July 8, 2023 - Second flawed bottle in a row. Undrinkable.
May 3, 2023 - As tasty as the last bottle!
April 17, 2023 - Tasty ultra-ripe blackberry, dark cherry, mineral, and spice on the nose and rich palate with a moderate long finish.
March 18, 2023 - Ten Pinots from Ten Regions Across the Globe: A fantastic tasting experience highlighting so many different styles of this wonderful grape. Two winners for me: Molitor’s Graacher Himmelreich*** WC 2018 (rated 95pts) which had a fantastic 97+ pts bouquet but a bit of a hole mid-palate. And Beaux Freres Beaux Freres Vyd 2019 (rated 95pts) which might not be the style of Pinot I want to drink every day, but was the most complete wine. Positive surprise: my first Italian Pinot ever, the St. Michael Eppan Sanct Valentin 2010 (94pts) which shined bright with its intriguing minerality.
TN: A bit muted nose with dark ripe fruit at core and a bit of chalky minerality. Quite ripe and with the tiniest hint of heat (but I’m very sensitive to this). On the palate this has a very velvety quality to it, with good acidity. Quite ripe but not overripe dark red berries and some blue fruit at the core, nicely framed by a streak of minerality. Quite harmonious and balanced. It is quite a bit riper than the other Pinots in the lineup, clearly Californian in style but overall, this remains on the more restraint side of what I’ve tasted from DuMol so far. This is a winner.
Decanting: No extensive decanting needed.
March 12, 2023 - Masterclass with the Wine Advocate team: Great Pinots of the world (The Dolder Grand, Zurich): Glass: Stölzle Universal
Multiple clones. Clear, deep ruby color. Very fruity nose, concentrated sweet cherry a bit artificial and young.
Concentrated, some oak, powerful, warm, ripe fruit. High tannin, very polished. Good length. Very good if you like this style, but for me it lacks tension and excitement. 91-93+
January 26, 2023 - Year in year out always a great representation of a CA Pinot.
January 8, 2023 - Very enjoyable. The nose is deep and concentrated, full of red fruit. The palate has notes of red cherry, blood orange and orange peel. Very fruit driven. Great body and concentration for a pinot noir.
December 24, 2022 - Corked, unfortunately. I hope my remaining bottles aren't.
November 15, 2022 - Tremendous, but agree, leave alone for a couple of years, will be worth it.
May 24, 2022 - Nose and palate of pomegranate, cherry and blackberry. Accents of citrus and pine. Fairly tart acidity and medium tannins. Improved considerably with air--would recommend decanting next time. 91-92.