4/17/2014 - clovercap wrote:

was looking forward to trying this special release, but unfortunately the bottle was corked. Direct delivery from winery to off site locker so no storage issues. Still one left though and I'm sure it will be fine when opened this summer.

6/17/2013 - clovercap wrote:

Opened this early Fathers Day morning in order to enjoy with the grilled NY strips for dinner. Unfortunately, it was spoiled. Cork looked ok, but nose was off putting and just tasted like a pruney mess, as all agreed when they tried it. Poured it down the sink..a difficult sight to behold. Bummer. Still have one left that I intend to let sit for a couple of years.

10/2/2012 - clovercap wrote:

Corked .

2/20/2011 - clovercap wrote:

Opened 2 hours before tasting. Expressive nose of cassis , chocolate, and earthy scents. A bit tight at first but blossomed into full blown Napa cab from To-Kalon. Dark fruits together with that cassis, coffee, oak well integrated. Great with lamb chops tonight. Long finish. Last one. Too bad. Fantastic wine.

12/31/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Opened at restaurant on NYE decanted. Began drinking it about 45 min. later. Dark red in glass, fragrant dark fruit nose. Lucious fruit tastes mostly black cherries, raspberry and even some cocoa it seemed. It all worked incredibly well. Spicy, though not really peppery and paired well with the smoked double pork chop. Really a superstar Zin. Wish I had a few more, but delighted I have other Carlisles in the cellar.

11/29/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Give it plenty of air and be rewarded with a great expression of sonoma coast Pinot. Subtle black fruits that are integrating wonderfully. Should get even better over the next few years.

11/28/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Getting better with bottle age. More balanced , structured. Honey , butterscotch, touch of oak.

11/20/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Unscrewed at dinner, splash decanted, and poured. Dinner at Fonz's with 3 guys after suffering through the SC debacle at OSU. Initially very tight, not much on the nose, but that started to change quickly.Inky and glass staining, with black fruit present almost immediately. Some tannin to start, but seemed to blow off unless it was just the power and finesse of the wine that overwhelmed them for me. seared grilled meat notes, black cherry, and maybe sage..but it all worked. Paired perfectly with the marinated in soy dijon, grilled lamb rack I ordered. Seemed to highlight the meat. Other wines at the table included an '05 Phelps Cab and '93 Silver Oak Alexander Valley which were great...but this is the one where the guys said, "Whoa...what's that?"...and wanted more. I need some more of this and I may have a couple of more customers for Larry. Well done sir!

11/2/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Popped and poured at restaurant. Bought this at the Carmel tasting room and really enjoyed it there. My description would be similar to those below. Howver, this bottle started slowly and never went anywhere. It seemed thin and a bit puckering rather than rich with the powerful fruit sensations I tasted in Carmel. Finish was sour and thankfully short lived. Perhaps just an off bottle, but it was and will be, my only one.

10/28/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Decant this for 30-60 minutes prior to drinking and it really comes alive. Initial funk to the nose,but it blows off in decanter and leaves great fruit behind. Getting better with age.

10/17/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Opened 1 hour before drinking but not decanted. Beautiful ruby color in the draft. Initial fragrance of strong fruit. Delicious, tongue coating flavor of black fruit, bramble, bbq. Peppery, long lasting finish. Truly outstanding juice again from Turley!

9/10/2010 - clovercap wrote:

This may have been spoiled, but don't think so as I had just purchased at Bristol Farms 2 days prior. Nose was barely apparent. A little bit of fruit on the palate initially, but gave way to sour, sour finish that lasted for minutes! Let it sit for 2 hours...didn't help. Too bad.

8/18/2010 - clovercap wrote:

unscrewed and poured at home. Consumed over several days. Nose was muted and fruit was sort of sour tasting at first. Seemed tannic as well; shut down. Re-capped and tried again 2 days later and it had really opened up by then. Black raspberry, and cherry with some earthy tones and chocolate as well. Very tasty though I think this will benefit with more time. at minimum, decant for a couple of hours...or days!

8/15/2010 - clovercap wrote:

A little tannic at first..but quickly opened with air and pouring through the Vinturi. Dark fruit on the nose and in the first tastes. Better than expected integration and balance. Acidity offset the strong initial tannin and left pleasing finish of cocoa, black cherry, strawberry. Went nicely with spice rubbed grilled pork chops.

8/10/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Opened and decanted at Tin Roof Bistro. Sat for 30 mins. prior to drinking. Absolutely beautiful aromas of cherry fruit on the nose right from the start. Cherry cola on the palate with a bit of heat to begin which blew off quickly. Long velvety finish. Nice acidity to offset the strong fruit. Well balanced and in a great place right now. Absolutely stunning pinot noir and WOTN at our table...by far.

8/9/2010 - clovercap wrote:

funky wet cardboard on the nose. Like rotted oak or something. horrendous taste. clearly spoiled.

7/27/2010 - clovercap wrote:

very disappointing. Thin, flat with little fruit or anything else to recommend it. too bad.

7/25/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Best of the various Tandems we tried, but that's not saying much.

7/23/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Brought to a tasting/business dinner at Ritz Laguna. Definitely one of the hits of the night and my WOTN. Unscrewed and poured but stayed in glass for 20 mins. Dark, brooding, staining color in glass. Aroma of chocolate cherry on nose and initial taste. Very smooth, like velvet on tongue. No evident alcohol. Initial finish short, but lengthened after 45 mins or so. Could use more air-time, but a wonderful wine. May have to get some more.

7/3/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Decanted at restaurant. Another incredible bottle. Dark ink look in the glass. Very fruit forward early on that balanced out after an hour or so. Each sip better than the last. Notes of chocolate, blackberry, but good acidity to balance the sweetness. A bit of heat at first but blew off quickly. A bit of pepper spice shows up at the finish which lasted for a minute or more. Another wow from Joey Tensley from us.

7/2/2010 - clovercap wrote:

The '01 version is what first attracted us to Shiraz and this one doesn't disappoint. Still plenty of power. Full, rich nose of dark berry fruit. Notes of black cherry, chocolate and coffee on the palate. Long finish and it all worked perfectly with grilled NY steaks.

6/25/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Sour at the start and hot in the finish. I like a lot of CH wines but this one doesn't cut it.

6/22/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Way too sweet and pruny. Almost a port..and a bad one at that. Don't buy this stuff. Yuch.

6/12/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Needs a couple of hours of decant time....but worth the wait. Unleashed power!

6/14/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Waited a long time to open this and boy was it worth it. Opened about 1.5 hours prior to drinking and it could have used even more as tannins were initially a bit overwhelming to the fruit. However, it smoothed out eventually and went wonderfully with our grilled lamb chops. Holding together very well and I think it is in its prime right now, certainly has at least several years left. Well done BV.

6/11/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Just a quick note on this one. Wife opened it as a "surprise" to go with the orrechiette/sausage/rapini she'd prepared. We have lots of 2007 Carlisle and I noticed she'd chosen the '08! We had another wine with dinner, and had this one over the next couple of days. On day 1 it was fruity but a bit disjointed with short finish. A bit strange to be honest. However, we had the other half of the bottle 2 days later, by which time it was absolutely gorgeous and singing. Great balance and structure, tons of fruit moderated nicely by oak and a bit of tannin I thought. Moral, if you open this one early....decant, decant, decant!

5/11/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Our first taste of this vintage and it was fabulous. Opened and decanted at Grace Restaurant right before dinner. Nose was very faint at first but then blossomed as the wine warmed. Explosion of ripe, strong fruit. Black cherry dominated. Perhaps a bit too ripe if anything in this youngster. Long finish and went wonderfully with the wild boar. Outstanding and will only get better.

4/10/2010 - clovercap wrote:

A nice surprise. Fully realized structure and balance. Very nice to cap off a round of golf at Wilshire CC.

4/18/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Very Rombauer-like...which in this case is a good thing as it is half the price. Wife loved it.

4/18/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Popped and poured 2 glasses 90 min. before grilled NY strips at home. Initially very tight and even tannic, but powerful nose of black fruit and some earthiness. After that we let them sit until dinner. By then the wine had opened considerably showing more fruit and drinking beautifully with the steaks. Tannins just present enough to cut through the marbleing for satisfying long, long finish coating the mouth and tongue. Amazing wine that I think has at least a few years left. Still beautifully balanced and structured with no sign of slippage.

3/28/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Really nice and ready right now. Opened in bottle for 1 hour and consumed with flank steaks at dinner. Beautiful dark ruby color and fragrant nose. Great flavors of cherry and strawberry with tinge of oak. Nice smooth finish that went perfectly with the steak. Tannins have calmed down; very satisfying.

3/20/2010 - clovercap Likes this wine:

Biale comes through again. Popped & poured at restaurant. Dark, glass staining color. Nose was pure fruit, in a good way. Initially some heat for the first 15 minutes or so but that blew off and revealed loads of ripe dark fruit, some strawberry and sweet raspberries. If you like ripe, full zins this is a great choice.

3/14/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Popped and poured at restaurant within a week of receiving from Foxen.tight and a bit tannic at first, but smoothed out nicely. Fresh stawberry with some chocolate on the finish. Not too hot, nor huge. Nice wine with the pork chop and chicken.

3/16/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Poured through Vinturi into glass from 375ml. Deep, dark color with fragrant nose right off the bat. Black fruits dominate and a bit too much heat at first but that blew off quickly. Mouth coating texture that paired well with the grilled NY steak. Absolutely fabulous Syrah monster. I wouldn't call it subtle. Glad I still have a couple of 750s left.

3/3/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Coming around. Will keep getting better. Headed for the Rombauer profile we were aiming for.

3/1/2010 - clovercap wrote:

If you like toasted oak over light butter with some nice pear thrown in..this is your Cougar juice. Great with our chicken tonight.

3/2/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Brought to Tin Roof restaurant. Popped and poured there. Seemed shut down at first, but started to open a bit over the hour. Next time will decant at least an hour.

2/28/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Popped and poured from 375ml. Dark, glass staining color. Huge fruit on nose and a little hot at first, but then the mouth filling, tongue coating fruit takes over. Dark fruit, like zin on hi octane. Tannins mix nicely with the big fruit for a balanced finish. Very good...but big!

2/27/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Popped and poured with friends at Matisse. Seemed shut down, but perhaps it just needed a couple of hours in the decanter. Nose initially impressed but kind of blew off. The usual Southing taste never really developed and overall the whole thing was ok, but kind of "flat". Based on other reviews I think the '06 needs some more age and/or long decant to realy show its stuff.

2/28/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Opened 2 hours before drinking but not decanted. Wow...this is like an F1 car at Le Mans...power but under control riding on rails. Dark in glass, nose giving some warning of what's to come. Fruit vapors shooting up after a vigorous swirl. A little heat at first, but that is left in the dust as the black fruits start to take hold. Intense at first but then smooths out, especially over the first hour. Powerful, but completely in balance. Long, long finish that feels like the tongue is coated with flavor. Hard to believe this will get better with age...but I bet it will.

2/23/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Brought to restaurant where it was opened and decanted. Could have used at least an hour of air, but was consumed with dinner. Still very tight and a bit puckering. But fruit came through after 30 mins or so. Black cherry but also some lemon(?) citrusy stuff. Nice earthy taste and peppery spices. Medium finish. Might get better with another year or so.

2/8/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Disappointing effort. Popped and poured and perhaps it needed more air time. Seemed like it never opened up to blossom. Dusty, woody with some heat. Hard to find the fruit and not much finish. Probably being too harsh on it, but expected more considering the pedigree.

2/5/2010 - clovercap wrote:

This one was a bit disappointing. Really nice nose and initial fruit presence was a tease. Not really special like most Phelps cabs. It was just thin and never developed into much. Almost no finsih. As someone else said, this may have suffered in early years with improper storage.

2/1/2010 - clovercap wrote:

At the very least, way past its prime. Actually thought I got a sense of VA. Tasted more like something for the lawnmower. Hope the 2004+ is still ok.

1/31/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Excellent SLH pinot that could probably use some more time to snooze. Somewhat disjointed, but wonderful fruits on nose and palate. Long finish that even seemed a bit tannic. will get better over next year or 3.

1/21/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Just the right combination of toasted oak with a bit of butter, apricot, and pear. Very Rombauer-esq.

1/20/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Not the best bottle from this bunch for some reason. Funky nose, sour aftertaste. Smoothed out a bit after an hour in glass. I think this needs at least 4 hours decant to fully blossom....and perhaps a few more years in the bottle.

1/18/2010 - clovercap wrote:

Had this last night and it is drinking beautifully right now. Lovely color in glass, fragrant, pleasing nose and wonderful fruit on the palate. Ends with a long, velvety finish. No heat detected, just fruit and terroir. One of the best pinots we've had. This one doesn't need any more cellar time....drink up!

12/27/2009 - clovercap wrote:

At $17, a great QPR!

11/8/2009 - clovercap wrote:

An exceptional cab and great QPR. This one is really singing right now. Our last one...wish we had a few more! Paired wonderfully with roast pork loin.