4/1/2024 - Scamber wrote:

Muted upon opening, shut down all of the first night. Will revisit and edit if different on second night.

3/1/2024 - Scamber Likes this wine:

First couple hours came across a bit coarse. Softens into bright dusty cherry, a bit of spice but not very earthy.

2/25/2024 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Awesome, in a great spot. Needed no decant.

2/25/2024 - Scamber Likes this wine:

This was really good and in a great place - my recollection was the herbal vintage, more restrained, but tonight the kaleidoscopic fruit profile came through. Maybe it gets better? We like these at release and at 3-4 years of age.

2/4/2024 - Scamber wrote:

Definitely one of the best middle-aged Cristom we’ve had - savory, softened fruit, with a really ethereal high note that lifts the wine. Brought to friends’ with poached salmon, new potatoes, broccoli rabe, perfection.

1/21/2024 - Scamber wrote:

Good, but a bit thin mid-palate, and day 2 was coming apart. Not even close the 2014 Ridge Estate Cab we had a few weeks ago. If I had any more, I would drink them soon.

12/17/2023 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Excellent, mature and expressive. Our bottle was singing for three nights, similar experience across this time period.

11/30/2023 - Scamber wrote:

Totally agree, this is very ready. Didn’t need any air. Very briary, prickly ripe fruit. Mid high toned. Most extracted Littorai I can recall. My last one, if I had more I would not wait. Night 2 was more of the same, no better.

11/24/2023 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Agree with others’ recent posts this is ready to go, didn’t need any decanting to awaken - compared to my previous bottle 3 years ago, everything is integrated, overall profile darker-toned and intense. Black cherry liqueur complicated by herbs and salinity.

11/16/2023 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Very good, but I probably enjoyed this more in 2020 than today. Excellent purity, just less structure

11/5/2023 - Scamber wrote:

Thought this was much better on night 1 than on night 2. Weighty, darker fruit profile, some roasted tomato in there too. Night two turned noticeably more pruny. I was not enjoying my last sips.

9/14/2023 - Scamber Likes this wine:

This was excellent and short splash decant. Very pure dusty cherry, great length and balance. Open for business after 30 mins of air.

5/21/2023 - Scamber wrote:

Good stuff. High toned cherry and black fruit, that brambly sensation in the background. Less cohesive on night two, telling me to enjoy remaining bottle sooner rather than later

5/4/2023 - Scamber wrote:

So damned good. Fully mature, lots of layers. Good, dry, and spicy tingly finish.

4/1/2023 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Total classic, the oak has softened, quite bright and structured.

3/4/2023 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Outstanding. With two hours in decanter, it’s all there. Surprisingly open for business, consistent with my recent experience with some other 14s (Pontet-Canet most notably). Mile long finish, bottomless depth of palate, excellent tension and balance without austerity. A top tier crowd pleaser with personality.

3/4/2023 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Excellent immediately upon opening - pliant, open knit, ripe black and blue berries without alc heat. Thinned and tightened with more air.

2/26/2023 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Fantastic. Learning that Littorai needs serious time - this was so much more developed and integrated than my last bottle. Full spectrum fruit, blackberry, strawberry, cranberry, baking spice. Excellent now on two nights.

2/5/2023 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Wow. First night really good, a little coiled and reserved, powdery red and blue fruit. Accidentally left uncorked all night, second night more expressive. Recorked, now on night three and this is the Wow. Expressive small berry fruit, powdery tannins, baking spice, some cedar even. The finish is unusually long and persistent - no ebb and flow, just there. Wonderful slightly darker fruit profile, moderate alcohol, and great balance that belies the exceptional intensity and persistence. Marking my last one “do not touch until 2028.”

1/30/2023 - Scamber wrote:

Mid tone and mid weight, still mouth coating.

1/22/2023 - Scamber wrote:

This was best at end of night 1 rather than beginning of night 2. Rustic, fruit muted, took a while to open up.

12/31/2022 - Scamber wrote:

Excellent, took about an hour of decanting to come together. Integrated, still quite fresh.

12/11/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Seems like a long-haul wine to me. No signs of fade on night two. Upon release this was forward, bright, and on the weightier side of BTF releases. Still the same but more integrated with more baking spice secondary notes coming through. Excellent.

11/17/2022 - Scamber wrote:

Glad I took others’ advice and tried one now. This is not built for long haul in my opinion - first night it’s quite layered and rich, would def not guess St Emilion. Really enjoyable, good QPR.

But after being recorked and tried again on night 2, it had weakened considerably. Fruit cooked, alc out of balance. I’ll drink my last one in near future.

11/9/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Heady cherry liqueur upon opening which mellowed to dark cherry and citrus. Integrating but still so fresh. Tastes like its 14% ABV - mid body plus plus with eagerness from the alc. Not mild. Great stuff.

11/7/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Slow ox for an hour, this bottle was expressive after two hours or so. Surprisingly resolved tannins and integration, this tasted mature to me. Came back for a glass on night two having been sealed overnight, and also surprising, it was best on first night. Classic profile with saline / oyster shell that threw me off - tasted blind, I probably would have guessed Pessac.

10/29/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Just awesome immediately upon opening. Weighty, fruit all over the spectrum, there’s an easygoing coolness, not mint, but a mountaintop sparseness that gives this some great dimension. Impressive entry-level bottling. No sharp edges at all. Candidate for optimal crowd pleaser while providing nuance to those who notice.

10/29/2022 - Scamber wrote:

Very similar notes from last taste in 2019 but has come along and integrated quite a bit. Agree with other recent commenters probably time to enjoy this one.

10/24/2022 - Scamber wrote:

Based on recent notes I decided to open one to try - even with 3 hours in decanter this was still unpacking. The leather, herb, spice notes took a great dealing of swirling to elicit, as the very assertive, almost coarse red and black fruit dominated. It’s all in there, but - as suspected - not even close to ready. At least a couple years until next one - five left.

10/24/2022 - Scamber wrote:

Just awesome - from magnum at outdoor family movie night. Fruit has cooled and added weight, still on darker side of the spectrum with persistent spice, clove, all in balance.

10/23/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Excellent - great balance. I lack the vocabulary to describe the palate: light, savory-sweet (like caramel, or a dash of Sauternes), not fruit forward at all, stony, stone fruit pit? This Ceritas vineyard has always been the least penetrable for us, but evidently time is key. We loved it, and it’s in a great spot.

10/21/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Best on night two. Higher alcohol, mid-palate intensity that tells me to wait a while for the next one. Opened this one to try first bottle from vintage. Herbal, intense red and blue fruit, floral.

10/16/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Expressive immediately upon opening. Elevated acidity with a lot of citrus, mouthwatering stuff we drank in its own.

10/10/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Excellent immediately upon opening - lime zest, salinity, a hint of citrus sweetness. Wonderful balance and still tense, but very crushable.

10/10/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Excellent - definitely in great drinking window, opened nicely over a couple hours. Heady cherry, cherry liqueur, some brambly spices.

10/9/2022 - Scamber wrote:

Still so wild and intense. Peach liqueur, a field of flowers. Needs air - an hour in glass for wildness (petrol?) to blow off.

8/20/2022 - Scamber wrote:

Strongly preferred on night 1 vs night 2. White flowers, River stone, altogether earthy, fruit pretty mild. Night 2 was steelier, gave less.

8/20/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Softening, quite good upon opening, not much more on second night. Strikes a nice balance of intensity, yet mid weight, still acidic. Long wavelength feel to it - easygoing, not tense, but harmonious.

8/14/2022 - Scamber wrote:

First night, the nose hints at quality - herbal, some mint. The fruit was subdued, tannins somewhat integrating but still fresh. Agree with others that my last bottle will wait 5-10 years before consuming.

Update: second night this wine was singing. Layers, tension, freshness. Loved it.

8/14/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Mature, intense and palate staining. Darker toned fruit profile

8/14/2022 - Scamber wrote:

Another Big Table Pinot that was horribly corked.

7/17/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Belated note so limited detail. Awesome, definitely some secondary notes coming through, tannins integrating. More developed than expected. A recently enjoyed Il Poggione from same vintage was fresher.

7/7/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Lots of pixelation night 1 - great detail across fruit, spice, and earth - but lost that intensity pretty quickly. Still very good on second night but this does not seem as long-lived as others from this excellent vintage.

7/7/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Middle aged - less freshness, still taut but softening, not many secondary notes came through over two nights. Holding remaining bottle for several years.

6/5/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Best opening. Tingly blue and back fruit, black pepper, herbs, really pixelated and lovely. Early sips had electricity, not heat. Settled down considerably over the evening. Warmer, less pixelated, no better the next night.

5/1/2022 - Scamber wrote:

Very similar experience to Mostberg’s Jan 2021 note — muted, thin, overall underwhelming. Lacking the vibrancy and nuance expected from BTF.

2/13/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Best on night 1, surprisingly. Chambord, cherry, blueberry, heady fruit nose with dash of spice. Screams quality. Similar to earlier vintages, assume this will close down soon-ish, so would enjoy soon with some extroverted food, or give it a couple years. This is the best Ceritas PN.

2/13/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Upon opening, marvelous. Massive nose of dried cherry, flowers, leather, tobacco. Earth is strong and fruit vibrant. Strong acidity. Minute long pixelated finish, fantastic. The satisfaction level immediately upon opening was extremely high. Settled down after a few hours. This seems in its prime. Obviously notes from others suggest bottle variation here, but for me, every single bottle has been best QPR of any wine I have ever had, ever.

2/6/2022 - Scamber wrote:

Citrus forward -- lemon, lemon rind, lime. Night 1 this was bright and open, very drinkable. Enjoyable, strong quality. Night 2 turned a bit green, and the sour/flinty note of the 2013 vintage comes through, which was distracting to me. The color is a pale with a hint of green too. I have one left, will drink soon on a single night.

2/6/2022 - Scamber Likes this wine:

Excellent. Shows maturity as secondary elements of herbs and underbrush come through and palate’s edges are softened, but core of mid toned red fruit and prickly berries is vibrant and fresh. On third night I realized, Wow, this really conveys a sense of place.

Notable acidity, mid weight overall. Drinking really well now, over multiple nights, this was a treat.