2/1/2021 - Foster wrote:

In a very nice drinking space.

9/14/2020 - Foster wrote:

Lighter bodied, depth of red fruit with some earthiness. Great acid.

8/3/2020 - Foster wrote:

Nice balances between acidity and creaminess. Bright fruit, a little oaky bitterness comes through, but very nice overall.

8/27/2018 - Foster wrote:

Nice lighter bodied Pinot. Vibrant, crunchy red fruit.

5/14/2018 - Foster wrote:

Very nice lighter bodied pinot. Tart red berry, gripping tannins. Nice on its own, but would work with roast chicken.

1/8/2018 - Foster wrote:

Gewurtz forward, but an interesting blend overall. Citrus, perfume and pineapple juice. Slightly sweet med bodied. Pleasant.

11/12/2017 - Foster wrote:

Fantastic.

10/30/2017 - Foster wrote:

A little sweet, but pleasant

10/16/2017 - Foster wrote:

Lovely after 30min-1 h decant.

9/4/2017 - Foster wrote:

Milk chocolate bomb.

7/5/2017 - Foster wrote:

Disappointing. I have had most of the last few vintages of this wine, but this bottle lacked the nose I remember and had a distracting sweetness.

6/19/2017 - Foster wrote:

Reticent nose. Dark sweet fruit, little structure. Would be impossible to know this is Cabernet from the profile.

6/4/2017 - Foster wrote:

Rich and concentrated. Decanted and drank over 2 h. An unpleasant note on the nose detracted somewhat. Should have decanted longer as the last glass left out on the counter overnight was the best.

10/14/2016 - Foster wrote:

Should have decanted longer, but lovely cab.

9/13/2016 - Foster wrote:

Decanted 1 h. Very nice fruit forward cab. Textbook napa with soft tannins.

4/26/2016 - Foster wrote:

Dark fruit and chocolate with long finish. Showed very well at this stage.

4/11/2016 - Foster wrote:

In a very nice spot right now.

2/23/2016 - Foster wrote:

Consistent great value.

12/27/2015 - Foster wrote:

My first Sandlands red. Beautiful medium bodied, refreshing with medium plus acid. Juicy red fruit with gripping tannins. Everything in nice balance tonight!

11/9/2015 - Foster wrote:

Wow. Very dry and food friendly. Great nebbiolo typicity for the price.

5/11/2015 - Foster wrote:

Excellent red blend. Needed ~2 h to open up.

2/14/2015 - Foster wrote:

Medium bodied, medium/- acidity. Red fruit with some jalapeno and green peppers. Lean for a cab, but enjoyable.

2/9/2015 - Foster wrote:

Best with 30 min-1h of air.

1/27/2015 - Foster Likes this wine:

Clear Ruby. Cedar, pencil shavings and dark fruit on the nose. In the mouth medium/- body, good acidity and balanced cedar and dark fruit profile. Long finish. Flavors became rounder after 1-2 h in decanter and some subtler notes emerge. Lighter than I expected, but on this night a focused clearly bordeaux profile and very enjoyable.

1/20/2015 - Foster wrote:

Really nice. Medium bodied, medium + acid, smooth and fruit forward. Some complexity from spice and bramble. Continues to be an excellent value and in a great spot for us right now.

1/16/2015 - Foster wrote:

Initially high acid, lemon and some bitter flavors. After 1+h open the wine put on weight and turned to peaches with lemon zest. Really nice with some air and a good value.

11/26/2014 - Foster wrote:

On PnP not very interesting. Confectionary nose, medium weight, simple. With 1 h air this put on some additional weight, tannins became more present and the fruit took a darker turn.

Very respectable fruit forward red with air, although drank more merlot than cabernet for me.

11/16/2014 - Foster wrote:

Medium/- body, medium/+ acidity, light, smooth tannins. Tasty, juicy red berry fruit, but lack of structure and secondary flavors makes for an overall boring experience.

10/29/2014 - Foster Likes this wine:

Popped at local BYO and drank over 1.5 h. Medium + body, medium acidity. Blue/black fruit with black pepper. Lingering finish. Nose was muted, but may have suffered from lack of air / unexceptional glassware. Excellent.

11/11/2014 - Foster Does not like this wine:

Yikes, very reductive on opening. After ~ 45 min. most of this blew off to leave a light bodied medium acid wine with green apple, citrus pith and some lingering "off" flavors. Average.

11/10/2014 - Foster wrote:

Rich, fruit driven and big. Tannins have integrated nicely, medium acid. Chocolate covered raisins and cedar. This is a nice example of a bigger zin style, but a touch too extracted for me. I don't see this going down hill anytime soon, but not sure if further aging will improve.

5/26/2014 - Foster wrote:

Corked! A shame, wine beneath seemed nice.

5/26/2014 - Foster wrote:

Showing beautifully on this night, much better than last bottle in '09. Dark fruit and tobacco on the nose. Full bodied, medium acid, concentrated dark fruit. Balance is great with firm structure, but silky smooth tannins. Wish I had more.

5/23/2014 - Foster wrote:

Nice balance, subdued tropical fruit, good acidity, medium body, subtle oak. Good value and excellent with food.

9/1/2013 - Foster wrote:

Dark garnet, nose of ripe plums, raspberry and leather. Concentrated dark and earthy. Bright acidity and largely resolved tannins. Very nice full bodied mature cab. Drink now.

6/3/2013 - Foster wrote:

Very representative cabernet at a nice price.

3/16/2013 - Foster wrote:

mildly corked

3/3/2013 - Foster wrote:

Nice textbook Oregon pinot, but not memerable. I have had better from Evening land.

2/19/2013 - Foster wrote:

No detailed notes. Great QPR, glad I have a number of these.

2/16/2013 - Foster wrote:

Light bodied and lightly sweet. Sugar cane and lemon with a bitter citrus pith flavor. Integrated somewhat with air, but overall lacking acidity and not very interesting.

2/10/2013 - Foster wrote:

Excellent light bodied pinot. Great minerality, perfumed nose and nice red fruit. Open for ~2h earthiness takes over and after another 1-2 h the fruit and earth came into very nice balance. Young, but very enjoyable now.

2/10/2013 - Foster wrote:

Very dry, bitter tannins and little fruit.

2/4/2013 - Foster wrote:

Enjoyable. Pale yellow with lemon/citrus nose. Lemon, green apple and a distinct honey flavor with some back end minerality. Medium bodied and overall very pleasant. Medium finish gets a little hot.

11/30/2011 - Foster wrote:

A favorite of mine for consistent, under $20 pinot. Medium light body focused on red fruits. A little earthiness keeps it interesting.

9/12/2011 - Foster wrote:

This was great last night. Medium+ bodied and good weight. Nose was a bit lacking, but the balance of ripe stone fruit, sugar and acid made this a real winner. With time a savory earthiness started to come out, like parmesian cheese which really made this interesting.

9/6/2011 - Foster wrote:

Good solid cabernet, but not showing any secondary characteristics 7 years out. Oak is a bit too pronounced for me, but well made and polished.

8/22/2011 - Foster wrote:

Pleasantly surprised by this. Initially very muted due to being cold, but as it warmed to just below room temp the nose opened up and this showed a nice balance of fruit and acidity. Ripe fruit and medium+ body, but enough acidic balance to enjoy with food.

8/9/2011 - Foster wrote:

Pleasant, but flat. Light bodied and lacking in acidiity.

7/27/2011 - Foster wrote:

Elegant and refined. Delicious medium bodied cab.

7/1/2011 - Foster wrote:

Slightly bitter. Not memerable.