7/13/2018 - LordByron wrote:

This is a superb bottle of wine and we have one left to share with some special friends! Wonderful nose and beautiful dark color, clearly a good indication of what was to come. Dark, brambly, fruit flavors layered & nicely integrated with acids; proper amount of tannins provides for very strong cab flavors, a hint of earth and bit of tar when swished around in one's mouth; in five years it has become a nicely full & complete wine; pleasant mouth feel to it and a wonderful, very enjoyable smooth finish. I have been wanting to open this wine for quite some time, but am glad we held off doing so. While it certainly could cellar longer, its proven to have been worth the wait. We have long been fans of wines of the DuBrul Vineyard, and Va Piano, you nailed this one!

5/14/2018 - LordByron wrote:

Outstanding wine

5/5/2018 - LordByron wrote:

Probably one of the best cabs that my wife and I have ever drunk! Its color?.....dark and foreboding; its nose?...unbelievably sensuous & full; its initial taste?.... spectacular! Dark fruit, with a hint of cherry; perhaps a hint of tobacco, but big and sumptuous. We both looked at each other and couldn't believe how smooth and flawless it was. Nice acids, beautifully integrated with layers of complexity indicating that much had occurred for this to be such a complete bottle of wine. Its texture & tannins were smooth on our palates with a delightfully long finish! I don't feel as though I am adequately describing how much we enjoyed this wine. We have never had a Lewis cab before, but I can guarantee you, it will not be our last!

4/12/2018 - LordByron wrote:

Probably one of the very best bottles of wine we have ever enjoyed from AS. We had it for dinner at The Ringside in Portland to celebrate our anniversary; it wasn't even decanted, but was smooth & layered with an amalgam of cherry,raspberry & strawberry fruit, acid and structure that all lingered beautifully on our palates, providing us with a wonderfully long finish. Its texture in our mouths was balanced and when paired our steaks and mushrooms, proved to be a terrific pairing to their outstanding food, providing us with a spectacular & memorable evening. If you have bottles in your cellar, pull them out, open them up and get busy enjoying them; I truly don't know if it gets any better than this!

3/31/2018 - LordByron wrote:

Shared with friends just before dinner; beautiful purple color; a very nice nose with a little hint of spice; while it was smooth on one's palate with a slight hint of tobacco or smokiness, we were impressed that it was bigger & bolder than expected from a GSM; was surprised at how much all of us liked this wine, especially from a producer known for producing good pinots

3/29/2018 - LordByron wrote:

An outstanding Syrah from Walla Walla; big, mature, ready to drink; delicious dark fruit, beautiful color, long lasting on one's palate; a smooth, layered and well balanced wine

3/29/2018 - LordByron wrote:

We had this last night with ribs; wow, what a combination! We've long known about Zichichi wine sand have enjoyed many over the years. This one seems to be our favorite. Big & bold, smooth, well balanced and complex but not hot nor overpowering. Wonderful dark fruit with nicely integrated spice. We have more Zichchi in our cellar, but alas, no more 2011. Enjoy it now; it's ready to drink.

3/28/2018 - LordByron wrote:

My wife & I enjoyed this wine immensely over dinner; we PnP without decanting; had a nice initial nose and color that we think is common to Yakima Valley fruit. We've enjoyed Slide Mountain wines before (through Owen Roe primarily) and find the blends to be delicious, soft in the mouth, with cherry accents, well balanced and smooth. We are fortunate to have several more bottles to enjoy over the coming year to see how it improves.

3/1/2018 - LordByron wrote:

Terrific bottle of Syrah from "The Rocks"...beautiful dark purple color, strong Syrah nose of dark fruit; bit of olive & something I had never tasted before, but mentioned by another taster..."blood & raw meat"; nicely integrated spices, full bodied with a big finish on the palate. We have consumed one bottle, have one bottle left to look forward to; wish we had a case! For $35 bucks, what a buy! I would buy this one again in a heart beat!

2/19/2018 - LordByron wrote:

My wife & I opened this bottle and did not decant it; we should have known better, because generally we have found that Daou's need time to breathe. We gave it a score of 91, but believe if it had opened up more (we were hungry & thirsty) we would have more than likely scored it much higher. It's nose was big & strong, and we anticipated what we got; the wine was big, with very strong dark fruit flavors, some leather & a bit of spice making itself known. I don't think we will try another one for a few years, because we thought this one should have been left alone to further bottle age. Nice tannins and a great long finish, but I'd recommend if you have any in your cellar, to let it mature, soften a bit and fully develop its potential.

2/17/2018 - LordByron wrote:

Another very nice port from Prive, nicely integrated elements, smooth taste with spices that meshed nicely with the fruit flavors; everyone loved this after dinner quaff and felt it couldn't have been done any better

2/17/2018 - LordByron wrote:

A wonderful, full bodied, delicious Malbec with very nice spices layered with dark fruit, beautiful mouth feel and long finish.

2/15/2018 - LordByron wrote:

We celebrated Valentine's Day by bringing this bottle along to one of our favorite restaurants where we enjoyed it immensely with filet mignon. It had a wonderful nose of bluish fruit and a hint of spice. We let it sit for a bit as we enjoyed the wilted baby spinach salad with warm bacon dressing. As we sipped it, we talked about it's fullness and the development of strong fruit flavors. It was subtle, yet had some nice layers on the palate as more spice came forth wrapping around the inside of your mouth. Great lasting feel as the syrah began to also come through and make itself known, certainly not in an over powering way, but working nicely with the petit verdot and cabernet.

1/20/2018 - LordByron wrote:

This was a luscious wine. It was just a hair on the sweet side for our taste, but it was still well integrated, full bodied & luscious. Great mouth feel and exciting on the palate.

1/2/2018 - LordByron wrote:

Over the New Year's weekend, we went to the Oregon Coast with our best friends and opened several syrahs (four, I believe). They were, for the most part, all wonderful and luscious. This one in particular was terrific and full of fruit. Another syrah with a great balance of fruit, acidity, spice, a bit of tobacco, herbs, succulent on the palate with a lovely, long finish. What a treat to compare this one from the Yakima Valley (Red Willow Vineyard), with two from the Walla Walla area and one from Paso Robles. Its parts were well integrated, thus providing a complexity, yet nicely balanced wine with a wonderful mouth feel and finish. It seemed to explode when I swished it around inside my mouth providing again, what I like so much about a great syrah, that big, strong, tasty, spicey finish, leaving you with a wish for more, and more and more! Don't hold off drinking and enjoying this bottle of wine. It's ready now!

1/2/2018 - LordByron wrote:

a surprisingly great bottle of wine; the nose was inviting and aromatic; the fruit up front was nicely balanced with pleasant acidity; full & complex on the palate; and another syrah with a terrific finish. And I have a couple more to enjoy; my spouse says "...let's get busy and open the others; it's perfect now!" Well done, Prive!

1/2/2018 - LordByron wrote:

fruit forward, with nice combination of spice & pepper, wonderful nose, great syrah color, full and balanced on one's palate with a nice long finiah

12/16/2017 - LordByron wrote:

Unbelievable bottle of wine; had a wonderful nose of leather, tobacco, earthiness & tasted very much like that on one's palate; succulent and full bodied; we had friends over after dinner who, along with us gave it a 93 or 94! Wish we had had more of it in our cellar

11/29/2017 - LordByron wrote:

One of the finest Merlots I have ever tasted; full, complex and soft with ripe berries, a beautiful merlot flavor; great mouth feel; wonderful lasting fruit-lingering after taste that just melted away as one laid back and enjoyed the experience. We bought a case and have thoroughly enjoyed virtually every bottle. Unbelievably good! We have only one bottle of his 2010 vintage and are anxious to taste it against our 09 experience.

11/16/2017 - LordByron wrote:

Rich and savory, nicely balanced with strong syrah flavors; great mouth feel, long finish on the palate; sure am glad I have some more to taste later on; should cellar very well for several years

10/19/2016 - LordByron wrote:

Unbelievable bottle of wine after all this time! Lush berry flavors, nicely balanced tannins; wonderful, lasting taste on our palate; both of us gave it scores of 92 & 93; beautiful complement to our steak dinner

6/19/2016 - LordByron wrote:

Wonderful bottle of wine;

6/19/2016 - LordByron wrote:

Shared this bottle of wine with friends over dinner at The Painted Lady on June 18th along with several other bottles of PN; it was and anticipation; the longer it sat in the glass and opened up, the better it got; great pinot taste; succulent, nice layers and complexity; acidity was well balanced and it mouth feel was superb and a lasting finish; our anticipation was aptly rewarded! Oh, to have had several more bottles of this one in my wine cellar! Alas, it was my last 07. For a year that was not initially highly regarded, it was elegant!

3/7/2016 - LordByron wrote:

Spectacular bottle of wine; wonderful nose of cherries and plum, fruity, yet with a hint of spice on one's palate; beautiful mouth feel, full, complex with a great lingering after taste of a well-developed Oregon Pinot; quite surprised that it was an 09, but, wow, do I wish I had more of this in my cellar; I believe that this wine is indicative of just what Mike Hallock can do with the Chehalem Pinot Noir grown grape!

2/27/2016 - LordByron wrote:

served amongst four of us over a Tuscan Steak tenderloin; the aroma or nose was very appealing, full and loaded with black berry and dark cherry, leather-like flavors; nicely balanced, with integrated tannins, smooth on the palate with a lengthy, pleasant and full finish; delightful with dinner with potatoes au gratin; everyone felt it was a superb choice

2/9/2016 - LordByron wrote:

A superb bottle of wine; great cab taste with lots of black fruit, a strong, full mouth feel, spice, complex, yet nicely balanced, with lots of room for further development; wish I had more bottles in my cellar; what a marvelous treat; wonderful finish!

12/19/2015 - LordByron wrote:

Absolutely a great wine; full bodied; beautiful color with a wonderful, aromatic nose; complex on the palate; hint of spice, with a terrific finish

12/1/2015 - LordByron wrote:

Thanks Vern; this bottle of "The Drippings" was everything you said it would be....beautiful color, very nice nose, elegant, great berry flavors, with a wonderful mouth feel and long lasting on one's palate; nicely done and just one of the reasons why we like your wines so very much!

11/15/2015 - LordByron wrote:

Very nice bottle of wine; would definitely purchase more, especially at the discounted price I paid for this one; very nice aroma; good dark fruit; long finish

11/15/2015 - LordByron wrote:

r-old wine, this one was remarkably pleasant

11/13/2015 - LordByron wrote:

Fabulous nose and aroma; beautiful dark color; long, deep lingering flavor on one's palate, wonderful luscious dark fruit, with a terrifically long finish; had dinner at an Italian restaurant which it complimented the food beautifully

8/19/2015 - LordByron wrote:

Absolutely, bar none, the best Grenache Blanc I have eve tasted; succulent, fruity, beautiful flavors on the palate, even my wife went nuts over it & she doesn't really "go" for Grenache blanc

2/11/2015 - LordByron wrote:

After all these years, this wine was big, fruity, complex and tasty; wish I had more in my cellar

1/27/2015 - LordByron wrote:

A very nice bottle of wine; very drinkable; nicely balanced; quite a surprise to us because we weren't sure what to expect; it had very pleasant fruit forward flavor with a bit of spice, but not overwhelming; the taste lingered and stayed nicely on one's palate. Wish we had several more bottles to enjoy.

1/3/2015 - LordByron wrote:

My wife & I drank this bottle of wine at one of our favorite Italian restaurants; it was superb! beautiful garnet color; cherry & plum taste on one's palate; it literally exploded in our mouth; full of flavor, nicely balanced; we certainly wish that we had more bottles in our cellar to enjoy in the future; believe this will last for several more years and only get better

12/16/2014 - LordByron wrote:

Succulent, big juicy syrah with a great nose, beautiful color and layers of complexity, structure and complexity that makes this syrah at least a 93 pointer! Wow, wish I had more; it's ready to drink now and you won't be disappointed!

11/16/2014 - LordByron wrote:

Wow, what a wine! Great nose, big fruit; succulent, fleshy mouth feel; long on tannins integrated with a complexity that kept this wine developing on one's palate; with a beautiful, spectacular finish.

10/16/2014 - LordByron wrote:

Once it opened up, it was luscious; plum fruit; very nice long finish on the palate, nicely balanced, wish we had several more bottles of it in our cellar

10/6/2014 - LordByron wrote:

This has got to be one of the very best Pinots I've ever had....it was absolutely scrumptious! Great nose; still a beautiful color in spite of its age; had wonderful flavors of cherry and strawberry, very fruity, full bodied with layers of activity going on all over the place...wow; my wife even remarked that she thought it was over the top in flavor and complexity!

9/13/2014 - LordByron wrote:

Came in Number One against five other competitors, all from Washington State; terrific bottle of wine, strong taste with a great finish; many more years to age

8/16/2014 - LordByron wrote:

Extremely nice flavors of cocoa, smoke, dark fruit, plum, a very complex wine with well integrated tannins. Wish we had several more bottles in my cellar; a truly delightful bottle of wine! One of the truly best bottles of wine we have had in a long, long time,

8/16/2014 - LordByron wrote:

Big, full fruity nicely layered; a great bottle of wine

8/16/2014 - LordByron wrote:

Initial taste was flat, lacking the depth & complexity expected of a Napa Valley cab

6/13/2014 - LordByron wrote:

This is a really yummy zin. It has great spiciness, with layers of black fruit and pepper. We tasted this wine to determine whether or not it is a "buy". We think this wine is a "winner".

6/13/2014 - LordByron wrote:

We basically P-N-P'd this wine directly from my cellar. We didn't give it much time to even warm up, but thought we'd try it to see if we might want to order more since it just arrived a couple of weeks ago. At first taste, we felt it didn't have much fruit up front, that it had reasonable tannins, was dry on the back of the palate and had a minimal nose or aroma. The color is beautiful and as it warms up & spends some time in the glass,it is getting better. There is some fruit developing. While Oregon's weather was rather cool in 2011, we understand that the same was the case in Paso during the same year.

4/2/2014 - LordByron wrote:

Pop and pour, jeeze how can a wine be this good right out of the cellar. This starts with a big dark fruit and earthy nose. And it only gets better from there. The group didn't know what wine they were tasting, we had guesses from Petite Sirah, Zin, or maybe a cab. There is a spice and pepper that at least we didn't associate with a cab present along with wonderful dark fruit and well controlled tannins. This bottle was wonderful! The earth and spices balance the fruit and tannins with a well layered and nicely balanced wine. I did mention that this was a darn good bottle, didn't I?

3/15/2014 - LordByron wrote:

Pop and poured @ The Stockpot Restaurant in Beaverton; notes of earth and soft chocolate, with blueberry & blackberry flavors, soft tannins; with a hint of spice: as it had opened up, it's become more balanced & fruit-forward; very solid , nice tasting can!

2/22/2014 - LordByron wrote:

Absolutely outstanding bottle of wine; great nose; layers of blackberry fruits with spice & a zesty taste on one's palate; beautiful, long finish. wish I had several more bottles to age and drink years from now!

2/12/2014 - LordByron wrote:

PNP, used a soiree to pour it; we felt it had a very nice nose, with layers of blackberry fruit, earth and a lite spice, smooth tannins and a very nice lengthy finish; would like to have had another bottle or two in my cellar to enjoy at a later date.

2/7/2014 - LordByron wrote:

Terrific bottle of wine; great nose; decanted for at least an hour; succulent blackberry fruit flavors; well balanced and complex with much going on; tannins were pleasant and firm; nice long finish on one's palate; probably could stand cellaring for at least another couple of years; wish I had more in my cellar to look forward to