8/15/2022 - Stephan O Likes this wine:

I always think of DuMOL's pinots as light, balanced, mistake-free, and fresh. For the last two years, though, the Finn has been on a different level to the rest. It's got heft and muscle, a deep color, a full body, killer extraction, and good length. I haven't picked out all the fruits, but there's blackberries and foresty stuff to burn. With time, the complexity will be there, and it'll be the complete package.

2/8/2022 - Stephan O Likes this wine:

For me, the consistency of DuMOL's Pinots is out of this world, especially at the price point. This one's stemmy and wild in the right ways. I get toffee on the nose, which I don't ordinarily like, but it meshes neatly with that green tea note. The palate brings cherry, wet forest, and a nuttiness that would remind me of Meursault if I didn't know I was drinking something red rather than white. The finish is vivid. The acid is, too -- it's almost out of control on night two. But I think things will level out nicely in a couple years.

8/24/2021 - Stephan O Likes this wine:

Just brilliant. This is my first Aubert Chardonnay, so I have no reference point for whether they're all this interesting and balanced. The nose is complex and almost delicate, with cream corn, orange, and aloe or tea tree oil. On the palate, it's big, bold, and waxy, but not in a slouchy, sloppy way: it's more citrus than vanilla, with the flavor leaning toward orange Starburst. The *mile*-long finish brings another dimension altogether, along the lines of toast, smoke, matchsticks, or flint (or all of the above). And it totally integrates the 15% ABV -- I guessed a full percent lower. I have a hard time imagining a better New World Chardonnay.

3/30/2021 - Stephan O Likes this wine:

My goodness. Nose: strawberry jam, cocoa, Pinot-esque flower and allspice, and I want to say cinnamon but it's actually . . . peanut. Palate: full-bodied but not heavy, with fresh red fruit that leans astringent cherry, nothing softer. Finish: bitter stone, celery powder, and alkaline minerals. Complexity and balance, but with everything straining at the seams, in tension. I get only superfine tannins, and no sense of heat from the 15.3% alcohol. The development in the glass is awesome: oak carries the nose, fruit the palate, and mineral the mid-length finish. I wonder if 97 is too low.

6/15/2018 - Stephan O Likes this wine:

Another steal from Dr. Loosen. Golden colored, with juicy peach and citrus on a mouthwatering (but not jarring) beam of acidity. Straightforward, but downright enjoyable. And gone before you know it. [Edit in response to a comment: As for sweetness, I'd say the wine is more fruity than sweet. There's residual sugar, but it's really well integrated and balanced out by the acid. It's pretty fleet-footed stuff, at least for a wine in the sub-$30 range.]