5/6/2018 - gunnm Likes this wine:

Very nice golden color, the boquet is a distinct butterscotch, vanilla, citrus. Rich on the palate, I pick up honey, peach, and toast. Smooth, buttery finish.

12/28/2016 - gunnm Does not like this wine:

Sadly this wine has gone past it's prime at this point. Not much on the nose, sour and flat on the palate.

3/19/2016 - gunnm Likes this wine:

Initially cloudy in the glass with a nice golden hue. Rubber on the nose with hints of stone fruit. Vicious and minerally on the palate - I get honey, grapefruit and rum spice. Sweet, medium finish. The Roussanne stood out in the beginning but you could really taste the Viognier towards the end of the night. This wine seems to be aging more slowly so it would be interesting to see where it goes in a few years.

3/20/2016 - gunnm Likes this wine:

Nice dark purple color. Some oak and spices on the nose. Full bodied, silk smooth on the palate with dark fruits, pepper and vanilla. Nice long finish. Time in the bottle has smoothed out the tannins. This wine is singing right now. Paired perfectly with a bone-in filet minon.

5/9/2015 - gunnm wrote:

Vanilla, oak and dark fruits on the nose. Soft on the entry with sweet berries on the silky palate. Soft tannins on the medium finish.

3/15/2015 - gunnm wrote:

Not sure what happened, maybe the wine was corked. Almost no nose and a very flat palate. Did detect some cola notes on the palate later in the night but definitely did not show typical Gary characteristics.

3/15/2015 - gunnm wrote:

Nice dark golden color. Honey and some slight marmalade notes with a long finish. A nice dessert wine.

11/29/2014 - gunnm wrote:

Nice ruby color with a subtle nose of flowers and dark fruits. Minerals, earth and tart cherries on the palate. Medium finish.

11/27/2014 - gunnm wrote:

Fruity nose, light red in color. Weightier on the palate than the color would indicate. Minerals and sour cherries with a medium finish.

8/14/2014 - gunnm wrote:

Nose was muted at first, slightly vegetal later on in the night. Acidic, with some sour cherries on the palate. Mostly a front and mid-palate wine with a short finish.

6/19/2014 - gunnm Likes this wine:

Nice bouquet from the get go definitely picked up some cinnamon - palate changed quite a bit over the night. Dark fruits, chocolate with a nice medium to long finish.

6/19/2014 - gunnm wrote:

Initially closed on the nose but opened up over time. Got some whiff of barnyard and oak on the nose. Nice acidity and tannins. Got some bright cherries on the palate. Still quite young and will have a long way to go. Nice deep purple color. Spotted this as the youngest wine in our Rioja tasting.

12/4/2013 - gunnm wrote:

Nice tannins, somewhat Robitussiny flavors on the palate to go along with bright cherries and stone fruit. Got some minerals on the medium long finish.

12/4/2013 - gunnm Likes this wine:

An excellent Syrah with an earthly, floral bouquet. I got dark cherries, cassiss, blackberries on the palate with a nice long smoky (where did that come from?) finish.

11/28/2013 - gunnm wrote:

Definitely a food wine, got hints of chocolate and roasted meat. Medium long finish with the right amount of acidity.

11/3/2013 - gunnm Likes this wine:

SQN makes a white that dares to be different. Complex, bold - it changed a lot over the night. I got peach and lychee flavors with a medium long finish. A strong wine by itself or with light fare.

9/13/2013 - gunnm Likes this wine:

Funkalicious wine that presented a honeysuckle bouquet that hinted at sweetness but delivered an off-dry medium bodied and rhontastic combination of tart apples, minerally minerals and toasted oak with a long complex finish.

7/5/2013 - gunnm Likes this wine:

Nice bouquet, red fruits on the palate. some heat on the palate.

7/4/2013 - gunnm wrote:

Popped and poured. Nice red fruits, sweet but not cloying. In a great place right now.

6/23/2013 - gunnm Likes this wine:

My very last bottle - this would not disappoint. Decanted to give it some air. Wonderful fruity bouquet leading to toasted oak and citrusy fruit on the palate. The acidity here makes it a great food wine with a lush mouth feel and a lingering finish. Sad to see this one go.

11/23/2012 - gunnm wrote:

Not sure if this is past it's prime since I never drank a bottle until now. The wine seemed thin. Did have some cherry and minerals on the palate. The finish was rather short and there was a faint sense of cherries on the nose.

9/15/2012 - gunnm wrote:

Exceptional. A long lingering finish. Sweet but not an alcohol bomb with a hint of spice.

7/3/2011 - gunnm wrote:

Sweet with some heat, this has yet to gain weight after time in the bottle. An affable quaffer.

6/4/2011 - gunnm wrote:

Flowery nose hits you right away - very nice sweet cherries and almost no heat on this wonderful wine. Medium to long finish.

12/24/2010 - gunnm wrote:

Time has certainly tamed the tannins on this wine. This bottle was still a little alcoholic but there were nice tart black fruits on the palate and a nice medium finish.

12/17/2010 - gunnm wrote:

A typical cloudy Aubert that was throwing off large chunks of sediment after sitting in the cellar patiently for several years. Floral bouquet with a somewhat grassy hint that led to exotic fruit and even hazelnut on the palate. An excellent chard that has both finesse and power.

12/17/2010 - gunnm wrote:

Exceptional wine - wonderful bouquet, rich and opulent on the palate. There is definitely power here but no heat - only a long and complex finish.

11/25/2010 - gunnm wrote:

Seems a bit extracted, sour cherries on the palate with some heat and drying tannins on the medium length finish.

11/24/2010 - gunnm wrote:

Last one - 5 years out this one still maintained a nice floral bouquet but did seem a bit thin on the palate. Detected some cherries and mild spices but the finish was lacking.

9/27/2009 - gunnm wrote:

Alcohol on the nose and palate. Took a while for it to open up. Also detected minerals and sour cherries. Seemed hot and the group had trouble discerning this one from a syrah during the tasting.

9/27/2009 - gunnm wrote:

Petrol on the nose is definitely more distinct this time around. Still sweet but peach was more prevalent on the palate than before. Nice long lingering finish on this one. As with almost every other bottle in my batch, the cork broke in half upon opening (no leakage but perhaps the cork dried out).

9/26/2009 - gunnm wrote:

Served with roast tenderloin of pork and made for a great pairing. As with the first bottle, needs at least 30 minutes of air time for it to open up. Cassis was still present on the palate but the spice was more evident. Seemed to have picked up some weight in the past 5 years with more prominent tannins with a medium finish.

5/27/2008 - gunnm wrote:

Nice fruit-forward quaffer.

5/2/2008 - gunnm wrote:

Opened for 30 min to warm up from cellar temp. Fragent nose, lots of bright cherries and strawberries on the palate. Definitely got oak after an hour into it, but not off-putting. Seems a step down from the Sonoma Coast.

4/6/2008 - gunnm wrote:

Interesting nose, got a lot of tart cherries on the palate. More acidic than other Loring's I've had. Medium long finish.

4/6/2008 - gunnm wrote:

This wine was good to go right out the bottle - lush, fruit-forward. A excellent and fun wine that was the crowd pleaser at the tasting. I got bright cherries, some strawberry jam in this medium-bodied Shiraz. Tannins were there but mostly in the background with a nice finish. Not sure if this will continue to improve but as of this bottle, this wine is really hitting its stride.

12/16/2007 - gunnm wrote:

Improved since last tasting. Oak has integrated - doesn't really need much of a decant. Doesn't seem like it will improve much at this point - time to drink up.

12/1/2007 - gunnm wrote:

Great stuff - cherries and earth on the nose. Darker plum flavors on the palate, with a bit of acidity and a nice finish. A crowd pleaser!

10/5/2007 - gunnm wrote:

Started out slow but it just need some air time. After 30 minutes it start to show its colors (despite the cloudiness) - very nice nose with lychee and butterscotch on the palate. I also detected some toast towards the end. A nice medium-long finish completes this excellent new-world chard.

7/3/2007 - gunnm wrote:

At 5 years of age, this bottle seems to have lost something. While much more lush in its youth, it has seemed to picked up more acidity and more of a sour cherry profile. If you liked it's more fruit-forward profile then this is over the hill.

6/24/2007 - gunnm wrote:

Hmm, way over the hill. Must not have been stored properly.

6/6/2007 - gunnm wrote:

Surprisingly approachable at this stage. Nice fruity nose, dark berries and sour cherries on the palate. Medium finish with some tart tannins at the end. Very nice at this price point.

5/31/2007 - gunnm wrote:

Very nice, floral nice. Dark fruits on the palate but cola was more prominent for me. Medium tart finish.

2/3/2007 - gunnm wrote:

A very pleasant dessert wine. Brown sugar on the palate with a nice medium finish. Despite the alcohol no heat. Although this was a dessert wine, it was a little too sweet tipping it towards being slightly unbalanced.

2/3/2007 - gunnm wrote:

Fairly straight-forward cab with hints of cassis and a medium finish.

2/3/2007 - gunnm wrote:

Plummy nose, jammy, full-bodied spicy palate. A dark zin that is fruit forward with roundish tannins at the long finish.

2/3/2007 - gunnm wrote:

This is an excellent zin. Tied for WOTN at a recent tasting. Dark fruits on the nose, slight hint of oak, chocolately velvety finish. Not at all over-the-top, despite the alcohol, no heat and well-balanced.

2/3/2007 - gunnm wrote:

Cherry nose. Full-bodied, seemed somewhat disjointed. Some drying tannins at the end.

2/3/2007 - gunnm wrote:

WOTN at a recent wine tasting. Cherries on the nose, fruit forward effort that was quite balanced. An excellent effort that was a crowd-pleaser with a long silky finish.

2/3/2007 - gunnm wrote:

Another great showing. A crowd-pleaser - starting to give a slightly petrol nose. Sweet with a nice finish.