Community Tasting Note

• Fractalage Likes this wine:

  December 3, 2022 - Bought a few bottles of this directly from Bradley on release. I’m really a Syrah nut, but I was convinced to go for this and cellar. If you remember, 2013 was one of those drought years, but the diurnal effects of the Santa Cruz Mountains during the veraison months creates excellent phenolics in grapes that love cooler climates. Bradley knows this well. Galloni speaks of this AVA as one of the best in California for a reason: “"There is no doubt in my mind the Santa Cruz Mountains is the greatest and most overlooked terroir in the United States. Period.” - Antonio Galloni.
  
  This is outstanding Pinot Noir.
  This is better than most of what I've tasted from Premier Cru Burgundy, and it’s from my own back yard.
  
  At 170 cases, this might very well be the last bottle in existence. Ever since Bradley's collection burned down the older stuff has been rarer indeed.
  
  Hibiscus and black tea, with essences of fine cakes and peony. It was elegant and held most interesting flavors and spices in a delicate array of mouth pleasure.
  
  This bottle I pulled out of the cellar over the summer and let stand for 4 months. All the fine sediment had cleared, yet when I decanted, that sediment smoke crept up fast to where only half the bottle could be decanted cleanly. I let the rest sit in the bottle overnight and today, it was a touch cloudy, but still excellent. Even the dregs were a joy to drink.
  
  This wine smacked of a natural wine. It had that excellent natural taste that I get from the cooler climates of Piemonte. No doubt that this could cellar for a few more years as the natural acid was perfectly balanced.
  Simply a fantastic expression of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

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