4/23/2016 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

Awesome stuff! Very good display of how wonderful cooler weather syrah can be.

11/20/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

This stuff is just awesome. Well-integrated oak, and balanced with just the right amount of dark fruits, acid, and floral notes. If you want a high end Napa cab but only want to spend $20 then this is your wine. To me, it just exhibited so many qualities I look for in a well-composed Cali cab, except it's a tempranillo from Rioja. Buy as much as you can of this wine!

11/6/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

Firing on all cylinders right now! Definitely not the composed and put together type of pinot. This one has plenty of funk, earth, and briary notes and flavors. Oh sure, there's fruit and just the right amount of acidity, but it's got plenty of other elements that make it a really good QPR! Get you some.

10/24/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

This wine is SO well-balanced and is drinking superbly right now. Please give it time, either in the glass or decanter, and it will reward you handsomely. Got it off WTSO for $30 I think and it's worth every penny. Do yourself a favor. Like prior entries it goes well with a nice steak. I paired it with a grilled flat iron marinated in balsamic, olive oil, and basil, rosemary, oregano, and parsley.

9/7/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

Like a slightly sweet gewurztraminer, but with well rounded honeysuckle flavors and a solid mineral backbone. Not too acidic or dry, but definitely not cloying. Drink now!

8/25/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

A perfectly serviceable chardonnay from Navarro Vineyards that exhibited ample acidity and citrus notes with a bit of balance from the vanilla and butterscotch flavors that are just barely prevalent in the finish. Additionally, it exhibited a bit of pepper and minerality in the finish as well. Not your typical chard. It’s not spectacular by any means, but it’s far from horrible. (In full disclosure, Navarro Vineyards is more known or their Alsatian varietals than their chard. However, their pinots rock.)

8/21/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

Smoky, with a bit of oak, this wine reflects ample blueberry flavors with well integrated acidity. It's why I love non-Napa syrahs!

8/17/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

Lithe and delicate, this pinot differs from the other vintages I've had from the producer in that this one lacks the ample acidity and berry notes. This one is much more lighter bodied, with the emphasis on herbal and floral notes. However, as with the 2002 and 2005 vintages (only other ones I've had), this 2008 exhibits pleasing aromas of earth and barnyard. The color is very light colored brick and is starting to brown a bit.

8/1/2015 - Jack howland wrote:

Very well done. Apple and honeysuckle notes with ample acidity and a lingering finish of minerality. It's great!

7/2/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

This stuff is legit. Give it some time in the decanter and eventually that oak will mellow out revealing ample fruits with well balanced herbal notes.

7/2/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

This stuff is so well balanced with the firm oaky notes well integrated and supported by ample acidity and dark berry flavors. This has plenty of life still left in the bottle!

6/11/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

Really good iteration of a funky, earthy, cooler weather syrah. Sure, there's plenty of blueberries and blackberries present, but there's also plenty of forest floor, cigar box, spice, and bay leaf notes present. This isn't your run-of-the-mill Napa style syrah with huge alcohol (it still clocks in at 14.3%) and overly ripe (and extracted) fruits. Hailing from the Yorkville Highlands in Mendocino County of California, this syrah is very well balanced and still has several prime years left in the bottle.

6/9/2015 - Jack howland wrote:

Yeah, went into this bottle not expecting much, given many of the comments. This was touted by Rimmerman on Garagiste.com as being a wonderful wine, from a reputable producer and vineyard, but the parts didn't add up to being all that great. Sure, it had those Willamette Valley funk and tart cherry notes that are so prevalent in many wines from the region, but it had this weird, almost manipulated, finish that wasn't exactly pleasing. The wine didn't suck, per se, but it also wasn't anything to write home to mom about...

It was also one of Garagiste's "Oregon Mystery Wines" offerings. I'd basically avoid if I saw it offered again, mystery or otherwise...

6/3/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

Needs plenty of time to open up and smooth out those rough edges. But once it does open up, there's ample oak and dark fruit flavors. There's plenty of years left in this wine.

5/25/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

With aromas of mushrooms, earth, and barnyard, this ten year old pinot was not lacking in bright fruit flavors or ample acidity. This is a great example of what a Willamette Valley pinot can do when allowed to cellar. Certainly glad I have another bottle!

4/6/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

This stuff is just great! Especially for under $10. Thankful I have three more bottles because the really warm weather is right around the corner here in TN and I have a front porch calling my name and this is the perfect wine to do the job.

4/6/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

Still as pleasing and vibrant as my other bottles. Got one more and I'll give it another year or so to see if it continues to develop.

4/2/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

From the Columbia Valley, this viogner is rocking! Aromas of lime, green apple, and pineapple, this wine is showing no signs of slowing down. Flavors bursting with plenty of acidity, this nearly decade old viogner exhibits nice notes of honeysuckle, lime, pear, and peaches with a pleasing, lingering finish with a punch of minerality right at the end. I'm seriously about to hop in the car and scoop up the rest of this stuff. And the color! Dark golden showing it's age. I would love to see if this has a few more years left on it...

3/9/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

One year ago to the day, we visited the Willamette Valley and dined at this amazing Italian restaurant and ordered this very bottle of wine and we’re amazed at how well it was holding up after a dozen+ years. The wine was just such a perfect accompaniment to the evening.

After returning from the trip, I researched online to see if I could buy this wine somewhere but discovered you really had to call the Willamette Valley Wine Works office to get it. Which I did. A buddy of mine and I went in on a case. We bought as much of the 2002s as we could, and filled the rest of the case up with 2005s and 2008s.

All in all, this wine exhibited aromas of dirt and earth, rose petals, and herbs at first. Flavors are actually more savory and unctuous at first rather than very fruity.

Slowly, aromas and flavors of cranberries and baking spices are showing forth.

Lastly, this is just such a great example of what a Willamette Valley pinot should be. It’s raw and unabashed and funky. I can’t wait to try the other vintages!

2/21/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

Pretty typical, lower budget pinot from the Willamette. Nothing outstanding about it, but nothing bad either. It had a nice funk to it, along with typical flavors of cranberries and strawberries with a pleasant herbal and earthy nose.

2/14/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

This 2007 chardonnay from Bell Family Vineyards displayed flavors of tropical fruits such as pineapple and mango with additional flavors of peaches, green apple, lime zest, vanilla, and a little oak. The finish lingers pretty well. Aromas of those acidic fruits are on the forefront with background notes of toast and oak rounding out the nose. This is a good wine that flies in the face of what Napa chardonnay is thought of as being. Anthony Bell displayed a deft and restrained hand with this wine. It is a perfect accompaniment for lighter dishes…or just on its own (who are we kidding, right?!). I nabbed this bottle at a local shop for over 50% off and can’t wait to return to scoop up some more, regardless of it being over seven years old. It’s got plenty of life left!

1/3/2015 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

I liked it. Nice, crisp notes of some green apple and apricot with well-balanced acidity and little oak. Aromas of toasted nut, a little vanilla, and some white peach. Finishes with a little bit of spice near the end. Good stuff.

12/31/2014 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

Typical Napa zinfandel aromas of jammy blueberries with subtle oak and cocoa notes. The flavors mirrored the aromas with medium tannins that are well integrated. It's not an overly complex wine however. I liked it.

10/21/2014 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

I thought this was a really good illustration of a cooler weather syrah! Definitely NOT one of those 15%+ bombs from Napa. (It clocks a 13.7% abv, by the way.)

This wine still exerted a strong backbone of well-balanced acidity and well-rounded tannins, but displayed pleasant notes of blueberries and jam, with a bit of tobacco and smoke in the finish.

This wine caught me by surprise. It exhibited strong, rustic aromas. It's definitely not a typical syrah, and I mean that in a very good way.

I bought this off of Last Call Wines and would immediately buy as much as I could again.

10/15/2014 - Jack howland Likes this wine:

Aromas reveal lively fruit notes supported by notes of earth and herbs. Ample darker fruits of plums and blackberries. This wine still has plenty of life left. As the wine continued to breathe over an hour or two, the tannins really started to integrate and balance the wine even more further revealing flavors of chocolate and some mint. All around very good wine. Glad I have plenty more!

10/6/2014 - Jack howland wrote:

Still plenty of fruit and acidity on display as well as balanced oak. The tannins are well integrated. This is fine to drink now, and may last a little while yet. Such is the nature of Spanish reds. Bright brick coloring to the edge. For the price, it's a great deal!