3/6/2024 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

This was an extremely balanced wine, and that showed beautifully. Tobacco, leather, fine tannins and rich dark fruit made it very drinkable and pleasurable. Sometimes these wines seem "brooding" in a way that the earthiness overpowers the fruit. This wine was in harmony across all components

8/18/2022 - Paradigm Media wrote:

Spectacular. Showing better than the ‘97. Blackberry, ripe plum, even a little smoke. Tannin and acid began to be more prominent after 30 minutes. Open to honor Kim for Ashton’s graduation from nursing school. Touch of herb at the end, perhaps sage or oregano. Incredibly enjoyable

3/23/2022 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Surprisingly complex zinfandel that had a lot of spice components. The wine felt more like a rhone in my mouth. Great fruit, and the herbal components were positive. I will let this sit for later in the year to see if it changes.

5/1/2021 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

This wine is still showing well. It has mellowed, but layers of blackberry, rosemary, cocoa and a fine "dustiness" make it a lovely CA cabernet.

2/28/2021 - Paradigm Media wrote:

Gorgeous fruit. Still powerful with king finish. Dark blackberry, cocoa and smooth. Made bison chili

12/2/2020 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

This is still a lovely wine at 23 years old. The style is lighter, but the fruit is still very pure. Cranberries, persimmon and light earth. The wine continued to improve for a couple of hours and developed a little bit of strawberry on the nose.

3/26/2020 - Paradigm Media wrote:

This wine was nearly perfect. Lots of fruit initially when opened, and a slightly floral nose. After an hour, it revealed more tobacco and cedar notes - but still rich, ripe fruit (plum, blackberry) but not jammy in the least bit. Longish finish and nice acidity for an '05. I had opened a half bottle prior that was well past. The 750 ml was flawless

12/25/2018 - Paradigm Media wrote:

Iron in the nose when first opened. Decanted 30 minutes and furuit began to show. Very nice

12/1/2018 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Surprised at how well this wine showed. Balanced fruit and still has enough backbone to enjoy over the course of 2 hours

10/29/2018 - Paradigm Media wrote:

I liked it. Deb didn't like it. Grapey nose, but well balanced wine. With the right food pairing, I think this is a winner.

10/11/2018 - Paradigm Media wrote:

This wine was outstanding. Amazing finish. Bright fruit, layered flavors and balanced perfectly. Cannot believe how good this is at 10 years old

9/30/2018 - Paradigm Media wrote:

Excellent. Fresh earth plum. Surprisingly fresh. Good value

9/29/2018 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Outstanding even in. Half bottle. Surprised by the fruit after 30 minutes.

8/18/2018 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Surprising balance. I had expected more of a fruit forward style, but this had great acid and tasted great for over two hours of drinking

8/18/2018 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Beautiful wine. Decanted for an hour and it became plush and rich, while maintaining some rustic quality. Tobacco, cigar combined with blackberry to give it a balanced feeling. Long finish. Even though this is relatively "young", it's a great wine right now.

6/25/2018 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Interesting wine that took 90 minutes to open up. Concentrated fruit, blackberry, white pepper and rustic when first tasted. After it had come to temp and had been opened for a while, more layers of flavor began to show and the finish lengthened.

4/24/2018 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Nice wine and drinking very well. The nose is floral and mildly "funky", but in a pleasing way. Pear, lime and great acidity. A mild smokiness at the end that contributes to a long finish. This was easy to drink on it's own - and perfect for summer.

3/25/2018 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Delicious and affordable OR Pinot. Bright fruit - without being overly sweet. Cherry, raspberry and some herbs on the finish. Almost a smoky sensation

3/16/2018 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Friday Company wine tasting. Lovely bouquet of flowers. Balanced acidity and enjoyable.

12/27/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Beautiful Pinot Noir. We loved this wine. Strawberry, raspberry - but refined. Baking spice on the nose with some green herbs. Very long finish. The wine improved on every glass. This may have been one of the 10 best CA Pinot's I have ever had.

10/29/2017 - Paradigm Media wrote:

It's past it's prime. It is a little maderized right now - and has an older wine "fink" to it. it was still enjoyable, and was better when it came directly out of the cellar and was cooler. The warmer it got, the less fruit showed through (which was surprising).

10/10/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Nice bordeaux style blend. Long finish, took an hour to open up

9/30/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Very nice. Surprising amount of fruit that continued to develop while it opened over a two hour period. Classic "dusty" earthiness that I love with Rioja.

9/30/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

70 Semillion, 30 Sauvignon white bordeaux. Easy drinking and good mouth feel. This wine paired easily with salads, and was good on it's own prior to dinner

9/30/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Bright cherry, balanced acidity and a longish finish. Wine drinking extremely well.

9/8/2017 - Paradigm Media wrote:

Lots of fruit, balanced acidity and drinking very well. Total surprise for it to show so nicely.

8/18/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Nice California blend. Up front fruit - but it's balanced with a pleasant acidity. Blackberry, very ripe cherry, menthol on the nose. Easy drinking with smooth but simple tannin. I had opened this wine a year ago and didn't think much of it. it is drinking very well right now, and was very popular at the Friday office wine tasting.

7/30/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Nice CA cabernet. '10 still bold with a lot of fruit. Very soft tannins. Ripe plum, blueberry. Licorice and violet on the nose.

7/30/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Very nice, bright wine. Lots of tangy apple and citrus. This wine felt "juicy" in your mouth due to the balanced acidity. I think this would pair well with a variety of apps, salads any vegetable dishes. Just enough sugar to sense sweetness without really tasting sweet. Loire valley blend (I think)

7/27/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

My niece (21) loves this wine! Affordable, great acidity and lemon lime on the nose. If Sprite made a wine - it would probably taste like this.

7/9/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

This wine was great. Honeyed tropical fruit, but still lively. Delicious and surprisingly fresh

7/9/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Nice Sonoma Pinot. Juicy cherry, ripe raspberries. Good acidity to balance the sweetness

7/8/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Wine still showing well. Brick color now, with leather, tar and herbs on the nose. Good acidity and smooth tannins. Wine began to show more fruit at about 30 minutes with raspberry, and maybe mint/eucalyptus? Very enjoyable and I wish I a few more of these

7/8/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Excellent,well balanced wine. Bright citrus to counter the powerful fruit

6/25/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

This wine is already showing well. Opened and tasted before leaving for NYC. Drank after four days and it was nearly perfect. Well balanced, with a longer than normal finish for ES cabernets.

5/21/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Leather, animal, blackberry and earth on the nose. Well balanced acidity and an iron like minerality to this wine. Dried fruit and spice on the finish.

5/7/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Nice, well balanced CA Pinot. This wine has held up very well. A little bit of spice and herbal notes initially, that give way to dried cherry and ripe raspberry. This wine still has very rich fruit and just enough acidity to keep it in balance. When I first tasted this wine 6-8 years ago, it was more austere. It has become more round, plush and very nice all by itself.

4/21/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Great mineralogy and balance. Almost an effervescent quality to this wine. Easy to drink and affordable. White flowers, pear, honey

4/18/2017 - Paradigm Media wrote:

Should have waited on this bottle for a few more years. Metallic, iron, minerals on the nose with roses/flowers in the back. Unripe cherry, cranberry and mineral. Very light style with longish finish and very little tannin to speak of. This wine is probably very nice with food. By itself, not a lot to contemplate.

4/17/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Well balanced, fresh pear, light orange zest and tangy but not overly sweet red apple.

4/10/2017 - Paradigm Media wrote:

Excellent. Full of ripe apples, pear and ginger. A sweet wine without being cloying in anyway. Just pure flavor with well balanced acidity.

4/10/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Well focused wine with fine tannins and a sustained finish. Tobacco, pencil lead and stone on the nose initially. Cherry, licorice, and a definitely more "earth" centric wine. Very enjoyable and quite different

3/26/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Blueberry, spice and dried cranberry. Balanced acidity and longish finish. Cocoa on the finish as well.

3/26/2017 - Paradigm Media wrote:

This wine was extremely popular, but not exactly to my taste. Very rich fruit on all aspects of this wine. Ripe blueberry, boysenberry and vanilla extract? Rich, viscous fruit flavors of boysenberry again. We described this wine as "IHOP" syrup flavors. Not enough acidity to balance the sweetness of this wine...but it was the most popular wine at the party.

3/23/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Ripe strawberry, bing cherry on the nose. Very nice acidity and restrained fruit. This wine was almost Burgundy like in it's feel. Longish finish and light tannins. We enjoyed it, but it could be held for another 2-3 years at least.

3/15/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Well integrated fruit, acidity and tannin. Very nice California Cabernet.

3/7/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Drinking beautifully

3/6/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Very nice wine. Surprising fruit, almost "grapey". Rust colored with baking spice, persimmon and cinnamon on the nose. For an older bottle ('08) this showed very well.

2/18/2017 - Paradigm Media Does not like this wine:

Cork taint. Smelled like a band aid when we opened. Cork was a greenish blue. This was the only bad bottle of the group.

2/18/2017 - Paradigm Media Likes this wine:

Excellent wine. Well balanced acidity, tannin and fruit.