I wouldn't say the wine is that good but it also wasn't bad and at 17 years old that may be a compliment in and of itself. The cork was weak and didn't come out in one piece. Had to really ease it out to keep from having to push it down. Initially I thought the wine was going to be undrinkable but I let it sit a bit and then ran it through Venturi and it was better. The second day may have been a little better.
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Sonoma 2007 Hanzell Pinot Noir. Light ruby, amber edges; some viscosity (14.4 alc.); red fruit, rose petal, raspberry, earth and oak nose; soft-mid acids; softening tannins; good fruit still; semi-long Pinot, wood, red fruit finish. w/salmon. 17 UC Davis scale; 92 other scales.
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Mid-brick, amber edges; earthy, stemmy, wood, black cherry nose (similar nose to 2008 tasted the next week); mid-big body; good tannins; balanced; long fruity finish.
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Hanzell. 07 Mid dark garnet. Big stemmy Pinot nose. Smokey wood. Mid big body. Good tannins and acids. Balanced fruity finish. Good fruit and flavor. 17
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Had this wine three and a half years ago and after reading the notes, it seems about the same. Kind of weak and flat with forest floor and herbal flavors. Plum flavors in the background. Second day was about the same. At least it hasn't gotten any worse over the past three years. I have several bottles left and I hope they can hold on to where they are now. Again, I will say that at around $90 a bottle, the price to quality ratio with Hanzell is completely out of whack. Fortunately, I got these on winebid.com for half or less of that price. Not a good value even at that price.
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Saved the last bottle of this excellent vintage for a special occasion. I waited too long. The wine is drinkable, but no longer special. Lesson learned.
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This is very ripe classic Cali pinot. The nose is filled with black raspberry, black cherry, cola, clove, cinnamon, and a hint of earth. The palate is full octane with ripe red and black fruit and baking spice. It seems a bit thick and chunky to me lacking a little balance and finesse. It is what I would expect from a warm, ripe year. Not my type of pinot, but not poorly made.
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Something restrained and just off about this wine. It's restrained on the nose, restrained on the palate, and just thin overall. This vintage just is mediocre compared to the rest.
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Decanted for an hour or two. It tasted kind of flat, not much acidity but interestingly not a strong fruit presence either. More forest floor with fruit in the background. I gassed it and the second day was about the same or a little worse. Very poor price to value ratio. I think their pricing now is around $90 a bottle and is completely out of touch with the quality of the wine.
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Having had this vintage on three different occasions, I felt this was a very poor showing. The nose showed notes of sweet almond cream, raspberry, dried leaves and sweet red licorice but all of it was overpowered by an overwhelming headiness. The alcohol burn was so dominate it was almost painful to smell. The palate was again, savory in nature, but lacked clarity. At times there were hints of creamy cassis (odd?), a hint of sweet red fruit, smokey fat, a hint of earthiness and a salty minerality...completely inconsistent with the previous two bottles. Unfortunately, the headiness made itself felt on the palate as well and a distinct note of alcohol was present throughout. Sad day.
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This is excellent Pinot Noir. From the beginning the dark, glossy burgundy red caught my eye and I was not let down with anything that followed. Popped and poured over an hour and a half and it was drinking well from the start with a beautifully focused bouquet of sweet red fruit, decaying leaf, and hints of mint with just whisps of the higher abv. sneaking in here and there. The palate showed hints of pomegranate fruit, but was savory in nature with distinct notes of tea leaves, clean forest floor, and a light brown broth. A perfect balance of richness and acidity left this bright and clean all the way through the finish.
This was great, no "oakiness" or extracted fruit notes and perfect medium weight and texture. Expensive, but just may be worth it.
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nose - very refined, herby taste - herbs, a little spice, long finish, like a rich Burgundy drank this after a day of drinking Cal monsters and it was heavenly to taste something as refined as this.
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Tasted semi blind together with some Burgundies and other new world pinots. Smelled of cat pee and oak. Also oaky in the mouth. Very tight. This appeared, like most of the other American pinots in the tasting, as an unpleasant wine due to the exaggerated use of oak.
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Still a baby. Nice sweet cherry fruit. Earthy spice and some solid tannins on the finish. Much improved over the 2006, and it seems to have the elements to be an awesome wine, but this still needs time to come together and resolve itself.
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Tasted along side the 2006. Decanted 1 hour. Drank over next hour. Very young. Bright fruit more evident unlike the 2006. Well balanced. I liked the style better than the dark, austere style of the 2006. Try again in 4 years.
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Very complex with lots of earthy goodness, though still tight and a baby. This one needs years to show its stuff. 91 now, I would guess it will improve a lot over the next 15 years.
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My first experience with Hanzell was tasting their 2004 Pinot Noir, it was excellent to say the least. The 2007 Pinot Noir is their best since the 2004, I feel their 2005 and 2006 Pinot Noirs were just awful. This is a huge improvement in that it is more elegant and food friendly. At 14.4% alcohol, it is nearly 1.0% lower than the 2006 vintage, and it is pretty easy to taste that difference side by side. Is Hanzell starting to go back to what made them a great winery to begin with? I am not sure, but hopefully so. I am just hoping they are, and they are getting away from trying to get a Robert Parker 95 point rating. I have tasted some older Hanzell's and I wish I still had those notes, but I lost them, but I can only hope Hanzell finds its way back to their roots, maybe this is the beginning. This wine is a medium bodied wine with a medium ruby red color to it. If opening now, it needs quite a bit of decanting time. It has aromas of red berries, some other red fruits, orange zest, spices and slight floral notes. It tastes of black berries, red fruits, pomegranate, spices and sweet tobacco. It has bright and refreshing acidity, laser-like tannin and a solid structure. I do not think this wine will have the long life span like the '04 vintage, but this one will be real good with 5 years of cellaring and should improve for about 12 to maybe 15+ years from vintage date. 90+ points right now, but if it improves like I think it will, I see a possible 92 here.
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4/28/2024 - Wine_in_HD wrote: 90 Points
I wouldn't say the wine is that good but it also wasn't bad and at 17 years old that may be a compliment in and of itself. The cork was weak and didn't come out in one piece. Had to really ease it out to keep from having to push it down. Initially I thought the wine was going to be undrinkable but I let it sit a bit and then ran it through Venturi and it was better. The second day may have been a little better.
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4/4/2022 - Wine_in_HD wrote: 86 Points
Experience this time was about the same as my 2014 and 2017 notes. Maybe has gone down a little though.
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2/22/2022 - sdwineguru Likes this wine: 92 Points
Sonoma 2007 Hanzell Pinot Noir. Light ruby, amber edges; some viscosity (14.4 alc.); red fruit, rose petal, raspberry, earth and oak nose; soft-mid acids; softening tannins; good fruit still; semi-long Pinot, wood, red fruit finish. w/salmon. 17 UC Davis scale; 92 other scales.
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5/29/2021 - tpbrown5 Likes this wine: 90 Points
A little hint of leather … a nice aged faux burgundy
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11/14/2020 - spoplack wrote: 93 Points
crumbly cork but beautiful wine; balanced, round, decent fruit, loam, fine tanins
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11/30/2019 - Thad wrote: 88 Points
Not showing great
Would drink what I have
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12/7/2018 - curtr Likes this wine: 91 Points
A good decant always helps this wine. Decanted 1 hour and consumed over following hour. Still holding up and can easily last 3-4 more years.
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10/22/2018 - curtr Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still showing well.
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8/3/2018 - curtr Likes this wine:
Entering later stage of drinking plateau. I will finish my remaining 2 bottles by 2019.
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6/17/2018 - winelover1808 wrote: 89 Points
on the downward slope; cola and sweet cranberry; lacking much more to make it outstanding - but clearly well built and made; just on the downslope now
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4/8/2018 - sdwineguru Likes this wine: 92 Points
Mid-brick, amber edges; earthy, stemmy, wood, black cherry nose (similar nose to 2008 tasted the next week); mid-big body; good tannins; balanced; long fruity finish.
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11/23/2017 - sdwineguru Likes this wine: 92 Points
Hanzell. 07 Mid dark garnet. Big stemmy Pinot nose. Smokey wood. Mid big body. Good tannins and acids. Balanced fruity finish. Good fruit and flavor. 17
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7/13/2017 - Wine_in_HD wrote: 88 Points
Had this wine three and a half years ago and after reading the notes, it seems about the same. Kind of weak and flat with forest floor and herbal flavors. Plum flavors in the background. Second day was about the same. At least it hasn't gotten any worse over the past three years. I have several bottles left and I hope they can hold on to where they are now. Again, I will say that at around $90 a bottle, the price to quality ratio with Hanzell is completely out of whack. Fortunately, I got these on winebid.com for half or less of that price. Not a good value even at that price.
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10/20/2015 - SumCellar wrote:
Saved the last bottle of this excellent vintage for a special occasion. I waited too long. The wine is drinkable, but no longer special. Lesson learned.
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2/17/2015 - jnewman77 wrote:
This is very ripe classic Cali pinot. The nose is filled with black raspberry, black cherry, cola, clove, cinnamon, and a hint of earth. The palate is full octane with ripe red and black fruit and baking spice. It seems a bit thick and chunky to me lacking a little balance and finesse. It is what I would expect from a warm, ripe year. Not my type of pinot, but not poorly made.
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2/14/2015 - lzelman wrote: 88 Points
cork crumbled while opening. Not bad but not memorable.
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2/15/2014 - mhauser wrote:
Something restrained and just off about this wine. It's restrained on the nose, restrained on the palate, and just thin overall. This vintage just is mediocre compared to the rest.
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1/16/2014 - Wine_in_HD wrote: 89 Points
Decanted for an hour or two. It tasted kind of flat, not much acidity but interestingly not a strong fruit presence either. More forest floor with fruit in the background. I gassed it and the second day was about the same or a little worse. Very poor price to value ratio. I think their pricing now is around $90 a bottle and is completely out of touch with the quality of the wine.
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8/22/2013 - Socrates wrote: flawed
Having had this vintage on three different occasions, I felt this was a very poor showing. The nose showed notes of sweet almond cream, raspberry, dried leaves and sweet red licorice but all of it was overpowered by an overwhelming headiness. The alcohol burn was so dominate it was almost painful to smell. The palate was again, savory in nature, but lacked clarity. At times there were hints of creamy cassis (odd?), a hint of sweet red fruit, smokey fat, a hint of earthiness and a salty minerality...completely inconsistent with the previous two bottles. Unfortunately, the headiness made itself felt on the palate as well and a distinct note of alcohol was present throughout. Sad day.
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7/15/2013 - NomadicEntrepreneur Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good, but the 2008 is much better.
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4/15/2013 - winelovr2001 wrote: 90 Points
Good, but quite ripe
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12/22/2012 - Socrates Likes this wine:
This is excellent Pinot Noir. From the beginning the dark, glossy burgundy red caught my eye and I was not let down with anything that followed. Popped and poured over an hour and a half and it was drinking well from the start with a beautifully focused bouquet of sweet red fruit, decaying leaf, and hints of mint with just whisps of the higher abv. sneaking in here and there. The palate showed hints of pomegranate fruit, but was savory in nature with distinct notes of tea leaves, clean forest floor, and a light brown broth. A perfect balance of richness and acidity left this bright and clean all the way through the finish.
This was great, no "oakiness" or extracted fruit notes and perfect medium weight and texture. Expensive, but just may be worth it.
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9/28/2012 - toms123 wrote: 86 Points
Great nose but lacking fruit on finish. Almost bitter on the end.
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5/21/2012 - IGN WINESNOB wrote: 89 Points
Good, nothing to justify price point. Nice finish, but unsure it great wine.
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5/19/2012 - henrygjeffreys wrote:
nose - very refined, herby
taste - herbs, a little spice, long finish, like a rich Burgundy
drank this after a day of drinking Cal monsters and it was heavenly to taste something as refined as this.
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2/12/2012 - AudunG wrote: 81 Points
Tasted semi blind together with some Burgundies and other new world pinots. Smelled of cat pee and oak. Also oaky in the mouth. Very tight. This appeared, like most of the other American pinots in the tasting, as an unpleasant wine due to the exaggerated use of oak.
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11/28/2011 - mattsix wrote:
stem juice. very disappointing.
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8/14/2011 - mhauser wrote:
Still a baby. Nice sweet cherry fruit. Earthy spice and some solid tannins on the finish. Much improved over the 2006, and it seems to have the elements to be an awesome wine, but this still needs time to come together and resolve itself.
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3/9/2011 - curtr wrote: 90 Points
Tasted along side the 2006. Decanted 1 hour. Drank over next hour. Very young. Bright fruit more evident unlike the 2006. Well balanced. I liked the style better than the dark, austere style of the 2006. Try again in 4 years.
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10/16/2010 - RWINO wrote: 91 Points
Very complex with lots of earthy goodness, though still tight and a baby. This one needs years to show its stuff. 91 now, I would guess it will improve a lot over the next 15 years.
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3/15/2010 - Renegade wrote: 90 Points
My first experience with Hanzell was tasting their 2004 Pinot Noir, it was excellent to say the least. The 2007 Pinot Noir is their best since the 2004, I feel their 2005 and 2006 Pinot Noirs were just awful. This is a huge improvement in that it is more elegant and food friendly. At 14.4% alcohol, it is nearly 1.0% lower than the 2006 vintage, and it is pretty easy to taste that difference side by side. Is Hanzell starting to go back to what made them a great winery to begin with? I am not sure, but hopefully so. I am just hoping they are, and they are getting away from trying to get a Robert Parker 95 point rating. I have tasted some older Hanzell's and I wish I still had those notes, but I lost them, but I can only hope Hanzell finds its way back to their roots, maybe this is the beginning. This wine is a medium bodied wine with a medium ruby red color to it. If opening now, it needs quite a bit of decanting time. It has aromas of red berries, some other red fruits, orange zest, spices and slight floral notes. It tastes of black berries, red fruits, pomegranate, spices and sweet tobacco. It has bright and refreshing acidity, laser-like tannin and a solid structure. I do not think this wine will have the long life span like the '04 vintage, but this one will be real good with 5 years of cellaring and should improve for about 12 to maybe 15+ years from vintage date. 90+ points right now, but if it improves like I think it will, I see a possible 92 here.
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