9/28/2013 - redwinefan Likes this wine:

A bit more body and structure than your typical Oregon Pinot. Beautiful, elegant wine.

2/10/2013 - redwinefan Likes this wine:

Straight out delicious. Yes, it is is leathery, earthy, and meaty, but it has a great deal of fruit to balance those aspects combined with nice acidity.

1/12/2013 - redwinefan wrote:

Purchased a 4 pack of this. The first bottle opened with a significant amount of spritz which turned this into a sort of odd sparkling cabernet. It also tasted off, so it was poured down the drain. I'll give this one more shot with my next bottle.

12/30/2012 - redwinefan Does not like this wine:

I'm not sure what to make of this wine. It is anything but your typical Pinot Noir, but it still has elements of PN. Strong black cherry with some prunes mixed in, and the prunish element is a little off-putting to me. The finish is a bit on the harsh side. It's not really in my wheelhouse, but I could see how it might be interesting paired with the right foods.

8/19/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

Blackberry, clove, black pepper, bacon fat. Medium/to medium-fat body, but not viscous. Nice acid. Delicious.

8/16/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

Hey, it's cheap Gewürztraminer, so what are you expecting? I'm not asking a lot from it at $7.50, but it definitely outperforms at $7.50, and I'd choose it over a cheap, mass-produced Chardonnay most days of the week. As noted earlier, nice acid here, Gewürztraminer floral component, pineapple, light-body, a bit tart, dry. This is my last bottle, but it is still holding up.

8/15/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

I'll echo some of the previous notes on this one. It is on the thin side, and there is a bit of barnyard funkiness to it that doesn't appeal to me. Light strawberry, slightly tart cherry profile. Definitely lacking on the finish, but it is still drinkable. I'm curious to try a better vintage of this wine to compare.

6/25/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

After hoping that my first bottle was an aberration, on tasting my second bottle, I've got to agree with jawlz summary of this one. There is something off-putting about this wine. The soapiness, which I got off both of my bottles, is a surprise for a quality winery like L'Adventure, so I'm wondering if there is just serious bottle variation here. Regardless, this is pretty much a one dimensional table wine (if you ignore the extra-dimension provided by the soapiness), so don't expect too much here.

6/17/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

I'm seconding what rodsjuice said on this one. Decent for around $15 or less.

5/28/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

This is a very interesting and layered Pinot for RRV. Not what I'm used to tasting out of that area. It's got almost a Cab Franc quality to it with the mix of herbaciousness and eucalyptus. I'm getting more black cherry than tart cherry out of this one as well.

5/23/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

Nose of wet newspapers, initial hit of tart cherry followed by forest floor. Nothing special, not worth the tariff. Agree with Cabfrancophile 100%

4/15/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

Grape Crush Soda (do they still even make that?) with hints of concentrated Grape Jolly Rancher. Not my style, so I'm not going to rate it.

3/9/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

I found this quite enjoyable even at this young age for a PS. Don't be afraid to drink this now. Due to a lack of time, I didn't even decant it, and I don't feel it suffered due to this. Deep, dark purple coloring, soft nose, intense fruit. A long finish that leaves your mouth a bit dry. The more I taste this one, the more I'm liking it, but I'll probably save my next bottle for a few years to see what happens. Didn't notice TCA on my bottle as Richard pointed out. Hopefully that was a one off.

2/29/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

Fun wine. My first experience with a Muscadet. It's got a racing acidity and a hit of lemon zest that I like in my white wines. Begging to be paired with some oysters or sushi, but I'm happy enough to drink it on its own.

2/20/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

This is one intense Pinot. Its name is inspired by the biggest baddies ever on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it shows. Don't be expecting your typical light to medium body California Pinot. This one truly is a monster and will probably appeal to Syrah and Zin drinkers. There's an interesting complexity here. Dark blueberries with a hint of cranberry and an edge of raisins and a hit of soil (probably due to the vamps!). The raisin was was almost offputting on my first sip but it faded to the background and just provided a nice complement to the other flavors.

2/5/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

Not bad for $16. It's a little too much in the cherry cola camp/RRV style for my taste. I usually want a bit more earthiness from Sonoma Coast Pinots. I'm going to let the rest of my bottles sit for a year or so before I check this one out again.

2/5/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

Simple, light body, easy drinking, pinot. Strawberry pie mixed with just a hint of cinnamon. Definitely one to drink up rather than cellar. This might be borderline sacrilege, but this would make quite a nice spritzer in the summer.

1/9/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

This is one of those cases where you buy a cheap Pinot, you get a cheap Pinot. I was hoping that this might be one of the occasional Woot gems which delivers over and above its price point, but no, unfortunately, it's not. The 2008 had virtually no nose to speak of, it was lacking in acidity, had no depth, and honestly reminded me a bit of Kool Aid mixed with some smoke. Four bottles donated to the sink gods.

1/4/2012 - redwinefan wrote:

Truly a stunning nose on this pinot: a strong floral component mixed with cherry. Relatively light bodied. The tasting doesn't quite reach the level of the nose, but it is still nice nonetheless. Cherries with an undercurrent of tar/lead. A touch on the acidic side. Very nice effort and drinking well right now.

10/27/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

The acidic nature of this Syrah really is off-putting. I've been drinking lots of great Syrahs in this price range recently, so I've got to ding this one a bit. The acid really overwhelms the flavor profile. I tasted this over two days, and it never calmed down. I suggest pairing this with fatty food to soak some of this acid up between sips. I drank it by itself which was a mistake.

10/1/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

Gorgeous, elegant, Carneros Pinot. This is drinking beautifully right now with deep earth tones and layered but subdued fruit.

8/16/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

Syrah is my current favorite varietal, and this is one fantastic Syrah. It's got an interesting balance between an initial hit of acid and dark red rasberries followed up by a strong spicy, smokey, lead, minerally finish that lasts and lasts. Worth trying just for its uniqueness at the very least, and it's a heck of a value. Don't be expecting an Australian fruit bomb Shiraz. This one is a bit of a complex beast, so be prepared.

7/31/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

I'm not sure if I just got an off bottle or if this wine has entered a dumb phase, but this bottle was completely shutdown with very little to the nose even after a few hours of decanting. I've previously had an excellent bottle of Lot 182, and I've got many more in the cellar, so I'll hold off rating until my next bottle.

7/26/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

I'm going to second rodsjuice on this one. Blueberries and blackberries, graphite, fruity yet dry, definitely a mouthpuckerer. This wine was really singing on day two so I wish I had a couple more bottles to see how it evolves. As someone a bit skeptical of the Wine Garage labeled wines, they really surprised with this one.

7/15/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

Beautiful pinot. Earthiness, cherries, and pencil on the palate. Medium body. Glad I bought half a case of this.

7/8/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

Light body SB. NOT a grassy, cat pissy, or a mouth puckering tart bomb SB. Beautiful mouthfeel, tropical fruits on the palate, nose of banana and trop fruits. Lower acidity than many SBs. This is an easy summer drinker and still holding up nicely here despite it being a 2007. This is one of the best SBs I've tasted. It's too bad Havens is no longer around, but thankfully I bought half a case when I could. The only possible knock I can give it is a little more acidity might add some zing.

7/2/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

Don't sacrifice your young! A guest opened this one before I could stop them. It's light to medium body with a nice, mildly floral and fruity nose. Tart cherries with a hint of raisin on the palate. This is not your big, spicy/peppery, high alcohol California Zin. It paired very well with spicy indian food, but I'd recommend holding off on opening for a bit. I'm going to save my other bottle for at least a year.

4/23/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

This is still holding up amazingly well. Light and refreshing with a nice finish. The only knock I can possibly throw at it is that it can be a little on the watery side when compared with other SBs I've tasted. Still, this was a tremendous value at $8. Supposedly came from the now-defunct Havens Winery.

4/20/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

- Brick color and aromas of blackberry. It's unbalanced and has flavours of blackberry with a medium/full body. Round texture with a medium finish - Can't say I agree with the other CT comments on this one. This still has a ton of life in it for a 2005 Shiraz, but the flavor profile is off for me. Super sour cherry mixed with pepper and a big hit of acidity. It's not an easy drinker so I suggest you pair it with a steak or a dark chocolate cake to make it go down smoother.

3/27/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

A zingy lemon/apple acid bomb of refreshment. You get a nice hit of the sour flavors mixed with a crispness so that it's not too overwhelming. This is a fun wine, and I'm wishing I had more of it.

3/11/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

Reminds me of a decent $15 Australian Shiraz. Big wine, dark purple, high alcohol. Has a candy nose of grape Bubble Yum. Peppery with some big fruit and an oddly strong tar base at first but strangely lacking on the mid-palate. Finish is decent. I didn't decant this, just ran it through a vinturi, but this improved with some time in the glass.

1/24/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

I agree with rodsjuice's note below. Still packs a lot of fruit for a 2003 but is nicely balanced so you get some of that dense earth which I like. The fruit almost had an apple-like quality which is a bit different in a pinot.

1/23/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

On first taste, this seems like Lot 179's less complicated, more crowd pleasing, younger brother. Whereas Lot 179 is a big, bold, punch in the face, this is a bit thinner style and easier drinking although less memorable. Still, if you liked lot 179, I bet you'll like this as well, but probably not as much. According to the Cameron Hughes tasting notes, they blended a small bit of Grenache in with the Cab & Syrah. I'll revisit this one.

1/12/2011 - redwinefan wrote:

Vegetal, earthy, green pepper, with some barnyard thrown in. Major vegetal taste on the palate which is not appealing to me.

11/8/2010 - redwinefan wrote:

Really let down by this one. Has a strong cherry cola or Dr. Pepper taste without much complexity but very sweet. I've had much better pinot deals in the $15 range. Wish I didn't have 5 more bottles of this to go through. Will rate it on my next bottle.

9/12/2010 - redwinefan wrote:

Lots of heat on this one

8/7/2010 - redwinefan wrote:

This wine is amazingly smooth, but it's also very flat and lacking in fruit. There is something missing. I do think it's a great value in the $8-$10 range though, and it pairs nicely with any sort of italian food. Good to bring to a party as a third or fourth bottle.