June 17, 2021 - Auction purchase. Good cork (yes, my first Loring "cork") with 20% bleed. Very good Loring fruit still, with aged characteristics nicely blended in. Different, for me, and fun.
January 2, 2010 - gone. cannot locate
January 12, 2008 - This is not much different from its sister that we enjoyed in late November: a deep, rich, almost velvety purple. The nose is expansive and big with teaberry, cola, vanilla and lavender. Balanced - fruit, tannins and acids - without a hint of hotness. This has settled down nicely and was very enjoyable to drink. It shows no signs of decline and every indication it has the stuff to hang on for some time to come. A big dose of sediment in the last pour which is the first I’ve seen in this wine. 14.3% alc. With Coleman’s mustard and pecan crusted rack of lamb. It paired quite well with the bigness of the lamb preparation. Highly Recommended.
November 30, 2007 - Ah, this is what I think of when a cork (and this was a real cork) is pulled on one of Brian’s wines: a deep, rich, almost velvety purple. The nose is expansive and big with teaberry, cola, vanilla and lavender. Balanced - fruit, tannins and acids - without a hint of hotness. This has settled down nicely and was very enjoyable to drink. I doubt it will improve, but it doesn’t show any signs of decline and every indication it has the stuff to hang on for some time to come. Absolutely no sediment. 14.3% alc. With a peppered duck breast and dijon crusted rack of lamb. It paired nicely with both. Highly Recommended.
May 28, 2007 - Taken to FMIII's Loring retrospective....This was pretty amazing.... bright fruit, good color, well balanced acidity, refreshing and exciting to drink. Sorry to see my last bottle of this to go.. . this probably has a few years ahead of it, but if I had more, I think I would drink them soon just for the sheer joy. Of the 2 or 3 times I've had a bottle of this, this is easily the best.
May 26, 2007 - Loring Retrospective (Orange County, CA): Slight oxidative, rust-like aromas. On the palate, delicate red fruit flavors, sour cherries in particular.
December 22, 2005 - Fairly light in color. Medium-intensity on the nose, with some earth and spice and a bit of licorice. Bright acidity, with some nice berry flavors and a hint of spice. Good wine!
October 15, 2005 - Thursday, July 17, 2003 Loring Wine Company Clos Pepe 2001 Deep burgundy color with ruby on the rim. Sweet, rich complex nose. Earth, coffee, cherry and raspberry and some spice with mocha on the long finish. Forward fruit. Initial hot streak that disappeared quickly with air time. Decanted. 14.3% alc. With brined, grilled pork chops and mildly spicy sauce complimented with roasted mushrooms and squash. Something rich and complex that lingers ... much like the effect of someone good who crosses your path. While I cannot say the example these folks set saved my soul, I can say they may have kept me from losing it. Wilson farewell dinner.
Saturday, October 15, 2005 For the reds, Bob and I had decided to pair lamb burgers in pitas with a little arugula and some shiitake mushrooms. I had hoped to make a wine reduction and veal sauce. But the time in C’ville caused us to punt the reduction sauce (and one or two other parts of the meal.) The lamb burger with roasted garlic and diced rosemary sufficed as Bob pulled out his Thackery Devil’s Gulch Ranch ’Andromeda’ Pinot Noir (Marin Co.) 2002 along with my Loring Clos Pepe 2002. Pouring the two side by side reminded me of the DeLay v. Texas prosecutor match up - someone was going to get hurt. The Thackery Andromeda, his second PN effort, if I understood Bob correctly, was a bright crimson color that offered an exotic nose of eucalyptus, blackberry soda and ivory soap. It went wild in the mouth delivering ’electric cola’ (my term for not just cola flavor, but joltingly big cola flavors), eucalyptus, bees wax, black cherry, blackberry, mint, pancetta and a finish of black tea and brown sugar. (Bob’s descriptor of black tea was particularly insightful and dead on.) The decidedly sweet fruit was big, but finished nicely dry. It all came at a price of 15.1% alc. Brian’s ‘02 version of the Clos Pepe hung in nicely despite a touch of alcohol on the nose. Its captivatingly black cherry red color was undoubtedly the darkest of the reds we poured. It is a dense, extracted wine with chinese spice, cola, black cherry, smoke, vanilla and some oak. Very much in the model of Williams-Selyem, as Bob observed. The excitement and down right exuberance of the fruit came through loud and clear. The wine hangs on the tonsils, swinging around as if to say, ’Hey, it’s all about the fruit!’ A hugely long finish that did not reflect the 14.9% alc. [for complete notes of the evening, see when the col comes to town take two 1005.)
September 13, 2005 - Another Hollywood Bowl wine so no detailed note. Perhaps it was the out of doors but it was more muted than I expected. I know Brian says to drink early so maybe its starting to fade. Still very tasty.
July 20, 2005 - Couple years back I jumped into Cal Pinot with real enthusiasm, and Brian was one of the reasons. Great wine, and a great person. In the past year or so, I've totally stopped buying. Dropped off lists. Decided I'd made a mistake. The wines came across too often as overly-extracted, hot, unbalanced, and jammy -- to the point that the real appeal of Pinot got lost. I decided I had enough in the cellar to last me a while, and to give the wine and myself some time to see where things were headed.
Tasting this wine tonight reminded me of why I was so taken with Cal Pinot back when. It's got everything you'd want - the undertow of earth, mushroom, leathery tones, with some mint and the front end of intense black cherry. I kept the wine cool, but whether that was a huge help or not I don't know. All I can say is I wish every bottle I had tasted as lip-smaking good as this stuff. I love it when such a great guy delivers such a wonderful wine. Congrats again to BL.