12/22/2023 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Popped the cork and just left it open for 4 hours.

Still young and will improve over time. Tannins are firm and sticky. Alcohol is fairly well balanced.

Nose: floral notes, some leather. Nice bouquet.
Notes of cherry, bright red fruit, baking spice.

Good intensity with a 20+ second tail.

It's only going to get better so hold it if you can

1/7/2022 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Notes of honeycomb, peaches, apricot, and golden raisins. High acidity to hold it all together and cuts through the sweetness. Tail lingers and holds the sweetness.

10/15/2021 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Popped and straight into the glass. Very tight still and needed good amount of air to open up. Great nose but needs patience. Give it air and let it awaken. Notes of eucalyptus oil, cocoa, with a bees wax. Still a bit fruit forward with firm tannings. Modern style of wine. Drank across 3.5 hours and it picked up weight through the meal. Still mostly primary notes and can easily age some more. Hold a bit longer would be my vote.

1/31/2021 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

First 90 minutes it had a really weird funk. Not like the barnyard funk but something more like coral and almost like a tide pool during low tides. That was really odd. Something that I had never smelled in a pinot before. It then slowly opens up. 2+ hours later notes of fig, candied cranberries, and baking spice. Fruit up front, earthy mid, with a blend of the two for the tail. At 3+ hours you can feel the balance between fruit, earth, and floral notes. Just a lovely tail that goes on and on. The acidity will also make it match up and stand up with lots of different foods and just keeps you coming back for another sip. For my next bottle, think I will just let it breath for 2.5 hours before starting the meal and it will be singing all the way through.

1/24/2021 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Notes of rhubarb or is it cranberry? It swings between the two. Black Raspberry also shine through. Feels like walking through a forest the day after rain. The mouth feel is incredible with the high acidity. Sip after sip, the acidity just lingers and brightens up the palate. Absolutely a wine that needs to be paired up with some food as the acidity will clear and cleanse but also make sure to match up your dish to this. 5 hours in and it still sings.

1/16/2021 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Right away, the white pepper is the most dominant character. Red fruit shines through shortly afterward with sour cherries being the most noticeable fruit. About an hour or so later I am starting to get some gamey spice rubbed lamb notes. Giving it some air really brings out the long tail. Still rather dry and the tannin are still very firm so a few more years of aging would be ideal but sure does taste nice right now.

1/14/2021 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

1 of the things that I really like about Summa Vineyard is how unique it tastes compared to the rest of the plots in region. The orange peel note is present right away from the moment you take your first sip. You don't even need to give it air and it's right there. Notes of pomegranate and raspberry right away. 30 minutes later, white pepper shows up with a touch of cinnamon. Feels like there is a lot of fruit up front but it yields to leather notes and with great acidity. I think this is still filling in and the fruit will soften with a bit more. Given the acidity, I would pair it up with food and not drink it by itself. 30+ second long tail (specially around the 1 hour mark of the bottle being opened). Giving it even more time to open up in the bottle started to give it more savory notes such as bay leaves. Overall, really enjoying this bottle and recommend just opening it up and leaving it in the bottle for 1 hour before touching it.

2/2/2020 - kkdlam wrote:

Notes of smoky cherry, plum, and wet forest floor. Built to last. This will easily keep for years to come

6/3/2018 - kkdlam wrote:

Had 2 bottles... Both flawed.

Peach vinegar... Also bought from lastbottle.

11/22/2017 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Extremely tight... took 4 hours in a decanter before it fully opened up. Floral nose. Tastes of red fruit and some baking spices came through. Good balance with a long finish.

Will gladly pick up more and just let them age.

7/9/2017 - kkdlam wrote:

Great setup. Really great nose. Strawberry and Cherries really come through. But earthy/forest notes comes through on the palate. Good long finish that lingers. 1 of the best pinots of California!

3/25/2016 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Nice bottle with lots of acidity. Makes it pair well with lots of different foods. After an hour: black cherry and plum notes but quickly gets covered by by earthy notes. Good tail but wish it would linger a bit longer. Overall, nice bottle.

12/22/2015 - kkdlam Does not like this wine:

No fruit left in this bottle. Still has high acid but the fruit is gone. Best drink the rest of the bottle.

3/28/2015 - kkdlam wrote:

It's already flat... Almost no fruit left already. Drink now if you got any of these 1/2 bottle sizes left.

3/20/2015 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Well made syrah but not amazing. A bit one dimensional

3/2/2015 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

took 4 hours for this bottle to completely fill in.

Once it was fully open, there was a lot of earthy notes. Feels like the floor of a forest. Lot of mushrooms and finishes with some tart raspberries. Already showing signs of age in the color but nothing on the nose.

3/1/2015 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Tart red cherries with lot of dark berries. Good amount of acid giving it a long mouth watering feel. Only short fall is the tail is rather short and leaves nothing but tartness behind.

Overall, would buy again in a heartbeat. Could still use some extra time in the bottle.

2/6/2015 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Lot of fruit up front. After some time it turns to blue fruit but already showing signs of age. A bit of raisin smell and taste in the mid. Overall, a good bottle but with the tail was a longer.

11/22/2014 - kkdlam wrote:

Not much to this bottle. It's a bit sweet with very high amounts of alcohol (16.5%). Full body with large tannins. Lot of fruit up front but not much else going on. Overall, a crowd-pleaser type of wine.

8/29/2014 - kkdlam wrote:

very complex. Soft on the attack. Cherry, Cranberry, and Cola in the taste. However, it's a bit hot.

3/29/2014 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

leather, cassis, tabacco leaf, blueberries, mushrooms.

Soft tannins and ready to drink. Took about 20 minutes for it to full open. Could still use a few years in the cellar but it's drinking well now.

2/23/2014 - kkdlam wrote:

mouth watering acidity but finishes a bit dry. Lot of cherry, cola, and raspberry. Good balance of fruit, alcohol, and acidity. Tannins aren't completely soften yet so probably can use a few more years. Lot of spices in the mid.

I would give this bottle another 2 years before opening up more. Not yet even close to full maturity.

8/7/2013 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

nice fruit and balance. Drinking very well right now with signs that it's fully matured. Color shows bricking. Very feminine wine with very light body and soft tannins.

2/16/2013 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Tastes of blackberry, leather, and cassis. Just opened and poured into a glass. The nose smells like a molten chocolate lava cake. Still holding strong and easily has some plenty of life left in the bottle.

2/9/2013 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Taste: raisin, leather, cassis
Tail: 20+ long, with lots of variation.

Cork was completely destroyed on opening showing massive amount of seepage with some dry mold under the capsule. Popped and poured expecting for it to be bad given the condition. Rather surprised to how tight it was and took 20 minutes for it to open up. Around the 45-50 min time frame is when it started to go sour. Was very clear and could read a magazine through the wine. Nothing stringent or strange about it. Rather great wine for it's age and from a blind taste, would not have guessed it was a 1964 vintage.

1/31/2013 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Very light color and very clear. Rather unusual for a pinot profile. Raspberry taste with some earthiness to it. Rather dry and closed off. Even 90 minutes later, the mid palate was just starting to open up. Tannins are still firm and could use some time to mellow out.

Great bottle to take to a blind tasting and have people guess what it is. Drinks more like a cab.

1/17/2013 - kkdlam wrote:

Cork was utterly destroyed. Lot of seepage and just overall in a very poor shape.

Tastes: raisin, plum, maybe some apricot
Color: very cloudy and brown. Rather strange

7/5/2012 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Bottle had a leaky capsule and was only mid-shoulder fill.
Complex and still some fruit and acidity holding itself together. A bit of berry and vegetal nose. Refine and smooth 30+ second finish.

4/19/2012 - kkdlam Likes this wine:

Could still use another year or 2 in the cellar.

Fruit forward with some acidity. Well balanced and easy to pair for a meal. Easy to drink