Greenish-golden color; nose has some butter, white fruit; palate is full bodied, grapefruit, tart in the midpalate, good acidity, slight bitterness towards the end; short finish. This is excellent value for the price; ready to drink now. 87

Light ruby-purple color; nose of jammy red fruits but also shrill and acidic, disappears quickly in the glass and requires another swirl; palate is light bodied, no tannins, early red fruits that disappear, midpalate is surprisingly hollow after fruit disappears; finish is short, some red fruits. Honestly, not a bad choice for a party at the price, but it's also not hard to do better. 82

Pale ruby color with no bricking; nose has cherry and strawberry fruit with some slight earthy complexity; palate is light bodied, some light tannic structure, good cherry fruit; finish is short-medium length. This is quite good for the price and a great party or everyday wine. 85

Light ruby color; nose has faint red fruits, slight herbs, a little shrill on the nose; palate is light-medium bodied, low tannin, less fruit than last time (only a little red fruit); finish is short. This lacks opulent fruit like I expect in a california pinot noir and compares poorly to some of the other (cheaper) pinot noir today. 80-81

Light-medium purple color; nose is concentrated ripe California red fruit, disappears with some swirling; palate is light bodied, some light tannic structure that adds to the wine, balanced subtle red fruit, simple; short finish. This wine had some hints of interest, but they seemed to recede too quickly. Probably a pass at the price; there is better stuff out there.

Color is pale ruby; nose has immediate earthy component with slight brett that adds and does not infringe on the nose (also becomes more subtle with air), some decent red fruit that comes out with swirling, some real spice; palate is light bodied, high acid, young, some red cherry, red fruits, simple on the palate; finish is still short. This is a very good value and has a truly interesting and complex nose, more than I was expecting for the price. The palate is well balanced, maybe a tad young but I would not age for too long. An excellent choice for the price if you can tolerate just a little bit of brett. 87-88

Light ruby color; nose has a lovely intense perfume with elegant ripe red fruits (overripe? A little jammy), slight floral, slight earthiness, slight brett with swirling, but really the fruits are front and center, elegant nose; palate is light bodied, high acid, red fruits, midpalate is a little empty; finish is short. The palate falls off, but the nose absolutely makes this wine worthwhile. Just sit for a while and smell this wine... great value, and this could absolutely be an everyday wine. Would not age, drink now. 87-88

Light-medium ruby-purple color; nose shows some red and black fruits, spice, strong cloves; palate is light bodied, some light structure, very high acid, good density of fruit early in the palate; clean finish. The wine seems to fade a bit in the glass, unusual for such a young age, but still a very nice wine overall with burgundy character, good value. I would buy for everyday drinking. 87

Medium violet color; nose of chocolate, cocoa, maybe black fruits? but hard to tell; palate is full bodied, medium tannins that are not impinging on the wine but that become more pronounced with air; very short finish. Seems very new world merlot. Lacks bordeaux character, and the balance seems to be off (hard to get fruit out of this wine right now). A 2nd bottle opened was the same as the first. Pipeau isn't one of my favorite chateau, but it seems to be the darling of a lot of value seekers.
Update: People really loved this wine at the party. The balance wasn't the best on the palate, but it developed a pronounced nose and interesting complexity that helped it stand out from some of the other more mellow (more aged) wines served at the party. It's probably still not my top choice for value bordeaux (Lanessan, Reignac, and Grangere were all great), but it does seem to hold its own.

Nice nose while decanting. Color is medium-deep violet with little bricking; nose has some nice blackberry; palate is full bodied, nice juicy blackberry fruit, persists through the midpalate, simple without much else to the palate, tannins have integrated, nice acidity to keep the palate fresh, drying out towards the end; finish is short-medium and drying out. A well balanced wine, pretty good for the price. A buy if you can get it <$20, but drink now. 86-87

Cedar on the nose while decanting. Medium violet color with minor bricking; nose has lots of cedar, wood, cinnamon spice (probably the strongest character to the wine); palate has juicy black fruits at the forefront, nice fresh acidity, tannins are well integrated and smooth instead of grippy throughout most of the wine, though it kicks in a bit right at the end, some spice on the palate; finish is medium length, fruity. This is quite a good wine with an interesting nose that has unique character, fairly good balance on the palate, good complexity between fruit and spice. At early maturity, but unlike my last bottle I actually think this has some development ahead and a long plateau. A strong buy for $25. 91

Medium violet color; nose is closed, very slight black fruits; palate is rich with some juicy black fruits, soft tannic structure; finish is clean and has fruit. Palate>>nose, disappointing from what I expected. Unclear whether it is this bottle or whether it will improve with air, but I would drink these up (or wait 1-2 years and hope it opens up) and would not buy more. 85-86

Deep ruby with hint of bricking; nose is medium intensity with classic bordeaux character, some earth, spice, more red fruits but also some black fruits, very complex; palate has good cherry and blackberry fruit, medium to high acid keeps it very fresh, tannins have integrated but still give it some structure towards the end; finish is medium length. This is a superb value bordeaux with real bordeaux typicity, complex nose, and integrated palate. A strong buy at $25. Ready to drink now and over the next 5 years. 91

Medium violet color with minor bricking; vegetal on the nose, asparagus, some complex red fruits, slight roasted quality, some cinnamon, clove, integrates over time; palate is juicy black fruit, high acidity gives it the perception of being a little light bodied, on the simpler side; medium length finish. This is an interesting nose, kind of a simple palate, an interesting wine overall and worth trying but doesn't live up to the Grangere or Reignac tonight. 89-90

Medium ruby color with some bricking; nose of some red fruit, some earthiness, nice herbal complexity, eucalyptus; palate has juicy red fruit, integrated tannins, slightly drying; finish is short-medium length, slightly drying as well. Past its peak, but still characteristic bordeaux and lovely mature bordeaux. 89