Peter van den Besselaar

9.0

vintage 2014 | Fine spices in smell, leather, vanilla, and a taste that became velvety after aeration. Very satisfying. Paired with lambsticks on the bbq day 1 and zucchini pasta on day 2. — 8 days ago

Jordan Costello

9.2

Kiwi style — 4 years ago

Brent Clayton

8.9

Lots of jammy fruit, less peppery. It really fleshes out well over a couple of hours. Good everyday value. — 5 years ago

Lauren Ruvolo

8.9

I’m not usually one to be a Chardonnay advocate but this one was a solid choice to pair with an overconsumption of pork dumplings. Not too buttery, teak wood, silky suede. — 6 years ago

with John

Romain Stamm

9.0

The nose was full of petrol and I thought of 100% riesling. I strongly like this wine though it confused me once grape was revealed. Lemon curd ? Then the palate is quite high acid and a bit tart. Extreme length with Aubépine notes and cut grass. I genuinely liked this wine — 7 years ago

with Cecile, Adrien and 2 others

Pat A

9.9

At Victoria's, great with crab cakes, and steph likes. This is a really excellent wine. — 8 years ago

Jo Lawson

9.0

Had I Edinburgh — 8 years ago

Tami Whatcott

10

James bought it for me for Super Bowl night — 6 months ago

Maxwell Riesberg

9.3

Lighter than expected, great tertiary notes — 3 years ago

Severn G

9.3

Blinded a dear buddy in the wine trade on this tonight, guesses all over the place, in a great spot, want to see this in 10+Y.

72H Update:
Nose has crushed blackberries, ripe plum, dried plum, dried tart cherries, moist mahogany and faint moist soil. Palate has tart plum, light molasses, blackberry compote, faint leather notes and fine tannins. Not as good as day one, but no slouch on day three. A wonderful experience, many years in the bottle to go ahead. — 5 years ago

Jeremiah Glazer

9.1

Really smooth. Vanilla spice, beautiful mouthfeel and cleansing finish. Nice 👌 — 6 years ago

Kevin Blix

9.0

Solid wine for price. Drinking great after 13 years!
— 7 years ago

Ted Biser

9.0

Very smooth right away, gets better after open. More spice than fruit. Would love to get an old vine bottle from these vines in 20 years. — 8 years ago

Irina Georgieva

9.4

Fruity and well-balanced — 6 months ago

Brian

9.4

2019 bottle #25 — 10 months ago

Dee Wise

8.9

Decent - a bit too much fruit for my taste. Cherries, light agreeable scent 13.9% — 4 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.8

Drank in the beginning of the year. Missed out on adding my notes here. Best bottle of the lot I brought back to Malaysia. So dense. Like the rows in the vineyard, the finish is long and lined with chalk. The herbal elements in this wine just takes me back to days in the vineyard. Emotional really, especially in times like this. Hope to be back in Abtserde next year. — 6 years ago

with Michelle

Richard List

8.9

Fruit driven pinot noir. — 7 years ago

Mo Greene

9.3

Perfect blend of light sweetness — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

Completing my tasting of all my Walter Hansel Pinot single vineyard selections with their “The Three Rows.”

The nose is engaging. Sweet vanilla, caramel, ripe & slightly sour; blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, blueberries and baked strawberries. Dark soil, limestone, dry clay, dark berry cola, touch herbaceous, black licorice, sweet tarry notes, stems, notes of pyrazines and fresh dark floral bouquet.

The body is just medium. I would say this wine hit its peak two years ago. It’s good, ripe and still shows freshness after being open for an hour. Ripe & slightly sour; blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, cranberries, pomegranate extract, blue floral fruits and baked strawberries. Vanilla, salted caramel, clove, touch of nutmeg, dark soil, limestone, dry clay, dry crushed rocks, dark berry cola, touch herbaceous, dark spice with palate heat sets in the longer it opens up, black licorice, sweet tarry notes, stems, notes of pyrazines and fresh dark floral bouquet with violets.

Photos of; Walter Hansel Vineyard, Owner/Winemaker Stephen Hansel, Pinot grapes going through veraison and the Walter Hansel Winery. — 8 years ago