7/17/2012 - PinotDude wrote:

Very enjoyable

3/25/2012 - PinotDude wrote:

A wonderful bottle drank with great friends, Ferry House, Princeton, nj

12/27/2011 - PinotDude wrote:

Very nice. A good food wine. Took about 2 hours to smooth out

12/1/2010 - PinotDude wrote:

Excellent, great with veal, took about an hour to open up

11/6/2010 - PinotDude wrote:

Very pleasurable with a pork roast. Great cab nose, well balanced with a very nice mouth feel. Silky smooth

8/15/2010 - PinotDude wrote:

Popped and poured at the Mojave Grill. Smooth and delightful. Still very much alive

7/25/2010 - PinotDude wrote:

Delightful

6/13/2010 - PinotDude wrote:

Nice. Met my expectation for a middle price range California pinot noir

2/7/2010 - PinotDude wrote:

Went well with steak at home. Not as good as the 2002. Never the less, a pleasant drink

2/4/2010 - PinotDude wrote:

Excellent. Still bright and lively. Definately a food wine

1/26/2010 - PinotDude wrote:

Still bright and tasty

1/3/2010 - PinotDude wrote:

Excellent. Served with a smoked ham at dinner with Carol and Phil on a very cold January evening

1/1/2010 - PinotDude wrote:

A very pleasant wine with dinner on New Years Eve at Brandyl in Belmar. Fully mature.

12/26/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

A very pleasant Pinot. Consumed with family at Chritmas dinner. Paired well with pork roast

12/20/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

spicy nose, fruity taste. A pleasant wine with good body. Perfect with pasta

12/9/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Paired with fresh slices of pear. Intense and very well balanced. Excellent in every way

11/9/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Deep red wine was decanted one hour before drinking. Good structure but lacking a bit in complexity. A nice full smooth mouth feel. Quite fruity but not over the edge. Very much enjoyed

9/17/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Improved with age. More body and nose

9/13/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Tasted at a wine tasting dinner at the City Winery in NYC. Plenty of interest on the nose, exotic spices, intense integrated fruits. Almost smelled like a light sauturne. Unique and intense in flavor, full bodied with an excellent long lovely finish. Drink now but could evolve. All this all from a person that is not generally a Chardonnay fan

9/13/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Tasted at a wine tasting dinner at the City Winery in NYC. Substantial flinty nose. Full bodied, round and lush wih minimal oak. Great structure, balance and length

9/13/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Tasted at a wine tasting dinner at the City Winery in NYC. Great intense nose, earthy licorice and spices. Dark red in color. Explosion of flavors, nice mouth feel. Some dark fruir and currnets, earthy. Tannins suggest some positive evolution for 2-3 years

9/13/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Tasted at a wine tasting dinner at the City Winery in NYC. Lovely nose, earthy, strong cinnamon and oriental spices, unique. Smooher and more delicate than the Barbara I tasted with it. Soft tannins on a good finish. Perhaps even better in a year or two. Great food wine

9/13/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Tasted at a wine tasting dinner at the City Winery in NYC. Very nice nose, wet stones with some mellon and figs on the nose. Clean crsip in taste with a nice tart finish. Far better than most Pinot Grigio from Italy

8/10/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Great nose! Maybe pears and minerals. Medium-bodied with lush complex flavors. Nicely structured. Long and clean finish with a little green apple tartness. Enjoyed at home with baked wild-caught halibut

8/2/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Decanted for one hour. Medium to full bodied with soft tannins. More complex than I would have imagined. Very pleasing and a great QPR!

7/6/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Decanted, needed 1-2 hours of breathing to come together. Past its prime but very pleasurable

6/21/2009 - PinotDude wrote:

Smooth, clean and refreshing. Good QPR

12/21/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Once again, truly excellent. Nose was an earthy dark fruit at first but it evolved to strong licorice with a bit of tobacco in about an hour. Had this with rack of lamb prepared by my wife. A gourmet feast for the toe of us. A wonderful pairing. At first tasted dry and astringent...but softened nicely by the time it had been decanted for two hours. The wine felt young and ready at the same time. Intense and powerful. Great balance and length. For me, it's at its peak now...(my cellaring conditions are adequate but not ideal resulting in faster ageing).

12/17/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Pleasant, crisp and refreshing. Good balance and variatal flavors. Not very complex and of course no butter or vanilla....which is fine with me. At home with ravioli. Excellent value

12/15/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Just OK at first. Took about an hour and a half to open up. Licorice and leather on the nose. Earthy in taste with dark subtle fruits. Clean finish and good balance. Clean finish. Give it a chance to open up! Could use a year of aging. At dinner during the week with flank steak.

10/1/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Wonderful! Going back to purchase more. Great QPR at $14.99

8/4/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

A nice wine at a reasonable price. Pears, minerals and perhaps some fig like characteristic. Import by Robert Kacher a very reliable importer. Tastes best when it's warmer than refrigerator temperature. Tart when too cold. Good balance and a pleasant finish. Lasted for three evenings without any noticable loss.

7/25/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

A tasty Viognier sourced from Rhone vineyards. Light and refreshing with a very nice finish. Great QPR at the $10 sale price. I will by more this weekend.

7/19/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

My last bottle. Decanted and consumed within one hour. Robust and luscious. Smooth with a lovely finish (although not especiallu long). Just enough tannin remains to keep this wine in balance. This is among the best Beaujolais that I have ever had. On the back deck with grilled chicken.

7/17/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Wow, this was a surprise. I expected this wine to be past its prime, but it turned out to be outstanding. On decanting it was a nice ruby red. The nose had a touch of dirty diaper mixed with earth and dark berries. On the palate, black cherries, currents, prunes and spices. Very smooth, just the right level of acid and no harsh tannins. Great balance with a long finished. I color started to take on a brownish hue after about one hour. I would say drink ASAP

7/16/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

A nice tart granny Smith apple taste with good balance and structure followed by a smooth finish. Got even better with time and warming. My last bottle of three that I bought at the vinyard.

7/1/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

I think this is my third bottle. Opened about an hour before dinner. Little redhead seems to have mellowed out. Smoother in taste and finish than my first bottle. Good traditional dark berry in taste, but I had trouble finding the nose. With grilled flanksteak. Seems I like this wine better than others that have tried it.

6/25/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Decanted and aired for one hour before tasting. Nose of dark cherry, black pepper and a smoky/charred flavor. Taste is similar with earthy flavors and licorice. Feels very earthy and traditional. Good balance and finish, fully mature. I had this with a grilled steak enhanced with a rub. Nose of dark cherry, black pepper and smoke/charred flavor. On the deck with our granddaaughter. This is my last bottle of 02, but I still have 04.

5/22/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Nice golden yellow. Still drinking well after all these years. Now quite complex, intreging and intense. Long clean finish. Best with food (we had crab cakes)

2/29/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Pleasant, clean but not compelling

2/27/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Very pale in color. Grass and citrus on the nose. Nice body and balance with a full mouth feel of citrus and green apple. Notable finish with lovely taste and length. Tastes even better and rounder as it warms.

2/25/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Tried this again when a friend brought it over for dinner. Liked it even less this time. Seemed more medicinal on the palate than my previous tasting. Very simple.

2/24/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Decanted for three hours. Distinct brown hue at first but evolved to a lovely ruby red before an hour was up. Very aromatic when tried just before dinner. Earthy leather and a bit of subtle tar with intense dark fruit aromas especially plum. Well balanced and smooth in the mouth with a more pronounced anise taste. Great grip and complex structure. Lots I missed too…but the two previous reviewers were tasting the exact same wine as I tasted! Paired with pork roast at our house with Phil and Carol.

2/21/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Popped and poured, not expecting much. Intense earthy dark fruit and licorice....a bit yeasty at first. Spicy blunt fruit on the palate after 15 minutes, a bit hot and awkward on the finish so far. A hour late had not chanced much but was a good match for spicy Indian food. Not a sipping wine but a pairing that complemented the food...just what I was hoping for. A 79 as a sipping wine, 84 as a food wine.

2/19/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Remarkably vibrant wine for an 18 year old. Different for me...hard to describe. I can identify chennin blanc characteristics on the nose ...this one earthy, scent of wet stones, quinine. Robust, full, oily, perhaps a little nutty, and focused on the palate. Well balanced with a nice long finish. I thought this might be past it's prime, but it's holding up fine (even though it was not always kept at optimum temperture). Quite different compared to older chardonnay or sav blanc. I think I have four more bottles.

2/18/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Good, but not very good. Robust enough, big on the fruit at the front. Simple but a little harsh on the finish. Worked well with pasta. Nice QPR

2/14/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Just opened a bottle before dinner. Pears and lemon poured over stone. Nice crisp midpalate with a tangy finish. Longer than I would have expected for a simple wine. A great QPR on this stuff. If I get a chance, I will report back after dinner of shrimp stir fry

2/12/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Opened this when I learned we were having a steak with pablano peppers, and mushrooms for dinner. Splash decanted. Tasted in 15 minutes. Earthy, dark fruits overlayed with subtle tar. Midpalate giving way to a flash of dark berries...perhaps blueberries and sour cherries. A nice bite of acid and soft tannins at the finish. Seemed very dry at first. Nice finish with a hint of smoke. With the steak became more rounded....the earthy components gave a hint of barnyard....and the nose and palate became more integrated and we started to feel some complexity. In the end, seemed to grow into a brunello. Give this wine some breathing time, best with food. Have some left to try tomorrow night. This is the second bottle of this wine and it showed great development compared to the bottle I had 4- months ago (which I would have rated 86-88).

2/6/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Quite enjoyable. Last of about half a case... enjoyed them all. Tasting Notes ..much like the positive comment expressed by others. As this evening, a great match for Indian food. I'm just going to go back and finish the bottle and not think too much about the individual characteristics of the wine.

2/4/2008 - PinotDude wrote:

Had this with a rainbow roll from Shoprite before the Super Bowl. Mineral and wet stone on the nose with increasing hints of pear and kiwi. Restrained and focused on the palate.. lemon and minerals....yes...I can even pick up the petrol. Well focused and restrained mouth feel. A clean crisp finish. Solid on the second day.