4/6/2024 - Bill Johnson wrote:

- Brick color - Enjoyed with great friends at a local Italian restaurant. Still beautiful and in a perfect spot. Dark color. Beautiful nose of blue fruit and leather. Dark red fruit also appeared Upon tasting. Was still youthful, Perhaps because it was a double magnum. Showed all the classic characteristics of a BDM. A classic bdm from a classic vintage.

3/24/2024 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Drinking beautifully right now. Very dark cherry and blackberry fruits. Well integrated. Tannins almost nonexistent. Probably the best Monsieur etain ive had. Hope you have some left

2/16/2024 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Supposedly past its prime and it is getting close. But its still a very good amarone with dark fruits. Drink now

2/2/2024 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Absolutely beautiful right now. The maroon color let you know that it is an older vintage but the flavors are still magnificent. Completely smooth but with dark cherry fruits, olive tapenade. No tart red fruits remain. Just a hint of caramel. Absolutely gorgeous. Drink it now and dont risk letting it sit any longer. A special Pinot

11/19/2023 - Bill Johnson wrote:

A beautiful Pinot. Smooth, dark fruits. Drink now. In a perfect window

5/31/2023 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Beautiful Pinot. Dark fruits initially with very ripe raspberries after some air. A wonderful slight salty flavor on the edges. Some minerality on the finish. Super Pinot

1/30/2023 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Must must must decant for 2hours. If not ,very acidic. After 2 hours a beautiful cab. Not many layers but nice black fruit and bold. Great with a steak. Many years left

1/30/2023 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Oh my gosh! One of the best wines Ive had in 20 years. Still dark and brooding with tons of dark fruits. Intense and absolutely beautiful noise that goes forever. Layers up on layers of dark fruit. Probably cant find it to buy now but if you can, pay the price.

1/24/2023 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Needs an hour decant. After that, beautiful rose petal on the nose. Upon tasting, dark raspberry flavors seem with the underlying earthiness, and beautiful sweet herbs. A true delight. Silky and flavorful with great balance.

11/22/2022 - Bill Johnson wrote:

A beautiful chard from France. Slightly grassy with pear on nose. Not overly Oaked with a little tartness and minerality on the finish. Easy to drink.

6/13/2022 - Bill Johnson wrote:

A beautiful one. Very Bordeaux like in its flavor profile but more fruit forward. Black fruits, Cassius and ripe blackberry but with find tannins to balance everything out. Many years left. Would have been the wine of the night had not a great friend brought a 1983 Rothchild

5/5/2022 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Great wine. Dark,brooding with great dark fruits. Not raisingly like some amarones. Still some years left. A real treat.

7/13/2020 - Bill Johnson wrote:

This is a top 5 wine for me. Still unbelievably youthful . Beautiful door fruit, blueberry torte, vanilla and a touch of ink on the end. Still has years left. Holding up much better than mini 07s. If you can find this on the reserve list by it.

3/1/2020 - Bill Johnson wrote:

I liked this wine better than the other reviewers. Dark fruit, earth and smoke on the nose with some floral notes. I found the taste extremely appealing with more dark fruits and the meats roasted on the campfire. Well integrated. I would drink now with anything based on tomato sauces.

8/17/2019 - Bill Johnson wrote:

I liked better than previous reviews. Maybe more time helped. Big style Pinot but with balance. Dark cherry pie and super ripe raspberries. A beautiful touch of soft menthol on the nose a beautiful Pinot. Wish I had more.

8/14/2019 - Bill Johnson wrote:

- Brick color with a medium finish - Dusty,bramble dark fruit on the nose. A hint of cedar. Very soft tannins at this point. Perfect drinking window. Medium finish. Super ripe black fruit such as blueberry and lingonberry. Still has the acid to balance the very ripe fruit. Drink now.

4/6/2019 - Bill Johnson wrote:

- Brick color - Beautiful nose. Dark fruit with wet slate and a touch of dill. Not as much chocolate as I expected but still several layers. Can drink now with a decant or hold. A touch of mushroom. A very nice wine.

2/8/2019 - Bill Johnson wrote:

A beautiful wine with years left. Two hour decant revealed beautiful dark fruit with hints of graphite and mushroom. Can drink now or hold

2/1/2019 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Dark peppery flavor. Blackberry,graphite and bramble. The cab franc dominates.

12/1/2018 - Bill Johnson wrote:

- Yellow gold color with a medium body. Round texture with a long finish - Absolutely unbelievable. Completely balanced between the sweetness and acidity. Honey,candied apricots,lemon zest,a touch of caramel but all these flavors were balanced perfectly by the mineral acidity. Served with almonds and cheeses. While I am not a voracious dessert wine drinker, this was spectacular

11/24/2018 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Just a solid Cabernet from Napa. Cant agree with Parker. Very good, not great. Solid. Great for price dark fruit, just not many layers

11/24/2018 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Absolutely a beautiful Pinot. Can drink or hold. No formal notes but well integrated Russian river Pinot Roses, a taste of earth, dark fruit,with a touch of raspberry and even carmalized fruit at the end. A beautiful Pinot

10/2/2017 - Bill Johnson wrote:

I disagree with some of the notes. After a two hour decant the nose was beautiful. Sandlewood,leather,roasted meats and dark fruits. The flavors were the same but not as intense. I couldn't give it a 100 as did suckling but thought it to be an extremely good though not great wine.

9/27/2017 - Bill Johnson wrote:

A great wine. However, give it a few years or at least a two hour decant. Restrained nose but beautiful flavors of dark fruit and coffee. If you can wait on this bottle, do.

7/16/2017 - Bill Johnson wrote:

- Brick color - Very pleasantly surprised. Unanimous that it outpaced an 05 hussic,08 Jordan and an 08 colgin. No formal note this time but with a 2 hour decant was great 97 pts

7/8/2017 - Bill Johnson wrote:

- Brick color with a full body. Bright texture with a long finish - A monster. Wait. Beautiful. Huge dark fruit with major charcoal flavors. Great now with decant but if you can wait a few years you will be rewarded. Major league outperformed its price point

6/4/2017 - Bill Johnson wrote:

1 1/2 hour decant. Just a beautiful wine. Seamless. Huge black fruits. Taste lingers for 45 to 60 seconds. In its sweet spot for drinking

3/21/2016 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Just a beautiful wine. Dark,brooding but extremely balanced. Beautiful dark fruit of blackberry blueberry and dark plum some inkiness on the palate but not enough to impact the fruit. While it still has years left it is drinking great now. Don't give it a long decant or you will miss some fruit. Just velvet fruit. Enjoy.

1/20/2016 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Nose of dark fruit black pepper and allspice with a hint of leather. The taste is big and bold. Not subtle in any way. This has a long life ahead. Needs some time or a long decant. Dark fruit with a hint of sharpness (raspberry?). There is also an element of plants, much like thistle. Be patient with this wine and I think the ratings will improve.

11/27/2015 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Just a beautiful wine. A shame it no longer exists if you can find any, buy it A huge aromatic wine with notes on ink, eucalyptus, dark dark fruit. No cherry. All blackberry, blueberry and boysenberry. The taste is both elegant and huge. Taste as it smells plus some pepper. Still needs an hour decant. A fabulous wine.

10/11/2015 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Simply amazing. The only way you would guess it's age would be the cork ( which shredded ). Beautiful nose. Dark fruit,violet,tobacco, eucalyptus, and chocolate. Multi layered and still drinking great. Just a treat.

9/28/2015 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Balance and finesse. Not a Huge Pinot but very elegant. Reserved nose of raspberry and strawberry. The flavor were of tart (but not bright) cherry with a touch of caramel. Beautiful and elegant but not an extrudied fruit bomb. Elegant and balanced is the description for this wine.

9/7/2015 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

A really surprising wine. Still very lively. Dark,dark fruit with flavor of iodine tobacco and eucalyptus. While tannins are gone the flavors are still bold. You would guess this wine was 5-7 years old, not 14. If you can find it, get it.

7/19/2015 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Very nice wine. Drinkable now with a 3 hour decant. Dark blackberry with hints of white pepper and cassis. Well integrated tannins. Very well balanced and structured. Much life left but nice now with long decant. Good value

1/25/2015 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Just superb.

11/24/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Honeysuckle and lemon zest on the nose. Golden color. Big flavors with minerality and a hint of citrus. Chicken picatta brought out a little vanilla and a little grassiness. Wouldn't describe as bitter but certainly a little aggressive after taste.

11/17/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Big, dark brooding wine. Nose of well oiled leather and sandlewood. Full body,dark fruit with 30 second finish. Still some tannins. Still has life left. Beautiful hints of cassis and dusty violet on finish. Very, very nice.

11/8/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Beautiful nose of roasted meats, bramble and ripe dark fruit. The taste brings out dusty cherry dark fruit and a very interesting hint of toasted vanilla that is very enjoyable. Xery nice balance of fruit and acidity and is surprisingly ready to drink with a 45 minute decant. Very nice.

10/30/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Great value. Very reserved nose but very interesting flavors, particularly considering the price point dark fruit, smokey notes, beautiful violet notes with vanilla hints. Handles both the earthiness of mushrooms and the acid of a red sauce equally well.

10/5/2014 - Bill Johnson wrote:

Beautiful nose of dark fruit blackberry and spice. The taste is a little thin. Ok for a Tennessee wine

10/5/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

A beautiful merlot. Still lots of life left. Dark fruit, plum blackberry and bramble. A hint of rosemary. Long finish of 30 seconds. Very enjoyable. Will stand up to normal cab foods.

9/18/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Just a beautiful wine nose is surprisingly tart with raspberry and eucalyptus . However, the taste is complex and much darker. It is multilayered with mixed berry and just a touch of mushroom. Great now but still can wait for a few years. Wish I had more.

9/7/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

A very solid Sonoma cab. Give it 20 minutes to decant and then drink. This allows a little tartness to settle down and then it drinks nicely. A little raspberry on the nose but darker fruits on tasting. Well integrated but not multilayered. Ready to go. A nice bottle of wine.

7/11/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

A food wine. Was initially disappointed at first taste with no food. Then the food came, and wow. Scents of dark cherry, eucalyptus and a hint of chocolate. A hint of alcohol but that settles down with decanting. When paired with blue cheese and a steak, the flavors explode. Dark cherry, ink and dark fruit. This has lots of life left. If you are drinking now , I recommend at least an hour and a half decant. A very nice wine

6/15/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

A classy 11 year old cab. If you have any left, drink now. Decant for 30 minutes. Reserved nose of dark fruits and a very slight inky hint. Flavor is of dark fruits. All tannins gone. Just a very good old cab but beginning to lose some of the layers of taste. Drink now and still enjoy.

6/15/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Very easily identified as a Pinot with its profile of brambles and dark cherry. Dark garnet in color. A whiff of alcohol upon opening given it's 14.5% but give it 15 minutes and that blows off and becomes well integrated. An enjoyable Pinot.

5/31/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Different than anything I've tasted. Very sweet. Honey, figs, raisin and walnut. Thick, vicious and long lasting. Maybe needs a little more acid or a little more time to get to the 100 points given by Parker. Still a treat.

5/30/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

A beautiful, rich full bodied wine. The nose has more red fruit scents than comes thru on tasting. There is also a hint of lilac on the nose. The taste is an explosion of huge dark fruit and black cherry with a hint of chocolate. Has the acidity to allow the big fruit flavors to come thru without even a hint of becoming jammy. Just a great huge wine

5/30/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Beautiful nose of dusty sage and huge dark fruits. On taste the dark fruits remain added to by a hint of mint. Well integrated and not hot at all even given the high alcohol content. Held up well to black pepper. Very nice but not multilayered.

5/24/2014 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine:

Very nice zin. Has the acidity to keep it from being jammy. Nice nose with dark blueberry and boysenberry with a hint of white pepper and floral notes. Some tart raspberry on the palate and even a hint of milk chocolate. Very enjoyable.