12/31/2023 - SkeBum wrote:

This is the last of 6 bottles that I owned. Only posted notes on 5 of them I believe. Anyway, opened 3 hours before drinking. Poured a little into a glass. Cork was perfect even after all this time, a lesson that American wine makers could learn.

Nice garnet color in glass, very little bricking. Nose is pencil shaving and some raspberries. Drank over an hour with dinner. This wine seems to be fading from the glory that I once drank. The main issue is the fruit on the finish. The tannins and acid is all great, with pencil shavings nose this wine is known for. The magic of this wine in my opinion, was it finished with a light touch of fruit, that made you believe there is a God. However, that fruit is fading has been over the last 4-5 yrs. Now this wine is top notch still and 94 is a good score in my book, it just isn’t a 99 point wine anymore. Wish I had 34 more years left so I could buy some more and age it all over again, for another run. Super fun.

3/11/2023 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

This wine is in a great place right now. Everything is working together and drinking well. Might have another year in bottle before decline, but we’ll made wine.

3/11/2023 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Darker red in the glass then I was expecting. No bricking around edges noted. Open and then decanted, let sit 2 hrs before drinking Wine is showing well, all things are well in balance. Well put together but not the best V.R. I have had. May wait to drink the other bottles I have, however this may be in a good spot right now

3/9/2023 - SkeBum Does not like this wine:

Lemon zest and grapefruit on the nose. Not sure what is going on with the palate, it is kind of messy. The finish is a sweet fruit-ish sort of deal. Very unimpressive wine. Maybe age will help, but not holding out much hope.

12/30/2022 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Little funk on the nose upon opening. That blew off and the wine opened up nicely. Light straw color in the glass, with notes of fruit and maybe a little earth on the nose with light fruit, mineral on the palate. Excellent wine and drinking well right now.

11/12/2022 - SkeBum Does not like this wine:

3 hr decant didn’t help. Started bad, never got good. Disjointed with some weird fruit/prune thing going on. Sorry, I know the Washington people adore this place, for the price of this, I can name 20 better French wines. Honestly this is making me rethink being on their mailing list.

Update: I poured a small glass just now, bottle open for 18 hrs. It is still not doing it for me. Prunes, with alcohol on the nose. Tastes hot, as in I can taste the alcohol on it. Says 14.4 by volume on the bottle, I know that is a moving target.

11/10/2022 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Wine is still showing well, but on the down hill slide it seems. Cherries on the nose, bright red in the glass, everything in balance. Drank over two days, second day was maybe a touch better. Last bottle of this, still have some wines from Ray in the cellar, may dig them out soon. Decent wine, too bad his story gets in the way.

2/5/2022 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Pulled from the cellar and decanted for a hour or so. Deep red color, cork in great shape. (Note to other “high” end cab makers, 1.5 inch corks work best for wine that is made to be aged) Anyway, nose is oak and dark fruit, with a whiff of alcohol. Palate is good. Guests loved it, I personally thought the finish was just okay. Tannins and everything are working well. I personally consider this maker a second tier Napa Cab producer, and rated it as such.(If you don’t consider this maker as such, that is fine also) However, having drank some of the All Stars Cabs over the years this is a top notch California Cab, just not the top level. Drinking well, management aka the wife wants me to pull another bottle from storage, so I will.

2/2/2022 - SkeBum Does not like this wine:

Well this wine is way past it’s prime Found it in the cellar and was hoping it was still drinkable. Cork was suspect when opened, wine color was heavily bricked, wine flappy and undrinkable. Down the drain it went.

My complaints with California producers and suspect cork continues.

2/1/2022 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Drinking well. Bright red, well balanced, excellent wine.

1/21/2022 - SkeBum Does not like this wine:

Decanted, did a dance around it, nothing can help it. Wine is shot, not even cooking wine. Flabby, messy, sad.

12/29/2021 - SkeBum wrote:

Don’t know if this was flawed or what. The cork came out in pieces, typical of US makers, wine was inedible and basically garbage. Should have drank 5-8 years ago. This wine can’t handle age.

12/28/2021 - SkeBum wrote:

Dark red, with no bricking on the edges. Palate is balanced. Very much a food wine. Confused over the high ratings of this wine. This is good wine, not a 95 point wine in my book. Professionally stored and bought on release.

2/5/2021 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

One of the best California Cabs I have had in a long time. Nose is good with dark fruit and earth tones. The wine is well made with a nice mouth feel and palate to match a wine of this price point. Top quality juice from a good maker.

12/22/2020 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

All the things that I love about Burgundy. Pale red in the glass, with notes of earth and light cherry on the nose. Acid and fruit are all working well. Nice effort from the wine maker and very nice effort.

12/22/2020 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Well made Oregon Pinot. Little darker red then I was expecting in the glass. However, doesn’t taste over done. Nice food wine.

12/12/2020 - SkeBum wrote:

Pulled this out the storage unit. Opened and found wine had ran most of the way up the cork. Wine is so-so, little heavy on the Pinot scale, with okay balance across the palate, however too expensive for what you get.

11/29/2020 - SkeBum Does not like this wine:

Opened wine tasted, not drinkable. decanted for 3 hrs not drinkable. Gassed it and left it over night, next day undrinkable. Wine wasn’t corked or anything, it was just a mess of alcohol on the nose with maybe some leather and fruit. Palate was griping tannins with a high alcohol and sugar after taste.

Will stick to France or higher end wineries with proven track records for my Bdx blends. Wine ended up down the sink.

11/26/2020 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Decent California Pinot, however for the price I can name 10 California makers that have better value, W-S is hanging on their name. I can name 50 French wine makers that are better for the money then this wine. It is decent wine with all things in balance, however is it a top of the line Pinot, ummm no. There is a reason I stopped buying this maker. Stored in a professional place, so that isn’t an issue. Aging isn’t going to fix this.

11/26/2020 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Having drank this wine in the past, I can say this wine is falling apart. Cherry red on the pour with slight bricking on the edges. All components of the wine are working, barely. Another 4 yrs and you will be left with a flappy mess. My wine was stored professionally, this wine just can’t handle aging like Burgundy. However, decent California Pinot, drink don’t age hoping for better, as it isn’t going to happen.

11/18/2020 - SkeBum wrote:

Pale ruby in the glass. Notes of cherry on the nose. Works across the palate in all phases, very well made. Acidity and everything is working. No bricking notes.

11/28/2019 - SkeBum wrote:

Everything is working in harmony in this wine. Opened it up and it was a complete crowd pleaser. Very nice effort from a quality producer.

11/28/2019 - SkeBum wrote:

Light red with slight bricking along the edges of the glass. Nose is earthy with a hint of fruit. Wine opened up after about 30-45 minutes. Very smooth most of the tannins gone. This is good, not over the top Burg. I have one more bottle and will drink it in the next year or so as this seems to have gone flat.

12/24/2018 - SkeBum wrote:

Initial impression; for having such high end fruit and for being 13 yrs past vintage, the wine was mediocre at best.

Dark red in the glass with no bricking on the edges. Nose is red fruit with some wood notes. Palate is balanced with most the palate in agreement. The wine falls short on the finish, that is average at best. Having drank quite a few wines from this area and vineyard, for the price this was a miss. Not sure more time in the cellar would have produced better results.

11/22/2018 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Popped and poured, dark red with no bricking yet. Wine is hitting its peak right now. Nose is stunning, dark fruit and earth. Palate isn’t quite up to the nose but still pretty good. With a nice balance all the way around. One of the best California cabs I have had in a while.

10/25/2018 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Solid Burgundy, light red in the glass. Nose is touch of earth, and cherries. Palate is balanced with a smooth finish. Drank this the same day it was received from shipping as I needed a Pinot fix, so will be better after the bottle shock wears off. This punches well above its price point.

8/7/2018 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

This wine is fading, this is the second bottle I have drank that seems past its prime. The fruit while still there isn’t as bright, with the bricking becoming more pronounced on the edges. Make no mistake this wine is still pretty awesome, however it isn’t as vibrant as some bottles I have had in the past.

8/4/2018 - SkeBum Does not like this wine:

Super dark red in the glass, looks almost like a Cab or Zin. Nose is alcohol with some fruit mixed in so as not to singe your nose hairs, is my guess. Opened day one, popped and poured wasn’t able to choke down more then two swigs. Day two, nose has calmed down a little nothing much has changed with the palate though.

The palate is a mishmash of alcohol and over extracted fruit with some tannis thrown in to make it really lumpy. Nothing is in balance. Cork was good and wine wasn’t corked. For the price I would expect a better representation of Pinot. I realize this isn’t a Burgundy, however this isn’t even good in my world. There are Pinots for half the price that are much, much better. Down the drain it goes.

6/13/2018 - SkeBum wrote:

This is a good wine for its price. It has a decent nose and an okay palate. If this was California Pinot it would be 25$.

1/13/2018 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Opened this in a wine emergency, hasn’t been to the off site storage in a while. Poured it for a friend and didn’t tell him what it was, he nailed the varietials, but missed the country, thought it was French.

Very well done wine, that excels with food, everything is balanced and could cellar for 10 yrs it feels like. While it is good, I can’t give it a mid 90 score, maybe after some cellar time it would be there.

12/29/2017 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

While Ray, the man who made this wine isn’t the most popular with a lot of people and getting this wine took a long time. It is good.

The nose is a earth/mushroom combo with a hint of cherry. The palate is cherries and dark fruit with a finish of mushroom/earth/cherry smoothie that leaves you needing a bite of food. All the elements are well balanced and it is well made.

Now while this is drinking a touch young it is still in a nice place. 5-7 is the window I will give it. This isn’t California Pinot, it is very French.

12/10/2017 - SkeBum wrote:

I was given this wine as a gift, when I looked up this wine I was stoked because of nothing more then the price. Well this doesn’t live up to it’s price. This is decent California Pinot, there are many out there that are better. I can’t get past the price for this wine to review it properly. I would never pay full retail for this wine. Sorry

If this was priced at 30$ I would give it 90+ points.

11/11/2017 - SkeBum wrote:

Very well done Oregon Pinot, top of the line. The nose is exellent as is the palate with exellent balance across the whole range. Drank with smoked salmon and was exellent. Was a little darker red then some Oregon pinots, but in no way over extracted.

8/17/2017 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Paired with a filet this was a hit. Everything is balanced and working well.

8/5/2017 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

While this wine is still very good, it is fading in my opinion. I will be drinking the 3 bottles in my collection within the next year.

6/29/2017 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

The nose on this wine was amazing. The palate didn't quite match the smells going on. While it was really good California cab it never seemed to hit its stride. Wine is holding up well with no bricking on the edges in the glass.

6/17/2017 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Maybe needed to drink this bottle last year as it seems to have peaked. Still good balance with some lingering notes of spice on the finish. Good wine. Nice ruby color in the glass.

6/7/2017 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

One of the best rosés I have drank this year so far. This producer always delivers and this vintage is no exception.

1/27/2017 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

I find this an interesting Syrah. Not over done with a nice balance on the palate with a hint of pepper on the finish. Well made wine.

1/7/2017 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Light red in the glass, with a nose of raspberries. Light tannins with some acid, nice food wine. Really a well done wine from the Anderson valley, this is 100% Pommard clones and drinking well.

12/25/2016 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

While not the best early 2000's Burgundy I have ever drank it wasn't as bad some of the reviews. I'm not tasting this oak that has been talked about over and over. Decent wine, nothing to get excited about, but decent wine.

12/24/2016 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Good well balanced Burgundy, not too much fruit, too much acid or tannins. Great wine. Do not think it has much of a run left, drink sooner rather then later. Very much a food wine.

12/23/2016 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Nice red, nice value, drinking well.

12/6/2016 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Light fruit on the nose and light on the palate, with good acid. If you like big fruity pinots this isn't the wine for you. It is a old world style burgundy, that is priced a little high for a Bourgogne, but it worth it in my opinion.

11/23/2016 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

This wine has come into its own in the last couple years. Oak and dark fruit on the nose, the palate is pure California Cab. One of the best I have drank in a long time. Very good effort.

11/23/2016 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Nicely done Pinot from good producer.

11/21/2016 - SkeBum Does not like this wine:

Sorry, I have tried two bottles of this wine thinking the first one was maybe a bad cork.... um no. I know it entry level wine, I have had those from Italy before. This is just not very good.

11/8/2016 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Lovely wine, this maker is top notch.

10/30/2016 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Darker red in the glass compared to some Oregon pinots, however doesn't taste over extracted. Cherries on the nose and palate, with some earth as well. Slightly sweet on the finish.

10/28/2016 - SkeBum Likes this wine:

Opened this wine honestly, because it had a screw top and the World Series was starting and too rushed for a cork screw.

Anyway, I'm glad I did. Just took delivery of this yesterday so I'm sure it is still bottle shocked a little, but it is drinking well. Cherries and earth on the palate with the same on the nose with a nice balance all across the board on the palate. Little darker then some '12 Oregon pinots, but over all very well made wine.