Melanie Callen

9.4

Beautiful soft blackberry jam and tea notes. Smooth and just enough sweetness — 14 days ago

Tom Garland

9.3

Chef Charlie Palmer's Pigs & Pinot Sonoma annual weekend event:
Ultimate pinot smackdown Sat afternoon.

4 master somms present 4 of their fav pinots and try to sell you on their choice.

Wines: Bruliam, Pig Named Stella, Resonance, Kosta Browne, Blue Farm, Lucia, Tendril, Dakel, Arista, Foxen, Antica Terra, Dalrymple, La Rochelle, Melville, Gramercy, Copain..16 tastings about 2 bottles of wine per person...ooooccchhh!

Winner:
Lucia vineyard - 2021 Soberanes vineyard
Runner up:
Blue Farm wines - 2019 Anne Katherine vin. — 2 years ago

with Brenda

John

8.9

Fruit forward. Slight peppery finish. — 3 years ago

David L

9.3

17’ Arista Perli Vineyards Chardonnay. One of only 18 vineyards on top of an AVA that was just created in 1997. Decanted for an hour. Medium gold in color. Bright pear & stone fruits, spices on the nose. “Sells it”. Pear, yellow apple, honey, pinenuts, moderate acidity/oak. with lively texture flowing through the finish. Unlike Matts Ferren Wines, these aren’t as big in the shoulders. Beautifully balanced Chardonnay. Worth checking out the entire Chardonnay line up since 2016’s. Cheers. Edit- This wine will taste even better in 2021+ — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2016 “UV Lucky Well” pours a deep ruby color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with light staining of the tears and some light sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with fascinating notes of ancho chilis, bruised strawberries, potpourri, licorice, leather, organic earth and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and spicy. True to its Russian River roots, this is an opulent expression of Pinot Noir. Not my preferred style but this was very well made and has plenty of interesting things to say. Drink now. — a month ago

Tom Garland

9.2

Chef Charlie Palmer's Pigs & Pinot Sonoma annual weekend event:
A Taste of pigs & pinot on Friday night.

60 pinot wineries:  Arista, Bacigalupi, Boars View, Kosta Browne. Martinelli, Rochioli, Siduri, Sojourn, William Selyem, Lucia, Flowers, Blue farms,  Etc.

Judges pinot winner of the night:
1)  2020 Papapietro Perry..peters vineyard
2)  2019 Baldassari Wines runner up.

15 Chef showcases: all pork dishes.
Charlie Palmer, Bryan Voltaggio, Maneet Chauhan, Elizabeth Falkner, and various Healdsburg restaurants. — 2 years ago

with Brenda

Mike R

9.4

Brilliant- needs some time to age and I decanted - but omg this wine delivers — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Compared to the 2018 Lancel Creek I opened last year, this was a bit more coiled and shy (and this is already my second check-in with this wine). As a fun side by side, I had a 2019 Arista UV-Diablo Chardonnay open (same winemaker)…not the same vineyard, but the Arista showed more expressive fruit earlier on.

As is typical for this wine, it was faint straw colored in the glass with honeysuckle, sea spray and bright lemon pastry aromatics. Signature nervy acidity is apparent right off the bat without being a detractor. Yellow fruits abound alongside herbs and faint meringue with texture that straddles the middle beautifully. Long finish with mineral notes and nice weight (oak use is balanced).

Followed over two days and it certainly fleshed out and presented more “soft” (in a good way). Healthy decant now or keep tucked away a bit longer. — 8 months ago

Shay A

9.3

I’ve opened a few Ferren Frei Rd chards (normally in the 4-5yr range) and have enjoyed them, but this was my first Lancel Creek. With the release coming up in a few weeks, I wanted to check in and figure out the profile. I’m between a 93-94 here.

Made by Matt Courtney (formerly at Marcassin, also winemaker at Arista). Beautiful straw colored in the glass with maybe a tinge of green, the aromatics are honeysuckle, sweet lemon, and sea salted almonds. I found this to be very similar to the Frei Rd in regards to acidity. So nervy all the way through. Totally coastal, but with a soft touch of rich fruit. Also similar to the Frei Rd, this is lemon everything (fresh squeezed lemon, lemon cream, lemon scone) but the mineral profile is more enhanced here. There’s a stone/slate vibe toward the finish that keeps this light on its feet. Oak is soft and plays a contributing role, not a dominating one.

I enjoyed this at pop and pour, then revisited 2-3hrs later and found the acidity had calmed down a bit. Definitely give this a decant now if possible, or hold a few more years. — 3 years ago

Patrick Derdeyn

9.2

Not as rich as the ‘15 but with the same bright fruit. Well balanced with more forward acidity supporting the touch of vanilla and the citrusy finish. — 5 years ago