Thanks to Alexander the Great. Lots of savory appeal here, and the fruit reigns fresh. Cool climate Pinot which never had the chance to develop root beer aromas.
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Pick from Angus Barn cellar. Dark ruby color with nice color gradation but slight bricking under inspection. Nose has surprising amount of perfume, big violet, some mushroom, big barnyard. Palate of cassis, more perfume, good balance, still some tannins remaining. Mouthfeel is fine to medium grain. Pleasantly surprising. This wine is still drinkable but this is the year. Nice value if you find one stored properly.
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Ripe berry nose, definitely showing its cali roots. On the palate, very balanced, good acidity. Fruit is present but seemingly not overripe, well made wine.
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Drank several nights ago, no notes, but this really had nice balance, just ripe enough, medium to lingering finish, nice nose. Happy with this purchase.
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Excited to try another of Parrs wines, and clearly his style of lean, tart, green and gamey wines shows with the Sandhi. Summer flower bush, tart cherry, minerals and green herbs in the nose. Palate is lean and old world in nature. More gravelly stone, sweet leather, some game and mountain stone fruit. Clean finish and mouth puckering. No need to wait, drinking now.
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Red fruit, evolved over an hour from fruit forward to something a little more balanced, started to get a bit of earthyness and mushroom . Low medium acidity
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Discreet at first but opens up nicely after an hour+. Nose of blackberry, blueberry & violets / flowers w some earthiness. Nice acidity and what it lacks in focus, it makes up for in a round & pleasant mouthfeel. Medium finish and although it doesn't blow me away, very pleasant and should hold onto last bottle for a year or more to see how it evolves.
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This has improved significantly since I last tried it. The nose is filled with floral and mineral notes along with some hints of gaminess and red berry fruits. I think blind I would have guessed Volnay. The palate has put on weight and is more flavorful, but still fresh and energetic with some tannins, but mainly driven by acidity. Finishes just a touch short, but overall this is quite good and with food (pork schnitzel with sage brown butter sauce) it was very good.
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Sweet red pinot fruit, lots of acidity to balance it, with smooth polished tannins that give it just enough structure to keep it from being gloppy. Not a ton of complexity and outclassed by the Littorai next to it, and not a wine to lay down, but still a perfectly nice drink.
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Kraftig doft med orientaliska kryddor, lite lakrits och mogna körsbär. Smaken är väl avvägd frukt med kryddor (från stjälkarna?). Saftigt, lättdrucket med en hel del komplexitet. Väldigt gott.
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Drank from the Coravin. Strong mint note on the nose. Medium bodied with tart acidity and a wide array of early notes, which slightly overwhelm the sour cherry fruit. The finish was surprisingly long. It tastes like there was a fair amount of whole cluster fermentation, but I seem to remember this was 100% de-stemmed. I find Raj Parr's hard 13.5% alcohol line in the sand a bit arbitrary and ridiculous, but he's producing some really nice wines. I would probably have scored this a bit higher, but I was in the mood for something a bit more full bodied.
I had the second half of the bottle a week later with an herb crusted pork loin and it paired very well. The earthy and green notes of this wine would pair well with herb crusted just about anything.
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Somehow I found this wine both vegetal and overly ripe at the same time. Similar to a lot of Rhys Pinots (which I haven't enjoyed) in terms of flavor profile. If you're looking for effortless power in CA Pinot Noir, look elsewhere.
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Initially this seemed a bit tight, short, and out of balance. The nose was interesting with earthy, red fruit notes, but the palate was a little disjointed and the acid seemed overwhelming with a short tart finish.
About 1 hr of decanting and with food, the wine opens up into a lovely expression of pinot. The nose has lovely earth and mineral with red raspberry, bing cherry, and hints of smoke. The palate has opened and come into balance with juicy red fruit, salinity, still quite present acidity, but all aspects quite nicely together. The finish is much more in harmony.
This is the antithesis of most Cali pinot, lower alcohol, higher acid, with bright red fruit notes instead of dark fruits. I like this much better.
It will improve with bottle age. I suspect in 5-10 years this will be quite a lovely wine.
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Day I opened bottle big fruit nose of sour cherry, strong tart on tasting, with a bit of tar and black fruit. Good tannins. Second day after opening, nose had lost most of its power but silliness of wine from start through finish was apparent. Still slightly tart, but balanced, nice length without being overbearing on the palate. Not typically a Pinot fan but this had enough size and weight to be interesting.
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Very nice. A bit simple, but it's got impressive balance and enough acidity to balance out the ripeness. Plenty of fresh berry aromas and flavors, a hint of toasted oak, and some pleasant notes of forest floor. Young, so if you drink now, I suggest a decant. Will be better in several more years.
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Medium purple in the glass. Pine trees and red fruit on the nose. Light to medium body. Almost tastes closed down. Not exciting yet. Finish evolves after about 30 seconds which is unexpected. Now I am getting the red fruits. Going to set aside for thirty minutes and come back to it. 45 Minutes later the nose speaks of more red fruit and spice. Still has pine to it. Fruit starting to show at entry acid kicking in and now more tannic. Interesting but not a high scorer for me. Will update day 2 if any difference.
Far better day 2. Decanted and agitated and waited sixty minutes. The fruit is firing and the tannins are smoother. Paired with Australian cheddar this is really good. With red grapes not so much. This wine and some of the Australian cheddar which is far more dry and salty helps smooth the tannins and moves this from an 88 to a 90 in my book.
Not a cocktail wine. Pair this with something and enjoy.
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Tasting at The Watering Hole- Sandhi & other Terroir Selections (Los Olivos, CA): Deep garnet in color. Notable SRH notes of earth on the nose along with bright mulberry and raspberry. Mineral and earth notes on the palate along with densely layered strawberry, fig, and raspberry fruit. Sleek rich feel on the palate, juicy acid and polished fine tannin on a lingering finish. Very nice.
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4/16/2023 - soyhead wrote:
Thanks to Alexander the Great. Lots of savory appeal here, and the fruit reigns fresh. Cool climate Pinot which never had the chance to develop root beer aromas.
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3/3/2023 - patrick h Likes this wine: 89 Points
Pick from Angus Barn cellar. Dark ruby color with nice color gradation but slight bricking under inspection. Nose has surprising amount of perfume, big violet, some mushroom, big barnyard. Palate of cassis, more perfume, good balance, still some tannins remaining. Mouthfeel is fine to medium grain. Pleasantly surprising. This wine is still drinkable but this is the year. Nice value if you find one stored properly.
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1/2/2019 - AWBryce wrote:
Ripe berry nose, definitely showing its cali roots. On the palate, very balanced, good acidity. Fruit is present but seemingly not overripe, well made wine.
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9/22/2018 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 91 Points
An impressive performance, especially for the vintage. Cloves and bright red fruit, nice texture for an easy drinker.
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11/22/2017 - WhatsSamSipping Likes this wine:
Fresh fruit and subtle acid. Though there is some CO2 in this. Makes it lively but unexpected.
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6/6/2017 - M. Gerdelmann Does not like this wine:
Just not my style. Hated every Pinot I've had
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11/19/2016 - tward Likes this wine:
Drank several nights ago, no notes, but this really had nice balance, just ripe enough, medium to lingering finish, nice nose. Happy with this purchase.
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9/27/2016 - T.E.D. wrote: 91 Points
Excited to try another of Parrs wines, and clearly his style of lean, tart, green and gamey wines shows with the Sandhi. Summer flower bush, tart cherry, minerals and green herbs in the nose. Palate is lean and old world in nature. More gravelly stone, sweet leather, some game and mountain stone fruit. Clean finish and mouth puckering. No need to wait, drinking now.
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12/29/2015 - gaveaux Likes this wine: 90 Points
Red fruit, evolved over an hour from fruit forward to something a little more balanced, started to get a bit of earthyness and mushroom . Low medium acidity
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9/7/2015 - Rani wrote: 87 Points
Notes of dark cherry and cola. Silky, fruit-driven but not jammy with pleasant acidity. Nice but quite simple, no depth here.
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5/4/2015 - Eags25 wrote: 89 Points
Discreet at first but opens up nicely after an hour+. Nose of blackberry, blueberry & violets / flowers w some earthiness. Nice acidity and what it lacks in focus, it makes up for in a round & pleasant mouthfeel. Medium finish and although it doesn't blow me away, very pleasant and should hold onto last bottle for a year or more to see how it evolves.
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4/17/2015 - jnewman77 Likes this wine:
This has improved significantly since I last tried it. The nose is filled with floral and mineral notes along with some hints of gaminess and red berry fruits. I think blind I would have guessed Volnay. The palate has put on weight and is more flavorful, but still fresh and energetic with some tannins, but mainly driven by acidity. Finishes just a touch short, but overall this is quite good and with food (pork schnitzel with sage brown butter sauce) it was very good.
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11/7/2014 - tbone wrote:
On Pop & Pour - nice and earthy on nose and palate with plenty of bright cherry fruit. Very good and sorry to see them gone.
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10/2/2014 - JOsgood wrote:
Nice balanced expression of California pinot noir. Good perfume on the nose and red fruits on the palate.
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8/13/2014 - coremill wrote: 88 Points
Sweet red pinot fruit, lots of acidity to balance it, with smooth polished tannins that give it just enough structure to keep it from being gloppy. Not a ton of complexity and outclassed by the Littorai next to it, and not a wine to lay down, but still a perfectly nice drink.
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6/9/2014 - RobertDwyer Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Consistent with prior note.
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5/23/2014 - Tallhoyalawya Likes this wine: 91 Points
Easy to drink pinot that went well with all the food at O'thym.
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4/29/2014 - Carolus81 wrote: 92 Points
Kraftig doft med orientaliska kryddor, lite lakrits och mogna körsbär. Smaken är väl avvägd frukt med kryddor (från stjälkarna?). Saftigt, lättdrucket med en hel del komplexitet. Väldigt gott.
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1/24/2014 - Seafoam Manor wrote: 89 Points
Drank from the Coravin. Strong mint note on the nose. Medium bodied with tart acidity and a wide array of early notes, which slightly overwhelm the sour cherry fruit. The finish was surprisingly long. It tastes like there was a fair amount of whole cluster fermentation, but I seem to remember this was 100% de-stemmed. I find Raj Parr's hard 13.5% alcohol line in the sand a bit arbitrary and ridiculous, but he's producing some really nice wines. I would probably have scored this a bit higher, but I was in the mood for something a bit more full bodied.
I had the second half of the bottle a week later with an herb crusted pork loin and it paired very well. The earthy and green notes of this wine would pair well with herb crusted just about anything.
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11/29/2013 - tbone wrote:
Liked it. Does need a little cellar time to come together but overall good quality and a deal @<$30
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11/11/2013 - yofog wrote: 90 Points
Real pinot noir here, a nice change from the usual, very juicy and loads of brambly blackberry with a little tartness and great length.
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11/2/2013 - RobertDwyer wrote: 84 Points
Somehow I found this wine both vegetal and overly ripe at the same time. Similar to a lot of Rhys Pinots (which I haven't enjoyed) in terms of flavor profile. If you're looking for effortless power in CA Pinot Noir, look elsewhere.
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11/1/2013 - jnewman77 Likes this wine:
Initially this seemed a bit tight, short, and out of balance. The nose was interesting with earthy, red fruit notes, but the palate was a little disjointed and the acid seemed overwhelming with a short tart finish.
About 1 hr of decanting and with food, the wine opens up into a lovely expression of pinot. The nose has lovely earth and mineral with red raspberry, bing cherry, and hints of smoke. The palate has opened and come into balance with juicy red fruit, salinity, still quite present acidity, but all aspects quite nicely together. The finish is much more in harmony.
This is the antithesis of most Cali pinot, lower alcohol, higher acid, with bright red fruit notes instead of dark fruits. I like this much better.
It will improve with bottle age. I suspect in 5-10 years this will be quite a lovely wine.
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9/24/2013 - BarryPaulPrice wrote: 90 Points
Day I opened bottle big fruit nose of sour cherry, strong tart on tasting, with a bit of tar and black fruit. Good tannins. Second day after opening, nose had lost most of its power but silliness of wine from start through finish was apparent. Still slightly tart, but balanced, nice length without being overbearing on the palate. Not typically a Pinot fan but this had enough size and weight to be interesting.
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9/17/2013 - Hodad Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wonderful balance and fruit. Smooth and silky. 13.5% alcohol. Nicely made wine.
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9/1/2013 - ucbeau Likes this wine:
Very nice. A bit simple, but it's got impressive balance and enough acidity to balance out the ripeness. Plenty of fresh berry aromas and flavors, a hint of toasted oak, and some pleasant notes of forest floor. Young, so if you drink now, I suggest a decant. Will be better in several more years.
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7/1/2013 - Jbird73 wrote: 90 Points
Medium purple in the glass. Pine trees and red fruit on the nose. Light to medium body. Almost tastes closed down. Not exciting yet. Finish evolves after about 30 seconds which is unexpected. Now I am getting the red fruits. Going to set aside for thirty minutes and come back to it. 45 Minutes later the nose speaks of more red fruit and spice. Still has pine to it. Fruit starting to show at entry acid kicking in and now more tannic. Interesting but not a high scorer for me. Will update day 2 if any difference.
Far better day 2. Decanted and agitated and waited sixty minutes. The fruit is firing and the tannins are smoother. Paired with Australian cheddar this is really good. With red grapes not so much. This wine and some of the Australian cheddar which is far more dry and salty helps smooth the tannins and moves this from an 88 to a 90 in my book.
Not a cocktail wine. Pair this with something and enjoy.
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3/3/2013 - MattMauldin wrote: 91 Points
World Of Pinot Noir Grand Tasting- 3/2; 3/2/2013-3/4/2013 (Shell Beach, CA): Notes of pine forest, earth and mineral are dense on the nose. Richly bright palate showing forward cherry along with mineral, spice and tea. Well balanced with a finely integrated structure and a medium finish.
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1/31/2013 - MattMauldin Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasting at The Watering Hole- Sandhi & other Terroir Selections (Los Olivos, CA): Deep garnet in color. Notable SRH notes of earth on the nose along with bright mulberry and raspberry. Mineral and earth notes on the palate along with densely layered strawberry, fig, and raspberry fruit. Sleek rich feel on the palate, juicy acid and polished fine tannin on a lingering finish. Very nice.
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