April 9, 2021 - Darker translucent ruby. Copious floral scents of roses and violets on the nose, joined by raspberry, forest floor, and fine earth. Layers of buoyant, ripe, and gently tart red berry fruit cut with iron bits and rocky earth on the palate. Refreshing acidity and smoothed but structured tannin leading to a long finish of brier, raspberry, and grippy iron granules. Beautiful in its adolescence, this wine has a bright future.
November 22, 2020 - Drank last night and she's beautiful, dark in color but light on it's feet, good acid and medium tannin.
August 24, 2019 - Gorgeous. Drinking young, and beautifully, right now. Completely different than previous bottle 4 years ago, which was either slightly off or in a closed phase.
February 14, 2016 - I'm glad that I still have one bottle left. Wow.
Popped and poured. Great nose of red fruits, and herbs. Taste of strawberry, cherry, blueberry, herb de provence. Good, rounded tannins and great acid levels. Long, smooth, finish of blackberry, cherry and leather.
January 16, 2016 - Too soon.
Brilliance. Eventually
Grafs and Joes notes prior to mine are spot on.
January 15, 2016 - Opened with some reduction but it mostly dissipated with air. An intense wine, it finishes with some herbaceous elements. I can see it confusing some as being from California.
October 21, 2015 - -- cork pulled one hour before initial taste --
-- tasted non-blind over two days --
NOSE: expressive; soft, medium oak; red-fruited – tangy/tart/cool; smells like it's going to be tart, ripe, and delicious.
BODY: medium-light bodied.
TASTE: a bit thin/bitter/green, which I was not expecting considering the aromatics and vintage --- a strong "dried herbs" notes pushes forward on the finish, so maybe this bitter/green thing is a concentrated dried herbs note; earthy, but not funky; 13.9% is noticeable just a tiny bit; hint of sweetness emerges approx. 3 hours after opening; a bit better on Day 2 than on Day 1: fruitier on Day 2, with perhaps a touch of sweet fruit flavor. I wonder how this assemblage compares to that of the '01 Francesca's (50% Pisoni, 25% Garys', 25% Fiddlestix).
August 10, 2015 - The 2006 Francesca's Cuvée starts off with aromas of red cherries, underbrush and spices. On the palate, the it is complex and powerful, with stong, yet well-integrated, acidity. Really coats the tastebuds, but somehow is still light on its feet. Finishes very long, with some still-unresolved tannin that will surely recede into the background given enough bottle age. My guess is that peak drinking might be five years away. However, the wine is quite good already, especially with extended aeration. 94+.
June 20, 2015 - Needed time to open up but once it did. Wow.
June 8, 2015 - New world nose, older world palate. Nicely done