The 2016 Wren Hop Ritchie by Proxy opens up with a straight-lined, attentive attack of sprightly yellow citrus, lemon crud, lemon zest, lemon grass, ripe green apple pulp and skin, and some subtle…
So you've all been through the drill before... You show up for your tasting all eager-eyed and anxious about trying the winery's newest releases. You're in Sonoma; so naturally you have Pinot and…
Initially served blind. Somewhat subdued fruit flavors of dark raspberry and woody black cherry. A strong herbal/evergreen note encompassed the core fruit, with some cardamom and cumin spice as well.…
Previous notes apply. This showed more upfront hedonism and sappier black and red cherry and raspberry notes than the Shadow Voices or Three Wishes. Darker and a bit richer, the Cautionary Tale's…
The 2016 Wren Hop Three Wishes is a 3 barrel "reserve" of the Shadow Voices. As advertised, this delivers exactly how one might expect a BBS version of an already amazing wine (Shadow Voices) to…
A truly complex and layered Pinot Noir, expertly displaying what seems to be a signature level of focus and sophistication from this house. Exacting and methodical, but also exciting and flavorful,…
Consistent with my notes from a year ago. This is aging very nicely, with an enhanced, progressing profile that especially stands out for its deliberate and focused display of flavors. A beautiful…
Same as 4 months ago. All previous notes apply. The front end is full of fruit and spice. Served next to a Wren Hop Witch's Ladder, which was much more herbal and "cooler" feeling in its delivery. I…
Sonoma County · Green Valley of Russian River Valley
1.5 years since I last had this wine. Very good focus and delineation of flavor. More of a straight shot in terms of delivery, with wonderful underbrush and rosemary notes drilling though the black…
Not one ounce of doom and gloom here with this "Cautionary Tale." PnP with wonderful black cherry, saturated and sappy black raspberry, bark, cacao bean, and some incense and cinnamon stick. Most…
It's been a year and a half since I last had this wine. PnP was a bit reticent, but after two hours of slow O2 and some swirling in the glass, it filled out nicely. Black cherry, black raspberry,…
Previous notes apply. A massive Pinot with a massive attack of ripe black and dark red core fruit, glycerin-laced blackberry and black cherry, saturated black raspberry liqueur, black spicebox,…
Dark black currant, black cherry, mulch, forest floor, dark maple syrup, and dark spice (clove). Fully resolved and coming into its final turn before starting its descent on the bell curve. It's…
Fruit and spice and everything nice. All previous notes apply. A take-you-back-to-your-childhood kind of wine. Enjoy the moment and don't overthink it. The comfort food of Pinots. Fun stuff.
Previous notes apply. I was anxious to see where this wine was knowing full well it was going to still need some time. Confirmed! It indeed needs more time. I'm sticking to my 2020 prediction.
Previous notes from last year apply. PnP and we were off and running. F-in' unbelievable bottle of Pinot! Fruit and spice and everything nice! Beautiful and unctuous all wrapped up in an enveloping,…
Still right in my wheelhouse. A little rich and spicy after a couple hours of air, but otherwise was a fun Pinot. Don't try to geek-out on it too much. It was flaunting some of its Bevan party flair…
Consistent with all of my other notes. I didn't bother with a decant this time. I thought it was drinking fine with just some air in the glass (consumed over the course of three hours total). I liked…
From Magnum. Previous notes apply. Pretty boozy on the PnP, but fanned out nicely after some air time in the glass. A big, rich, spicy style, but with quality fruit and focus still intact. An…
Similar notes as before, except that I had an opportunity to take a little more time with this wine. It showed some deeper, more baritone black cherry notes that added interest and deepened the core…
Same as my notes from last month. We had this wine at the after-party (or rather, the party), after leaving Wren Hop. It started out a little boozy, but then blew off the alcohol after about 30…
This was akin to the 2014 War & Peace in that it displayed a linear (though focused) flavor profile throughout consumption. A little thin and dry on the back end. I would've never pegged this as a…
Similar to my notes on 10/22/2016. Much more acidic and linear than the Hustle & Flow. Certainly has focus and frame, but needs another 3+ years to stretch its legs and deepen. Air in the glass…
Similar to my experience with this wine on 10/22/2016. This was more open than the War & Peace. The Hustle and Flow still seems to be transitioning. The mulch and spice notes were at the forefront.…
Same as my notes from two weeks ago. The best of the bunch again, even when compared to some 2014 and 2013s tasted alongside it. I'll still look most forward to trying this again in a couple of…
