Bryan Hopkins

8.8

Notes of tangerine and lemon with honey. — 10 days ago

Bryan Hopkins

8.9

Interesting vegetal tomato notes — 2 months ago

Bryan Hopkins

8.2

Strawberry and rhubarb on the nose; jam-like quality. Cinnamon and cherry on the palette with heavy tannic astringency and autumn leaves on the back end. — 3 months ago

Bryan Hopkins

8.3

Pale straw color. Aromas of straw and candied tangerine. On the palette, French bread and lemon chiffon. Creamy mouthfeel. — 4 months ago

Bryan Hopkins

8.9

Strawberry, vanilla, gentle spice. — 10 days ago

Bryan Hopkins

8.6

Extremely pale color; transparent. Bacon fat, burnt leaves, and mushroom on the scent. More fruit forward on the palette with raspberry and tart cherry. Autumn leaves on the finish. — a month ago

Bryan Hopkins

8.8

Earthy, almost briny. Nice saline like quality that pairs well with salty foods. Cherry fruit but not at all fruit forward. — 3 months ago

Bryan Hopkins

8.9

There have been better vintages of this than 2014, which I am currently drinking, but Gundlach Bundschu Oinot Noir never fails to please. Lovely velvet texture, meaty and earthy aromas, and potpourri and cherry on the palette. — 4 months ago

Bryan Hopkins

8.8

Yeasty brioche scent, and the palette has pear and dried apricot with hazelnut notes. — 10 days ago

Bryan Hopkins

9.2

I am tasting the 2000 vintage. The first aroma I get is just oak, almost sterile, like an impeccably clean hardware store. Leaving the glass a few moments to give contact with air opens up softer aromas of nougat and plum. The taste is about exactly like that: oak in your face all at once to yield quickly to nougat candy, plum, and raisin, but letting the brandy sit in my mouth causes it to turn into lovely cigar tobacco flavors with milk chocolate. Slight hint of saffron-infused chocolate on the finish, but then it fades back into that really strong neutral wood as the finish lingers. Trying the 1998 vintage, less complex scent, clean spice and wood, much more mellow with the wood than the 2000. On the palette, honey and milk chocolate. Much more approachable and easy-drinking than the 2000. Trying the 1995, I get an explosion on the scent of molasses and perfectly balanced oak. There was also a fruitiness that took me a long time to identify, but it finally hit me. Have you ever had the mango custard that is served at some Indian restaurant lunch buffets? It’s like that. Rich, syrupy mouthfeel with taste of black molasses and maple syrup prevented from being cloying by the strong oak, which doesn’t overpower but gives exactly the structure and bite that it needs to do. The fruitiness in the palette is like canned fruit salad in syrup. This is really good! So much richer and more balanced than the 2000. The 1979 vintage is less interesting to me. The prominent note is maple syrup, with oak becoming apparent afterwards. There is a sweet, floral perfume note on the scent that to me gives this vintage what interest it has. — 2 months ago