July 30, 2016 - Red and dark fruit mingle with Forest floor and wandering spices. Everything dances together so gracefully. The texture and the nose are equally as good. My favorite Biale single vineyard Zinfandel.
July 11, 2015 - Past its prime. Needs decanting and to sit a bit and then the fruit and spice come out
November 27, 2014 - Had with Thanksgiving dinner. Decanted for 3 hours. Nice color and legs. Jammy fruit up front with well integrated soft tannins and a nice peppery/spicy finish. This wine is drinking beautifully right now. I can't imagine this improving much more. A very well built Napa Zin with a lot of finesse. A very nice effort by Biale.
November 1, 2014 - Big red and dark fruit nose. Ripe without sweetness. Soft on the palate and pleasant lingering finish.
April 6, 2014 - The first night decanted for about an hour, I was surprised at what I was drinking in comparison to the price. Definitely jammy and extracted. Red and black fruit combo, with a bit of alcohol. I tend to think that zinfandel is a beast that needs to be tamed by a master, and this one needs a master to tame it. Not a lot to get excited about, yet I was hopeful for day 2 under argon. Nope, day 2 was more of the same but even less exciting and more alcohol. In fact, it was at the same temp as day 1 but seemed even hotter. Popping it in the refrigerator helped the alcohol/heat but the lack of any structure/acidity/balance was quite evident. So all in all, this is very average in quality, with the pluses and minuses canceling out leaving you right in the middle of the pack (like many $8-10 bottles). As an aside, I'm wondering if Napa is the right location to grow zinfandel. Maybe too much sunshine.
December 27, 2013 - Poured through Vinturi for splash decant ... A lovely, light-handed Cali Zin. Fruit prominent, but not over-powering. Touches of vanilla and spice. Very nice but a fairly poor QPR. I really like Biale's wines, but think they've gotten to the point where they've priced themselves out of the market. (At least our market.) Too much Zin out there that is similar quality, for half the per bottle/cost.
May 27, 2013 - Nice, popped and poured and it was ready to go. Great casual wine.
March 21, 2013 - Layered & nuanced.
February 23, 2013 - Sweet, somewhat cloying. No real tannin. Still smooth. A lot of raspberry and blueberry on the palate as well.
February 22, 2013 - This was a beauty. Very nicely structured and balanced. Not an over the top jammy Zin but still very full bodied and berry fruit driven. Very well done.