Community Tasting Notes 60

• seijaro Likes this wine: 97 points

  December 15, 2018 - It took a full 3 hours to open and show its stuff. I was 92-3 at two hours, it had a punky nose and not much character... then blossomed in a rush to the wine I put on my Top 10 list back in 2008. What a treat! This is a Grenache for the books, I'm surprised it is so good at age 14. How long does Grenache age anyway?

  1 person found this helpful Comment

• tplskylrk wrote:

  March 5, 2018 - This never really opened up and gained weight. Not typical Alban and certainly nothing close to the scores and love being laid out here. Bit of a hot alcoholic mess tonight.

  1 person found this helpful Comments (1)

• scott davis wrote: 95 points

  June 27, 2017 - I thought I had this wine just a few years ago. I remember the great dinner, the company, and how we were all impressed with how well the wine showed. I didn’t have much experience with Grenache from the U.S. as a single varietal (still don’t, really), but can vividly remember the generous dark fruit layers, cigar box, spice, tar, earth, and more than anything, the amazing texture of the wine.
  
  When I ran across another bottle of this from a very reputable retailer, I bought it immediately. That was eight months ago. Tonight, I decided to open it, and have been following without decant.
  
  The wine has all the characteristics that I remember; beautiful dark fruit, grounding spice and earth, wonderful depth, and that great texture. It’s every bit as good, and maybe then some.
  
  I logged into CellarTracker to record my impressions. I was surprised to learn that the last time I had this wine, at that dinner with great friends, was nearly ten years ago.
  
  Time flies.

  1 person found this helpful Comment

• seijaro Likes this wine: 98 points

  March 26, 2017 - We loved this wine, it made our list of Most Memorable Reds. Big, smooth, a sophisticated fruit bomb. Wow!

  Comment

• Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 94 points

  January 28, 2017 - Remarkable stuff from a fairly terrific vintage

  Comment

Pro Reviews 1

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2005
• Type Red
• Producer Alban Vineyards
• Varietal Grenache
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard Alban Estate Vineyard
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Central Coast
• Appellation Edna Valley

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 5 (1%)
• In Cellars 171 (38%)
• Consumed 273 (61%)

Food Pairing

Who Likes This Wine

More About This Wine