7/4/2023 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Had a magnum of this for my son’s birthday year. Drank it tonight. Cloudy and looks unfiltered, but not bricking. Cherries on the nose and some sous bois. Great flavor and long finish. Cherries on the palate too. Well made wine and wonderful atm in a magnum form.

2/10/2021 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Dark garnet color. Red fruit and a lot of nice leather in the nose. Long finish and we’ll balanced. Surprising wine. Can go a bit longer.

2/1/2021 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

A year since my last bottle. Aging nicely. Still brigh garnet with cherry and a bit of earth on the nose. Good balance in the mouth with right amount of acidity. Can go longer. Very pretty wine now.

1/26/2021 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Deep garnet color. Cherry and some fresh leather on the nose. Medium acidity with smooth tannins and clean finish. Can age a bit more to develop some complexity. Taste in a year.

1/17/2021 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Drinking really well plenty of acidity, but great full mouthfeel with a long finish. Can go longer.

1/12/2021 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Consistent with other notes about it being closed and needing time.

12/25/2020 - H2OMansLibrary wrote:

Gift bottle from a colleague. Dark purple color with a hot alcoholic nose with some tar and dark berries. Dark fruit on the palate along with some herbs and strong tannins. Not my thing. Big wine.

12/17/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Drinking well. Can go longer. Good balance and body with a long finish.

12/15/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Earthy on the nose with some cherry notes. Smooth finish with bright fruit but a bit thin at times too. Consistent with other notes. A pleasant wine that doesn’t ask much of you.

12/5/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

This is a lovely bottle of wine. Nose is sous bois and cherries. Color is bright garnet with no bricking. Good body and balance of fruit and acidity. Can probably go a bit longer, but it's expressive and tasty now.

11/26/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Strong notes of black cherry on the nose. Dark berries on the palate with good acidity and a nice smooth finish. This drinks better on the cooler side for me, sub-60 degrees. A well balanced Pinot. This is drinking well. I don't think this is going to improve dramatically with age. It doesn't feel like it has the depth to go too long.

11/5/2020 - H2OMansLibrary wrote:

Soft salmon color. Cherry on the nose. Bone dry and a touch austere. Not rounding out in the mouth for me.

11/4/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Light, crisp, good value.

10/26/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

White flowers and lime on the nose. Big mouth feel on this one, balanced by acidity. Bone dry but expressive enough that it almost doesn't feel that way. Good expression of the varietal.

10/18/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

This was drinking well with nice age. Color is still good with only mild bricking. Nose was slightly fresh, and stronger dried, red berries with a bit of sous bois and leather. Nice finish and nearing the end of its drinking window.

10/18/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Brioche and yeast on the nose, with a light straw color. Well balanced with good acidity and a long finish. Good stuff.

10/18/2020 - H2OMansLibrary wrote:

Premoxed. Even so... amber in the decanter with a strong nose of Madeira and dried fruit. Palate isn't worth describing really, but you could tell their was well balanced wine in their somewhere. A couple pieces of cheese allowed me to pretend that the wine wasn't ruined Chablis, but something more exotic and worth pondering. Sadly, in the end, it's premoxed Chablis.

10/17/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Oh man, what a bummer. I knew it was done in '15 and I forgot about it. Now it's done and dusted, not really drinkable except for the sheer perversity of enjoying something past its prime. I have fond memories of it in 2015, so I'll stay with that...

10/17/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Light straw color. Lovely nose with some white pepper. Great acidity and balance on the palate. Drinkable now and can age a bit too. Fantastic aperitif or food wine.

10/17/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Does not like this wine:

This is my second bottle of this and it's not good. Straight up. It smells like bad Cote du Rhone, and is massively out of balance on the palate. Color is dark purple, which even in 2005 is odd for a 15 year old wine. While I thought the winemaker blew an otherwise good vintage, I'm going to assume that since I bought this from a private collection, the prior storage was flawed in some way.

10/16/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

My last bottle. So delicious. Nose has lovely petrol notes with white flowers. Palate has crisp acidity with enough sugar to round out the dryness. Drinking beautifully now but can easily go 10+ years. Fantastic.

10/16/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

This was very good and is just about finished. Decant it and serve at a cooler cellar temperature to hold it together. Nice dried fruit on the nose, typical aged garrigue on the palate. Will not improve with any further age, so drink up.

10/12/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Very light straw color with not quite ripe pear on the nose. Minerals and good acidity on the palate. Smooth finish. Great stuff and excellent value. For drinking now or another year or two.

10/5/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Light straw in color with a delicate nose of saline and flowers. Crisp minerals on the palate with a smooth finish. Drinking well and still has life in it. Beautiful wine.

5/21/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

3.5 years since last bottle. Color is less vibrant as you'd expect. Still strong cola and a bit of earth on the nose. Some strong acidity on the palate (too much really), but the wine hasn't really opened up yet. Dried red fruit and a nice long finish. Should get better with some air, not age. A bit odd, but enjoyable all the same.

5/19/2020 - H2OMansLibrary wrote:

Hasn't aged like I hoped. Last bottle was 4 years ago and was much better. Bummer.

5/19/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Bright gold with strong saline and lemon on the nose. Fantastic acidity and a long finish. Will age nicely. Better than 2017 I think.

5/18/2020 - H2OMansLibrary wrote:

A decent, but rather uninteresting wine that went well enough with some red sauce pasta.

5/13/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Less petrol than I remember. Interesting for sure. Still good acidity.

5/13/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

3 years since last bottle (how's that for discipline?) and this is still way too young. Lots of fruit and definitely enjoyable, but let it sit a few more years. Should improve.

5/10/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Last bottle. Dark orange color. Apricots on the nose. Honey, apricots, and nuts on the palate. Acidity is pretty much done so this is about it folks. Good wine but nothing special.

5/10/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Dark ruby. Cherries and earth on the nose. Nice body and a lot of fruit but with well balanced acidity. Needs 5-7 years to develop some complexity but is approachable now if larger styles are preferred. Personal note: Hold.

5/1/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Looks older than it tastes. Definitely on the lighter side with nice herb notes on the nose and palate. Good structure and a smooth finish. Not built for the long haul, so probably best to drink over next three years.

4/29/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Great bright aperitif. Wonderful with buttery clams too. Fun stuff.

4/28/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Darker garnet color than expected. Cherries on the nose plus a bit of earth--actually smells a bit like a Russian River Valley Pinot now that I think of it. Good mouthfeel and nice acidity though. Can definitely go longer and seems like it would benefit from more time. Very drinkable now and much better than a few years back.

4/24/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Starting to get some darker gold tones in color. White flowers and a bit of brine on the nose. Fantastic flavor with soft citrus, well balanced acidity, and a long smooth finish. Excellent wine. Great now but can go longer.

4/20/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

A larger, more fruit-forward style of Pinot, but drinking nicely now and paired well with COVID-19 sheltering and 2 episodes of The Last Dance on ESPN.

4/18/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Last bottle paired with homemade chicken pot pie. This bottle was better than the last, with any oak way in the background and plenty of refreshing acidity. Good long finish. Drinking very well. Can go longer but ready to go now. Would be excellent with some fatty salmon.

3/27/2020 - H2OMansLibrary wrote:

Has to be flawed. Finish is toxic.

3/27/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Two years since last bottle. Darker garnet color. Typical cherry cola RRV nose. Polished red fruit on palate with good acidity. Bigger style than I like but well put together. Not worth the price given the style is out of whack with my taste. Easy drinking and pleasant enough, but I don’t love it.

3/18/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Been about a year since the last bottle. Darker garnet color. Cherries and a touch of licorice on the nose. Red fruit on the palate and good acidity. All in all, drinking nicely and can go longer. No need to wait though.

3/15/2020 - H2OMansLibrary wrote:

This has gotten a bit funky over the past couple years. Nutty on the nose and a bit more acidic on the palate. I think this has seen its best days. I suggest drinking these sooner than later.

3/14/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Does not like this wine:

This is pretty marginal at this point. Not sure if it was ever any good to be honest. Acidic and uninteresting.

3/13/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Been 4 years since my last bottle. Still a dark and juicy Zin. Leather and dark fruits on the nose plus a bit of herb. Great mouthfeel and plenty of acid and tannin to age further. Long finish. Very good now. Very good later too.

3/5/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Does not like this wine:

Not a big fan of this style. Very big RRV Pinot. Still dark and a bit unfiltered looking. Strong dried fruit and a bit of savory on the nose. Large mouthfeel and a long finish, but pretty damn meaty to be honest. At this point, more like Rhone than Pinot. This screams for a ribeye to knock off some of the general largeness.

2/22/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Floral and wet stones on the nose. Good crushed stone and tart fruit on the palate. Nice finish. Excellent value. Good aperitif.

2/17/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

White flowers on the nose. Medium bodied with good acidity and minerals. Good stuff and nice value.

2/16/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Plenty of good notes from others on this. Very good Chenin and excellent food wine. Plenty of life.

2/16/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Fantastic Gruner and great QPR.

2/16/2020 - H2OMansLibrary Likes this wine:

Not much to add to prior notes. Great stuff. Excellent value.