Black currant and earthy minerality here on the front end of the attack. Deeply pitched black.very black.cherry, and some chocolate, pyrazine, and anise. Green peppercorn and black rock show up as…
Indicative of the terroir, the Stagecoach shows a dark baritone core of chocolatey and earthy black fruit. A touch heavy mid-palate at first with the chocolate and spice pushing out before the fruit…
Leading the charge with black soil and earthy black and dark red/purple fruit, the Era delivers a healthy amount of flavor on the initial attack. More concentration and depth than the Crane in its…
Black currant, earthy blackberry, black soil, dark mulch, cedar, and anise. Less overtly flamboyant in its current state, with a restrained but highly focused delivery of flavor. Not surprisingly,…
Black and red currant, black cherry, cedar, dust, and some spice. A hair better than the AO Proprietary Red, but pretty similar in most ways. The mid-palate was a little fuller, but still fairly…
A rush of acidity, followed by notes of black cherry, currant, and alcohol. Pretty disjointed, teetering back and forth between some higher-toned, bitter fruit flavors, and a thin boozy rush on the…
Barrel sample. Red and black core berry fruit, with a healthy dosage of spice. Higher acid provided a significant amount of tension and verve. A little wound up at the moment, but seemingly just…
Barrel sample. The most low-toned wine in the '16 AO line-up, with dark, black core fruit, fresh black soil, espresso, bitter chocolate, char, clove, fresh vanilla bean, and obsidian. The dark spice…
Barrel sample. Red and black core fruit, with some soil and spice. Medium-bodied and a little simple, the Thomas was much more subtle and reserved than I had anticipated. I did not get any of the…
Barrel sample. Black core fruit, with some soil, dust, and spice to add interest. Delivery on this wine was a little flat and Simple Jack, but it still managed to offer pleasure by way of its…
Barrel sample. Tight and constricted, this reminded me a little of the 2013 Shafer HSS we had earlier in the day. Not surprisingly, this LPV displayed the blackest, most gravelly properties of the AO…
Barrel sample. Complex and compelling, concentrated and driven, the '16 AO Crane was the star of the lineup. Black and red core fruit, black raspberry, blackberry, black and red licorice, anise,…
Barrel sample. Not atypical of the BTK site, this wine displayed hallmark black core fruit, with black raspberry, blackberry, truffle, soil, char, and spice. Plenty of push mid-palate to move the…
As others have noted, this was a very modern version of an AO Chardonnay. The oak influence is very evident, with sourdough bread, buttered popcorn, and vanilla at the forefront. Some lemon curd and…
Very Sauvignon Blanc-like in its flavor profile. A bit of a steely aftertaste. This was a little tough for me after just having such a smooth Sauvignon Blanc ('14 AO 1155 SB) prior to consuming this.…
A very inviting Sauvignon Blanc, with a wonderful balance between subtle tropical fruit, lemon oil, a bit of pumice/stone, and an ever-so faint drop of vanilla. This gained the majority of its points…
A beautiful wine; the AO Reserve Chardonnay is near-perfectly balanced, with silky lemon and citrus fruit flavors, some stone and tufa, light/ripe pear, and a gorgeous kiss of vanilla on the back…
