February 8, 2023 - Pale lemon color
Medium plus aromas of ripe stone fruit and melon with petrol notes and beautiful background of intense minerality
Medium plus bodied with beautiful fruit driven palate - ripe peach/pear and again a dry rock minerality
Medium plus acidity and medium alcohol
Long finish led by pure fruit and mineral
Truly gorgeous wine - perfectly balanced
Although I am rarely disappointed with any A-R wines, I really think this wine and Trout Gulch Chardonnay stand out as my favorites
Drinking very well now but really feel this wine could age for years
September 16, 2022 - Nice white blend. Melon, tropical fruit, citrus notes. Great length and acidity.
June 17, 2022 - Similar to last note but fruit took a bit of air to come out.
January 25, 2022 - This get much more expressive than the last bottle 1.5 years ago. Stone fruit, minerals, citrus, apricot, and a hint of white flowers on the nose. Great acidity with notes of lemon, orange peel, peach, and herbs on the palate. Nice finish. Absolutely lovely CA white; good complexity and depth and very drinkable.
January 10, 2022 - Very nice. Nose dominated by riesling; finish not. 13.1%
June 18, 2021 - Medium gold color - daybright with clearing at rim
Medium plus/ strong aromas of ripe peach/pear and tropical fruits/ lemon curd with basil and tarragon hints and dry rock elements
High intensity palate bursting with ripe peach and pear with strong fresh and dried herbal notes
Medium plus acidity and medium plus alcohol - quite a long finish as well
This has really opened up and become more expressive since the last bottle I opened a year ago
Very aromatic wine with a fantastic palate to match - dead ringer for a well made Alsace blend IMO
Highly recommended! - drink now or hold as this certainly appears to have the fruit and acidity to become something even more marvelous with more time
May 7, 2021 - Dry, intense, spicy. Concentrated, and complex. This feels very sophisticated, amd is a brilliant field blend. Superb, and very serious wine.
March 4, 2021 - Incredible and maybe the best bottle of this cuvee I've had across multiple vintages. Two years ago, this came across as closed, maybe a touch lean, and a bit muted.
Served straight from the cellar at 55 degrees F (I'm sure that helped with the expressiveness). With no excess fat on this, it didn't need a stronger chill. On the nose, honey, mashed oranges, lemon, some sea spray. The palate was just beautiful: tart apple, lemon, faint citrus rind, and strong minerality underlying it all from the moment it hits your mouth through the finish. Good concentration, but not heavy in any way. All the flavors are quite in balance and well-integrated.
Really hit the sweet spot and makes me wonder if I've been drinking these too early. Or perhaps because this seemed to be a leaner vintage at first, it has really come into its own now.
August 8, 2020 - Pretty, yet slightly muted nose of stone fruit, lemon, minerals, and a faint note of honey. Nice acidity with lemon oil, grapefruit, tart peach, and apricot on the palate. Long finish. A favorite CA white every year! 93+
July 28, 2020 - Very pale gold, with a nose showing yellow currents and beeswax, bitter orange peel, musk. Assertive palate showcases these old vines (Sylvaner, Riesling, others) at low yields harvested just shy of ripeness. Fantastic match for the spicy Indian food we ate last night, but a bit overpowering on its own.