Why don’t I show patience and wait 10+ years with every great bottle? This was a very nice wine when it was 4 to 6 years old. But the last bottle of my 2011 Keefer was magnificent. Lucious. Fruit and spice. Tannins were very light, but enough acid to give it structure and character. Long and lovely finish. I would trade more expensive bottles for more of this PN.
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Opened not decanted. Funk on the nose and palate. Funk blew off and became a lovely aged PN with cherry notes, soft tannins with good structure and no noticeable heat. Ended with a soft velvet finish. Very Good
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Raspberry, sweet red fruit, earth and spice. Delicious with our Indian food from Chennai Chemney. Especially the roagan josh lamb, tandoori chicken and masala idly.
Drink now
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Quite excellent. Lots of the typical Keefer electric raspberry zing on the top, with a deeper, darker complex hint running beneath. This wine has evolved quite a bit over this past year - became quite delicious. Normally I would suggest drinking now, but who knows how it might continue to morph over the next year or two?
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Really doing nicely in the first half of '18. Singing with that high-toned zingy fruit typical of Keefer, while the slightly ungainly heftiness from a few years ago is now integrated in a way one associates with a little bit of age. Not the last word in profundity, and not as acid-driven as many bottlings from this vineyard, but delightful regardless. Probably unlikely to improve much more.
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Enticing lifted aromatic of cranberry, cola, a bit of toasted nuts. A decent acid backbone, but the main impression is round cola, cherry, and rhubarb. A very well-made wine that makes one wonder why the vintage is so maligned.
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First Sandler we have tried. Met expectations. Initial taste medium-high acid became well integrated with an hour of air. Very enjoyable medium weight Pinot.
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Leads with the lively acidity I associate with this vineyard, followed by a still pleasant but heavier separate underlayer that doesn't quite seem like it's from the same wine. Smells great, and the overall flavor is as charming as all the Sandler Pinots' - just that darker, slightly lingering characteristic that takes a bit of the fun away.
UPDATE: over a couple of hours the wine integrated much more, became quite cohesive. Unfortunately for my taste the more lugubrious aspects subsumed the brisk, friendly entry. Still, just so very well made, especially for a "difficult" vintage in which quite a few California Pinots were just duds.
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Goodness! Do I love Sandler. I was blown away by the limpid, beautiful and pure 2014. Now I am well into the 2011 and it is also outstanding. It it light bodied like the '14, but the red fruit perception is a little darker, and the color is as well. Add some pretty spice, too! Like the other, the wine begs to be drunk, and that I did, down to the last drop.
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Ed Kurtzman Dinner (Luciana's, Dana Point, CA): Raspberry aromas and palate. The oak is still making itself known. Strawberry palate big spicy ending. This just nudges the 2010 and 2012 for my favorite. I'm a sucker for the best Pinot in California history, 2011.
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Ed Kurtzman Comes To Dinner (2015) (Luciana's In Dana Point (South OC)): Tasted next to the 10 and 12, FWIW. Once again, when I sit down in any setting, and often times the varietal doesn't matter in this instance, I always land on the 11 as being a superior vintage. I know people put it down, but I continue to find great wines coming out of this year. Here with Ed's 11, it has a juicy feel, funk and red raspberry (not dark raspberry like the 10). Solid acidity too. With air, this picks up a floral quality and everything knitted up well as we rolled into the dinner. Terrific.
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Medium purple color, with lifting aromas of rose petals, black cherries, raspberries, and wet forest. The palate shows nice flavors of black cherries and strawberries with light spice and cola notes. Finishes with an attractive crispness and light tannins.
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Falltacular 2013 (FMIII in the OC): Sandler does the best Keefer, I've tasted quite a few producers over the years and I've always preferred Sandler. I'm not alone in that opinion as a few winemakers felt the same way. There is lots of spicy raspberry on what would be described as fruit forward but there is excellent balance and a monster finish. Top 10 of the evening for me.
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4/7/2024 - John from GR Likes this wine: 94 Points
Why don’t I show patience and wait 10+ years with every great bottle? This was a very nice wine when it was 4 to 6 years old. But the last bottle of my 2011 Keefer was magnificent. Lucious. Fruit and spice. Tannins were very light, but enough acid to give it structure and character. Long and lovely finish. I would trade more expensive bottles for more of this PN.
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12/10/2023 - The Wine Write Likes this wine:
Going strong. Spicy, delicious red fruit and tingly acidity. Two thumbs up.
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11/8/2021 - tanglenet wrote:
Opened not decanted. Funk on the nose and palate. Funk blew off and became a lovely aged PN with cherry notes, soft tannins with good structure and no noticeable heat. Ended with a soft velvet finish. Very Good
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2/3/2021 - TashNYC wrote: 90 Points
Raspberry, sweet red fruit, earth and spice. Delicious with our Indian food from Chennai Chemney. Especially the roagan josh lamb, tandoori chicken and masala idly.
Drink now
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10/24/2019 - TashNYC wrote: 91 Points
Lovely raspberry, cranberry, sweet red fruit (with a little zing), earth and spice. Best with our chicken pot pie and with our pumpkin ravioli.
Would be good with Indian food as well, I think.
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11/17/2018 - LesPaul Likes this wine: 91 Points
Quite excellent. Lots of the typical Keefer electric raspberry zing on the top, with a deeper, darker complex hint running beneath. This wine has evolved quite a bit over this past year - became quite delicious. Normally I would suggest drinking now, but who knows how it might continue to morph over the next year or two?
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4/7/2018 - LesPaul Likes this wine: 90 Points
Really doing nicely in the first half of '18. Singing with that high-toned zingy fruit typical of Keefer, while the slightly ungainly heftiness from a few years ago is now integrated in a way one associates with a little bit of age. Not the last word in profundity, and not as acid-driven as many bottlings from this vineyard, but delightful regardless. Probably unlikely to improve much more.
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6/23/2017 - tederf Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still fresh. Flavors of strawberry and red cherry. Moderate-long finish. Drank over several nights. Opened up a bit but no big change.
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10/24/2016 - swillpower Likes this wine:
Enticing lifted aromatic of cranberry, cola, a bit of toasted nuts. A decent acid backbone, but the main impression is round cola, cherry, and rhubarb. A very well-made wine that makes one wonder why the vintage is so maligned.
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10/5/2016 - LLakritz Likes this wine:
First Sandler we have tried. Met expectations. Initial taste medium-high acid became well integrated with an hour of air. Very enjoyable medium weight Pinot.
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9/7/2016 - LesPaul Likes this wine: 89 Points
Leads with the lively acidity I associate with this vineyard, followed by a still pleasant but heavier separate underlayer that doesn't quite seem like it's from the same wine. Smells great, and the overall flavor is as charming as all the Sandler Pinots' - just that darker, slightly lingering characteristic that takes a bit of the fun away.
UPDATE: over a couple of hours the wine integrated much more, became quite cohesive. Unfortunately for my taste the more lugubrious aspects subsumed the brisk, friendly entry. Still, just so very well made, especially for a "difficult" vintage in which quite a few California Pinots were just duds.
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8/8/2016 - Charlie Carnes Likes this wine:
Goodness! Do I love Sandler. I was blown away by the limpid, beautiful and pure 2014. Now I am well into the 2011 and it is also outstanding. It it light bodied like the '14, but the red fruit perception is a little darker, and the color is as well. Add some pretty spice, too! Like the other, the wine begs to be drunk, and that I did, down to the last drop.
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7/27/2016 - leadpencil wrote: 91 Points
Light - medium bodied. Raspberry, Bing cherry, pine needle
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5/3/2015 - brigcampbell wrote:
Ed Kurtzman Dinner (Luciana's, Dana Point, CA): Raspberry aromas and palate. The oak is still making itself known. Strawberry palate big spicy ending. This just nudges the 2010 and 2012 for my favorite. I'm a sucker for the best Pinot in California history, 2011.
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5/2/2015 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Ed Kurtzman Comes To Dinner (2015) (Luciana's In Dana Point (South OC)): Tasted next to the 10 and 12, FWIW. Once again, when I sit down in any setting, and often times the varietal doesn't matter in this instance, I always land on the 11 as being a superior vintage. I know people put it down, but I continue to find great wines coming out of this year. Here with Ed's 11, it has a juicy feel, funk and red raspberry (not dark raspberry like the 10). Solid acidity too. With air, this picks up a floral quality and everything knitted up well as we rolled into the dinner. Terrific.
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1/10/2014 - leadpencil wrote: 92 Points
Cherry, raspberry, rose petal, pine needle.
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10/18/2013 - joraesque wrote: 89 Points
The nose was subdued -- may develop further given more time. Classic, delicious RRV on the palate, and ready for consumption. 88-89
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9/3/2013 - scott davis wrote: 90 Points
Medium purple color, with lifting aromas of rose petals, black cherries, raspberries, and wet forest. The palate shows nice flavors of black cherries and strawberries with light spice and cola notes. Finishes with an attractive crispness and light tannins.
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2/17/2013 - brigcampbell wrote:
Falltacular 2013 (FMIII in the OC): Sandler does the best Keefer, I've tasted quite a few producers over the years and I've always preferred Sandler. I'm not alone in that opinion as a few winemakers felt the same way. There is lots of spicy raspberry on what would be described as fruit forward but there is excellent balance and a monster finish. Top 10 of the evening for me.
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