February 11, 2022 - Dark ruby with bricking around the edge, a sign of advanced age. The bouquet is still a knockout, and that SLH tang is still there, it's yummy wine, but it's time to drink these up.
June 28, 2019 - Prior bottle was almost exactly a year ago and my notes remain generally consistent (thank you screwcap). Black raspberry and earth on the nose along with red cherry hints behind. Remains just slightly over medium bodied due to both weight and ABV. Same mix of black cherry and black raspberry both upfront and through the middle. Feels a touch more integrated than previously as the fruit slowly comes into balance. Tart black cherry and blackberry on the backside along with integrated spices and balanced tannins. Mineral, spice and light earth notes on the finish. Under screwcap, this wine evolves slowly, but it is clearly coming coming together as the fruit-forward qualities are integrating with the spices, tannins and tart notes to create a more balanced and complete wine. Essentially the pieces are roughly the same, they simply fit together a bit better than before. This can be a polarizing style of pinot, but if you enjoy straight up fruit expression, this is certainly a good choice. Due to screwcap, no worries about this fading in the short term and should be able to continue to evolve along these lines (slowly) at least over the next 2-3 years.
September 21, 2018 - Filling in w/the Friday Brown Bag Group (Ron's): Double blind. Aromas of cherry and spice follow through on the palate. On the simple side compared to others in the flight. Nice fruit and perfume. A bit bigger than the previous wines; stands out as a little riper as well. Lots of warm spice/holiday spice on the palate. Medium(-) finish. 88+ pts.
July 26, 2018 - Delicious wine and a great value.
July 1, 2018 - Prior bottle was almost a year ago and this wine continues to evolve positively. Red cherry, black raspberry and earth notes on the nose. More medium bodied this time with black cherry and then lots of black raspberry upfront. Mid-body is beautifully rounded and open, showing excellent integration as compared to prior bottle. There's still a nice touch of tartness/acidity towards the back as well for contrast. Mid-body shows black raspberry and blackberry while finish shows tart black cherry, nicely integrated spices and mineral qualities. I remember how fruit forward my initial bottle were and how noticeable the spices and acidity were. Time has been a great friend to this wine. It still has beautiful fruit, but now, much more in balance with all the other elements. I have one more bottle left and I'm somewhat torn. Given how well this is showing, I'm tempted to include it for November 2018, but the other part of me wants to see how it develops and hold it for end of July 2019. We'll see...
May 19, 2018 - 92+
April 21, 2018 - A typical Loring PN, big but balanced. Bold fruit, strong cinnamon and a lip smacking finish.
February 23, 2018 - Solid wine here. Black raspberry, plum, and strawberry fruit up front with those typical SLH notes of cinnamon spice, earth, clove, vanilla, and subtle cola on the mid-palate. Nice acidity and structure to the wine right now, long finish. Drinking very well right now.
November 1, 2017 - $51 average
October 27, 2017 - More of a food wine than the DuMol RRV that preceded it but not as overwhelming. Has the distinctive SLH tang, and it's very ready to drink right now.