June 10, 2011 - Popped and poured. Clear ruby. Haunting aromas on the nose. I could smell this all night and I kind of get why folks go gaga over great red Burgs. Nose of ripe red raspberry, pie cherry, cranberry, earth, mushroom, orange peel, black tea, clove, anise, black cherry, tobacco, and a hint of vanilla. On the palate, pie cherry, black cherry, strawberry, mushroon, clove, asian spice, rhubarb, cola, vanilla. Great sappy transition to a racy finish. Tannins are ultrafine and completely resolved. Could use a little more time in the bottle to knit it all together but great now. Best Windy Oaks bottle for me ever. Outstanding. Makes me think the last one I had may have been off.
March 15, 2010 - This was opened too young. Nose of cranberry, sour cherry, black tea, orange rind, earth. On the palate, sour cherry, black tea, mushroom, rhubarb. Kind of hollow mid palate and tranisitions to sharp acidic finish without the mid palate sappiness that I love in these wines. I do think it could benefit from another 3-5 years of aging. Hold. Good Value.
January 11, 2010 - Popped, poured and drank over 2 hours. Started off a deep purple color, but the last 2 glasses were almost a ruby red with the skins and sediment. Incredible nose of raspberry, cherry, spice and some earthy hints. All follows through with a perfectly seamless feel and nice lingering finish. A great bottle and I wish I had more.
June 14, 2008 - This is still amazing. I love this wine...
Ruby red color, great nose of black cheeries and dried fruits. On the palate it explodes with dark fruits and black cheery before it is followed by a very long satisfying burgarian style of finish.
April 6, 2008 - Saying this wine is outstanding is simply an understatement. This is drinking outstanding right now with the feel of a great burgdian.
My review is the same as the one from last June, but this time there wasn't much dirt on the wine at all and it was so well integrated. It is the best wine I have tasted all year and eximplifies a great Santa Cruz Mtns. Pinot. (93-95)
June 6, 2007 - This bottle is much like last year's vintage. This was served at proper temperature in a Ridel Burgandy glass (from Windward).
This wine eximplifes the color light "ruby red". It is such a nice color on the wine. It is almost so nice to look at I don't want to drink it. The nose smells of intense fruit, including cherries, spice, tabacco and earth. On the palate there is an immediate velvety feel and then the first thing I get is the taste of the field where the grapes came from and next I get a plummy spicy feel. This wine is a lot like a zin.
The balance on the wine is outstanding. The alcholol is not overbearing, however the "dirty earthy" feel did get to me after my third glass. That is the only reason that I did not score this wine a 93-94. I will let everyone know how this is drinking over time.
April 7, 2007 - Back to form. Great nose, feel, etc.
March 14, 2007 - Popped and poured and had half the bottle over the course of 2-3 hours. Light ruby red. Nice nose, with cherry, some dark fruits, anise, spice, and hints of pine. However unlike the excellent 2003 this seemed a little out of balance with the alcohol showing through. Upon tasting the flavors all came through, but slightly muted, as the wine seemed out of balance, with the acid and alcohol being noticeable, but not to the point of being unpleasant. The 2003 Henry's was one of the best wines of 2006 for me, so I'm hoping that it's just in a strange phase. I'll try the 2nd half of the bottle tonight.
Well, I'm working on the other half of the bottle tonight and there isn't much improvement, if any. The heat and acidity are still a bit much. I've always had great experiences with Windy Oaks, young and with a little age on them, so this bottle is a little bit of a suprise to me. I'll wait a year or 2 before trying the next bottle.