Enjoyable. Lots of interesting fruit going on...cranberry, some raspberry and many others that I can't recall right now. No structure and low acid. It is a nice glass of wine to end the evening with.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This has evolved quite a bit in the bottle. The nose has some wet hay and earth to it and I like how the flavors have really intermingled with each other. The notes of herbal tea, and mineral have moved forward. The ripe fruit I experienced before has tamed down and overall the balance is more enjoyable for me. I would consider this a BIG pinot with robust fruit but the mellow tea notes give it restraint at the same time.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
The wine pours a dark ruby color, which foreshadows its dark fruit aromas of plum, and cherry with sandalwood, wet clay, spiced black tea and dried herbs. On the palate it's leans toward a fuller-bodied expression of Pinot. It's elegant and fresh with well integrated tannins and plum, black cherry, black tea, and cranberry flavors with a subtle spice note. It opened up nicely after 30 minutes. Decanting recommended
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This was a very nice bottle to start the night with. We had chicken with hoisin sauce and asparagus with a roasted beet salad. The flavors and nuances carefully opened up over the course of an hour. There were notes of earth, strawberries, licorice, and plum fruit.very little acid in a very long lingering finish. I would highly recommend, I have a 2010 and 2012 still ready to go. Looking forward to these of the next few years
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Surprisingly tannic and tight for an 8 year old wine. Fruit is still lively and nice. This is a fruit bomb and not a delicate old world style. Not my style but not much to complain about except it is more like a zin than a pinot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose of a ripe dark cherry and earth with underlying hint of spice and chocolate; well integrated palate confirms nose; medium body, made plus acidity medium plus complex and evolving finish. age has a really treated this wine well. It's excellent now and may even improve over the next couple of years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The wine looks light brown colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like mushroom and dust. It tastes like strawberry and bark. The body is medium. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very heavy bottle. I poured the wine into a decanter and followed it over a period of two hours, then poured the remaining wine back into the rinsed bottle and consumed it the next day. The wine offered red fruit, red cherry, raspberry, strawberry, forest notes, crushed leaves, herbs, spices, well-integrated smoky oak, some chocolate and some vanilla on the nose. On the palate the wine showed red fruit, red cherry, raspberry, strawberry, currant, plum, cucumber, spices as well as hints of chocolate and tea, paired with medium-plus tart acidity, medium-level ripe tannin, a good mouthfeel and very good length. The medium-bodied wine was juicy and had a Burgundian touch due to its sour red fruit plus high acidity combination, yet was riper and sweeter than a typical red Burgundy would be. Drink now and over the next four years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium bodied, garnet with a tinge of grey bricking, firm gripping layer of red berry, cherry and cranberry fruits turning to tones of spicy dusty rose, sweet licorice, tea and tobacco leaf on modest lingering tangy spice finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very good. Big fruit- dark and light berry on the nose, some florals, some spice. On the palate the wine is silky smooth, the tannins and acid in complete balance... very clean good winemaking here, seamless and generous in the mouth with a long rich finish. Wish I had twelve more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Time in the bottle has benefited this greatly and from this tasting I think it will develop further in a positive way to reveal the terroir later on. Lifted, floral rose scents add to the sour cherries, caramel and vanilla oak. I could detect the alcohol a little. A mineral style for CA Pinot with tinges or iron, sour cherries, a slight alcohol bite and a long bitter orange/Campari aftertaste. Reminiscent of some 2009 Cotes de Nuits which I have tasted. Very tasty and flexible with food. Potential 90-91 in 3 or 4 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened a 375ml with spaghetti & meatballs. Light ruby color, a touch cloudy - not an issue just noticeable. Wonderful nose of roses, ripe red fruit. Touch of graphite, menthol and cassis. Crisp and bright on the tongue, with endless juicy red and black fruit. More roses and black plum on the nose. Nice tannins, very well rounded mouthfeel that lingered. Drinking well right now, could probably benefit from a few more years to further integrate. If it was a 750 I'd have let it rest.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I rarely read critics/reviews, but I'm going to say that Alan Meadows hit this spot on. This is REALLY GOOD. Very atypical California pinot noir, and dare I say, almost burgundian. Great acid, a little funk/dried leaf/forest action on the nose topped with cherries, tea, and spices that I can't put into words. This is really well-made, and while a touch expensive, does deliver for this $40ish price point. I am surprised how low some of the reviews are on here for this, but I guess everyone has their own palate! 90-91+. This has potential to improve over the next 3+ years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Uncharacteristic for a Sonoma Coast Pinot...but for me, that's a good thing, as I've never been a fan of the AVA. Super-sweet on the attack; an inferred ripeness not supported by the stated ABV (13.5%)? It's got some nice, zingy acidity that seems to be getting a bit overshadowed by that sweet, juicy fruit that carries on well into the finish. Throughout, there's an earth-dominant rhythm section that's occasionally throwing out some off-tempo riffs...and that's the part I'm diggin'! The color is a brilliant, ever-so-slightly bricked, light ruby. Returning to my skepticism about the stated 13.5, repeated whiffs are met with detectable alcohol/heat. I'm puzzled??? Nonetheless, intrigued. Blind, I'd have pegged it for a Santa Lucia Highlands bottling. Interesting enough to buy again. (88pts + an extra point for being AVA atypical and another for its level of intrigue.)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From a 375 ml Jill picked up at Binny's marked down. Really nice spice and earth driven wine. Sulfuric notes and a raspberry pancake syrup play set this apart from other run of the mill Sonoma Pinots. Some fun weight in the mid palate which transitions nicely onto the finish. Great balance. Surprisingly tasty wine. Good pick Jill.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very musty upon opening. Color definitely fading at the edge to a distinctly clear color. Purity of the fruit just isn't there IMO. Nothing overly wrong with it, but just feels like it is missing something, especially for the price.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Delicious aromas of sandalwood, bing cherry, strawberries, and currants. Screams food and great with coq-au-vin. Lovely to drink very smooth with light tannins. Oaky but not overpowering. Delicious Pinot with complex dark berries and spices.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dary ruby (cherry cola) with medium viscosity in the glass. Earth, ripe cherry, cola and plum on the nose. Medium body with round cherry, vibrant cranberry, earth, cola, cinnamon and brown sugar on the palate. Medium finish which shows bitterness. Complex, but the over extracted fruit layers come off disjointed and too candied.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted again at The Wine Club, San Francisco. A ridiculously BIG pinot. Earthy, tannic and high acid. Don't really know if this is the best it's gonna get or if time will mellow it out. Not willing to find out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Heavy tannins. Dark fruit with a touch of strawberries, minerality, tobacco with some spice. Finishes with a touch of oak. Little dry needs more age. A-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted at the Wine Club Friday evening tasting. This is an "Old World" pinot, but has the fruit forwardness of a Cali wine. This must be decanted right now. It is still very tight. But then... nice long, spicy, Sonoma fruit. I got a lot of all spice mid-palate. I still have a nice, subtle, chalky mouthfeel 5 minutes after tasting. I expect that this will be drinking really well in five to eight years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Purchased this wine while on my last trip to Napa following a blending class at Joseph Phelps because It stood out amongst the others for its distinct, well rounded nose and body. Black cherry on the nose. Black cherry, tobacco, pencil taste on the palate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
10/4/2023 - Two Winos wrote: 88 Points
Enjoyable. Lots of interesting fruit going on...cranberry, some raspberry and many others that I can't recall right now. No structure and low acid. It is a nice glass of wine to end the evening with.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/1/2019 - Stephenson Cellar wrote:
Use for a founders dinner
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/7/2018 - onthenose Likes this wine: 92 Points
This has evolved quite a bit in the bottle. The nose has some wet hay and earth to it and I like how the flavors have really intermingled with each other. The notes of herbal tea, and mineral have moved forward. The ripe fruit I experienced before has tamed down and overall the balance is more enjoyable for me. I would consider this a BIG pinot with robust fruit but the mellow tea notes give it restraint at the same time.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/19/2017 - onthenose Likes this wine: 89 Points
Notes of cherry, cranberry and plum. Fruit seems a bit overripe for me.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/28/2016 - CJM wrote: 93 Points
Clear, deep garnet with slight rim browning. Twigs, strawberry pie, sour cherry. Low acids, medium to low tannins. Thyme. Long balanced finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/10/2016 - Martin Redmond Likes this wine: 88 Points
The wine pours a dark ruby color, which foreshadows its dark fruit aromas of plum, and cherry with sandalwood, wet clay, spiced black tea and dried herbs. On the palate it's leans toward a fuller-bodied expression of Pinot. It's elegant and fresh with well integrated tannins and plum, black cherry, black tea, and cranberry flavors with a subtle spice note. It opened up nicely after 30 minutes. Decanting recommended
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/16/2015 - Cholera Likes this wine: 93 Points
This was a very nice bottle to start the night with. We had chicken with hoisin sauce and asparagus with a roasted beet salad. The flavors and nuances carefully opened up over the course of an hour. There were notes of earth, strawberries, licorice, and plum fruit.very little acid in a very long lingering finish. I would highly recommend, I have a 2010 and 2012 still ready to go. Looking forward to these of the next few years
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/28/2015 - DNABog wrote: 88 Points
Surprisingly tannic and tight for an 8 year old wine. Fruit is still lively and nice. This is a fruit bomb and not a delicate old world style. Not my style but not much to complain about except it is more like a zin than a pinot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/26/2015 - treidling wrote: 93 Points
Still going strong
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/18/2014 - treidling wrote: 93 Points
Nose of a ripe dark cherry and earth with underlying hint of spice and chocolate; well integrated palate confirms nose; medium body, made plus acidity medium plus complex and evolving finish. age has a really treated this wine well. It's excellent now and may even improve over the next couple of years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/26/2014 - toddgriggs@outlook.com Likes this wine: 93 Points
The wine looks light brown colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like mushroom and dust. It tastes like strawberry and bark. The body is medium. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/3/2014 - PSPatrick wrote: 90 Points
Very heavy bottle. I poured the wine into a decanter and followed it over a period of two hours, then poured the remaining wine back into the rinsed bottle and consumed it the next day. The wine offered red fruit, red cherry, raspberry, strawberry, forest notes, crushed leaves, herbs, spices, well-integrated smoky oak, some chocolate and some vanilla on the nose. On the palate the wine showed red fruit, red cherry, raspberry, strawberry, currant, plum, cucumber, spices as well as hints of chocolate and tea, paired with medium-plus tart acidity, medium-level ripe tannin, a good mouthfeel and very good length. The medium-bodied wine was juicy and had a Burgundian touch due to its sour red fruit plus high acidity combination, yet was riper and sweeter than a typical red Burgundy would be. Drink now and over the next four years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2013 - Zinlady Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderful wine. Had with Rockfish, tomatoes, garlic, fennel and artichokes. Wow. Ready to drink. Nice finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/10/2013 - rmcnees wrote: 89 Points
Medium bodied, garnet with a tinge of grey bricking, firm gripping layer of red berry, cherry and cranberry fruits turning to tones of spicy dusty rose, sweet licorice, tea and tobacco leaf on modest lingering tangy spice finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/30/2013 - Winekrupt wrote: 93 Points
Very good. Big fruit- dark and light berry on the nose, some florals, some spice. On the palate the wine is silky smooth, the tannins and acid in complete balance... very clean good winemaking here, seamless and generous in the mouth with a long rich finish. Wish I had twelve more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/23/2013 - Capt Cutlass Likes this wine: 89 Points
Time in the bottle has benefited this greatly and from this tasting I think it will develop further in a positive way to reveal the terroir later on. Lifted, floral rose scents add to the sour cherries, caramel and vanilla oak. I could detect the alcohol a little. A mineral style for CA Pinot with tinges or iron, sour cherries, a slight alcohol bite and a long bitter orange/Campari aftertaste. Reminiscent of some 2009 Cotes de Nuits which I have tasted. Very tasty and flexible with food. Potential 90-91 in 3 or 4 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/16/2012 - Erolso1 wrote: 88 Points
Opened a 375ml with spaghetti & meatballs. Light ruby color, a touch cloudy - not an issue just noticeable. Wonderful nose of roses, ripe red fruit. Touch of graphite, menthol and cassis. Crisp and bright on the tongue, with endless juicy red and black fruit. More roses and black plum on the nose. Nice tannins, very well rounded mouthfeel that lingered. Drinking well right now, could probably benefit from a few more years to further integrate. If it was a 750 I'd have let it rest.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/8/2012 - peteng wrote: 92 Points
Kraka. Lysande syra. Hallon. Så snaskigt, men ändå hyggligt stramt mot mat.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/28/2012 - RyanJames wrote: 91 Points
I rarely read critics/reviews, but I'm going to say that Alan Meadows hit this spot on. This is REALLY GOOD. Very atypical California pinot noir, and dare I say, almost burgundian. Great acid, a little funk/dried leaf/forest action on the nose topped with cherries, tea, and spices that I can't put into words. This is really well-made, and while a touch expensive, does deliver for this $40ish price point. I am surprised how low some of the reviews are on here for this, but I guess everyone has their own palate! 90-91+. This has potential to improve over the next 3+ years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/31/2012 - admid wrote: 74 Points
Thin and unbalanced
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/28/2012 - shaferguy91 wrote: 90 Points
No decant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/25/2012 - golfwine wrote: 90 Points
Uncharacteristic for a Sonoma Coast Pinot...but for me, that's a good thing, as I've never been a fan of the AVA. Super-sweet on the attack; an inferred ripeness not supported by the stated ABV (13.5%)? It's got some nice, zingy acidity that seems to be getting a bit overshadowed by that sweet, juicy fruit that carries on well into the finish. Throughout, there's an earth-dominant rhythm section that's occasionally throwing out some off-tempo riffs...and that's the part I'm diggin'! The color is a brilliant, ever-so-slightly bricked, light ruby. Returning to my skepticism about the stated 13.5, repeated whiffs are met with detectable alcohol/heat. I'm puzzled???
Nonetheless, intrigued. Blind, I'd have pegged it for a Santa Lucia Highlands bottling. Interesting enough to buy again.
(88pts + an extra point for being AVA atypical and another for its level of intrigue.)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/2/2012 - beezer6 wrote: 92 Points
From a 375 ml Jill picked up at Binny's marked down. Really nice spice and earth driven wine. Sulfuric notes and a raspberry pancake syrup play set this apart from other run of the mill Sonoma Pinots. Some fun weight in the mid palate which transitions nicely onto the finish. Great balance. Surprisingly tasty wine. Good pick Jill.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/19/2011 - tdh42 wrote: 87 Points
Very musty upon opening. Color definitely fading at the edge to a distinctly clear color. Purity of the fruit just isn't there IMO. Nothing overly wrong with it, but just feels like it is missing something, especially for the price.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/22/2011 - ltadd wrote: 95 Points
This wine is full bodied fruity very nice
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/17/2011 - jazzb wrote:
kryddig m sötmogen röd frukt
8p
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/11/2011 - Pcparis8 wrote: 94 Points
Delicious aromas of sandalwood, bing cherry, strawberries, and currants. Screams food and great with coq-au-vin. Lovely to drink very smooth with light tannins. Oaky but not overpowering. Delicious Pinot with complex dark berries and spices.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/8/2011 - lumpyelbow wrote:
Napa 2011; 10/6/2011-10/9/2011 (Napa Valley, California): Excellent. Ethereal nose and delicate compared to Caymus. My Pinot of the trip, the others preferred the Belle Glos Clarke and Tele.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/24/2011 - christophee wrote: 84 Points
Dary ruby (cherry cola) with medium viscosity in the glass. Earth, ripe cherry, cola and plum on the nose. Medium body with round cherry, vibrant cranberry, earth, cola, cinnamon and brown sugar on the palate. Medium finish which shows bitterness. Complex, but the over extracted fruit layers come off disjointed and too candied.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/17/2011 - slywka7 wrote: 90 Points
Had this last year and liked this slightly more this year with the additional bottle age.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/12/2011 - anonymoose12345 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Tasted again at The Wine Club, San Francisco. A ridiculously BIG pinot. Earthy, tannic and high acid. Don't really know if this is the best it's gonna get or if time will mellow it out. Not willing to find out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/12/2011 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 82 Points
Sonoma in the City Tasting: 220 wines tasted from 72 producers (Westin St. Francis Grand Ballroom, San Francisco, California): Oaky, berry nose; oaky, berry palate; medium-plus finish
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/26/2011 - winebot wrote:
Very good with King River Salmon.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/21/2011 - cos65 wrote:
Nice nose, some sort of candied flavors, with a rather bitter finish ***
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/24/2011 - allencbk wrote: 81 Points
Strong body pinot nor, a little salty first, become sweet for while, smell like rocks with flower
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/14/2011 - Lee Fining wrote: 90 Points
Heartier style of Pinot, more appropriate for food pairing than stand alone.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/8/2011 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 90 Points
Heavy tannins. Dark fruit with a touch of strawberries, minerality, tobacco with some spice. Finishes with a touch of oak. Little dry needs more age. A-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/18/2011 - KurtK wrote: 93 Points
Tasted at the Wine Club Friday evening tasting. This is an "Old World" pinot, but has the fruit forwardness of a Cali wine. This must be decanted right now. It is still very tight. But then... nice long, spicy, Sonoma fruit. I got a lot of all spice mid-palate. I still have a nice, subtle, chalky mouthfeel 5 minutes after tasting. I expect that this will be drinking really well in five to eight years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/7/2011 - shaferguy91 wrote: 90 Points
No decant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/12/2010 - lviana wrote: 90 Points
Purchased this wine while on my last trip to Napa following a blending class at Joseph Phelps because It stood out amongst the others for its distinct, well rounded nose and body. Black cherry on the nose. Black cherry, tobacco, pencil taste on the palate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/31/2010 - anonymoose12345 Likes this wine: 88 Points
I liked it, but was expecting more especially for the price. Cherries. Nicea acidity. Very elegant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment