Black, deep and sweet as aged Melvilles tend to be and surprisingly lacking in mature notes for a passively-stored 15 year old bottle. Would wish for just a tad more acid, but nice.
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Beautiful and complex, lush bouquet with ripe fruits. Very full bodied and ripe fruits in the mouth; cherries on alcohol impression (not negative meant). Filling the whole mouth. A very jammy new world style pinot noir with a very long finish. Ready now; no hurry.
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My last bottle. Pretty plump still, big mid palate, lots of black cherry, some mushroom but lacks acidity at this point........so I gave the wine an overnight rest in the bottle, like I often do. My impressions tonight are much the same. Where the wine suceeds is in the color it still carrries, the balanced alcohol (the som kept giving me wine last night until I had killed 2/3rds of the bottle over dinner--much more than I often drink but with the food and water in the meal, and the managed alc, I felt fine) and how it still maintains the sappy black cherry, a hint of forest floor and some finishing raspberry. However, it lacks in any real cut or verve and finishes kind of flat. I'd say to drink up as age isn't going to add anything and while the wine doesn't yet show any 2ndary character IMO, it's ready to go.
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Been a year since I had this bottling so opened my last remaining bottle and took to dinner last night. Kind of a curious wine. The sommelier and I tried to settle on one of the prominent descriptors--he called it briny, saline-like. I think that's a good reference. There's also an herbal quality, I would posit from the whole cluster treatment, that still is providing a thread of herbal notes on the palate. This herbal piece doesn't work for me, given the palate weight and berry flavors that also are present. I'm going to let the wine sit overnight to see if the wine better folds into itself better......................24 hours passed, sitting now with a glass, the stems still do seem to be a player here but the fruit is lending itself towards orange rind, some dried black and bing cherry (the latter of which I am not a fan of, regardless of wine). There is still an herbal/stalky note to the nose, almost with a hint of gun powder.
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Shows some deep pinot aromas on the nose. But also some dark chocolate. Really dense entry on the palate. a little heat on the finish. needed time to open up, but I can't really assess where this is going. Will this open up and get better? Not a traditional pinot pairing wine for me now
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The cork was not saturated at all. Wine is translucent reddish brown. As soon as it was opened, it had an outstanding perfume. Fruit forward refined aromas of raspberries and strawberries. Well integrated complex flavors: raspberries, flowers, cranberries, cloves and a hint of nutty notes. One feels the high alcohol of the wine on the attack and mid palette. The strength of this wine is not on finesse and restraint, but in bouquet and forward taste. Nearly no tannins. Warm. Persistent.
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Seems tight and closed down to me. Little thick and jammy. I still own one of these so I'll be curious to see how others at the dinner post on this wine. I'm wondering whether this wine may not be what it once was or it needs more time to soften? Didn't ring for me.
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Melville Wine Dinner (Antonello Ristorante - Costa Mesa, CA): This pinot came across as one of the more tannic in the flight with a strong black tea and tree bark component. With more time in the glass, the tannins started to subside and the wine reveals ripe black cherries, plum, and boysenberries.
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decadent nose of forest, pine, licorice and rich ripe red and dark fruits. luxurious mouthfeel, with lots of nice fruit and finishes bright with mouthwatering acididty. great stuff
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This is one fine Pinot Noir. It is still pretty primary but is much more integrated than the previous bottle we opened. It has a beautiful nose of spices, strawberries and a bit of violets. There is no doubt this is Pinot Noir. At 15.1% alcohol there was no hint of heat which is rather remarkable. Lip-smacking. [~$40 on release; Decanted about 30 minutes but an hour might be ideal; Served with a tri-tip roast for a Central CA theme]
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Purchased off the restaurant wine list at The Tavern in Libertyville for $99. This wine was spectacular from the moment the cork was popped. Really a tremendous nose, one of the best I've ever had on a pinot. An ebullient bouquet of violets, wild strawberries, and juniper berries. The flavors follow from there, with soft and ripe cherry/strawberry fruit and spicy oak hints. Velvety texture and flavorsome finish. Slightly more hedonistic and perhaps not as deep as the '01 vintage, but a wine that definitely wowed our dinner companions. Drink now through 2008.
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Brought this to a dinner with friends...this is my third bottle of this vintage. The first two I thought were incredible, one of the 5 best 2002 California Pinot's I 've tried. This bottle was really good, but wasn't quite as aromatically interesting as the previous two. Here are my notes... Visual-Deep ruby red, slightly cloudy, with little rim variation (4 pts). Nose-cinammon, red and black cherry, slight spice (cinammon, clove), hint of black olive, and a touch of smoke. Medium intensity. (11 pts). Palate-much more interesting than the nose, wild cherries, plum, cranberry, vanilla, cinammon. The acid level was medium, alcohol was medium plus, and there was a touch of tannin (both wood and grape). The finish was nice and long and it had a nice mouthfeel and density without being clumsy or weighty.(22 pts). Overall impression-I think this needs a couple more years to let the tannins intergrate and let the primary fruit drop a bit. With it's acidity, it should be no problem. Paired up nicely with grilled lamb chops, the fruit and acid were well balanced and was a pleasure to drink/ (4 pts). Total...50+4+11+22+4=91pts.
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Decanted 2 hours and enjoyed with mustard encrusted ribeye roast. Didn't take notes but really enjoyed this wine. Very pure fruit and very much in balance. Would rate it 92-93 points informally.
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$39;After a decant we eagerly jumped into the 2002 version of one of my favorite 01 Pinots. The good news is that there is not a drop-off in quality for the 02. It started out with a spicy nose with cherries, cloves and a hint of roses. In the middle there was black cherry, strawberry, spices (between nutmeg and cloves), a hint of ground coffee, anise and an herbal component that I was IDing as eucalyptus. It finished strong and lengthy with more black cherry, strawberry, and a bit of stone minerality and oak. With all of the descriptors above the wine was complex, structured and balanced with appropriate tannins and acidity. It is very similar to the ’01 Carrie’s so anyone who liked the ’01 shouldn't be disappointed. It does have some baby fat so I’m going to wait 3-6 months for the next one. And so on and so on since I bought a quantity of this via the Wine Cask futures. 310 Cases Produced [15.1% alcohol; Decanted 30 minutes; suggest a bit longer 45 min. -1 hour]
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Tasted at the winery. Bigger and bolder than the Clone 115, but not quite as closed as the Terraces. Probably not as concentrated, but tastier now. 91-92 pts.
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5/15/2017 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Black, deep and sweet as aged Melvilles tend to be and surprisingly lacking in mature notes for a passively-stored 15 year old bottle. Would wish for just a tad more acid, but nice.
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12/25/2015 - PaulH Likes this wine: 90 Points
Ripe, but balanced with fully resolved tannins. Excellent minty spice on finish. A very enjoyable wine with many years left, I'd guess.
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1/13/2013 - JonnyG wrote: 86 Points
Nice aromatics but lacks acidity at this point. While balanced, it fell flat for us. No room for improvement, sadly.
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11/11/2011 - Zweder wrote: 89 Points
Beautiful and complex, lush bouquet with ripe fruits. Very full bodied and ripe fruits in the mouth; cherries on alcohol impression (not negative meant). Filling the whole mouth. A very jammy new world style pinot noir with a very long finish. Ready now; no hurry.
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4/4/2010 - Frank Murray III wrote:
My last bottle. Pretty plump still, big mid palate, lots of black cherry, some mushroom but lacks acidity at this point........so I gave the wine an overnight rest in the bottle, like I often do. My impressions tonight are much the same. Where the wine suceeds is in the color it still carrries, the balanced alcohol (the som kept giving me wine last night until I had killed 2/3rds of the bottle over dinner--much more than I often drink but with the food and water in the meal, and the managed alc, I felt fine) and how it still maintains the sappy black cherry, a hint of forest floor and some finishing raspberry. However, it lacks in any real cut or verve and finishes kind of flat. I'd say to drink up as age isn't going to add anything and while the wine doesn't yet show any 2ndary character IMO, it's ready to go.
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10/5/2008 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Been a year since I had this bottling so opened my last remaining bottle and took to dinner last night. Kind of a curious wine. The sommelier and I tried to settle on one of the prominent descriptors--he called it briny, saline-like. I think that's a good reference. There's also an herbal quality, I would posit from the whole cluster treatment, that still is providing a thread of herbal notes on the palate. This herbal piece doesn't work for me, given the palate weight and berry flavors that also are present. I'm going to let the wine sit overnight to see if the wine better folds into itself better......................24 hours passed, sitting now with a glass, the stems still do seem to be a player here but the fruit is lending itself towards orange rind, some dried black and bing cherry (the latter of which I am not a fan of, regardless of wine). There is still an herbal/stalky note to the nose, almost with a hint of gun powder.
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7/11/2008 - lorenzo wrote:
Shows some deep pinot aromas on the nose. But also some dark chocolate. Really dense entry on the palate. a little heat on the finish. needed time to open up, but I can't really assess where this is going. Will this open up and get better? Not a traditional pinot pairing wine for me now
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7/10/2008 - sachsen wrote: 92 Points
A very nicely aging pinot.
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4/2/2008 - djdaqm wrote: 92 Points
The cork was not saturated at all. Wine is translucent reddish brown. As soon as it was opened, it had an outstanding perfume. Fruit forward refined aromas of raspberries and strawberries. Well integrated complex flavors: raspberries, flowers, cranberries, cloves and a hint of nutty notes. One feels the high alcohol of the wine on the attack and mid palette. The strength of this wine is not on finesse and restraint, but in bouquet and forward taste. Nearly no tannins. Warm. Persistent.
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10/7/2007 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Seems tight and closed down to me. Little thick and jammy. I still own one of these so I'll be curious to see how others at the dinner post on this wine. I'm wondering whether this wine may not be what it once was or it needs more time to soften? Didn't ring for me.
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10/6/2007 - Paul Lin wrote: 91 Points
Melville Wine Dinner (Antonello Ristorante - Costa Mesa, CA): This pinot came across as one of the more tannic in the flight with a strong black tea and tree bark component. With more time in the glass, the tannins started to subside and the wine reveals ripe black cherries, plum, and boysenberries.
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10/21/2006 - luko wrote:
Really enjoyed this bottle. Excellent aromatics, and not heavy on the palate.
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10/21/2006 - luko wrote:
Really
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6/15/2006 - lorenzo wrote: 93 Points
decadent nose of forest, pine, licorice and rich ripe red and dark fruits.
luxurious mouthfeel, with lots of nice fruit and finishes bright with mouthwatering acididty.
great stuff
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5/22/2006 - Winetex wrote: 93 Points
Same notes as previous bottle in 1/2006. Good.
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1/15/2006 - Winetex wrote: 93 Points
This is one fine Pinot Noir. It is still pretty primary but is much more integrated than the previous bottle we opened. It has a beautiful nose of spices, strawberries and a bit of violets. There is no doubt this is Pinot Noir. At 15.1% alcohol there was no hint of heat which is rather remarkable. Lip-smacking. [~$40 on release; Decanted about 30 minutes but an hour might be ideal; Served with a tri-tip roast for a Central CA theme]
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12/3/2005 - otisabdul wrote: 94 Points
Purchased off the restaurant wine list at The Tavern in Libertyville for $99. This wine was spectacular from the moment the cork was popped. Really a tremendous nose, one of the best I've ever had on a pinot. An ebullient bouquet of violets, wild strawberries, and juniper berries. The flavors follow from there, with soft and ripe cherry/strawberry fruit and spicy oak hints. Velvety texture and flavorsome finish. Slightly more hedonistic and perhaps not as deep as the '01 vintage, but a wine that definitely wowed our dinner companions. Drink now through 2008.
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10/9/2005 - lstevens wrote: 91 Points
Brought this to a dinner with friends...this is my third bottle of this vintage. The first two I thought were incredible, one of the 5 best 2002 California Pinot's I 've tried. This bottle was really good, but wasn't quite as aromatically interesting as the previous two. Here are my notes... Visual-Deep ruby red, slightly cloudy, with little rim variation (4 pts). Nose-cinammon, red and black cherry, slight spice (cinammon, clove), hint of black olive, and a touch of smoke. Medium intensity. (11 pts). Palate-much more interesting than the nose, wild cherries, plum, cranberry, vanilla, cinammon. The acid level was medium, alcohol was medium plus, and there was a touch of tannin (both wood and grape). The finish was nice and long and it had a nice mouthfeel and density without being clumsy or weighty.(22 pts). Overall impression-I think this needs a couple more years to let the tannins intergrate and let the primary fruit drop a bit. With it's acidity, it should be no problem. Paired up nicely with grilled lamb chops, the fruit and acid were well balanced and was a pleasure to drink/ (4 pts). Total...50+4+11+22+4=91pts.
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3/27/2005 - lorenzo wrote: 92 Points
<Hualalai>
No Tasting note.
Classy Pinot.
Clean Dark Cherries on the palate and earthy 'Pinot Funk' flavors carrying through on the finish
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9/6/2004 - JP wrote:
Decanted 2 hours and enjoyed with mustard encrusted ribeye roast. Didn't take notes but really enjoyed this wine. Very pure fruit and very much in balance. Would rate it 92-93 points informally.
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3/27/2004 - Winetex wrote: 93 Points
$39;After a decant we eagerly jumped into the 2002 version of one of my favorite 01 Pinots. The good news is that there is not a drop-off in quality for the 02. It started out with a spicy nose with cherries, cloves and a hint of roses. In the middle there was black cherry, strawberry, spices (between nutmeg and cloves), a hint of ground coffee, anise and an herbal component that I was IDing as eucalyptus. It finished strong and lengthy with more black cherry, strawberry, and a bit of stone minerality and oak. With all of the descriptors above the wine was complex, structured and balanced with appropriate tannins and acidity. It is very similar to the ’01 Carrie’s so anyone who liked the ’01 shouldn't be disappointed. It does have some baby fat so I’m going to wait 3-6 months for the next one. And so on and so on since I bought a quantity of this via the Wine Cask futures. 310 Cases Produced [15.1% alcohol; Decanted 30 minutes; suggest a bit longer 45 min. -1 hour]
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1/22/2004 - JP wrote:
Tasted at the winery. Bigger and bolder than the Clone 115, but not quite as closed as the Terraces. Probably not as concentrated, but tastier now. 91-92 pts.
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