8/25/2019 - Craig15 Likes this wine:

We bought a case of the 2013 as it is the birth year of our first born. He is starting kindergarten so we opened a bottle to commemorate.

This bottle is not showing as well as my first a few years ago. Decanted for two hours and drank over the next five.

Incredibly dark in the glass, with a bit of lighter tinge on the edge. Nose is largely darker fruit but with some cherry/raspberry teased out with aggressive swirling. Black and blue fruits on the palate. Still a huge tannin and acid structure. Long finish. Went well with the ribeyes.

This needs at least an hour in the decanter. It was unapproachable when first opened. I didn’t find the same nuance in this wine today as I did 3.5 years ago. But I feel even more now that this has structure to take this through a long, beautiful life. Tons of upside on this wine in the coming years. I’m excited to see it grow up alongside our boy.

5/21/2017 - Jobu wrote:

I knew this was too young but was dying to try given its scores, 96 WA 94 WS. PnP and not much on the nose or palate. Let sit for a half hour and big difference, though still tight. It continued to improve dramatically with air time. Red & black plum flavors, dark spices, underlying earthy licorice from the Zin. Nice acidity and tannins. Nose became blue & black fruit. Lots of brooding flavors hidden in its youth. Really good with a long decant right now, but really needs a year or two to max out. 92/93 right now but seems to have the potential to live up to its top end scores.

PS - Tried to get the specifics on the Zin based blend, but the best I found was "Zinfandel, Carignane and other red varieties.", from WS. Would love to know what the "others" are and ratios.

1/27/2017 - Sauvyfan wrote:

Epic disappointment here. I have had many bottles of PF Brandlin in the past with remarkable consistency. This one smelled like the real deal, but was quite hot and out of balance.

7/16/2016 - bigredPA Likes this wine:

Immediately greeted with the scent of cocoa powder upon first pouring; a nice, concentrated nose. Thereafter, notes of bramble, cedar, cassis, and perhaps some lavender. The palate is rich but elegant; a whisper soft touch but with great flavor intensity. Drinking remarkably well so young, but I may hold my other bottle to see how this evolves.