September 14, 2015 - Gaining weight. Wish I had more of this to hold for a few years.
December 14, 2014 - There is a surprising funkiness to the nose, along with darker berry fruit. Still very focused and precise.
August 14, 2014 - Wow, what a dramatic change. This is much more mellow, deep, and smooth today than it was a year ago.
January 19, 2014 - POE Wines - Winemaker's Dinner with Samantha Sheehan (The Loft @ The Montage - Laguna Beach, CA): Previously tasted 18 months earlier in a blind event and really liked it. It's getting better. The nose is the bomb, beautiful black fruit. Palate shows ripe red berry and medium toast. Finishes with a bit of acid and sandalwood.
January 19, 2014 - I had a bottle of this just two months ago, on T-Giving day. As with pinot noir that I enjoy drinking, for me it needs some chill, a little cooler than room. Last night, we had this wine but it didn't have that same cooler edge of my last bottle and what I noticed from this room temp experience (was about 68-70 degrees) was the wine's richness comes through far stronger, mainly in the aromatic that was a bit fumey. Getting past that part, the wine's fruit is juicy, with acidity and raspberry, loamy cherry, richer-edged. Sam said the wine is 14.1% but the nuance of that richness, at least what I learned last night and reaffirms how I approach serving pinot noir, is that some need the best temp to show best. Drink with a slight chill, as this is good stuff, just a little bigger in tone.
January 3, 2014 - Initial pop and pour; let sit for 30 minutes in the glass; plum color with a good bit of brick red at the edge; cloudy, hazy and upon inspection, a lot of sediment in the bottle...so I decanted; nose of baking spcies, baked strawberry, light citrus notes; much deeper and mellow (whatever the opposite of "bright" would be) for what I expected from an Anderson Valley Pinot; palate of semi-tart strawberry, rhubarb, sweetened baked cranberry, darker red fruits and very fruit-forward and rich, but still a touch of minerality; great, mouth-watering acid on the back end and with a medium finish. Day 2 was just the same after warming from sitting int he fridge.
I was really curious about two things: (1) whether this wine was unfiltered as there was so much sediment for such a young wine and (2) why it was so fruit-forward, as I was expecting much more of a minerality to it. So, I emailed Sam Sheehan, the winemaker. This was her response regarding 2010: "The year started off cold, so growers removed the leaf cover to forward ripening, and therefor had no protection. Everyone wanted to pick during the heat, so all of the picking crews were busy. We weren't able to pick until the last day. That is the reason the wine tastes more fruit forward. It is unfined and unfiltered. That would explain the sediment." Overall, a great wine made by a great individual. Kudos Sam!
November 28, 2013 - Opened for Thanksgiving dinner. Samantha did such a nice job with this wine, I really enjoy this wine a lot. It has a fresh, red fruited, pure quality that really makes it sing. Leans into the strawberry, raspberry jam qualities, with that richer edge yet the wine remains balanced, with acidity and focus. Bit of mineral and tannin still in the finish, a winner. Well done!
August 14, 2013 - PnP. Light Ruby color. Med/Slow legs. Cassis, Cherry, Cola and Subtle Earth on the nose. Tastes of Ripe Cherry, Tart Cherry, (Pineapple?) and Blackberry. Smooth texture. Excellent tart balance. Med/Long finish. 14.1% ABV.
January 19, 2013 - This is really delicious, open for about 90 mins. Smokey, little meaty element on nose. The palate is really a lot about red fruit, not on the lean side, but creamier, with red cherry, strawberry and orange rind. Inside the palate, therre is a nice loamy note, a bit of truffle. Really, lots of cool things going on. Finishes with good acidity and a light kick of hard jolly rancher candy. I'm taking this to dinner and I'm certain my son in law and I will kill this thing so if the wine changes, I'll add an update but this shows again right now as well as it did this past June.....about 2 ozs left from last night so plenty to add some final thoughts. Drinking about 65 degrees. Color is moderately dark. Aromatics are very similar to last night--maybe a hint of whole cluster (?), and the palate now shows some of those too, providing a meaty note. The fruit is a bit denser today too. There is good texture here, a bit of density to the black cherry, black raspberry fruit. The finish has a cranberry, orange zest zing to it. Overall, this is good pinot, with good complexity and flavor. If I had any negative to offer, is that it's just denser on the palate than maybe some will like but I think if you put a little more of a chill on it, that note would soften but it doesn't bother me. For a drink window, I would say now through 2016.
January 11, 2013 - Great wine. Cherry and raspberry flavors were strong that I expected. I would actually say the flavor that came through was more of a cherry pie. It was a nice pinot, but a bit different than anything I have experienced. I actually felt that this could have been a really good, really heavy Cru Beaujolais. Great wine