Deep magenta color, with some light browning at the edges. Spice nose with somewhat sweet fruit and some spice in the background on the palate. Fades a bit on day 2 and 3. Pretty good, but not really my favorite style (a bit too much of the sweet character).
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A Wednesday Distancing on the Deck (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): Medium dark red color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour plus. Lovely deep dark berries on the nose with red currants, underbrush and spice. The palate shows more dark cherry, ripe, a bit woody on the palate, tart dark fruits, spicy, slightly firm tannins and woodsy on the finish.
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At nine years old, this is medium purple with a surprisingly youthful color. The nose is packed with dark cherry and woody, oaky undertones upon opening. With air, the fruit became deeper and the oaky notes faded. On the palate, this powerful wine is packed with youthful cherry and tart cranberry flavors. There is excellent acidity as well as a silky, medium-bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is incredibly food friendly and paired well with roasted beets with chorizo and Moroccan spice, octopus in a spicy tomato-based sauce, and grilled sweet potato. The wine brought out amazing smoky notes with the food, and the acidity stood up to a variety of flavors and depths. Overall, this maintained youthful fruit and food friendly acidity, and as a result, this will last another 3-5 years but should be paired with food that has a smokey, Indian/Moroccan profile to bring out its full potential. 88 alone, but 92 with the right pairing.
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quite special. Very deep and profound berry fruits with a healthy does of minerals/spice. With air, acidity kicks in, but I have to say I prefer the first 15 minutes as it shows a powerful side of Anthill I don't normally associate these wines with.
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Big and serious. Brooding. Not your typical Pinot fruit here. Solid minerality and gamey meat. Dark black cherry. Just a faint hint of birch beer. Very enjoyable, but quite different.
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High-toned red cherry fruit. Still holding a lot of acid, with the fruit in the background. A bit lean and shrill, but still holds interest and really needed food to show its best.
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Much less West Coast black cherry fruit on the nose. More smoke, more earth, more violets…. more Burgundian. Needed time to settle in the decanter but boy was it worth it. Typical sauvage structure that I associate with this vineyard. A complete wine that will drink well for years. This wine improved dramatically with 90 minutes of decanter time. A great way to end of a very good few days of wines from the US. (94)
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This starts off beautifully and has a great depth of character. spicy, infused minerality with that bright saline berry fruit. on the 2nd night I felt it lost some oomph, so tend to think to drink these up sooner than later...
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Slow ox'd a little under an hour. Clear garnet. The nose shows a healthy dose of spice along with some red fruited aromatics. Medium bodied, balanced Pinot. This enters with some light red berries along with a lighter tea & orange peel character. Acidity becomes quite apparent on the mid palate & this takes a higher tone on the fruit toward the finish. Another winner from Anthill Farms.
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Drank this a few weeks ago. It had moved a couple steps toward the median since my earlier note - some of its rough-hewn stone, acid, and brawn had been refined to more pinosity. 'Twas still both enjoyable and more rugged than its stablemate the Demuth, but less distinctive than before. Unusually for me, I preferred both this and the 09 Demuth on the earlier side.
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Bigger and sappier on the palate than whatI typically associate with Anthill pinots, but still has nice acid on the finish to balance it out... very smooth and silky.
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Popped and poured, probably should have decanted or given it more time. Bright ruby color. Muted fruit on the nose. Immediate burst of raspberry and other red fruit, followed by some earthiness and menthol, and then a very short finish. My guess (and it is just a guess) is that the finish has to do with it not being decanted or it just being in a closed phase. I am a regular buyer of AHF, so I am not discouraged. Will wait a while before I try another of these. With the allocation going live tomorrow, just wanted to check in. 89 points.
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decanted 2 hours. lovely nose of cool anderson valley fruit with sap and eucalyptus. lovely acidity and lift on the palate keeps the cranberry/raspberry fruit in check and makes for an elegant experience. velvet-like texture with spice finishing out the flavors which have a nice persistence. this is in an excellent place right now but i suspect it will continue to evolve.
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This does not taste of infanticide to me, and it really kind of bowled me over last night, after reading at various times that you need to let Abbey-Harris age for several years, and also that it disappoints years later. My glass was open for business not long after the pour, and it was fairly brilliant: meaty and earthy, a pinch of welcome (vs. roasted veg with plentiful beef sausage, anyway) tannins, a dollop of minerals, and a few squirts of "cut" in the forms of both acidity and cherry-pit bitterness. Oh, and some red fruit. I may hold onto my remaining bottle a few more years, but it's not at all disappointingly primary at this juncture.
This + the 09 Demuth make a terrific masculine/feminine pair. And they're both so dang wonderful, I'm left questioning why I've only bought Anthill once in the last couple years. Am I on the wrong CA pinot bandwagon for my palate? I think I like these more than, say, Rhys' similarly priced (and earlier-drinkin'-than-the-SVDs) appellation pinots.
tl;dnr: "savory and attractively rough-edged"
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Recently named a top 100 wine by SF Chron and they seemed to think it was time to try one. Consumed over two nights. First night this showed a lot of promise on the nose, but the palate was not giving me all I wanted. Better on night two. Components are there, but needs time. 91(+?).
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I thought this bottle was fantastic even though it was young. Very expressive nose. Wonderful fruit, with bright red fruits bordering on a tart cranberry element but the great verve, precision and acidity of Anthill.
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Too early to drink this, but I wanted another check in ahead of the new Anthill release. Pretty aromatics, very Anderson Valley. Not as approachable as the Demuth that showed so well recently, but this may be the more serious wine, with tannic material that needs time to resolve. 90ish today, up to 92+ in the future.
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No formal notes because it was consumed after a couple of other wines, but this was excellent. Probably my favorite vineyard in the AF lineup. This one should improve significantly with bottle age. 92++
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Opened and poured, this wine drinks well now with youthful dark cherry, spice and earth notes. The wines shows a balanced but somewhat reserved palate. This should benefit from an additional year or two of bottle age.
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12/23/2021 - xwine wrote:
Deep magenta color, with some light browning at the edges. Spice nose with somewhat sweet fruit and some spice in the background on the palate. Fades a bit on day 2 and 3. Pretty good, but not really my favorite style (a bit too much of the sweet character).
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8/26/2020 - bobdobilina wrote: 90 Points
Dark but clear burgundy color.
Savory nose of cherries, twigs, rose petals and liqueur.
Rustic palate with black cherries ,notable spice and apple skin.
Seems to be holding up quite well, although not showing a lot of benefit from age.
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7/29/2020 - rocknroller wrote: 90 Points
A Wednesday Distancing on the Deck (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): Medium dark red color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour plus. Lovely deep dark berries on the nose with red currants, underbrush and spice. The palate shows more dark cherry, ripe, a bit woody on the palate, tart dark fruits, spicy, slightly firm tannins and woodsy on the finish.
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8/31/2018 - Meerlust wrote: 89 Points
At nine years old, this is medium purple with a surprisingly youthful color. The nose is packed with dark cherry and woody, oaky undertones upon opening. With air, the fruit became deeper and the oaky notes faded. On the palate, this powerful wine is packed with youthful cherry and tart cranberry flavors. There is excellent acidity as well as a silky, medium-bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is incredibly food friendly and paired well with roasted beets with chorizo and Moroccan spice, octopus in a spicy tomato-based sauce, and grilled sweet potato. The wine brought out amazing smoky notes with the food, and the acidity stood up to a variety of flavors and depths. Overall, this maintained youthful fruit and food friendly acidity, and as a result, this will last another 3-5 years but should be paired with food that has a smokey, Indian/Moroccan profile to bring out its full potential. 88 alone, but 92 with the right pairing.
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7/13/2018 - lolo66 wrote: 94 Points
quite special. Very deep and profound berry fruits with a healthy does of minerals/spice. With air, acidity kicks in, but I have to say I prefer the first 15 minutes as it shows a powerful side of Anthill I don't normally associate these wines with.
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7/11/2018 - theharve wrote: 92 Points
agree with big and serious of most recent note. try end 2019.
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5/7/2018 - jrobs7777 wrote:
Big and serious. Brooding. Not your typical Pinot fruit here. Solid minerality and gamey meat. Dark black cherry. Just a faint hint of birch beer. Very enjoyable, but quite different.
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1/1/2018 - Acohen Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nice bright cherry with good balance and sweet red fruit
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12/23/2017 - mdefreitas wrote: 91 Points
Quite a bit better than my last bottle. Bright, lifted and high-toned, but not as screechy as before. More fruit and overall balance here.
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12/6/2017 - mdefreitas wrote: 86 Points
High-toned red cherry fruit. Still holding a lot of acid, with the fruit in the background. A bit lean and shrill, but still holds interest and really needed food to show its best.
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9/26/2016 - Acohen Likes this wine: 91 Points
Medium bodied red fruit with some spice, cherry and crisp finish
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8/6/2016 - lolo66 wrote:
great right out of the gate and consumed within an hour. My last of the 09's. vivid, great fruit, balanced acidity.
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7/5/2016 - dbkitc wrote: 94 Points
Much less West Coast black cherry fruit on the nose. More smoke, more earth, more violets…. more Burgundian. Needed time to settle in the decanter but boy was it worth it. Typical sauvage structure that I associate with this vineyard. A complete wine that will drink well for years. This wine improved dramatically with 90 minutes of decanter time. A great way to end of a very good few days of wines from the US. (94)
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2/25/2016 - pjhr Does not like this wine: 70 Points
Fruit is gone with disjointed structure and scorching heat on the finish.
What a mess!
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1/28/2016 - lolo66 wrote:
This starts off beautifully and has a great depth of character. spicy, infused minerality with that bright saline berry fruit. on the 2nd night I felt it lost some oomph, so tend to think to drink these up sooner than later...
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6/23/2015 - Anthony Lombardi Likes this wine: 92 Points
Earth & fruit balance. Consistent with other 2009 bottle.
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5/18/2015 - pjhr wrote: 91 Points
Earth, raspberry, and cherry notes on the nose and palate with moderate finish and tasty acidity.
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3/27/2015 - Anthony Lombardi Likes this wine: 92 Points
Slow ox'd a little under an hour. Clear garnet. The nose shows a healthy dose of spice along with some red fruited aromatics. Medium bodied, balanced Pinot. This enters with some light red berries along with a lighter tea & orange peel character. Acidity becomes quite apparent on the mid palate & this takes a higher tone on the fruit toward the finish. Another winner from Anthill Farms.
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3/13/2015 - Charlie Pendejo wrote:
Drank this a few weeks ago. It had moved a couple steps toward the median since my earlier note - some of its rough-hewn stone, acid, and brawn had been refined to more pinosity. 'Twas still both enjoyable and more rugged than its stablemate the Demuth, but less distinctive than before. Unusually for me, I preferred both this and the 09 Demuth on the earlier side.
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2/8/2015 - B Paul wrote: 90 Points
A very good wine for sure, but not quite as good as other vintages/bottles from this vineyard, which is usually one of my favorites.
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8/11/2014 - Grape_ape Likes this wine:
Bigger and sappier on the palate than whatI typically associate with Anthill pinots, but still has nice acid on the finish to balance it out... very smooth and silky.
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6/1/2014 - Jadiii wrote: 88 Points
A nice Pinot, cherry dominant flavor, a bit dry on the finish.
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2/8/2014 - willison wrote: 89 Points
Popped and poured, probably should have decanted or given it more time. Bright ruby color. Muted fruit on the nose. Immediate burst of raspberry and other red fruit, followed by some earthiness and menthol, and then a very short finish. My guess (and it is just a guess) is that the finish has to do with it not being decanted or it just being in a closed phase. I am a regular buyer of AHF, so I am not discouraged. Will wait a while before I try another of these. With the allocation going live tomorrow, just wanted to check in. 89 points.
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1/17/2014 - shaferguy91 wrote: 92 Points
1 hour decant.
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1/16/2014 - indiscriminate palate wrote:
Blind wines (very brief notes) (Granby, CT): Not overly ripe, but a bid artificial-tasting red fruit. Enjoyable, but not anything to write home about.
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12/25/2013 - kthornton78 wrote: 93 Points
decanted 2 hours. lovely nose of cool anderson valley fruit with sap and eucalyptus. lovely acidity and lift on the palate keeps the cranberry/raspberry fruit in check and makes for an elegant experience. velvet-like texture with spice finishing out the flavors which have a nice persistence. this is in an excellent place right now but i suspect it will continue to evolve.
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10/17/2013 - Charlie Pendejo wrote: 93 Points
This does not taste of infanticide to me, and it really kind of bowled me over last night, after reading at various times that you need to let Abbey-Harris age for several years, and also that it disappoints years later. My glass was open for business not long after the pour, and it was fairly brilliant: meaty and earthy, a pinch of welcome (vs. roasted veg with plentiful beef sausage, anyway) tannins, a dollop of minerals, and a few squirts of "cut" in the forms of both acidity and cherry-pit bitterness. Oh, and some red fruit. I may hold onto my remaining bottle a few more years, but it's not at all disappointingly primary at this juncture.
This + the 09 Demuth make a terrific masculine/feminine pair. And they're both so dang wonderful, I'm left questioning why I've only bought Anthill once in the last couple years. Am I on the wrong CA pinot bandwagon for my palate? I think I like these more than, say, Rhys' similarly priced (and earlier-drinkin'-than-the-SVDs) appellation pinots.
tl;dnr: "savory and attractively rough-edged"
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8/31/2013 - RAMwines Likes this wine: 90 Points
Ant Hill Pinots are fast becoming some of my favorites.
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8/25/2013 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 88 Points
Leo's blind in the back yard. Acid, minerals and some meaty stone depth developing. A bit of the meatiness common in Southern Rhones.
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5/28/2013 - ejca Likes this wine:
Pretty good, maybe should have waited another year but still really good. I am a fan of Anthill.
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3/10/2013 - shaferguy91 wrote: 91 Points
No decant.
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2/17/2013 - DuaneT wrote:
Drank a week ago with no notes. All I can say is that I remember it being unremarkable.
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12/20/2012 - B Paul wrote: 91 Points
Recently named a top 100 wine by SF Chron and they seemed to think it was time to try one. Consumed over two nights. First night this showed a lot of promise on the nose, but the palate was not giving me all I wanted. Better on night two. Components are there, but needs time. 91(+?).
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12/9/2012 - Brsed Likes this wine: 93 Points
I thought this bottle was fantastic even though it was young. Very expressive nose. Wonderful fruit, with bright red fruits bordering on a tart cranberry element but the great verve, precision and acidity of Anthill.
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11/20/2012 - vinocerus wrote:
Nice aromatics and mouth feel with distinct red fruits and interesting herbal (not greenies) structure. Quite good.
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6/15/2012 - sehill Likes this wine: 92 Points
Similar to previous experience with this wine.
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5/29/2012 - ejca wrote:
Very good, again I like their style. Might hold off on my remaining bottles.
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2/19/2012 - amateurwino wrote: 92 Points
Too early to drink this, but I wanted another check in ahead of the new Anthill release. Pretty aromatics, very Anderson Valley. Not as approachable as the Demuth that showed so well recently, but this may be the more serious wine, with tannic material that needs time to resolve. 90ish today, up to 92+ in the future.
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1/15/2012 - B Paul wrote: 92 Points
No formal notes because it was consumed after a couple of other wines, but this was excellent. Probably my favorite vineyard in the AF lineup. This one should improve significantly with bottle age. 92++
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1/3/2012 - sehill Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened and poured, this wine drinks well now with youthful dark cherry, spice and earth notes. The wines shows a balanced but somewhat reserved palate. This should benefit from an additional year or two of bottle age.
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12/25/2011 - winopops3 wrote: 92 Points
Wow. Beautiful cherry and pomegranate some earth. Incredibly well balanced. Drinking great at this early stage.
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11/29/2011 - cns wrote:
Drank this waaaaay too early. No score because of that. But has a lot of promise.
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