June 19, 2021 - Tasted at the winery. Previously tried from bottle 14 months ago and the wine has evolved in that time. Dark red cherry and lots of earthy notes on the nose. Medium bodied with dark red cherry upfront and through the middle. The mid-body has rounded out quicker than I anticipated as this tasting was dominated by open, accessible mid-body notes. Tart notes come in on the backside with tart red cherry and earthy forest floor qualities. As compared to my last two -from-bottle tastings, I felt the wine had lost some of its complexity, fruit definition and contrasts. It still drinks well, but a clear step down from my recent prior experiences. Should continue to show well, but based on how these notes compare to what this wine showed in 2019 and 2020, the trend is clear and I'd drink these in the near term.
April 20, 2020 - Prior bottle was to-the-day seven months ago and this wine remains in a very nice spot. Nose shows red cherry and earthy, forest floor notes. Medium bodied and is holding together quite well with rounded red cherry upfront, with a pleasant touch of brightness. Mid-body shows good integration along with red berries and then tart red cherry, integrated spices and balanced tannins/acidity on the back. Overall, I would say some additional integration, but otherwise very similar to the prior bottle. This bodes well for how long it will last, but don't push it too far and enjoy over the next year or so.
September 20, 2019 - Previously tasted at the winery just over three months ago and my notes were confirmed. Red cherry and forest floor (earth, spices) on the quite aromatic nose. Medium bodied with red cherry upfront, retaining a hint of acidity-derived brightness, but coupled with an earthiness that gives it more complexity. Mid-body continues to show rounded and expressive red berries and red cherry with the background black cherry notes. Earth, spices and minerals along with pleasantly tart acidity on the backside into the clean finish. This has the fruit to be enjoyable and the acidity and tannins to continue to last. This is at peak, but should be able to hold this level for at least another year. It doesn't have the depth of some of the more recent vintages, but remains a quite impressive FLX pinot and an example of what the region is capable of producing.
July 22, 2019 - FLX TRIP NOTES; 7/4/2019-7/31/2019: earthy, showing secondary notes, sweet spices, mushroom and sour cherry tones. long finish. good balance. delicious now.
June 15, 2019 - Tasted at the winery. Previously tasted at the winery over four and a half years ago and my notes were dramatically different. Back in November 2014, tasting the 2009 and 2010 Barrel Reserve side-by-side led me to believe that the 2009 was fading and past peak. In fact, I think it was simply closed because today's showing was quite different. Red cherry and light spices on the nose. Medium bodied (12.7% ABV) with earthy (rather than bright) red cherry upfront, deeper notes through the middle with some blackfruit hints and balanced earth, spice and mineral notes on the backside through the finish. Today, this wine shows open, nuanced fruit with a good balance of contrasting and structuring spices, fine grained tannins and earth. The fruit in particular was much prettier and feels like it can hold this level for another 18-24 months. Very pleasantly surprised with how this wine has evolved.
June 11, 2018 - Interesting effervescence to the wine, but not off putting. Golden color, minerality with a long finish.
November 25, 2015 - Went very good with turkey.
November 21, 2014 - Earth and blackfruit on the nose. Slightly below medium bodied showing mainly aged black and red cherry notes. Finish still has some structure, but the wine seems fully integrated, maybe even a little past peak. Doesn't have the depth, complexity, fruit or structure of the 2010.