent of my grandfathers canning room, must, earth, and fresh /garden. Fairly long finish and solid tannin structure. Easy on the finish. Like very much at this price.

10/10/2014 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

Had this one pre-dinner. Typical deep purple Zin color. Nose of plum, blueberry, touch of cinnamon. Medium body, holds its structure with medium tannin on the finish. A little disjointed, the alcohol (14.3%) kicks in at the end. Very nice on the palate for the price, good indestinguishable fruit, earthy notes, with some oak coming through and burlap.

9/18/2014 - jpgarnold wrote:

This one comes with a story. I opened our first of 12 bottles while my wife was cooking pesto stuffed chicken breast. Her own creation - yes I am a lucky guy. When dinner was ready, I came around the corner and my wife hugged me for the third time in half an hour and said "I just can't stop hugging you today". As I looked at the half bottle of De Ponte Pinot Noir on the counter, I said "do you think that's why you can't stop hugging me". I had not yet poured a glass for myself. For that I'll give it a 90. Beautiful garnet color. Fresh, light, and soft to the nose. Fresh floral, rose notes with a little fresh fruit burn on the finish. Good finish with some tannin structure that should get better with age. Another year and more of cellaring and I would expect much improvement.

9/17/2014 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

This one comes with a story. I opened our first of 12 bottles while my wife was cooking pesto stuffed chicken breast. Her own creation - yes I am a lucky guy. When dinner was ready, I came around the corner and my wife hugged me for the third time in half an hour and said "I just can't stop hugging you today". As I looked at the half bottle of De Ponte Pinot Noir on the counter, I said do you think that's why you can't stop hugging me. I had not poured a glass yet. For that I'll give it a 90. Beautiful garnet color. Fresh, light, and soft to the nose. Fresh floral notes with a little burn on the finish. Very easy and soft. Another year of cellaring will not hurt.

3/29/2014 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

Chocolate and earthy notes with a velvety texture. Medium - full body and had a punch on the finish, which indicates that it need more time. This one will be better now with decanting and should come to gether very well with some time in the cellar, probably a good four years if I can wait.

3/30/2014 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

I decanted for an hour and a half and found a delicate fruity bouquet. This was one of the smoothest most drinkable wines that I have ever had. No bite, no harshness or burn. Deep fruity finish. Meduim bodied and not complex, but superbly balanced and smooth. I have 3 more which I have a feeling, will only be able to rest in the cellar if I buy more to decant and drink now.

3/23/2014 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

I decanted and let sit for an hour. Rich ruby color. Scents of burlap, oak, and earthy tones. Spice, earthy and oak on the palate. Great drinking for a bolder wine. Not overbearing on the burn and alcohol.

3/22/2014 - jpgarnold wrote:

Deep ruby color. Currant, blackberry, and oak to the nose. Thick body with deep fruity character, notes of spice and oak. Nice dry finish with a little burn that settled down after only 1/2 hour.
Opened another bottle on 12/3/14 and showed more development. Great body, boysenberry, peppery, no more burn, and a nice long finish. Outstanding for $15

2/22/2014 - jpgarnold Likes this wine:

Not very complex, but very drinkable, medium bodied wine. Deep ruby color. To the nose it was grapey and viney with blueberry and floral notes. Flavors of currant, blueberry and flower pedal. Drink now.

1/18/2014 - jpgarnold wrote:

Medium bodied. Not as thick as most Zin's I drink. Appropriate deep red color for medium body. Aromas of subtle anise/spice and tobacco. Flower pedal notes and a little spice with a pleasant woody aftertaste on the palate. Drank without food and very easy with little to no burn. I recommend.