2/16/23, 8:49 AM - I just picked this up and looking forward to tasting! I to was curious about the grape used and after some digging I found the tasting sheet from the winemaker. Although not labeled as such, this is 100% Sauvignon Blanc.Production: 152 casesTA: 6.7 g/LpH: 3.32Alc: 14.5%100% French Oak, 50% New100% Hestia Vineyard ~ Sauvignon Blanc(A blend of Church and Musqué Clones)
12/19/22, 6:49 AM - Helpful note, thank you. One question, was this produced in Sonoma as you indicated? I was under the impression this was KB's first swing at a true Burgandy produced in Côte de Beaune France?
12/20/22, 12:55 PM - Thanks for the clarification. I will be interested in tasting their Burgundy attempt. Like you I am very familiar with KB and enjoy their lineup of wines, especially their single vineyards. Although I must give the edge to CIRQ and CHEV, Michael has carried his skills over to these wines quite nicely. Not QPR wines but well-crafted Pinot’s regardless.
11/8/22, 6:03 PM - It's just my opinion, but the last person on earth I would take a wine recommendation from is James Suckling.
5/25/22, 6:56 AM - Nice tasting note! Seems Pride has taken the space between Uber Premium wine and low cost wine. Solid wine and buying from the winery ensures a decent price (under $80.00) for a Napa or Sonoma wine. Your tasting note seems to support that, its a fantastic wine at a decent price.
4/14/22, 12:03 PM - Nice tasting notes, air time is a good thing for wines this age, I agree!I don't think anyone understands James Suckling scores. I don't take his scores as meaningful, I take CT scores and notes as more realistic.Cheers
12/20/21, 8:10 AM - I'll have to keep this in mind for the next bottle. This is one of many reasons why I love tasting wine, everyone can detect a flavor(s) and they don't always align across tasters.Cheers!
12/9/21, 5:56 AM - Thanks for your note, it makes me feel better about my dislike for JS reviews! I tend to find it hard to take his reviews (or any pro's) to serious when he rates so many wines 98 points or higher. My palate and his are not aligned on many wines that is for sure. I think its more of a sales tactic but that's just MHO.Cheers!
8/3/21, 2:15 PM - I am sorry to hear this, I am going to open one of mine in the next week now. I don't think its to young though. I will only decant mine for 40 minutes or so. At this age they have been exposed to oxygen seepage already and to much air is not a good thing, we will see.
7/28/21, 9:02 AM - Agree with the no or minimal decanting. These older wines have been exposed to oxygen seepage through the years and do not need much to zero decanting or it will die quickly. Glad to hear this is drinking well I have 6 on the way from Montelena.
7/16/21, 1:41 PM - That may be the case. The last bottle I opened was in 2019 and even that bottle was less than stellar. I have been a huge fan of Clos Apalta and find this vintage to be curious.Of course I must investigate further by opening another bottle :)
1/17/21, 10:29 AM - Normally if I decant I will include that in my tasting notes. This wine I usually just PnP and let it breath in the glass. I think I have only had this with pizza but its a Cabernet so I would think it goes with many foods with more fat content. Not sure I would do a good steak with this wine, there are better choices IMO.Cheers!
6/22/21, 1:31 PM - Thank you for the additional information on this wine! The details are always good to have.
4/8/21, 11:01 AM - Nice write up!Agree, the 2010 is just entering its prime enjoyment and its very tasty. I am just now going back to the 2007 to 2010's. I had to skip over the 2011 it improved with time but not a good year for Montelena.
4/8/21, 11:21 AM - Yes the 2011 has come around and is tasting better but I am not sure it will stake up to the other Montelena's IMO. Regardless, the enjoyment is trying each year. You must be a futures member too!
4/8/21, 1:03 PM - Very nice! You have a huge vertical going! I did not join until 2006 and still enjoy their wines for the aging potential and purity of fruit.
12/10/20, 5:56 AM - I liked your thoughts on this vineyard. I have not evaluated this vintage and vineyard yet but I am eager to now, thanks.There are many quality producers of Pinot Noir in California & Oregon and many still at great price points. I will be interested to watch Roar prices as their quality and craft gets more attention.Cheers
10/5/20, 2:51 PM - I agree with the QPR portion. I love KB wines but the price versus others in the same area that produce quality Pinot Noir is curious. I have been a fan of ROAR Pinot Noir and its at a better price point, but I will always enjoy a KB wine for the time being.
6/26/20, 2:15 PM - Agree with you! This area is producing some good juice and the price point makes it tastier!
4/28/20, 7:25 AM - Good assessment and I agree. Their AVA wines have been quite good and at good price points.
4/20/20, 9:00 AM - Yes, there is no hurry on this wine. I also have 1 left and will enjoy it down the road. Cheers!
3/2/20, 1:06 PM - Thank you. I also like to read how food interacts with the wine. Some wines are easy to enjoy alone and some require the fat or acids of foods, that what make wine so interesting to me, not to mention fatter too :)
2/10/20, 6:46 AM - Most of her wines benefit from a long decant or next day enjoyment that is for sure. The purity of the fruit is always there, just takes time to get to it!
12/5/19, 11:26 AM - srh, I saw that WS gave a nice rating and placement on the top 100 list. Very well deserved. I have been a fan of their wine for 10+ years. I really enjoy his second label BTR as well. Very good QPR wine.Cheers!
11/5/19, 6:29 AM - Nice well thought out review. I too have been a fan of Cirq & KB wine and bought into the KB version of these vineyards. I also considered doing a side by side but now I may not after reading your thoughts. Thank you for a well crafted summary of the two wines.
3/6/19, 2:16 PM - Its very possible this was flawed and I started to evaluate for that. What made me curious was the wine was not "bad" at all, just flat, limp and not much there. My past flawed bottles were not good but perhaps this was a new type of flaw I have not encountered before. No matter, it wont stop me from going there again :)
12/10/18, 8:00 AM - Sounds like a great library tasting. I have been a fan of Syncline for many years too. Visited the winery a few times and always find something to add to my cellar.Cheers!
4/14/18, 12:52 PM - My other favorite WV Pinots include: Colene Clemens, De Ponte, Dobbs, Alexana and some of the Rex Hill wines. I have also started to really enjoy a few RRV Pinot's from Benovia.
4/16/18, 7:22 AM - We visit the WV every year just to taste the new vintages and explore new wineries. Some places are starting to go the "Napa" route which is sad IMO but there are quite a few young wineries producing some hand crafted Pinots at great prices.One of the 1st growers in the valley was Erath and they still produce some good wines at reasonable prices. Yes, Roco is also a good choice.
3/20/18, 5:14 PM - Sorry to hear that... I have found that the .375 bottles need to be enjoyed earlier rather than later. I have a few .375's that are getting ripe and I need to pop before they go down. I have a few 750's and 1.5L of the same wines that should age better. None the less its sad to see a good wine that has to be dumped.Cheers
9/21/17, 11:44 AM - I have to agree. This is a fine wine, but over hyped and over priced. There are many wines equally as good for less.
9/10/17, 5:55 AM - You scored a case of nice wine, good for you! This is my first experience with Ackerman wines and I like what I have seen so far. I bought a small vertical, 05, 06, & 07 from an auction site for about $60.00 each so a minimal investment. I will try the 06 & 07 over the next year and see if I still love what I tasted in the 05. I was not aware that they donate to charity with their sales, that is good to know thank you.Enjoy, you have a case of good wine to taste and pair with!
8/9/17, 6:48 AM - I used the term outstanding to describe the pairing with the grilled filet. This wine is very good and a score of 91 reflects this in my opinion.
5/19/17, 8:47 AM - I have to agree, this vintage is a home run! I have 3 bottles left so I will try to curb my desire to pop more but these are to be enjoyed now and over the next several years.
1/31/17, 6:21 AM - I have found similar traits in the 2013 vintage. I visit the Willamette Valley every year and I see the 2013 vintage has being as good as the 2012. A lot of credit has to go to the wine maker but they are getting quite good at producing some consistent juice.
1/31/17, 6:18 AM - Nice review and I agree with your flavor profile. The Rennie reserve has been edging out the other FS wines including the single vineyards.
1/24/17, 11:17 AM - I have seen you and a few others rate Soos Creek very high. I am now ordering this to see what it's all about! Thanks!
12/17/15, 12:09 PM - Nice drinking note. I am eager to tap into my first bottle now.
12/17/15, 12:07 PM - Nice note on this wine. This is a great vintage and I agree, it has a few years left to enjoy.
9/11/15, 6:38 AM - I agree with your assessment. The 2011 is a little disjointed. Lots of green pepper and not the rich fruits & spice normally found in the Estate. I am hopefull time will help this evolve.
11/11/15, 9:14 AM - Agree as well. I have tasted many vintages the Montelena Estate and I am thinking that additional cellar time will not help but I remain hopeful.I think they forgot the new oak... Either way this was disappointing.
3/11/15, 7:38 AM - This is disappointing to say the least. I may have to pop one open and see if I have the same experience. I have been a fan of their Estate Cab for years and it will be sad if their 2011 is a dud.Thanks
1/30/15, 7:56 AM - Good tasting note and I don't disagree! One question though. If you liked it but its not your favorite and you gave it 95 points... What do you rate the wines that are your favorite?
2/3/15, 8:30 AM - You are totally correct, this site is all about our opinion's of the wine. There is no right or wrong opinion as long as they are constructive.I was just curious abut what wines you rate higher than 95 points... I may want to try them too!Thanks
1/13/15, 7:54 AM - A good note for this polarizing wine. I agree with the grape bubblegum descriptor and folks will either be good with it or not.
1/5/15, 7:18 AM - Good comments. This has been a go to wine for me as well. I have not tasted the 2011 yet but based on your tasting note I may have to pop one now and see if its a lesser vintage than previous ones.I have to agree on the price. I buy from on-line retailers and have found some good pricing but like all Napa wines they are pricing themselves out of many cellars.
11/27/14, 6:58 AM - So if Parker said to eat the dirt it was grown in you would? Your opinion is valid but so are others. Just because someone does not care for the wine does not mean they are haters. We all give our opinions here... read them and move on.
11/27/14, 6:54 AM - Totally agree. I like to think that's why we like Cellar Tracker so much, its a place to see everyone opinion. This wine does seem to draw out both sides of the spectrum more than other wines.
10/22/14, 12:05 PM - Nice note, very thorough and well laid out. I will have to try one of mine soon to get a baseline since this has such longevity... and to enjoy of course.Thanks
10/8/14, 8:47 AM - I updated my tasting to include a how served, thanks wine_strategies .As to why post a note? Its optional of course... but if someone rates a wine very high one would think they have a reason as to why is garnered such a good rating and may want to share it. Even if its only a few words but that is just my opinion.
9/29/14, 9:59 AM - Nice assessment. The Red Hills terror is very prominent in this wine.
8/18/14, 8:08 AM - Great write up and I agree on the 07 vintage. The Beaucastel is a lush wine that is well made and tasty now and will be for years to come.Thanks for sharing, your neighbors are lucky too.
7/1/14, 6:56 AM - I agree with your comment. Evaluate and rate the wine for what it is not if its your personal style or not. Too often I see someone give a score of 75 only because they don't like it not because it was a poorly made wine.But... I also have to expect that here because there are no rules or training for the thousands of people here. At least most write something.Just as disturbing is seeing a rating of 97 or 79 and no comment at all as to why it was so good or so poor.Thanks
6/30/14, 9:21 AM - Nice summary of your tasting, thanks for sharing.
6/25/14, 7:09 AM - I have to agree. Since we brought this home I am liking it less and less. My next bottle I am going to decant for a day and see what a lot of air does for it. My thought being that in the tasting room we had a bottle that was open overnight. I am sure they gas the bottles but it had a lot of air time.Otherwise... my remaining bottles will be gifts :) Watch out this Christmas MOS and TOKE
6/15/13, 6:14 PM - Passion for wine is a gift, your reviews indicate that. This is a bold wine for that price and in my book that's a good QPR.
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