October 14, 2021 - Deep yellow to light gold color. Nutty, saline driven nose, with lemon, lime, coconut, almond, sourdough, honeysuckle, butterscotch, and a bit of smoke. Full body, lightly viscous, with good balancing acidity and length, and flavors of lemon, apple, pear, almond, saline, and lingering minerality. Solid roussanne.
July 14, 2020 - At 45-50 degrees F., a wonderful tertiary bouquet of honey, butterscotch and a bit of smoke emerges. There is also a mineral note and a strong floral aroma (could it be gardenia?) A beautiful green gold color and the full-body is evident. The palate features tree fruits, peaches and apricots as well as almonds with an extended creamy finish This wine shows the Bien Nacido vineyard at its best. I mention the importance of the temperature because at a warmer temperature, the wine turns flabby and uninteresting.
July 6, 2020 - Tasted blind. The nose was a bit muted at first and needed some air. Flavors were mostly apples, minerals, and maybe a hint of tropical fruit. On the palate, there was medium acidity, orchard fruit, chalk, and a creamy, somewhat full bodied texture. Quite long on the finish. Very good wine.
May 9, 2020 - A big bruiser of a white, but boy does it do it well. Lots of richness and vanilla oak. Acidity enough to keep it clean, but relatively low. Full bodied with citrus, stone fruit, almond. Would definitely go for this again--probably had 5 years of life left in it, although I think we drank it at the right age.
April 17, 2020 - Age on this has brought out the old world character of this offering. Stunning and complex.
April 2, 2020 - My final btl. A wonderful close to the trilogy. On the nose, a touch of reduction, Burgundian noble reduction in spirit, then pineapple, honey, almond. On the palate, excellent acidity, density, citrus, stone fruit...so good.
October 7, 2019 - Very buttery and slight bit of pear pencil shavings and herb that I can quite place...oak is the most dominant taste and it was purposeful but not my favorite, I like it better faintly in the background- but I loved the super buttery feel...perhaps one of the oiliest I have ever had.
April 8, 2019 - Easily becoming one of my favorite whites. Well balanced, smooth and singing now. Delish by itself or pair it up.
March 14, 2019 - On the nose I get a top note of pineapple upside down cake (or pineapple a bit too ripe), with a middle note of medium roux, and a bottom note of black licorice. I personally would find this a bit more appealing with a bit of residual sugar in the mouth and it would be spectacular with some noble rot notes. As it is, it feels just a tad disjointed from the desert nose to a mostly dry mouth. Maybe as the acid subsides, in many years, it might come together? Medium finish. Still a great QPR for what I got it for.
November 22, 2018 - Bottle 4/6 from a set bought from Last Bottle this past spring. Perfect with relatively traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Best pairing yet for this wine. Recommend having this wine with food rather than on its own. Please note this wine has some sediment. Decant, or pour the last glass carefully.