4/21/2024 - Castle Peak wrote:

It blossoms with a brief decant. Once it opened up was a rich, complex and fun experience.

3/31/2024 - Castle Peak wrote:

Delicious!

2/25/2024 - Castle Peak wrote:

Healthy decant led to a really enjoyable tasting experience.Nicely balanced with flavors of red fruit, pencil shavings, soft leather, tobacco and mild oak. Polished tannins and round mouthfeel.

2/18/2024 - Castle Peak wrote:

Forceful and edgy on opening, but eased up beautifully after an hour. A well made merlot/cab franc blend. Rich purple fruit, violet floral notes, modest earthy textures, yet has full/round/velvety finish.

2/1/2024 - Castle Peak wrote:

Well balanced with ripe blackberries, anise, baking spices, mild pepper notes, modest tannins and an enjoyable finish. Easy drinking and not overheated with alcohol. .

1/27/2024 - Castle Peak wrote:

Much more enjoyable on day two. Will certainly benefit from a healthy decant.

1/24/2024 - Castle Peak wrote:

PNP and very nice right out of the bottle. Ripe pomegrante, plum, orange spice and mild cedar notes. Well balanced tannins, acidity, rich flavors and aromas. Complex yet an easy drinking and fun wine.

1/19/2024 - Castle Peak wrote:

Ageless! Drinking beautifully. Elegant power!!!

1/13/2024 - Castle Peak wrote:

A fun and flavorful PS. Deep purple, ripe nose and viscous. Round and full mouth red/purple fruit flavor, but not overly sweet. Polished tannins and muted spiced and oak notes. Reminded me of the Frank Family Reserve Petite Sirah. Nice wine. First time to taste and will do again.

1/12/2024 - Castle Peak wrote:

This is a very nice wine and drinking beautifully. Drank over a couple hours. Every sip was interesting and fun with complex layers of flavors and textures. Remarkable QPR.

1/10/2024 - Castle Peak wrote:

Yummy middle of the road central coast PN. A little tight on opening, but 30 mins later was humming. Perfectly balanced and elegant.

12/25/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Whitehall Lane also sources grapes from this vineyard. Really well made with deep purple color, ripe nose, round mouthfeel, modest tannins, mild oak and tobacco note. Lengthy finish.

12/25/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Healthy decant and this was spectacular.. When the fruit began to push through it rounded out and got more enjoyable with every sip. (0 views)

12/25/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Beautiful wine. Layers of complexity and elegance emerged over several hours.

12/1/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

A lighter style Cabernet Sauvignon. Well balanced and drinking nicely. Modest tannins, fruit and oak notes. Not overly complex or assertive. Well made. Perfect for a Thursday evening PNP.

10/23/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Opened up over a couple hours. Youthful and crisp on opening, but softened allowing red fruits, spices, dry earth and cedar notes to emerge. Needs a few years in the cellar.

10/20/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Big and bold, and a bruiser. PNP and agree from other’s notes that a health decant would help. Opened up nicely over a couple hours. Dark fruit, dry leather, edgy spices and toasty oak. Big wine.

10/7/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Just okay. Huge fan and long-time member of Alban, but this was not great. Was restrained and lacked much structure. Soft and smooth with vegatal notes and muted fruit. Maybe an off bottle or an off night.

9/15/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Two hour decant and drinking beautifully. Had the last one in 2011 and rated it at 93 pts. Deep red/purple color with plenty of upfront fruit, spices, chocolate and toasty cedar. Fun and has plenty of punch. Moderate tannins, well balanced acidity and a long and pleasant finish. Nothing tired about this wine. Goes to show what can occur with a well made bottle resting for over a decade at 56 degrees. One more to go and may wait another 10 years.

6/13/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Still very good after all these years. Had this vintage first in 2017. Amazing how these old world wines hold up and improve with age. Paired well tonight with spaghetti, red sauce and meat balls. Fabulous food wine.

6/4/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Good everyday drink. Nothing remarkable or particularly interesting, however.

6/3/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Really good. Enjoyed with a rich, drippy, grilled pork loin.

5/7/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Very nice and just fine on a PNP. Evolved over a couple hours. Lots of richness, toasty oak and spiced complexity, yet well balanced and elegant. Good value from WTSO.

5/7/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Beautiful wine.

3/11/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Delightful.

3/9/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

These wines get better and better with age. Powerful and complex, yet elegant.

2/26/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Drinking well. Soft mouthfeel and deep. Nice fruit and mild oak notes.

2/25/2023 - Castle Peak wrote:

Big number, but this wine has power and structure, yet is elegant.

12/4/2022 - Castle Peak wrote:

Enjoyed a 1.5 of this wine with a group of 6 friends. They all loved it. Is a well made wine with a balance of rich red/black fruits, oak, spices, vanilla, mild acidity, modest tannins and nice long finish with a full mouth feel. Fun wine.

11/20/2022 - Castle Peak wrote:

This is still drinking really well. Beautiful blue and red fruit flavors integrate well with soft tannins and light oak notes.

9/20/2022 - Castle Peak wrote:

A nicely structured and well balanced California Bordeaux blend. We loved it. Excellent QPR.

8/4/2022 - Castle Peak wrote:

This one gives you that upfront earthy barnyard note. Suprising for the first few pulls, but then intagrates into a full flavor profile of crisp ripe strawberries, mild herbs/spice, cedar and medium acidity. Unique tasting experience, but quite good.

12/10/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Three hour opening exposed the quality of this one. Well balanced and perfectly integrated. Got better with each sip. My QPR wine of the year!

12/2/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Last bottle of the Eagle Trace. Beautiful wine.

12/1/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

They call Barolo the “King of Wine.” Properly aged and decanted Barolo can be a joy to drink. A 3 hour open on this one before first sip. This was exceptionally well balanced and a fabulous drink. Got better with each sip. Elegant yet had an earthy texture, muted fruit, well integrated tannins and layers of subtle spices, smoke, cedar, vanilla and cinnamon. Walked away from it for 45 min and came back to have an “oh wow” experience as it had continued to evolve in the glass. Old world elegance!

11/18/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Nice value Central Coast Rhone Blend from an outstanding vintner. Good Thursday evening drinker.

11/16/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Still drinking really well. Near perfect integration of fruit, acidity, spices and tannins. Smooth yet a defined structure.

11/14/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

PNP and drew me in. Lighter style and lovely.

8/17/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Holding up well.

7/26/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Solid drink.

7/26/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Very good.

6/30/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

In a place now where I’m enjoying quality merlot. This one had intensity, complex flavors of chocolate, blackberries and leather.

6/11/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Such a well made wine. Layers upon layers of assertive flavors and textures. Dark and rich, but sill elegant. Really good now and will get better.

5/22/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Fabulous wine. Elegantly aging with rich blackberries, mild toasty oak, light dust, polished tannins and near perfect acidity. Old world meets Cali!

5/19/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Really good.

5/16/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Packs a punch of dark cherries, toasty cedar and spice. Lots going on, yet nicely balanced. Fun drink.

5/16/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

By KB standards and sourced from such a renowned SLH vineyard, this was a bit disappointing. Flat, flinty and some heat. Muted fruit. Have one more and will try again next year.

Based on the trajectory of ratings, maybe this was in a much better place in 2018/19.

5/13/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Has seen better days, but still drinkable, is opening up, although, detecting some mild bricking. Worked to get the cork out.

5/2/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

Spectacular!

4/14/2021 - Castle Peak wrote:

This was a nice drinker over 2 days. Smooth, toasty, low acidity and a mild ripeness. Old world meets CA!