April 21, 2024 - After my last bottle I was very hesitant to open this one. What a surprise.
The fruit was balance and lingered. I even gave it 90 minutes to breath - no decanting. Very enjoyable but best to drink up. Thank you SFWINELOVERE1 for your comments. They helped.
June 4, 2023 - Short note as I try to catch up from last weekend’s wineapalooza. Black raspberry, red and black cherries and plums, orange peel, and exotic spice. Came out of the bottle surprisingly thin, both in color and taste, but not unlike my experience with CdPs, filled out solidly with air. Not a lot of structure left here, or maybe there wasn’t much to begin with, although that wouldn’t be typical for Helen’s wines, but the fruit remains very good, and after a couple of hours, this became quite enjoyable both on its own and with pork tenderloins in a tomato based broth. Not quite up to the level of the Grenache based Mars. Even with the improvement with air, I’d still err toward drinking these now. 91+
April 16, 2023 - Paired with wild caught salmon and blistered green beans. It was a magical pairing and deserved a high score. Alone, the fruit was fading and the wine was much less enjoyable. I would have thought a Keplinger grenache would have held up better, but, as I was migrating my wine cellar from an Excel spreadsheet to Cellar Tracker, I noticed the drink by date was 2022 so I decided to PNP. Glad I did. It was not decanted or aerated. No need to. The wine was very consistent through all of dinner. Drink now.
December 14, 2020 - Powerful, yet elegant. Such a beautifully complex wine. Layers upon layers of fruits and floral notes wrapped around a stiff back of minerals and spice.
January 20, 2020 - Better on second day
December 7, 2019 - Wow. A huge wine. very powerful. Fruit forward. I'll give this another three years before I open my next bottle.
February 16, 2019 - Opened and let sit in the bottle for about 60 minutes followed by in the glass for another 30. This is a really nice wine (and outstanding at this price point for a Cali GSM). The Grenache is the star here, and the Syrah provides a nice balance. While I enjoy everything about this wine, the best part is the finish. Have one more bottle which could be enjoyed now or wait another 3-5 years or more.
November 21, 2018 - Poured through an aervana. Wow. Might be the best Grenache based wine I ever had. Powerful nose of red and blue fruits. Initially, upfront flavors of black raspberry and blueberry with a silky rich mouthfeel. Some graphite on the long finish. As it opened I can definitely taste the Grenache profile, just richer and silkier than usual. An hour later the mid palate and finish blossom. This did not pair well with a braised lamb neck. Perhaps something lighter like lobster ravioli or pasta dish. Any other suggestions?
August 17, 2018 - From magnum. Drinking very well!
August 12, 2017 - Consumed over 2 days (vacuvined), note from day 2. Nose: Light to medium expressiveness, marzipan, raspberry, and licorice. Palate: Medium-full bodied, great mouth-feel and balance, spicy red fruit attack, nice mid-palate persistence, spicy red fruit dominates the back-end and persists through a 30-45 second finish. Very clean and pure from front to back with no distractions, excellent wine.