June 7, 2017 - Fun day at the dentist! This made it all better! Drinking well now. Clearly Californian. Nice fruit, moderate intensity , clean finish of raspberry, hint of vanilla, and black cherry.
December 11, 2016 - A complete wine with deep, dark but not over the top fruit, medium body, lovely aromatics and mouthfeel. A wonderful wine that enriches a meal but can be tasted while the meal is still cooking. Delicious! One of my all time favorite pinot noirs.
June 6, 2015 - Opened this on the heels of an '09 AP Garys' purchased from the same source. Both had an obvious spritz to them. This vintage's blew off more quickly, but it was still really distracting. The underlying juice was good to drink, but the overall wine was essentially flawed. No clue what to chalk it up to, but definitely wouldn't purchase either vintage again based on this pattern.
February 9, 2015 - Cherry, black cherry and pomegranate fruit. Purple color, good mouth feel. Some leather and earthiness with subtle oak finish. Good not great.
8/31/2015 Really liked the mouth feel this time, very visceral. And some nice gravel notes on the finish. Otherwise, observations were similar to the last bottle.
2/6/2018 Holding up well, still lots of good fruit. More dirt than gravel on the finish this time.
December 5, 2014 - Big fan of Santa Lucia but this wine was unmemorable. It had all the pieces, nice acidity, good ripe fruit but wasn't as refined or as integrated as I'd want.
July 22, 2014 - Chainthroer note is spot on.
July 13, 2014 - Ruby colored; looks as if it's unfiltered and unfined. The aromas were initially closed, but after 30 minutes opened up with medium intensity. Aromas are somewhat floral, with cherry, strawberry, some cinnamon and minerals. The flavors are similar, but dominated by the addition of pomegranate. The wine is a slightly more full bodied and intense than when last tasted three months ago. The oak is moderate and not as obvious as last time. Pairs nicely with salmon; the pairing last time with Quadlrella di Bufala cheese was better.
July 8, 2014 - A really tasty and complete wine with excellent rich Gary's (Pisoni) fruit. That mean deep dark red fruit to me. Terrific wine for the money.
April 29, 2014 - The last time I tasted this wine was at a dinner with friends. The wine has not changed much. Floral aromas along with cherry, strawberry, cinnamon, spice and minerals. Similar flavors, with the addition of some pomegranate. The oak is more obvious this time. Still, medium richness and concentration of fruit; not real full bodied. Something is missing in the mid-palate. But, when pairing with Quadrella di Bufala cheese, the wine really picks up and seems more full bodied and enjoyable.
March 23, 2014 - PnP'd (screw cap). Claret colored. Extremely shy initially, but opened to aromas of baked cherry pie, mushroom and cola; black cherry, sassafras and cola on the palate. Medium length, effervescent finish. Well balanced. Drinking well now.