12/2/2023 - Eric wrote:

ESTG Year-End Tasting (Newcastle, WA): Wow. Burgundy. Epitome. Unreal palate, structured but giving. Chewy, baked earth, mouthwatering and juicy. Still some chewy tannins, long and silky with fantastic red fruit.

2/10/2023 - thewiz Likes this wine:

(From half bottle, Disgorged in November 2020, 58% Pinot Noir and 42% Chardonnay, dosage 9 gr/L)
Pale salmon pink colour with streams of very fine bubbles and with a youthful nose showing wild strawberries fruitiness at first and opens up with cherry stone, hazelnuts and cream in a delicious way. Refreshing raspberry acidity on the youthful palate with a hint of oranges and a pleasant creaminess on the mid and with a lengthy and intense finish showing a pleasant lime zesty bitterness. This is a very good vintage of this cuvée that will need time to transform into its more tertiary level, but it will be hard to keep since it’s so delicious already!
(Best 2025-2045)

6/17/2023 - WST Likes this wine:

This is one of my favorite growers, and my most prized NV rosé. Vinous with knife-edged energy. Creamy red fruit, mandarin, ginger, sandalwood and floral notes supported by crisp acidity. July 2020 disgorgement, 60 mos on lees.

11/20/2021 - WST Likes this wine:

Hospice Auction Wine Night (Samish Hill, Bellingham, WA): This was an outstanding magnum. Served too cold, it blossomed with air and warmth. Less doughy and exuberant than the 2002, but possessing more charm and elegance. A kaleidoscope of scents and flavors; citrus, apricot, brioche, fruit blossoms and more. A little reduction. This will last for decades.

1/11/2023 - MC wrote:

Tasted at a group BYO. Had been open for a few hours but not sure if it was given any more air than a pulled cork. This was great, with blue fruit, forest floor, nice concentration and finish. One of my favorites of the evening. If I had more time with it I might have liked it even more.
A-/A

3/21/2021 - WST Likes this wine:

I'm increasingly becoming a serious fan of this grower. Their NV Rosé is beautiful (when I can find it for what I consider a reasonable price). Their Cuvée Nicolas-François Billecart BdB is always spectacular and worth the high cost. This vintage rosé confirmed my growing reverence for the house. The Chardonnay and Pinot qualities seem to compete for my attention. Orange peel and lemon, orchard fruit and strawberries. It's still a baby, substantial yet elegant now; better times ahead. I've only had this cuvée from2007; I'd expect it to be spectacular in a stronger vintage.

12/27/2021 - WST Likes this wine:

One of my Q/P winners of the year. This is a clean, energetic pinot. Crunch red fruit, perfect acidic cut, a little earthiness. If this is her entry level Pinot Noir, I can't wait to start opening the vineyard and block designates!

2/4/2019 - Louvin Likes this wine:

short decant and drunk over then next hour. This is so different in evolution from the '89 I enjoy so much. It's the younger, much younger brother, so fresh and vibrant it hardly seems evolved. Fairly firm tannins, more red than black fruit and the green leaf tobacco (GLT) is only evident after about an hour opening. Very enjoyable wine for sure, just still so young, wish I had more.

9/3/2021 - tony.domenico1@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Drinking with my Mom in Portland, Oregon.
Beautiful bottle, love the 97.
My mom is really appreciating this bottle!

1/3/2021 - Louvin Likes this wine:

opens with a sweet, possibly oak signature; tastes move all over the place seemingly typical of chablis then not, while enjoyable, more so for my wife, my final thought was it just was a bit too sweet to be my typical chablis of interest.

1/2/2021 - Dave Canada wrote:

Signs of seepage....great ullage though
Pours pale garnet with orange bricking at the edge. Colour seems somewhat advanced
Very earthy with leaner red fruit...cherry, meat, spice, bay leaf, herbs, mulch, wet leaf and earth. Fruit seems to be riding in the backseat on this wine.
Finish is medium and has some ashy flavours that develop over time. Not sure if this is a completely representative bottle.

1/18/2020 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

Académie des Cinquante Saint-Emilion Tasting (Restaurant Bolenius *, Amsterdam, NL): Tasted blind twice (1, wine 20): concentrated, complete, classical, high but refined tannins, complex, 93. (2) Rich, elegant, Pomerol-like gravelly warmth, firm but well managed tannins, flowing and elegant, long and playful, 94.

1/26/2020 - DougLee wrote:

Ruby color. Nose of raspberry, violets, anise. Wild berry and plum on the palate with some oak notes and spice. A bit dilute. Moderate acidity and firm tannin. Medium length finish of crushed red berry fruit and bits of vanilla.

10/5/2019 - Paul S wrote:

Chris' Birthday Dinner (Summer Palace, Regent Hotel): Very nice indeed - this was better than the last bottle I had a couple of weeks back. What a lovely nose it had, with drifts of fragrant Vosne spice wafting around a core of sweet dark cherries and plums, dried violets and slightly funky, meaty sous bois. A beautiful RSV bouquet. It was delicious on the palate. So elegant, with fine, velvety tannins and wonderfully defined acidity framing deliciously transparent flavours of dark cherries, red berries and plums, all infused with a lovely mouthful of Vosne spice, and just that little kiss of florals tracing its way into a lovely long finish. Maybe lacking a touch of Grand a Cru authority and power, but it was very delicious - this was a truly seductive mouthful drinking at a rather advanced peak.

7/26/2016 - Odfalzso Likes this wine:

light, supple, mouthwatering, vivacious, earthen, mineral, barnyard, round cherries & bright raspberries. very clear flavors. sophisticated, but not serious.

1/6/2019 - UTPK Likes this wine:

8th bottle since released (last taste 6 years ago). The best so far, but needs to decant 3-4 hours in open caraffe. Great nose of green herbs, bacon, white pepper and some tertiary aromas perking through, ie forest floor, wet fur. Medium bodied. Rather elegant and not as forward as 2003 and not as good as the 1999, albeit the 1999 needs 10 more years. The 2001 is ready now if you decant long.

11/17/2018 - jonaspq Likes this wine:

Candied citrus and flint on the nose. Creamy mouthfeel with good acidic bite and length. Slightly bitter ending.

5/18/2018 - JWG wrote:

This has increased in goodness since the last bottle I had in 2015. As always, a really classic, tradizione barolo.
More tar on the nose this time, along with earth. Palate is fabulous -- earth, big fruit, dark cherry, chewy, with somewhat moderated tannins compared to last time. Still lively and no sense of getting past any peak.

5/1/2018 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Fun and crisp and delicious.

1/22/2018 - winemaker Likes this wine:

I opened this tonight to reflect on the passing of Bruno Giacosa. He has made many of the finest wines to come out Piemonte. This bottle is a very Burgundian expression of Nebbiolo. Tannins are mostly resolved, with lip smacking acidity and sappy red fruits. Just gorgeous. Glad I have more.

12/8/2017 - 1999 Likes this wine:

Surprisingly approachable now. Sometimes Thomas takes hours to open up or is super tight. Tonight it opened fast and was full and smooth.

2/22/2017 - grafstrb wrote:

-- decanted for 1.5 hours before initial taste --
-- tasted non-blind over 3 hours --

NOSE aged red fruits; hint of stewed tomato; expressive; not complex.

BODY: garnet color of medium to medium-deep depth; bricking throughout; medium-grained particulate matter present; medium bodied. Thought about deducting a point for the bricking, as most Arcadian pinots of this age wouldn't show that way, but decided not to.

TASTE: open; dark red fruits (a bit muddled); medium oak; not as acidic as most Arcadian pinots*; bitter florals; seems to be ageing quickly relative to other Arcadian offerings; *apparent acidity did increase to medium – medium+ after 4 hours open; better with air than without; surprisingly, I think this is in its peak window, if not already on its gradual downslope, due to some worries that the oak is starting to take a stronger position than it formerly did. It's kind of crazy to say an 11 year old Pinot Noir from the U.S. is "early maturing" but that's really a testament to the ageworthiness of Joe's wines. I will continue to check-in on this every few months; very good to low-level excellent. Drink now and over the near term.

50, 5, 11, 16, 7 = 89

10/16/2016 - Chris Likes this wine:

Wonderful as usual. I have yet to try a vintage of this masterpiece that I didn't at least really like. The 2007 was my first and probably still at mythical level in my mind. Kept one of those to drink in 2017 to see how the peay wines age.

9/3/2016 - rossi.wine wrote:

Compared to the 2015 less generous fruit, very saline and herbal. Again lots of power and freshness on the palate, bright, sinewy and almost a little skinny, but wonderful depth and length. Lingering finish. 93-94+

3/8/2016 - IlonaN wrote:

I kid you not, this stuff is delicious and much of that impression comes from the sheer unusual-ness of this varietal wine. Lithe, perfumed, lightly tannic but not enough to upset a dish of Asian style steamed fish, this is a delightful drink. An elixir of roses, violets and juicy red fruit. Have no idea if this can take some cellar age, but at our house it's likely to be consumed in the very near term.