9/22/2013 - Baeyens Cellars Likes this wine:

Drinking exceptionally well for 39 years old. Slight hints of dill on the nose and subtle spices and sour fruits on the palate with a long finish.

4/6/2013 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Good structure and firm tannins. Needs an hour + decant.

12/24/2012 - Baeyens Cellars Likes this wine:

Popped and poured with the wrong choice of food for dinner - an Italian prepared salmon in cream sauce. Surprisingly still tannic at first with hints of dark fruits. An hour of air time really opened the wine up nicely but the wine exploded on the palate with a tomato based minestrone soup. What a difference. Much more enjoyable with the right pairing.

11/22/2012 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

I think this wine may be in a dumb phase as it does not show the fruit I remember on release. Good structure to the wine but not showing balance now and little austere for what little fruit shows. I'll wait 4 or 5 years before revisiting.

11/10/2012 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Drinking beautifully with dark black fruit, cedar and lead pencil aromas. Supple tannins still evident and should make this wine very nice for many years ahead.

8/8/2012 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

I love this wine, especially for the value. Drinking beautifully now (I've tasted this wine on 3 occasions over the last year). Great texture and mouth feel but still has a soft entry. Minerality, leather, cherry and long finish make this wine very enjoyable.

3/10/2012 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Drinking past its peak now without the intensity of its youth and previous lush fruit, but still enjoyable. This wine doesn't have the tannins of the 2001 to benefit from continued aging.

3/4/2012 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

An elegant wine with powerful dark fruit. Good structure and mouth feel with subtle tannins. Should continue to age well.

11/18/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Closed and tannic although I think this will show much better in a few years when it opens up. Dusty red cherry, minerality and lead pencil. Will revisit in 5+ years.

11/12/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Firm tannins, good mouth feel, minerality and earth tones with medium ripe cherry fruit. Needs some decanting time and will continue to improve with age.

11/4/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Beautiful nose but the wine seemed closed on the palate. Unfortunately I was not able to decant beforehand. My last bottle showed similar notes on the closed fruit so I'll be waiting a few years before opening the next one. Great structure and mouth feel to the wine.

9/10/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

This is the best bottle of Syrah I've tasted all year long (and it's September). It has it all - powerful dark fruits of black berry, black cherry and blueberry. Great texture and mouth feel with an elegance to the wine that really shows on its beautiful long finish. It has powerful oak that, at first, I thought was too much, but the big fruit balances very nicely with the ample oak. Built for aging with its tannins gracefully hiding. This is a fantastic Syrah.

7/28/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Pillow soft entry and lush soft strawberry fruit with medium long finish. Showing more elegance than power.

7/22/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Not the typical lush fruit from Pride probably because of the 2003 hot and ripe vintage. Jammy fruit with cedar and tobacco flavors. The wine was smooth and soft on entry but lacked some of the texture and mouth feel that I usually enjoy with Pride. The pillow soft mouth feel and medium long finish made it enjoyable, but drink up - I think it's reached its peak.

7/17/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

I drank this wine out of curiosity knowing it is probably way too young, and that was confirmed. Bright and youthful with lighter fruits of raspberry, strawberry and spice. Time should bring out some very nice complexities along with mature fruits.

7/17/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Blueberry and blackberry, good structure but still soft on palate with nice finish.

6/10/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Showing good earth, minerality and texture with black cherry pit fruit, although light in fruit now. The mouth feel carries this wine nicely and the finish is long.

5/27/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Decanted for 2 hours; drinking nicely now with good structure, nice mouth feel and good balance of plum, cherry fruit, oak and a little minerality.

5/27/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

This wine was surprisingly very nice still after 13 years. I served it blind to a group that guessed it as a mid 80's Silver Oak; lot's of dill on the nose and Cabernet like nuances, some good spices and dusty cherry fruit.

5/2/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Huge coffee / oak nose followed by a rich palate of complex dark fruit and mocha, earth and spice.

4/16/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Probably a little past its prime now but still showed nice structure and mouth feel although light in fruit. Dusty cherry on the palate.

3/22/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

This wine is ready to consume and is drinking nicely now with subtle cherry fruit and nuances of minerality.

3/26/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Plenty of tannins and fruit to carry this wine for another decade or more. Decanted for 3 hours but still very youthful in presentation. Good structure and mouth feel. Wanted to see how wine was evolving - will wait minimum 5 years before revisiting.

3/1/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

The 01 was always one of my favorite Caldwell wines. Very elegant with Cabernet dominating the palate now and not so much Syrah (I believe it's close to 50/50 blend). The fruit has subsided now and this wine has peaked, although nicely. Good earth tones. Missing a little of the powerful fruit that it used to have that gave the wine better balance for my palate. Still a treat and I love Caldwell's style and his skill at blending these two dominant varietals.

3/1/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Huge blueberry and dark fruits with pillow soft entry while maintaining good structure and minerality true to the varietal.

2/6/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Very enjoyable, good acidity with subtle fruit and good balance to the wine.

2/6/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Still very enjoyable but ready to consume now, especially with 1998 not being a huge year in the fruit department. An interesting nose of more European qualities of earth and minerals - somewhat Italian or Spanish on the nose. The palate revealed it Bordeaux characteristics. Light in fruit with dusty, earth tones. Nice, but time to consume.

2/5/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

This wine is drinking so nicely now. Still big fruit on the nose with great structure and texture on the palate. Finishes long.

2/4/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

I thought it might be a little early to try this wine but wanted to see how it was evolving. I would definitely wait a few more years before opening one again. It's a beautifully made wine but the tannins are a little too dominant at this point to enjoy fully. Great nose and palate of cherry and plum and good acidity on the mid palate. Just needs some time to show its potential.

1/21/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

This wine still has the classic silver oak dill on the nose but also some funky (probably the oak) smells, which weren't a negative to me, as I found it adding to the complexity. The fruit was unexpectedly spicy with sour tones, which I also enjoyed. Good texture and mouth feel and a nice finish added to the experience.

12/23/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Still tight and needing an hour or more of decanting. Dusty, earth and minerality with light fruit and good mouth feel.

12/24/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Intense bright red fruits. The wine seemed to have an effervescence to it that made the mouth feel less appealing. A big wine that pairs well with food.

12/18/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Drinking very nicely with aged, ripe fruit. Subtle tannins still present but in good balance. Good texture and mouth feel with a medium finish.

12/11/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Rich, lush fruit, with the sophistication of Cabernet and softness of Merlot.

12/6/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Light in color and fruit but still very balanced. Might have mistaken for an aged Zinfandel if blind because of the complexities and spices.

11/30/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Definitely on the young side still but quite enjoyable after 2 hours decanting. Ripe fruits, great minerality and mouth feel. Will only get better with time.

11/29/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Chocolate, spice and oak on the nose. Lush dark fruits on the palate.

11/29/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

The wine is still very young and needs decanting. Very nice nose of lead pencil, minerality and bright red fruit. Plenty of tannin and structure to age well but the wine has an elegance to it already that I found very appealing. Will wait a couple more years before opening again.

11/27/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Earth, minerality, plum, ripe fruits, good texture, mouth feel and a medium finish.

11/25/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Needed a good hour plus of decanting to open up properly. Nice acidity with strawberry fruit being predominate.

11/23/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

I remember buying this wine from Vincent Arroyo after a private tasting at his winery almost 10 years ago, so maybe that gave the wine more accolades. But I found this wine very enjoyable with an almost Turley Zin like fruit forward ripeness of prune, licorice and dark fruits. Yet the wine had complexity from its age while maintaining a delicacy to its long finish.

11/17/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Very nice Rhone blend with the chalky, minerality of the Grenache seeming to take the front seat on my palate, which I really enjoyed. I was told the Grenache made up 25% of the blend with 50% going to Syrah and 25% Mourvedre (not sure if that's correct though). A very enjoyable wine and another great effort by winemaker Jeff Dobkin. Thompkin Cellars makes numerous blends and they're all excellent.

10/28/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

The nose was a little closed as was the palate at first, but the wine opened up after about an hour. I would decant next time. This wine's tannins seem to have taken the front seat over its fruit now. The structure and mouth feel are still fantastic. Definitely improves with air time.

10/25/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Ripe, rich and dark fruit with spices that rounded out this wine. Very enjoyable at this stage.

10/22/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

This wine has tons of huge dark fruit in Pride's usual big style, new world style. This one was a little over oaked for my palate, but still very enjoyable.

10/8/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

A powerful, extracted and fruit forward wine with blueberry, dark fruits and minerality.

9/24/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

This wine was rated #1 in a blind tasting of 2000 Bordeaux at my home - among 7 tasters. After 3 hours of decanting, my notes showed it a little shut down. Eventually opening up, I enjoyed its beautiful nose and dark fruit and minerality on the palate. A sophisticated wine of depth and long finish, true to this fantastic Bordeaux vintage.

9/24/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

A Burgundian style Chard with crisp acidity. Somewhat sour fruit, that I found appealing.

9/29/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Popped and poured and actually thought the wine was a little closed at first. But it opened up beautifully accompanying a rib eye. In the usual Alban style that grabs your attention with huge dark fruit while maintaining the minerality of Rhone. It had plenty of power to come over the top of a tomato / bleu cheese salad combo (one of my favorites to have with Alban Syrahs). I feel the wine is still in its youth with ample tannins and plenty of years ahead of it.

8/8/2010 - Baeyens Cellars wrote:

Definite candidate for some serous decanting. After 3 hours it still was very tight. A beautifully made wine with many years of aging potential. It probably didn't help that it followed a 90 Montrose that evening which blew my mind. Hints of lead pencil and cedar on the nose with tight tannins that made you think the wine was younger. Tons of structure with dark fruits, minerality and good finish but needs to age a few more years for my palate at which time I can see a high 90's rating potential.