4/1/2024 - kevin h wrote:

Not changed much in 2 years, softened a little. Still quite a purple wine, masses of cassis on the nose, tannic still but not aggressive now. Vibrant blackcurrant wine. This will improve. Lovely wine.

3/29/2024 - wlsch Likes this wine:

PnP. Dark berry, dark cherry, spice, earth. The nose is terrific. The palate seems a bit tight right now and a little tarter than I remember, but there's some lovely cranberry and pomegranate in the finish. Perhaps not as open as the last time I tasted it in June 2022, but it's still a really solid wine. Might be best to hold for a few more years since it seems a it closed now It will easily go through 2029, so no rush on the remaining bottles.

3/29/2024 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine:

This has been open for like 2-3 hours. JFC this is intense*. Pomegranate oil, strawberry compote and blood orange on the nose. Cherry flesh and pits. There is a stemmy/brambly note after the fruit. So perfumed and potent but with great verve as well. Very very young and primary. Maybe some Sous Bois? Palate shows wild strawberry and forest floor notes. Cherry. Gutty. Lots of flavor with some hints of sweet oak. Very light on its feet and precise. Finish shows tart red fruits, some menthol and some creamy oak. A really nice texture and depth to the finish. My first Thomas and I believe the hype. Nose - 5-5.5+/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 5+/6, Finish - 1.5/2 = 17-17.5+/20 (with 17.5-18/20 potential.)



* https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/19c3d4fe-cb45-44b5-977b-8ae4e1d2fa39

2/13/2024 - berkeleywinedog Does not like this wine:

We have now tried 4 bottles over 4 years and our perception has not changed. There is something off about this bottling. The bottle yesterday and the one in December 2023 were both showing little more than a mouth full of tannin. The fruit is seriously thin and what little there is seems both bitter and sour. Our notes are consistent. Did we just get a bad batch? I feel like we are not drinking the same wine as others who have reviewed this wine positively. Cristom is one of our favorite pinot producers, so this bottling is a puzzle to us.

2/2/2024 - wlsch Likes this wine:

PnP. Still a youthful ruby color. It's a little tight on pouring, but much more open than when I last tasted this in March 2021. There's cherry, raspberry, and strawberry, other red fruit, pie spice, slight forest floor, some minerals in the finish. Medium body, good acidity, integrated but noticeable tannins. It does seem to be slightly riper than the "typical" Eyrie style, but this still maintains the elegance I normally get from this producer. It seems like this is really just starting to open up. I have one more bottle left, and based on where this is now, I think it'd be wise to wait 3-5 years before opening the last one. There's no rush to drink this up. There are lots of new, excellent producers of OPN (whose wines I buy and love), but this is a good reminder that the folks who forged the trail are still making excellent wines.

12/15/2023 - wlsch Likes this wine:

PnP. Red fruit, cherries, some red raspberry and strawberry, spice, some loam underneath supporting the fruit, nice mineral notes. At five years old, this is just getting started. Medium body, medium acidity, well integrated tannins. There's a little bit of tannic hardness in the finish, but I think that will soften with age. This is realty beautiful and lacks the brawn I see in a lot of Oregon 2018 pinots. This is the first bottle of four that I've opened, and I'm glad I waited. If you have multiples, it's worth trying now, but my guess is that this won't really show all of itself until 2028 or later. Classic Dundee Hills. You can't ask for much more, but I can see this going up a point or two as it ages and develops. This will go at least 15 and maybe 20 years from the vintage.

12/29/2023 - Dbzzz wrote:

Overrun with Brett. Really sad. Bought in CT. Tasted like bandaids. Couldnt even taste or smell the wine behind the brett. Surprised anyone would rate this what they have unless somehow only some of the bottlings were affected.

12/17/2023 - RPHC Likes this wine:

Complex nose of dark cherries and black fruit meshed with waves of damp, mossy earth. Scents of non-specific herbs and hints of violets make their appearance. Surprisingly fruit forward on initial taste with fresh cherries, overripe cherries, and plums. The slightly subdued palate was not nearly as interesting or compelling as the nose. Mild to medium finish that trails with overripe fruit. Powdery tannins, medium acidity.

9/3/2023 - oropeza wrote:

As before; really doesn't seem to have changed too much in three years. Good balance of fruit, spice/pepper on the core and tannin + acidity on the finish.

5/27/2023 - oropeza Likes this wine:

Black fruit, dense and dark core with earth, potting soil and other bass notes. Plenty of structure, chew and a good amount of acidity on the finish. Drank next to a similarly priced, similarly young CA Cabernet really showed off how deep, dense and closed off this wine is. Reading other reviews, I suspect there are some flawed bottles out there. Bought 4 and may get some more, will be really fun to see what this does in 5-10 years.

4/9/2023 - awilko wrote:

Bigger and more substantial than a typical Pinot

3/26/2023 - wlsch Likes this wine:

PnP. Dark color, nose is blackberry, dark plum, cassis, earth, and herbs. A really elegant style where the fruit is very fresh, but it doesn't come across as overripe. Medium body, medium acid, firm tannins in the finish. Seems to have good structure to age. Like David Paris said in his note, I'm not a big fan of the synthetic cork since I'm not sure how this could affect the aging and longevity of the wine. This is my first experience with this producer and I love the elegance and freshness of the style of this cuvee, but have no idea if this is typical. At $22 retail in a grocery store, it's likely worth buying another couple to see how they age. Again it seems to have the structure to age, but I'm not sure how well synthetic closures last over time. Not sure this is a 20 year wine, but I'll defer to others who know the producer better than I do. But based on the wine in the glass, I could see this developing for at least 10+ years from the vintage since it seems to have everything it needs.

2/11/2023 - wlsch Likes this wine:

It's super confusing that Tim Malone makes two different Willamette Valley pinots. This one, with the reddish brown label retails for around $25, while the other with a white label retails for about $18. They have different ABV's, different UPC codes - they're two different wines but it seems they get entered in here as the same wine (which isn't surprising since they're both labeled as Willamette Valley). I created a different wine here in CellarTracker for the white label cuvee. This review is the for the reddish brown label cuvee.

PnP. Cherry, red berry, earth, and a bit of mushroom funk underneath. Medium body, medium acid, soft tannins in the finish. Has a lot of character and depth for an entry level wine. Drinks well now, but it should drink well for 5-8 years from the vintage. Good value.

Edited to add: Day 2 it's pulled into slight;y better balance. The cherry has receded a bit and there's some nice cranberry and blood orange mixed in. The mushroom funk also seems less obtrusive and better integrated. Still great value for Oregon Pinot Noir.

12/9/2022 - valecnik wrote:

This has either shut down or my perception of what's ready to drink is much different than others. Feels quite closed, with reticent fruit and a very taut, tense structure. Sharp,
astringent tannins. The high-toned acidity alone suggests this has plenty of life ahead. There are some juicy dark red and blue berry notes hiding in there, but I think time is needed for them to emerge and harmonize with the earth and spice. Withholding score.

9/1/2021 - wlsch Likes this wine:

Consistent with previous notes. It's in a really nice place now. Tons of berry fruit (as per previous notes), but with underlying mineral, a touch of earthy funk, and bright acidity. Fresh and juicy, but with depth and lovely earthy character supporting the fruit. Bumping the score from 89 to 90 this time since it seems to have evolved from my previous notes. Bought a few more recently, and likely should buy a few more on top of that. I think it should drink well for a several more years.

10/8/2022 - oropeza Likes this wine:

As before, maybe integrated a bit better... this is probably my favorite vintage.

5/5/2022 - wlsch Likes this wine:

PnP. My first Thivin in many, many years, but as good, or perhaps better than I remember. Bright, juicy fruit (raspberries and red fruit), medium+ acid, medium, but well integrated, tannins. Beautiful now but with a bright future. It's tightly wound with lots of tension, but has beautiful fruit and bright acidity and a real elegance despite the tension. You'd be hard pressed to find a better expression of CdB. This wine has those intangible things that make a wine memorable and wonderful. If you never got the allure of cru Beaujolais, this is a wine that will make you understand what the rest of us are chasing.

7/21/2022 - wlsch Likes this wine:

PnP. Surprised to see it's been a year since I last tasted this. Consistent with my note from 7/2021. Nose is cherry and berries, florals, spice, and earth. There's still a slight smoky aromatic as well (not smoke damage, just a smoky phenol which adds some complexity). Medium body, medium+ acidity, well integrated fine grained tannins. Bright, fresh, juicy. This is really gorgeous right now but will hold for 5-7 years, maybe more. Stellar wine for the price ($25 at a local super market). Glad I have more stashed.

3/1/2022 - wlsch Likes this wine:

Notes from second day, but was equally as good on day 1. Nose is pear, apple, some toasty oak which lends some vanilla and some spice. The oak notes give it a baked apple note. Palate is similar, but there's some nice lemon/lime citrus in the finish and crisp acidity (medium+ acid). Really well integrated already (and sometimes these aren't in their youth). Alcohol is 12.5% (according to the label) and it has great structure to age. This is a real gem from a mixed vintage (because of the smoke from fires). My guess is this has the acid backbone and structure to age for 10 years from the vintage. Pretty stellar for full retail price of $24.

2/17/2022 - wlsch Likes this wine:

What a difference a year makes. This is still a youngster, but it's much more accessible than the first two times I tried it. Similar flavors and aromas: berry, dark cherry, earth, mineral, and a little gamey. Tannins are still pretty assertive, but much better integrated overall. Still takes a lot of time and air to really open, but this is really showing much better than it was on release. This is my third out of six and I don't regret opening this now since it's a really good showing and isn't as closed an unyielding as the first two bottles. For my palate, it'd best to hold these longer, as it can easily go 10+ years from the vintage. Good value for an age worthy wine. This has a very promising future.

2/2/2022 - Jack Cranley Likes this wine:

I was really quite pleased with this wine! It's priced as an entry-level wine, but I tasted it stacked up against several other Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs in the same price range, and this one really blew away the competition.

In fact, I felt like this wine came across as being on the same level as the $50 single Vineyard offerings from several of the other labels that I was tasting today.

Beautiful rich aromas with fresh picked raspberry, sun-warmed blackberry, a little bit of vanilla and violets, and even a little sweet pound cake note that I was really appreciating.

As the wine opened up in the glass, a lovely subtle chalky earth undertone started to emerge. This is exactly what made me think wow, this is much more like a single Vineyard wine experience.

Approaching five years old, this wine is exactly where it needs to be right now. The aromas are developed, everything is really integrated and relaxed, the fine grained tannins are supple. Highly recommended!

1/19/2022 - wlsch Likes this wine:

Bright red fruit, sour cherry, pomegranate, strawberry, mineral and earthy notes. Pretty tight on opening. Medium body, medium+ acid, and prominent tannins. Some other notes say this isn't as good as previous vintages, but this is my first experience with this wine. To me, it's seems very good, but seems like it needs some time to integrate. I have more and will hold off for at least 2-3 years.

Edited to add on Day 2:
As predicted by others, it’s rounder and more harmonious, and the tannins have softened a bit. Definitely better balance overall on day 2. Still think a few years of age will help. I could see the score going up.

7/10/2021 - shorty01 Likes this wine:

What a treat! If given the opportunity to taste Tim’s wines, I strongly advise you to do so.

4/26/2021 - wlsch Likes this wine:

Light straw color, pear, golden apple, melon, honey, sweet flowers/floral. Bright fruit on the palate with medium+ acid. Medium body and long finish. This seems to have higher acid than the 2018 and lacks the slight waxiness of the 2018. Nice now, but I can see this improving with a few years time. The winery says this wine can go 5-10 years from the vintage depending on the acid level. I can see this getting better through 2025+. Great value at $15.

2/20/2021 - wlsch Likes this wine:

Melon, apple, grapefruit citrus, some tropical notes, some waxiness, but has a nice underlying mineral note as well. Medium acidity. Fruit takes on a slight honeyed character as the wine opens. Nice food wine, solid value.

1/2/2021 - wlsch Likes this wine:

Consistent with note from Nov 2020. Dark color, beautiful berry, dark cherry, earth, herbs. Far better on day 2, but I should have stuck to my own advice of holding this for a couple of years. Yes, you can drink it now, and it's really wonderful, but seriously, hold off and don't touch it for a few more years. Happy I bought a six pack, but now I need to follow my own advice and let the last four bottles sit.

12/2/2019 - blakel wrote:

This particular bottle was just a bit too funky... drinking partner thought it was corked or spoiled, but I think it was just an outlier on the bret & fizz continuum.