3/7/2010 - ksyrah wrote:

Deep red, dark berries and cranberries with meat, pepper, smoke, stony minerality and a lively backbone of acidity that keeps it fresh. New World fruit meets Old World savoriness, this is a beautifull wine that is drinking very well right now.

2/12/2010 - ksyrah wrote:

Medium to deeper red, raspberry, floral, bacon, lots of peppercorn and herbs, medium bodied and slightly weedy. This is still a young wine but quite approachable, a bit old-school and I'm loving it this evening. Drank with a saute of lamb, chanterelles, and maitake.

12/8/2009 - ksyrah wrote:

This wine has uncoiled since its release last year, with snappy strawberry and cherry fruit and lots of minerality, a kind of tangy ferrous salinity. I can't think of a wine that more transparently shows its origin in decomposed granite soil. This wine reminds me of Chermette's Domaine Vissoux wines, with similar crackling fruit and minerality. ESJ makes two Gamay Noirs from the Sierra Foothills. The Bone Jolly is the easier drinking wine, emphasizing the juicy fruit. But the more interesting wine for me, the Porphyry, is all about the minerality.

12/1/2009 - ksyrah wrote:

Darker fruit than an Aux Echanges tasted recently, with obtrusive coffee, caramel and spice notes. Not sure whether this is shutting down, but it's in an awkward stage and I suspect the oak will always stick out.

11/27/2009 - ksyrah wrote:

Fairly forward cherry/raspberry fruit, minerals, the oak is there but doesn't dominate, charming wine today with the balance and structure to age well

11/8/2009 - ksyrah wrote:

Motivated by the Littorai pickup day yesterday and the chunk of Ahi I seared with a crust of lavender, coriander, and fennel, I decided to check up on the 2004 Haven.

Beautiful deep ruby, intense dark cherries and orange peel, forest floor, some oak, lush, nice length, just a touch slutty but very nice.

This is the first pinot noir released from Littorai's estate vineyard near Occidental that was planted in 2001. I took a bottle to an offline three years ago, shortly after release, and it was dominated by oak. The oak has integrated quite well over the past three years, adding richness on the mid-palate and finish. This was an auspicious wine for an initial release of a new vineyard.

4/16/2007 - ksyrah wrote:

Dark, berry, lots of lavender, spice and graphite, reflects the Bassetti component