11/21/2021 - FoinZap Does not like this wine:

PnP. Black cherry/plum-colored to rose at the edge. Red fruit, earth, and graphite on the nose. Palate is bright, tangy red fruit...cranberry, raspberry, a bitter aspect, cherry finish. Mouth feel is a bit grainy and absent the silkiness you expect w Merlot. Starts and finishes with a tangy/sour red fruit pucker. There's certainly some complexity here, not really in balance yet. Could have potential with age, but not my fave.

6/13/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote:

Inky ruby in color, the wine blasts off with smoke, tar, hoisin sauce, oyster shell, thyme, black currants and plum aromas. The palate is full-bodied, powerful, rich, intense, mouth filling and long. The wine coats your palate, but there is nothing heavy about it. Everything is in balance, meshing power with precision, purity and depth with a finish of more than 60 seconds! This is one of the great vintages for LMHB! Created from a blend of 53% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc, reaching14.6% alcohol with a pH of 3.9. Picking took place September 11 through October 2. The Grand Vin was produced from 50% of the harvest. 98-100 Pts

7/30/2021 - FoinZap Likes this wine:

PnP. Deep rich dark purple in color to red at the edge. Robust nose of black and red fruit, with a touch of chocolate, coffee. Palate is a nicely complex blend of blackberry, espresso, some secondary red fruit, maybe eucalyptus on the finish, with a bit of a numbing effect, possibly related to tannins that need to integrate. Center of gravity is definitely on the sweet side, but not in a cloying or cheap way. Full bodied with a long finish. Right now this feels a bit overpowering to me and the finish left a sensation somewhat like drinking Irish coffee...but if it mellows a bit this could be wonderful. All the 98-100 ratings on CT are a bit of a disconnect for me. I could see how someone might really like this, but it's far from a flawless experience at this point in its development. 94 with upside. Additional note: went back to this on day 2. Notes substantially the same, but it had mellowed a bit and wasn’t quite so overpowering. Clearly a very nice effort. I might nudge this to 95, but not further right now…

6/12/2020 - FoinZap Likes this wine:

Dark purple/plum color. Nose of black fruit and earth. Palate is black fruit, pencil lead, caramel, leather, tobacco, a touch bitter. Full bodied, slightly grainy/chewy wine with noticeable, but well-integrated tannins, a bit of a dry finish, might improve with more time.

8/24/2018 - Wine Warrior 1 Likes this wine:

Hello left bank. I enjoyed the depth of this primarily Merlot based wine (55%). It is the cab franc (35%) that gives this wine its rating. Great balance of fruit weight and mouth feel. Deep garnet color, medium weight, dark fruit from the high cab Franc but it pleases with black currant, oak and spices. This wine has more time in the bottle but you will not be disappointed to drink it now.

5/24/2020 - FoinZap Likes this wine:

Two hour decant. Gorgeous wine. Garnet in color, almost yellow at the edges. Earth, spice, and smoke notes on the nose. Mid- to full-bodied, very smooth mouth feel, not too dense, more silk than velvet. Beautifully integrated tart red fruit (cherry, raspberry), crushed rock, herb, maybe hints of anise, toffee. Impressive complexity. Finish is long and lingering. I drink a lot of Cabernet-based reds, and this may be a shade less massive, but for me this stakes its claim with the finest big, full-bodied reds I've tasted. Perhaps if something keeps me from calling it flawless it would be the tartness may be turned up a half notch too high.

5/29/2020 - FoinZap Does not like this wine:

This was ok, but at the price point, I felt it was unimpressive, especially given the wide range of quality Sauvignon Blanc wines in the new world. Explosion of pear on the nose and palate. Handful of other citrus and fruit aspects. Surprisingly heavy mouth feel. Seemed a bit "in your face" and heavy handed. It may be that I'm just not accustomed to drinking Semillon, and the heavier weight combined with the flavors I associate with lighter wines seemed incongruous. That said, it wasn't awful, just seemed to lack finesse and subtlety.

4/3/2020 - Hi.its.Don.4.Wine Likes this wine:

Pinot with Ribs; Who am I to argue with Billy Three Sticks?

As I’m meandering through the world of Facebook the other day (what else do we have to do being self-contained – I like that better than self-quarantined), I see a picture of my good buddy Billy Three Sticks (that’s William Price III to the rest of you) and his wife, Eva; albeit truth be told I’ve never met the man, just drunk enough of his wine to feel like we’re on a first name, or better yet, nickname basis; announcing that if you’re cooking up some ribs, the wine to drink is his Price Family Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir.

Now when it comes to ribs, I’m a little more of a purist as you can tell when I’ve cooked them in the past, generally leaning towards the Zinfandel side in the equation. So when this friend of mine tells me I should be drinking his Pinot Noir, I DO IT!

Now in the picture I couldn’t tell if these were dry-rub or wet-rub ribs, kinda looks like dry to me, and some veggies (inconsequential to the story). I like both, although I tend to lean to the wet-rub side. So first thing I’m thinking is “will the sauce I’m using be too big and drown out the wine?” I shake that thought out of my head, as, I stated above, just do it!

I get down to business and slow roast the ribs for a good four hours, basting them during the last half-hour. Veggies prepared (again inconsequential), the food plated, all that was left was to pour the wine and see for myself just what the results would show.

For the record, I’m pouring the newly released

Three Sticks Price Family Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir 2018
from the Sonoma Coast; a blend of vineyards including their Walala (40%), Gap’s Crown (25%), William James (15%), and the balance from Alana, Durell, and One Sky. Another 100% Blended Pinot Noir; each site adding distinct elements to the final wine. I love these. I loved the wine.

One sip and I don’t think I cared if the wine went with the ribs (it did), I just wanted more of the wine, oh, and the ribs too! Big and rich yet with a subtleness that combines the nuances of the wine into a pleasing amalgam of dried red fruit (maybe just a touch drier than 2017) holding on to freshness and a bright acidity lingering to a beautiful and all so slight spiced finish. The slight chill I put on the wine made the pairing a total success; did I think by buddy would steer me wrong. Steer as in point not steer as in cow, these were baby-back ribs from a pig after all.

Content that I can accept any and all recommendations from Billy, I cleaned up and settled into my coach to ponder the universe; actually I watched TV; with what wine I had remaining….pure contentment.

Cheers

6/6/2017 - melal41 Likes this wine:

Well it was not exactly L&M Red but a clone of it. Vintage 2010.
The story is I saw this wine in local store with label Et Al. No other info about producer. Made in Calistoga red wine.
The shape was Harlan Estate (very distinctive) and label and back sticker were made of the same print.
I asked store manager were this come from and he said his boss was touring Napa, liked this wine and brought a case to sell. He admitted later wine made by Martha M
Not cheap but not even close to Harlan or L&M Red.
I took few bottles home and open one at Vitner's Grill in Vegas last week. Asked server to decant and that turned out to be a beauty. Drunk for 2 hours with fine steak. Clearly needs longer decanting.
This was a wow wine all the way. Very young and brooding. Massive size still looking for a balance. Like an adolescent with many talents drifting in many directions. Loads of dark fruit and layers of flavors
The nose was a perfection.
A fine pedigree of this wine speaks volumes.
This will turn out to be a superstar in 5-6 years and last for 10+ with ease.
I guess it is one of their private ventures for members only like Napa Valley Reserve.
Get it if you find it!