Oak, honey and citrus aroma. Rich, tropical, but acidic and minerally. Long finish. Dutton Ranch area in Russian river valley where is 20 km from the coast is quite famous, lots of sunshine, but cool area, first planter’s learnt by Sommelier. Elegant! 2019 @, arom, 240501 — 4 days ago
Good Pinot. Light easy. Good for a Thursday when your kid opens the wrong bottle. Pleasantly surprised! Better than the Thursday leftovers that it was paired with. Approx 40$. — 9 days ago
Poured into a Boa decanter several hours prior to dinner. The 2022 Zinfandel pours a ruby color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is youthful with notes of bright brambles: blackberries and raspberries, cherry (some candied, think Cherry Blow Pop), pipe tobacco, black pepper, dry organic earth and gentle baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose with some notes of mocha added to the mix. The finish is long and delightful. Fun to try in its youth however I expect these will show even better after a few years in the cellar. Best after 2027 and through 2042. — 21 days ago
[Tasted on April 26, 2024 at Tom’s House with Tom]
Wine is Anderson Valley Pinot Noir and is the inaugural release. Beautiful Anderson Valley Pinot. Blue fruit and black cherry with herbal notes. — 8 days ago
Unscrewed and poured; no formal notes. These friggen Chardonnays from Margaret River. I’ve been blinded on them too many times to count and I never call it right. Instead, I always seem to call a high acid grape like Riesling of Sauvignon Blanc. The fruit is sometimes tropical, always with citrus and sometimes is shows green apple and always with awesome minerals. Acid is squarely in the high category. They are lovely wines that just seem to throw me for a loop. If Chablis, the Mosel and Sancerre had a love child. Drink now and through 2036 easy. A fabulous pairing with lamb massaman, larb and papaya salad. How can they hide the 100% new French oak so well?! — 10 hours ago
Deep Ruby color with aromas of red fruits, cedar and baking spice. On the palate flavors of cherry and raspberry with toasty notes and cinnamon spice. Aged in French oak (about 50% new). Full-bodied, fine soft tannins, long finish ending with fruit, toasty oak and an earthy character. Nice! — 18 days ago
Had a hard time with this one. Have had it before and it was excellent, but this bottle / vintage was a bit too strong for a pinot. was expecting more fruit. Could be the food pairing so will try with another bottle. — 13 hours ago
Lots of tropical fruit! What a great wine from our anniversary Russian river valley wine trip. — 10 days ago
Jay Kline
Poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service; enjoyed over period that lasted a few hours. The 2008 pours a deep ruby color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with mostly fresh, tart, vibrant red fruits: red brambles, red currants and tart cherries with some pyrazines, tobacco, some cool herbs, dry earth and gentle warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and bordering high acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and the body is perceptibly leaner than both the 1988 and the 2018. That being said, I love its transparency because it is clearly telling part of the story of the vintage. The frost was merciless in Dry Creek in the spring of 2008. So far, the evolution seems slow to me. Drink now with a decant but considering the structure, this has a long life ahead. If I had another bottle, I would open my next after 2028. — 3 days ago