November 9, 2023 - 7/28/22 1st bottle took to dinner at John and Michele's home. the wine was excellent. The fruit offered an awesome expression of tannins
it was still too young
October 16, 2022 - 90 minute decant. Garnet red in the glass. Floral and toasted bread aromas leading to flavors of red and blue fruits, dark chocolate, toasted caramel, cocoa and cinnamon. Rich, vibrant and complex with good depth. Nicely balanced with a velvety, sophisticated texture. Smooth, silky, moderately long finish. Approachable now with sufficient air and some upside potential for further cellaring. Very enjoyable.
October 30, 2021 - Not even close to the 2016. For a c-note, this was disappointing. One and done-hope the 2018 is better.
September 24, 2021 - Deep purple color. Nicely balanced, good structure with medium tannins. Dark fruit, plums, and cherries.
May 4, 2021 - Napa - All my COVID finds; 4/29/2021-5/5/2021 (Napa): Really enjoyed this on the initial sip but over time it started to feel a bit primary. I would say it is good for the price but when you have Ontogeny for the same thing its hard to justify.
April 30, 2021 - 3 days in Napa: Arkenstone, Memento Mori, Maxem, The French Laundry, Christopher Tynan, Kinsman, Harlan, Vice Versa, Accendo, Fairchild, Macdonald, and a truckload of others (Napa): Higher-toned and red-fruited on entry, with cranberry puckering the tip of the tongue on the first flash of the initial entry, quickly giving way to an instantly easy-going fruity mid-palate. Finishes with a slight bite of alcohol. Give this some air or another year or so in the cellar to smooth out. An agreeable NVD that should provide trouble-free pleasure for the next decade. 92-93 points.
April 22, 2021 - One hour in glass before drinking. Deep dark purple-hued magenta. Cherry, red currant, raspberry, and cocoa on the nose. Very smooth, dry palate. Firm tannins on the longish finish. Very nice considering the poor vintage.
October 15, 2020 - Wanted to give my mountain dwelling friends 2017s a try - this does have a very fruit forward nose, even on PnP, cassis, blackberry jump out. But the fun stops there - unfortunately this is way out of balance, the palate doesn’t match the nose, I was expecting a push of mountain fruit but I get more tart berry with acid being overly strong; giving it a day and the acid has faded and there is a bit of chocolate and fruit but the tannins now predominate. This seesaw of acid and tannin make for a frustrating combination in a wine that the nose shows so much possibility. Currently a miss - but hopefully this will settle down with a bit of time.