July 12, 2018 - Excellent! Perfectly aged. Sweet soft fruit with an amazing nose.
November 1, 2013 - Man, I miss these wines. I've always loved RO fruit, and the Loring may have been the first producer I tasted making Pinot from that vineyard.
This was so tasty with beef Bourgogne over rice. Spicy red fruit, some cola, maybe, who knows?, but it was so interesting and tasty and even sexy. I almost wished I wasn't sharing it, but everyone else really enjoyed it too.
Age your Lorings at least 9 years!
June 23, 2012 - Decanted for an hour and then finished over the course of 3 hours. Excellent wine. Beginning to show the signs of age at the initial decant with a slight brownish cast to the otherwise translucent but dark red color. The nose had a bit of funk upon decanting, but it blew off before we drank it with dinner. Flavor is no longer "In Your Face" Cali pinot. It is more of a subdued dark and brooding cherry, rather than a bright sweet cherry. My wife, who knew it was a pinot but nothing else, guessed California because she detected the cola flavor, but I thought is was well subdued and barely noticeable. The finish on this wine is very long. The balance on this wine has improved in the past 5 years. It still shows some alcohol heat on the back of the palate, but overall a very positive wine experience. I do not know if the screw cap rather than cork explains the aging, but I suspect not.
April 5, 2011 - Over the hill
February 26, 2011 - David's wine. Sappy good. Not = to 02 DuMol Finn.
November 25, 2010 - tasty, but not as good as previous bottles. maybe starting to fade?
March 11, 2010 - It was a Mad Men night with martinis and Old Fashions flowing over the bar of legalized enablement. At another hour on a clearer day, the conversation might have been described as that made by pretentious drunks, but at this hour, on this day, mixologist philosophers leaned in to renew the embers of the fire of what makes a martini. The discussion turned to the sweet gin of Old Tom and vermouths of the 19th century. And while the clock may have stopped on that street, for a suburban housewife, the hour wore like a thin shawl in the chill of January; and with it, a cold contempt set in.
With amends to be made against the tide of a tapping foot and a face of cold granite, a stop by the cellar before even considering an ascent to the kitchen appeared to be the only key to fit the door. But any wine would not do. Digging in the cellar until it hurt, he pulled his final bottle of the ‘04 Rancho Onitveros. With the bottle’s top off and the first glass sliding across the reflectively stoney counter to the very edge of her statuesque hand, he cut his eyes from the glass to hers as if to say, “Redemption can only be received if first given.”
Her eyes softened with the expansive bouquet of earth, black cherries, teaberry, cloves and perhaps even some asian 5 spice. Warm expression ebbed ever so slightly through her face with every note of the profile’s exactness etching the markers from the bouquet. Balanced, elegant and inviting in a way edges out any room for hard feelings. Thanks, Brian; you’ve made it possible to anticipate yet another anniversary. Some slight sediment is thrown. 15.1% alc. With broiled salmon in chipotle chili glaze . 03.11.10. Highly Recommended.
December 15, 2009 - Take to cooking class with Kim.
December 7, 2009 - I was disappointed to find less finesse and more candy than the last time. Wife wouldn't drink because it was over the top. So after a couple of glasses I froze the remainder. Upon thawing, I found a much more subdued wine. Even my wife liked it! Lots of fruit, some bark, no bite. Elegant, silky finish.
November 28, 2009 - Another delicious 2004 Loring!