Community Tasting Notes 2

• Blake Brown Likes this wine: 98 points

  May 17, 2017 - 1994 AU BON CLIMAT CUVEE ISABELLE PINOT NOIR- 1 of only 5 5L bottles made; the first vintage of Isabelle is one of the best ever IMHO; made when Isabelle was in the womb, this is a special blend of the best barrels from the best vineyards; I`ve enjoyed it over the past 18+ years and it only gets better with time; it`s perfectly balanced and has an amazing array of fresh and mature red cherry, black cherry, blackberry and plum with lots of spice and in this case, a bit of talc; it`s smooth and easy on the palate, has depth and complexity and has all the structure to carry it on for many years to come.

  Comment

• lesmonks wrote:

  May 16, 2005 - Hmmmm. Great expectation leads to an uninspiring bottle. Opened on my wife's birthday on the eve of our move to Belgium. She had bought the wine for me in Santa Barbara 9 years ago. The packaging was impressive for this wine with a "hernia inducing" bottle and a blue wax seal. Color was garnet with an aged rim. Nose was prune, spice, and leather. On the palate it was structured and spicy with a finish of prunes. After 2 hours it opened up and showed a weightier prune sweetness but overall this was not an outstanding bottle and the decade since vintage did not give it that extra level of nuance I'd like to see. Good acidity even with the hot vintage characteristics and while the wine has held up well under supurb storage conditions, it seriously lacked any elements to call it great. It was just "there".

  Comment

Pro Reviews 1

Wine Definition

• Vintage 1994
• Type Red
• Producer Au Bon Climat
• Varietal Pinot Noir
• Designation Isabelle
• Vineyard n/a
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion n/a
• Appellation California

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
• In Cellars 12 (50%)
• Consumed 12 (50%)

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