December 29, 2023 - Chalky, subdued, elegant, discrete, quite European in style with somewhat withdrawn, yet ripe fruit. Smooth and balanced. Drinking a point IMHO.
#Cellarinventory
July 10, 2023 - Sonoma 2012 Hanzell Pinot Noir. Light-mid ruby, amber edges, viscous (14.5 alc.); old Pinot nose, leaves, red fruit, stemmy, cherries, cedar; low-mid acids; softening tannins; balanced; some depth and style; mid-long finish. 16.5-17 UC Davis scale, 91-92 other scales. Probably peaked.
February 8, 2023 - Wanting to drink up this vintage of Hanzell Pinot Noir, I opened this bottle and had only enough time to give it a 15 minute slo-ox. The wine opened a bit revealing a slightly better red fruit/earth balance, but still showing its age. Based on my bottles, I would continue to recommend drinking up this vintage.
January 24, 2023 - PnP as there was no time for a decant -- and the wine continued to open as the meal progressed. Lots of earthy character with some red fruit, spice, a bit more acid than needed to balance and no tannins. Will skip rating due to lack of air - but would have been an 89. I would continue to recommend drinking up this vintage.
December 12, 2022 - Extended decant for an hour and a half with very slight sediment. A bit better than our previous bottles. The color was a clear medium violet. Lots of red fruit and earth notes on the nose. The red fruits - cherry, cranberry, raspberry - were a bit more vivid, as were the earth and spice notes, as well as the acidity. I would continue to recommend drinking up and enjoying sooner rather than later.
October 22, 2022 - Decanted for about one hour and the wine continued to open into the meal. The color was a clear light to medium violet. There were red fruit and earth notes on the nose. The medium bodied palate showed more of these red fruit notes -- mostly red and tart cherry -- along with the earthiness, some spice and juicy acidity.
Overall, a similar experience to our bottle of 7/8/22. As this wine hits the decade mark, I would suggest drinking up, but with some air time up front.
July 17, 2022 - Nicely evolving Sonoma Valley Pinot 2012 Hanzell Pinot Noir. Pale brick, amber edges, viscous (14.5 alc.); red fruit, leather, dried leaves, rose petal nose; mid-plus acids; medium tannins and depth; long, balanced, slightly hot finish. 16.5-17 UC Davis scale, 91-91 other scales.
July 8, 2022 - Decanted this bottle for an hour and a half and it was definitely better than the previous bottle just one year ago (7/10/21). The red fruit - cranberry, cherry, raspberry - was more present, along with some earth, a touch of spice and juicy acidity. OldWines may be on to something re: longer decanter time for Hanzell Pinots and Chards. *See my TN of 7/10/21*
July 10, 2021 - Decanted for 30 minutes, but more time is better as this bottle continued to open a bit more during dinner. Even with the extra air time, this bottle did not present the Hanzell Pinot that we know and expect. The color was a clear medium red. There were light red fruit and earth notes on the nose. The medium bodied palate showed these same light red fruit notes -- mostly tart cherry -- along with the earthiness and some spice.
I have to agree with Sovinator's TN that the wine was "...missing the ripe fruit...", but will try to heed OldWines comment on this TN that Hanzell Pinots and Chards need a minimum of 2 hours - and maybe even 3 hours - of decant time.
May 30, 2021 - Perhaps this was just an off bottle, but very disappointing. Astringent with missing the ripe fruit of a good Sonoma Pinot. Drinkable but not enjoyable