Concentrated, sweet red fruit including roasted strawberry, is the star of this aromatic wonder. Those flavors are lifted with orange zest and framed by an herbal shrub note that gives a stemmy quality. There's a nice background of fall spice with a hint of clove. There was a dark note of tar in the background. Yet for all the intensity of fruit and complexity of different tastes, this was an elegant focused wine. It had freshness owing to its acidity. The one criticism I have is that the fruit has started to show a little stewed quality. It's subtle, but there's some prune in there.
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There's a definite wow factor with this wine. It is dark red and transluscent, and has a nose of cherry, currant, musk, and a trace of stem. This hits the palate with grace and delicacy, but the mix of fruit and musky funk is nonetheless profound. The animal side of this is almost chicken liver like, and that flavor dances with bright and darker fruits. As time went on, this got more floral and the bouquet was potpurri-like. Fantastic at this age. A gem.
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Fruit forward, high toned acidity, deep, and really enjoyable. I opened it towards the end of a bday extravaganza, so the details elude me. But we enjoyed it!
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Wine was properly stored from purchase upon release until consumed. Absolutely amazing wine. Burt (and Margi) at their very best. Full classic Burgundian bouquet. Lots of fruit. Berries. Cherries. Layers, the specific fruit scents keep changing. This wine would compare favorably to most Grand Crus from Burgundy. Wow. Completely ready. Not sure how much longer it will be spectacular, so it you have it, drink it now.
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Burt Williams Dinner (Divino): The nose had a little heat, red berries, and blood orange notes. Slightly bitter orange notes with red berries, stems, and a little green flavors on the palate. Good finish. This may not have been the best bottle and clearly behind the 94 and 95 in this flight.
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This needs air and I would recommend decanting or pouring out and waiting a good 45-60 minutes. Absolutely sublime. Slight bricking with 2-3mm meniscus. Pure clean red cherries, trace forest and earthy mushroom. Awesome mouthfeel. Very mild tannins. Last glass at 3 hours was still developing and more complexity was obviously pending.
WOTY thus far
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Very Sonomay with ripe, quite sweet red cherry fruit, and hints of spice and tea, but the sweetness is controlled on the palate with good acidity, and the extract is airy and silky. This was good enough at first that the bottle disappeared quickly but it was really just starting to hit its stride by the time it was emptied. I think it had more potential than I got to witness.
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- Garnet color. It's in total harmony with a light/medium body. Silky texture with a long finish - Still quite alive and fresh, decent delicate red fruit, continuously evolving (especially on the nose) over the course of 5 hours. Ruby red in color, decent acidity but not overpowering. Absolutely amazing. If there's a well cellared bottle it should have a few more years left.
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@ Mr Chows w Roberta & David Ehrenreich. David's wine. Paired perfectly with Mr Chows cuisine including the Peking Duck. Vibrant and fresh with little sign of age. Much better than many of the tart or light Pinot's we've recently experienced.Which Ellen calls "Pinot Light". Excellent raspberry, wild strawberry bouquet and flavor. Not a lot of secondary development, but shows little sign of age. Should continue to improve without developing the shellac notes often found in older wines.
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Wonderful aged California pinot noir. Extremely "burgundian", although I acknowledge the irony of terroir in saying that. But clearly California can make great "burgundy". Light red in color, with a hint of orange at the edges. A complex nose of cherry, spice and earthiness. On the palate, a great balance of acid and fruit, with cherry, minerality and a "barnyard-y" quality (wonderful flaw?) that you seldom see in California, often see in Burgundy.This is excellent. I hope all those more recent WS bottles I have in my cellar evolve into something like this.
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Color is pale garnet with bricking at the rim. Nose reveals cherry, dust, and funk…very Burgundian. On the palate, smoky cherry, earth, and a touch of tar. This wine has mellowed so much that we first thought it was off because of the light color, but the nose and palate revealed it to be a most subtle wine. Thanks to Merritt for this beauty.
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Tasted afther that group of wonderful burgs, this was a completely different anumal, but very enjoyable nonetheless. It's basically a fruit bomb at peak, nicely balanced, sweet with a nice finish. Nothing intellectual here- pure Cali fruit.
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Pale color but nice floral nose. Pale red fruit on the palate without much spice. No problem with tannins but I think the acidity overshadows the fruit. Simple fruit results in also a fairly simple finish.
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12/4/2023 - misterstarre Likes this wine: 95 Points
Concentrated, sweet red fruit including roasted strawberry, is the star of this aromatic wonder. Those flavors are lifted with orange zest and framed by an herbal shrub note that gives a stemmy quality. There's a nice background of fall spice with a hint of clove. There was a dark note of tar in the background. Yet for all the intensity of fruit and complexity of different tastes, this was an elegant focused wine. It had freshness owing to its acidity. The one criticism I have is that the fruit has started to show a little stewed quality. It's subtle, but there's some prune in there.
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11/26/2021 - misterstarre Likes this wine: 96 Points
There's a definite wow factor with this wine. It is dark red and transluscent, and has a nose of cherry, currant, musk, and a trace of stem. This hits the palate with grace and delicacy, but the mix of fruit and musky funk is nonetheless profound. The animal side of this is almost chicken liver like, and that flavor dances with bright and darker fruits. As time went on, this got more floral and the bouquet was potpurri-like. Fantastic at this age. A gem.
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5/16/2021 - misterstarre Likes this wine:
Fruit forward, high toned acidity, deep, and really enjoyable. I opened it towards the end of a bday extravaganza, so the details elude me. But we enjoyed it!
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4/19/2021 - Wine_Bear Likes this wine: 97 Points
Wine was properly stored from purchase upon release until consumed.
Absolutely amazing wine. Burt (and Margi) at their very best. Full classic Burgundian bouquet. Lots of fruit. Berries. Cherries. Layers, the specific fruit scents keep changing.
This wine would compare favorably to most Grand Crus from Burgundy. Wow. Completely ready. Not sure how much longer it will be spectacular, so it you have it, drink it now.
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2/26/2020 - glou.sf wrote:
Burt Williams Dinner (Divino): The nose had a little heat, red berries, and blood orange notes. Slightly bitter orange notes with red berries, stems, and a little green flavors on the palate. Good finish. This may not have been the best bottle and clearly behind the 94 and 95 in this flight.
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2/21/2019 - Beachfan Does not like this wine: 84 Points
A little stewed?
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2/1/2015 - arthrovine wrote:
This needs air and I would recommend decanting or pouring out and waiting a good 45-60 minutes. Absolutely sublime. Slight bricking with 2-3mm meniscus. Pure clean red cherries, trace forest and earthy mushroom. Awesome mouthfeel. Very mild tannins. Last glass at 3 hours was still developing and more complexity was obviously pending.
WOTY thus far
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1/19/2015 - coremill wrote: 90 Points
Very Sonomay with ripe, quite sweet red cherry fruit, and hints of spice and tea, but the sweetness is controlled on the palate with good acidity, and the extract is airy and silky. This was good enough at first that the bottle disappeared quickly but it was really just starting to hit its stride by the time it was emptied. I think it had more potential than I got to witness.
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9/22/2012 - Bobster08 wrote: 94 Points
- Garnet color. It's in total harmony with a light/medium body. Silky texture with a long finish - Still quite alive and fresh, decent delicate red fruit, continuously evolving (especially on the nose) over the course of 5 hours. Ruby red in color, decent acidity but not overpowering. Absolutely amazing. If there's a well cellared bottle it should have a few more years left.
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5/21/2010 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 93 Points
@ Mr Chows w Roberta & David Ehrenreich. David's wine. Paired perfectly with Mr Chows cuisine including the Peking Duck. Vibrant and fresh with little sign of age.
Much better than many of the tart or light Pinot's we've recently experienced.Which Ellen calls "Pinot Light". Excellent raspberry, wild strawberry bouquet and flavor. Not a lot of secondary development, but shows little sign of age. Should continue to improve without developing the shellac notes often found in older wines.
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3/8/2009 - mmasterson wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful aged California pinot noir. Extremely "burgundian", although I acknowledge the irony of terroir in saying that. But clearly California can make great "burgundy". Light red in color, with a hint of orange at the edges. A complex nose of cherry, spice and earthiness. On the palate, a great balance of acid and fruit, with cherry, minerality and a "barnyard-y" quality (wonderful flaw?) that you seldom see in California, often see in Burgundy.This is excellent. I hope all those more recent WS bottles I have in my cellar evolve into something like this.
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4/16/2007 - M DU VIN wrote: 91 Points
Fully mture and to be drunk soon
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12/21/2006 - Thilo wrote: 92 Points
Color is pale garnet with bricking at the rim. Nose reveals cherry, dust, and funk…very Burgundian. On the palate, smoky cherry, earth, and a touch of tar. This wine has mellowed so much that we first thought it was off because of the light color, but the nose and palate revealed it to be a most subtle wine. Thanks to Merritt for this beauty.
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10/16/2005 - winenutnyc wrote: 89 Points
Tasted afther that group of wonderful burgs, this was a completely different anumal, but very enjoyable nonetheless.
It's basically a fruit bomb at peak, nicely balanced, sweet with a nice finish. Nothing intellectual here- pure Cali fruit.
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9/27/2002 - Burgundy Al wrote: 88 Points
Pale color but nice floral nose. Pale red fruit on the palate without much spice. No problem with tannins but I think the acidity overshadows the fruit. Simple fruit results in also a fairly simple finish.
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