September 25, 2023 - Its been a minute since I last had this one. Darker than anticipated. Fruit all but gone in the nose, giving way to forest floor, fresh tobacco. Maybe a little cherry still there. The secondary notes are quite enjoyable. Cassis, cherry cola, hemoglobin, touch of star anise. Tannic AF on the finish. Oak tannins. Tongue coating, mouth drying, lingering. Is this a 18 year old CA PN? Some life left for sure.
November 16, 2020 - Still drinking very nicely. Mellow; fruit a little subdued, but holding up at dinner just fine. Still a pleasure.
November 7, 2015 - This is a wine that continues to deliver 10 years following the vintage (and my last bottle). The vibrant nose delivers cranberry, allspice, cloves, cherry and pepper. The wine is not as dense and dark as the other wines and looks more like a Burgundy. Light shoots through the glass to the other side, giving a ruby shade of red. The mouthfeel is medium weight. Layers of flavor make this are more distinct and complex wine than the other wines but for the Durell. The finish suggests lavender and cola. 13.7% alc. With leftover frenched, bone in pork loin and rice pilaff with cherries. Recommended.
June 3, 2015 - This is still very fresh. Not much sign of aging but everything is fairly simple. Fruit may have slightly faded but nothing new has emerged. A nice wine but it is one note.
March 31, 2015 - Cracked open and poured, than drunk over a few days. Reddish brown mature color, typical of a 10 year California pinot. At first not very giving on the nose with just some funky approaching, but not quite barnyard, notes. Later, a bit of forest and cherry along with milder funk. Bit boring on the palate with dark cherry and touches of cola and light forest notes. Good to Very Good.
September 11, 2014 - The nose is expansive with allspice, teaberry, pepper, cherry and lavender. The nose carries into the profile in distinct layers. The attack is filled with those flavors while an earthy quality kicks in on the mid-palate with the added sizzle of cola. The finish exhibits a mocha quality. While this wine has the stuffing to go a few more years, it’s in a particularly good spot just now. 13.7% alc. With pan seared then broiled pork chops under a dijon-balsamic sauce with a side of cherry and rice pilaf that also complemented the wine. 09.11 - and 13 years later, it’s still a tough day. Recommended.
June 14, 2014 - Good deep color, nice flavor, good finish.
March 7, 2013 - This was drinking well four years ago and it continues to provide great fun. The nose now is all about allspice, pepper, cherry and lavender. The attack is filled with those flavors while an earthy quality kicks in on the mid-palate. The flavors of the attack carry through to the finish where a cola note sparkles through. This seems to have the stuffing to go a few more years 13.7% alc. With pan seared pork chop rubbed with allspice and brown sugar and served with red eye gravy (side of black-eyed peas and swiss chard). Recommended.
February 22, 2013 - It's getting a bit ragged around the edges, as the fruit recedes...something is missing to fill that void (as in...tertiary flavors and nuances-can't tell what makes this a Keefer). I'm feeling lucky to have picked this up at a deep discount at auction (lol!!!). Nose is a bit unbalanced, which surprised me-it's all about baking spices in this one, no berries to speak of. Where are the reds? The blacks? Any purples in this zip code??? The palate is long-ish, but what it's missing...again... is balance. Seemed to me to be a nice education of an example of fruit-forward PNs that don't seem to age very well. I can't see this getting any better. I have to push the "I don't like it" button, Max.
February 4, 2012 - Brian recommends drinking his wines young, which of course highlights the wine's vibrancy and robustness. However, I am actually starting to prefer his wines with a little bit of age on them. This bottle needed about an hour to fully wake up, but once it did, it exhibited a pretty and evolved perfume of black cherry, blackberries, cola nut, and sassafras. A touch of earthy funk on the back end. The palate is more straightforward and less complex -- simple yet clean cherry flavors with a margarita-laden acidity.