Same as my notes from the day before. This was tasted alongside the 2014 Ingrid's Chardonnay, which was a fuller-bodied wine; however, the Rosella's had a little more complexity and delineation of…
A good Chardonnay, but far overshadowed by the Ingrid's and Rosella's tasted alongside it. Because of the competition, the Sierra Mar was forgettable. It was decently crafted, but I honest to God…
This was a little more interesting and intense than the 2013 Bernardus SLH. Still extremely young, acidic, and primary, the Pisoni managed to push out some high-toned black cherry, strawberry, and…
Some basic strawberry, red cherry, and pomegranate notes, with the slightest hint of forest floor. Fairly high-toned and simplistic, especially when served next to the 2014 Bernardus Pisoni Pinot,…
A pleasantly surprising wine, with the attractive verve and tension from the lemon and citrus fruit flavors nicely intermixed with some vanilla bean and lightly buttered oak influences. Very good…
A nice match with seared foie gras. Not too sweet or cloying, and just the right amount of intensity; it came off balanced but nicely viscous. Apricot, peach, and some honey flavors. A solid…
Same as my notes from February, but this still needs quite a bit of time in bottle to integrate. High pitched and never fully shedding itself of a tartness/sourness that was a bit distracting,…
Same as my notes from August and before. Almost as good as the Daughters of Earth, with just a tad less in terms of layered complexity. Wins huge points for power and intensity, and the most…
Same as my notes from last year, except that this still needs more time. Drank "fine" after a couple of hours in a wide-bottomed decanter, but was still a little tight. Good purity of fruit. Not a…
Wonderful example of the varietal, with a beautiful texture and silky mouthfeel that is often missed in some overtly mineral and alkaline-driven Viogniers. Purity of fruit is evident, as is the…
Similar to my notes from a year ago except that this only took about 30 minutes in the decanter to really fan out. The Syrah component was dominant (which wasn't a bad thing). Full of blackberry…
Probably one of the best KB appellation Pinots I've had in a while. After a string of disappointments (enough to make me walk from the allocation list after many years), this wine at least made me…
Not exactly ready for prime time just yet, but surely showing promise of good things to come. I wouldn't recommend touching another one of these bottles for at least a year. Let it fatten up and fan…
Paired with a grilled lamb chop (covered in redwood needles). This piece of meat was cooked beautifully, with the fat rendered perfectly. The flavors were not as interesting as the previous squab…
Same as all my previous notes. Good enough. Not amazing. The Estate Cuvee is far superior. Decent QPR on the mailing list, but I'm becoming a little bored with the Optimus.
Simple, high-toned red berry fruit, strawberry, cranberry, and alcohol. Distractingly high on the red fruit register; sour and monolithic. Standby for the headache. Reminded me more of a vodka…
PnP was just a hair tight, but an hour in the decanter did this wonders. Drinking very well right now. Deep blackberry, asphalt, blueberry, and some beautiful minerality. Mid-palate and textural…
The proverbial California Chardonnay. Rich, buttery, oaky, and popcorn-laced. A bit oily (which I actually liked), but certainly lacked complexity and some delineation of flavors; overshadowed by the…
Same as my notes from 3/4/2016. Anyone with remaining bottles should hold until late 2017 at minimum. Still very tight, with a total of four hours of air in a wide-bottomed decanter still not helping…
WAIT on this wine! Decanted for over three hours, showing signs of those top shelf Alban flavors of black raspberry, olive, and charred/bbq. However, it's not quite there yet. This 2010 was quite…
Same as my December 2015 notes, except that I found this to be even more humdrum than last time. The fruit has faded even more so than I remember from 9 months ago.
Same as my tasting notes from almost a year ago, except that this has clearly evolved in the bottle even better since October 2015. Dark black cherry, currant, and spice notes were at the forefront.
92 points this showing. A little short and clipped on the finish, with a thinner mid-palate. This wine was not decanted and was served out of the bottle at a restaurant; it could have used just a…
