4/14/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

I enjoyed the Lazy Creek wines throughout their different owners and winemaking regimens. This generation under the Ferrari-Carano umbrella was probably my favorite. A plush, maybe more accessible style of Pinot Noir, but almost never unbalanced, still a lot of integrity. This bottle shows the tradeoffs of emphasizing fruit early on - as it fades 8-9 years later, the rest of the wine isn't quite as interesting. But still superb Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, just drink them now.

4/6/2024 - LesPaul wrote:

I'm generally a big fan of the Sandler Pinots, and I recall enjoying a bottle of this 2016 Bien Nacido just a month or two ago much more than this one. Here the smell is wonderful, lots of nothing but fruity Pinot, a little bit of spice. But that hint of sharpness comes out in the texture, which is more edgy and less integrated than I would like, with a hint of alcohol burn on the finish. Still an excellent wine, a steal at the prices then on offer, but not quite as wonderful as I remember.

3/26/2024 - LesPaul wrote:

I don't remember how this wine tasted on release, but it's holding up decently well. Not exactly withdrawn or muted, but maybe restrained would be a reasonable descriptor in early 2024. Enough fruit to still be approachable, but some spiky spiciness that lends some complexity and interest. Mid-light weight, but a nice finish that sours a tiny bit but maintains its length better than many other New World Pinots of greater provenance. Though I wish I had opened it a year or two earlier, I'm still very glad to taste this wine.

3/11/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

What a tasty wine! Holding up nicely in early '24 with some pleasantly sharp dark notes on top of that smiling, deceptively rich California fruit. I would guess there are still a few years to go. Even nicer to know what great people are and were behind it all.

2/15/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Still a wonderfully fresh and complete wine in early 2024. Loads of Anderson Valley character - medium-bright fruit with a hint of earth and that slightly minty pennyroyal. Medium to light palate, but not underpowered at all. Plenty of acid - not always the case with wines of this level from this region - with an almost-long finish, even. Really nice wine.

2/4/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Trademark Littorai austerity, but it's worth it when you get this much purity of fruit and site. So much on the nose - just call it clarity, I suppose - every individual smell is identifiable, but comes together in just the most natural expression of Pinot Noir fruit in a Northern California vineyard. Still fruit forward, though quite lean as always, but starting to take on some pleasant secondary characteristics, a hint of dried leaves, maybe even tobacco? Finish is medium length, of a piece with the rest, appropriate to how this wine came out. Really a remarkable achievement and expression of winemaking, even if it doesn't quite grab my heart.

2/4/2024 - LesPaul wrote:

I'm a fan of this producer - excellent wine from excellent fruit throughout the life of the label, across winemakers. But this particular 2015 is not developing well. Better than average nose with some ethereal characteristics. And still lots of fruit overall - but that's all there is. Veering toward monolithic, unlayered, not revealing any interesting complexity. Unusual to come upon a Maggy Hawk Pinot that came out on the downside.

1/31/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Wow - tasty! - and holding strong seven years after release. Beautiful pale color. Some thick juicy fruit still, with the darker spikes you get from these Mendocino vineyards. Really nice, though I don't know I'm sensing the legs for another run around the track - probably best to finish your bottles this year (2024).

1/31/2024 - LesPaul wrote:

Pleasant and charming at release, great QPR from a reliable producer. Not that this entry-level appellation wine was ever "supposed" to age, but at eight years old this bottle is tired, almost dead.

1/30/2024 - LesPaul wrote:

Fine as far as it goes - not exactly any flaws, with some varietal character, maybe even those sharp, dark hints you get from Sta. Rita Hills. But comes across more as a bulk or supermarket wine.

1/17/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Very good - no apology necessary for its entry-level positioning. Balanced, dark and complex enough that it might even take to some age.

1/4/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

This wine has come along nicely in just half a year. Cerise is among my favorite vineyards, but the Phillips Hill releases from this fruit weren't as predictably wonderful as from some other producers. I recall that the 2016 has been a little hard to love through its life, but here at the crack of 2024 it's almost excellent. Lots of cherry, of course, though not unpleasantly sour, and so much of that Anderson Valley sort of forest/almost funk/mixed with pennyroyal - really distinctive. I wish the body was a little more substantial, but this is very good wine by any measure. Maybe it's going to keep getting even better over the next year or two?

11/30/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Excellent, distinctive wine. The Valli Gibbston Vineyard Pinot seems to differ quite a bit from vintage to vintage. There's always a firm, lean backbone, also a lot of acid, but the 2019 comes with a wonderfully powdery texture on the outer edges. Fruit is on the darker side, but the acid keeps things exciting. Ready to drink now, but built to last.

11/23/2023 - LesPaul wrote:

Wow - who would have expected this wine to be showing so well in late 2023? So well-balanced. Still a surprising amount of fruit, but now certainly showing darker - a pleasant rusty dry savoriness permeates throughout. Firm backbone, might be tending toward austerity, fortunately none of the flabbiness that so many NorCal Pinots show as they age No excuses need be made - the bones of this wine are strong, it has a certain compelling point of view that is still coming through loud and clear. Shows what great fruit can do in the hands of a careful winemaker, even if it’s otherwise under the radar.

11/19/2023 - LesPaul wrote:

The 2007 didn't collapse entirely, but degraded in an interesting way that evokes elements of its earlier goodness. In late 2023 the color is quite brown well in from the edges, with a beautiful deep purple remaining in the interior. Some distinctive spicy perfume and fruit on the nose, not heavy - almost a filigree. Unfortunately the taste is no longer complete - sort of a middling plumb stew quickly overtaken by surprisingly lively acid. You just never get to journey through the fruit and earth this wine reveled in during its prime. 2007 was a great vintage from this favorite producer's home vineyard in the Anderson Valley - it had a good run, but on the evidence of this bottle, it ended several years earlier.

11/19/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Quite rich and vibrant here at the close of 2023 - a surprise and delight. Definitely some burnished brown to the color, with aged savory characteristics on the nose. But lots of fruit, with an older version of the special mix of bright California sun and darker minty earth - even a touch of funky barnyard - that you get with the nicest Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs. Midweight all the way through - no weak-bodied moments, no apologies needed. Finish continues quite a while. Though I wouldn't expect this wine to get any better, it has aged quite wonderfully.

11/3/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Still good eight years in. Most of this final generation of Lazy Creek Pinots leaned a bit toward the luscious side, but this bottle, while still medium-ish in weight, is drier and dustier than I remember of the later house style. It's an excellently balanced wine, with that special mushroom-y and even minty undertone that separates the Anderson Valley from its Sonoma Pinot relatives. I would guess that it's not going to get much better for much longer, though.

10/29/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Excellent in late 2023 - has aged beautifully. Savory and even austere, but there's more than enough fruit to create balance. Maybe less acid-forward than I remember from a couple of years ago. Probably on the more intellectually rewarding side of the spectrum than one that tugs at the heartstrings, but an exemplar of what great California fruit can do in the hands of a great California winemaker.

10/28/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Wow! Still lots of energy coming from a wine that has started onto the downslope. Wonderful Mendocino-style combination of bright California fruit with darker mushroom forest floor. Excellent fruit from.an excellent vineyard made by an excellent winemaker in whst I think was an unusually ripe vintage - a special wine regardless.

10/21/2023 - LesPaul wrote:

Disappointing compared to both other Pinots from this vineyard and the usual high quality of this producer. This bottle is grippy, rough, a little bit of alcohol burn. Some nice fruit characteristics on the surface, but doesn't hold together as a complete wine or a showcase for this fruit or Furthermore overall.

10/9/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Such fresh wines - I love the De Ponte Pinots. That said, this particular 2014 has probably reached its peak. Still young and vibrant in bright flavor, but the texture is thinning and no further depth or complexity. Remains a tasty, friendly, solid Pinot worth drinking now.

10/7/2023 - LesPaul Does not like this wine:

Not so good. Has been stored properly, but still - dry, dessicated, sort of overall grumpy. Nor.ally I like how Lytton Springs ages, but this bottle at least took a wrong turn.

9/18/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Holding up beautifully. The leanness and tartness typical of this vineyard and producer, with just enough foundation to dig into. I don't know that it's evolving much with age, though, so might as well go for it immediately.

9/18/2023 - LesPaul wrote:

Showing lots of aged secondary characteristics in late 2023, not really to its benefit. A big wine, not as lean as other producers made from this vineyard. Some ungainliness comes to the fore without acid to balance things. The fruit is still plush, but forward brightness has gone away, now much more about underlying darkness. But not as many layers as I would hope. On the whole something of a disappointment given the pedigree.

9/4/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

This wine is really singing for me. It's in a quite luscious style that not everyone will love, but I find it balanced on every vector - there's bright red fruit, but some lovely sharp spice and bramble on the other end. Powdery outer texture, but a very secure core down the middle. I think this wine was made by the winemaker of Lazy Creek at the Lazy Creek winery (owned at the time by Ferrari-Carano), so it shares characteristics of the Lazy Creek Pinots from the same period. In a nice, surprisingly fresh place now in mid/late 2023, but it's probably a peak - say 2025 when secondary characteristics start to manifest as primary?

8/13/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Wow - Russian River Pinot Noir through and through. Distinctive cola alongside red fruit and sunshine. A little heavier in texture and body than might be the current fashion, but still balanced overall. Not the last word in complexity, but a very faint dusting of delightfully musty tannin complements the dense fruit. A beautifully crafted wine that seems likely to have another 3-4 years before a downslope.

7/29/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

On the downslope, but still remarkably good. Comes across as a big wine, though by no means flabby or overripe (label states 13.5% abv). Also spikes high on a distinctive spiciness that I found distinctively pleasant on release and still recognize and quite like almost a decade later. Sort of quirky - a Marin County Pinot - and all the better for it!

7/27/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

In a good place. Signs of maturity, but the fruit is also still fresh. Leans drier, dustier, more austere, but still very much in a balanced zone.

7/21/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

I love this vineyard and this producer both, but together it seemed they never quite clicked. Maybe Phillips Hill somehow get lesser fruit from Cerise than other labels did? So although this wine is distinctive, well-made, and still drinking well in mid-2023, to me it doesn't have the special alchemy I hoped for. The characteristic tartness of Cerise is there, but leans just a touch toward sourness. There's a nice concentration on the nose and front palate, but it falls aways just a little too quickly into a more aqueous finish. My sense is that this wine has another 2-3 years at this level - no signs of incipient decline.

7/17/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Holding up in 2023, but this wine, light in color, body, and texture, is close to a peak (I'm not sure on which side). Pleasant browning around the edges, flavor leaning quite dry, goes nice with an elegant and actually quite fruity concentration on the nose. I generally thought poorly of the 2015 Pinots from Anderson Valley/Mendocino Ridge on release, but it's nice to see that well-made wines like Phillips Hill came around.

7/11/2023 - LesPaul wrote:

Still alive nine years in. Loads of Anderson Valley character - that characteristic alchemy of dark fruit, bright sunshine, and particular form of faint earth with pennyroyal. Falls short of being a great wine - tannin is not integrated, hard to sense a clear point of view beyond just the terroir. Butquite enjoyable and more than respectable regardless - no need to discount because of the vague producer brand or its corporate winery parent.

6/26/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Excellent wine, more darkness and depth than many other premium Russian River Pinots. On the bigger, heavier side, but still quite balanced. A bit of tannin in there, so maybe will hang on for more years than you would otherwise expect. Good stuff.

6/25/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

I loved this wine in 2021 - fresh, mostly giving, like Anderson Valley in a glass. A couple of years later it has retreated - tight, more than a little grippy, definitely not showing its best. Bottle tasted over three days - probably at its best a few hours after opening, didn't hold up otherwise. I fully expect it to return to even more wonderfulness than it originally showed - just probably should wait into 2024 or even a bit later to give it time to come back around.

6/19/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Still too young - somewhat tannic, not as integrated as it could be. But clearly a complex, plush, large-limbed wine waiting to emerge. There were broader reservations that 2020 would be rough for Anderson Valley and maybe also Sonoma, but there's no particular incipient sign of that here. Just give it time, whether that's on opening now or a few more years in the bottle.

6/11/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Still going pretty strong in 2023, showing some pleasant secondary characteristics, also maybe a trace of rustic grit. A wonderful wine, but this is not a silky smooth Pinot, rather a little more of the earth. Might be near its peak.

6/6/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

This one really clicks. All of a piece. That lean edge that so often comes from this vineyard, but a complete wine with some roundness and more layers than you usually get from the fruit-forward Russian River. I love this vineyard and this winery, and the two really come together in this '19. Drinking well now, but seems better years ahead 2024-2026.

6/3/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Just a beautiful wine. Deep purple. Wonderful, light, almost wispy aromatics, carrying through to a very light-on-its feet body combined with quite wonderfully concentrated flavor. Layered - there's a hint of spice underneath the medium-bright fruit. Still quite young. My sense is that the 2020s from Occidental are a half-notch below in quality relative to earlier years - tough vintage? - but on its own this wine is magnificent and will almost certainly get more so.

5/29/2023 - LesPaul wrote:

I don't know exactly what the flaw is - not cork taint, nor just "too young" (though underneath it probably still is), not stewed fruit from being cooked, seems impossible to be bottle shock.

But unidimensional and unpleasant aromatics, lots of rubberiness - unfortunately a drainpour.

Fingers crossed for the rest of the case waiting in the wings - fruit from my favorite Sonoma County vineyard made by one of my favorite producers!

5/27/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Absolutely wonderful wine, approaching magnificent. Beautiful mouth-coating fruit without being overly viscous, lots of acid keeps things lively without going overboard - everything's in balance. Finish is just long enough - doesn't overstay its welcome. Nice to find a somewhat fuller-bodied Pinot from a vineyard and region where many winemakers have been leaning well, overt lean, in my view.

5/6/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Excellent. Fresh and tart in early 2023, with a pleasant dustiness to the texture, just a hint of age starting to show. Blackberry, raspberry. None the worse for being straightforward - what you get at the beginning is what you get throughout - nor the longest finish. But plenty of acid, still very coherent. Yum!

4/24/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Yum! Dark, even rich, with a brooding character, but the acid and spice pick it up enough not to lumber. Cola, but without the raspberry overtones from regions to the south. Maybe stewed fruits, but in a very good way. Drinking wonderfully in the first half of 2023.

4/19/2023 - LesPaul wrote:

Pleasingly dark throughout. Nice medium body. Tastes like a wine made as well as possible from a difficult vintage. Some tannic grip instead of the plushness I would hope for - detracts from the overall experience. Seems like it has another few years left.

4/12/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Absolutely beautiful wine holding up surprisingly nicely. I was a fan and drinker of the Harmonique Pinots through the label's heyday, including this particular wine. Great Anderson Valley fruit, talented winemaker can make magic even in this ripe, (overly?) productive vintage. Showing lots of secondary characteristics, and presumably not one to hang onto all that much longer, but a beautiful filigreed texture - gentle fruit balancing the dryer spice, but enough weight in back. What a delight.

4/4/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Tasty. Among the best QPR for Pinot Noir in this region. Not going to blow any doors off in an absolute sense, but for a guilt-free PNP celebration of what makes the Anderson Valley special, this is a beautiful choice. I would be comfortable opening this wine as late as 2025.

3/24/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Harmonique was always an excellent label, with an excellent winemaker making excellent wine from excellent fruit.

Certainly there's no need to wait any longer on this 2012 - already on the downslope. But it has lots of personality - unmistakable Anderson Valley characteristics, with that dark foundation overlaid by a (now harder to spot) sunny California vibe, and really, that stereotypical pennyroyal shining through. Still juicy, even, but secondary characteristics are starting to take over, and not for the better. Regardless, this is an excellent example of what passes for a well-made aged Anderson Valley Pinot Noir from a remarkable vintage.

3/23/2023 - LesPaul wrote:

Definitely a serious wine. Exceptional concentration, but the darkness overwhelms the desired California sunshine. The seams show on the back palate and especially finish, which appear to be from a different wine - sort of faster, thinner, more aqueous. Not going to get any better, so drink it now.

3/10/2023 - LesPaul wrote:

Still too early in March 2023. Tight, austere, ungiving on pop and pour. All signs point to excellence down the road, but it's too much to work to enjoy at the moment. (Hopefully it will loosen up a bit over next day or so.)

3/9/2023 - LesPaul wrote:

Not a winner, at least at this age, and not by Valli's usually high standards. Pleasant perfumey dark nose, not complex. But astringent on the palate, even weirdly tannic? Not in a giving mood here in early '23. Shame to encounter a rare misfire from one of my favorite producers.

UPDATE: Day 2, after Vacu Vin and refrigerator door storage - almost like a whole new wine. Still not going to make anyone's Best Of list, but the aromatics are approaching beautiful - is that thyme? - while some fruit starts to show through (though quite herbaceous, in a good way). Not fair to judge it as purely harshly as it came out of the bottle, given how much a day brought it to actual drinkability.

3/5/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

Light but still concentrated. Probably has peaked by now (early '23), starting to show some seams as the texture becomes more gossamer.

2/26/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine:

No recollection of where this wine came from or whether I had it before. But still tasting quite fresh in early '23. Rich Pinot character on the nose, a little more tart, even slightly angular on the palate. Mellows out a fair bit with some air. Surprisingly good wine.