| Wine Type | Vintage Name Variety Locale | Date Posted Score Helpful Comments More... |
|---|---|---|
| Red |
2020 Domaine Faury St. Joseph 'Vieilles Vignes'Syrah more |
4/29/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine: NRSuper enjoyable, down the middle to type, maybe just a touch lighter body than you would expect for the style. |
| Red |
2015 Lazy Creek Vineyards Pinot Noir EstateAnderson Valley more |
4/14/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine: NRI enjoyed the Lazy Creek wines throughout their different owners and winemaking regimens. This generation under the Ferrari-Carano umbrella was probably my favorite. A plush, maybe more accessible style of Pinot Noir, but almost never unbalanced, still a lot of integrity. This bottle shows the tradeoffs of emphasizing fruit early on - as it fades 8-9 years later, the rest of the wine isn't quite as interesting. But still superb Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, just drink them now. |
| Red |
2016 Sandler Wine Company Pinot Noir Bien Nacido VineyardSanta Maria Valley more |
4/6/2024 - LesPaul wrote: NRI'm generally a big fan of the Sandler Pinots, and I recall enjoying a bottle of this 2016 Bien Nacido just a month or two ago much more than this one. Here the smell is wonderful, lots of nothing but fruity Pinot, a little bit of spice. But that hint of sharpness comes out in the texture, which is more edgy and less integrated than I would like, with a hint of alcohol burn on the finish. Still an excellent wine, a steal at the prices then on offer, but not quite as wonderful as I remember. |
| Red |
2017 Storyteller Wine Co. Pinot NoirEola - Amity Hills more |
3/26/2024 - LesPaul wrote: NRI don't remember how this wine tasted on release, but it's holding up decently well. Not exactly withdrawn or muted, but maybe restrained would be a reasonable descriptor in early 2024. Enough fruit to still be approachable, but some spiky spiciness that lends some complexity and interest. Mid-light weight, but a nice finish that sours a tiny bit but maintains its length better than many other New World Pinots of greater provenance. Though I wish I had opened it a year or two earlier, I'm still very glad to taste this wine. |
| Red |
2016 Sandler Wine Company Pinot Noir Peterson VineyardSanta Lucia Highlands more |
3/11/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine: NRWhat a tasty wine! Holding up nicely in early '24 with some pleasantly sharp dark notes on top of that smiling, deceptively rich California fruit. I would guess there are still a few years to go. Even nicer to know what great people are and were behind it all. |
| Red |
2016 Balo Vineyards Pinot NoirAnderson Valley more |
2/15/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine: 89 pointsStill a wonderfully fresh and complete wine in early 2024. Loads of Anderson Valley character - medium-bright fruit with a hint of earth and that slightly minty pennyroyal. Medium to light palate, but not underpowered at all. Plenty of acid - not always the case with wines of this level from this region - with an almost-long finish, even. Really nice wine. |
| Red |
2014 Littorai Pinot Noir Cerise VineyardAnderson Valley more |
2/4/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine: 89 pointsTrademark Littorai austerity, but it's worth it when you get this much purity of fruit and site. So much on the nose - just call it clarity, I suppose - every individual smell is identifiable, but comes together in just the most natural expression of Pinot Noir fruit in a Northern California vineyard. Still fruit forward, though quite lean as always, but starting to take on some pleasant secondary characteristics, a hint of dried leaves, maybe even tobacco? Finish is medium length, of a piece with the rest, appropriate to how this wine came out. Really a remarkable achievement and expression of winemaking, even if it doesn't quite grab my heart. |
| Red |
2015 Maggy Hawk Pinot Noir Stormin'Anderson Valley more |
2/4/2024 - LesPaul wrote: 87 pointsI'm a fan of this producer - excellent wine from excellent fruit throughout the life of the label, across winemakers. But this particular 2015 is not developing well. Better than average nose with some ethereal characteristics. And still lots of fruit overall - but that's all there is. Veering toward monolithic, unlayered, not revealing any interesting complexity. Unusual to come upon a Maggy Hawk Pinot that came out on the downside. |
| Red |
2017 Waits-Mast Family Cellars Pinot NoirMendocino County more |
1/31/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine: NRWow - tasty! - and holding strong seven years after release. Beautiful pale color. Some thick juicy fruit still, with the darker spikes you get from these Mendocino vineyards. Really nice, though I don't know I'm sensing the legs for another run around the track - probably best to finish your bottles this year (2024). |
| Red |
2015 Navarro Vineyards Pinot NoirAnderson Valley more |
1/31/2024 - LesPaul wrote: NRPleasant and charming at release, great QPR from a reliable producer. Not that this entry-level appellation wine was ever "supposed" to age, but at eight years old this bottle is tired, almost dead. |
| Red |
2022 Diseño de California Pinot NoirSta. Rita Hills more |
1/30/2024 - LesPaul wrote: 87 pointsFine as far as it goes - not exactly any flaws, with some varietal character, maybe even those sharp, dark hints you get from Sta. Rita Hills. But comes across more as a bulk or supermarket wine. |
| Red |
2021 Phillips Hill Pinot Noir BoontlingAnderson Valley more |
1/17/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine: NRVery good - no apology necessary for its entry-level positioning. Balanced, dark and complex enough that it might even take to some age. |
| Red |
2016 Phillips Hill Pinot Noir Cerise VineyardAnderson Valley more |
1/4/2024 - LesPaul Likes this wine: NRThis wine has come along nicely in just half a year. Cerise is among my favorite vineyards, but the Phillips Hill releases from this fruit weren't as predictably wonderful as from some other producers. I recall that the 2016 has been a little hard to love through its life, but here at the crack of 2024 it's almost excellent. Lots of cherry, of course, though not unpleasantly sour, and so much of that Anderson Valley sort of forest/almost funk/mixed with pennyroyal - really distinctive. I wish the body was a little more substantial, but this is very good wine by any measure. Maybe it's going to keep getting even better over the next year or two? |
| Red |
2019 Valli Pinot Noir Gibbston VineyardCentral Otago more |
11/30/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine: 90 pointsExcellent, distinctive wine. The Valli Gibbston Vineyard Pinot seems to differ quite a bit from vintage to vintage. There's always a firm, lean backbone, also a lot of acid, but the 2019 comes with a wonderfully powdery texture on the outer edges. Fruit is on the darker side, but the acid keeps things exciting. Ready to drink now, but built to last. |
| Red |
2011 Evans Wines Pinot Noir HeritageAnderson Valley more |
11/23/2023 - LesPaul wrote: 90 pointsWow - who would have expected this wine to be showing so well in late 2023? So well-balanced. Still a surprising amount of fruit, but now certainly showing darker - a pleasant rusty dry savoriness permeates throughout. Firm backbone, might be tending toward austerity, fortunately none of the flabbiness that so many NorCal Pinots show as they age No excuses need be made - the bones of this wine are strong, it has a certain compelling point of view that is still coming through loud and clear. Shows what great fruit can do in the hands of a careful winemaker, even if it’s otherwise under the radar. |
| Red |
2007 Elke Pinot Noir Blue Diamond Donnelly Creek VineyardAnderson Valley more |
11/19/2023 - LesPaul wrote: NRThe 2007 didn't collapse entirely, but degraded in an interesting way that evokes elements of its earlier goodness. In late 2023 the color is quite brown well in from the edges, with a beautiful deep purple remaining in the interior. Some distinctive spicy perfume and fruit on the nose, not heavy - almost a filigree. Unfortunately the taste is no longer complete - sort of a middling plumb stew quickly overtaken by surprisingly lively acid. You just never get to journey through the fruit and earth this wine reveled in during its prime. 2007 was a great vintage from this favorite producer's home vineyard in the Anderson Valley - it had a good run, but on the evidence of this bottle, it ended several years earlier. |
| Red |
2011 Elke Pinot Noir Blue Diamond Donnelly Creek VineyardAnderson Valley more |
11/19/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine: 90 pointsQuite rich and vibrant here at the close of 2023 - a surprise and delight. Definitely some burnished brown to the color, with aged savory characteristics on the nose. But lots of fruit, with an older version of the special mix of bright California sun and darker minty earth - even a touch of funky barnyard - that you get with the nicest Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs. Midweight all the way through - no weak-bodied moments, no apologies needed. Finish continues quite a while. Though I wouldn't expect this wine to get any better, it has aged quite wonderfully. |
| Red |
2015 Lazy Creek Vineyards Pinot Noir EstateAnderson Valley more |
11/3/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine: 89 pointsStill good eight years in. Most of this final generation of Lazy Creek Pinots leaned a bit toward the luscious side, but this bottle, while still medium-ish in weight, is drier and dustier than I remember of the later house style. It's an excellently balanced wine, with that special mushroom-y and even minty undertone that separates the Anderson Valley from its Sonoma Pinot relatives. I would guess that it's not going to get much better for much longer, though. |
| Red |
2013 Littorai Pinot Noir Hirsch VineyardSonoma Coast more |
10/29/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine: 91 pointsExcellent in late 2023 - has aged beautifully. Savory and even austere, but there's more than enough fruit to create balance. Maybe less acid-forward than I remember from a couple of years ago. Probably on the more intellectually rewarding side of the spectrum than one that tugs at the heartstrings, but an exemplar of what great California fruit can do in the hands of a great California winemaker. |
| Red |
2012 Harmonique Pinot Noir Oppenlander VineyardAnderson Valley more |
10/28/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine: NRWow! Still lots of energy coming from a wine that has started onto the downslope. Wonderful Mendocino-style combination of bright California fruit with darker mushroom forest floor. Excellent fruit from.an excellent vineyard made by an excellent winemaker in whst I think was an unusually ripe vintage - a special wine regardless. |
| Red |
2018 Furthermore Pinot Noir Gap's Crown VineyardSonoma Coast more |
10/21/2023 - LesPaul wrote: 87 pointsDisappointing compared to both other Pinots from this vineyard and the usual high quality of this producer. This bottle is grippy, rough, a little bit of alcohol burn. Some nice fruit characteristics on the surface, but doesn't hold together as a complete wine or a showcase for this fruit or Furthermore overall. |
| Red |
2014 De Ponte Cellars Pinot Noir Baldwin Family ReserveDundee Hills more |
10/9/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine: NRSuch fresh wines - I love the De Ponte Pinots. That said, this particular 2014 has probably reached its peak. Still young and vibrant in bright flavor, but the texture is thinning and no further depth or complexity. Remains a tasty, friendly, solid Pinot worth drinking now. |
| Red |
2015 Ridge Lytton SpringsDry Creek Valley Zinfandel Blend, Zinfandel more |
10/7/2023 - LesPaul Does not like this wine: NRNot so good. Has been stored properly, but still - dry, dessicated, sort of overall grumpy. Nor.ally I like how Lytton Springs ages, but this bottle at least took a wrong turn. Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (1) |
| Red |
2014 Failla Pinot Noir Keefer RanchRussian River Valley more |
9/18/2023 - LesPaul Likes this wine: 89 pointsHolding up beautifully. The leanness and tartness typical of this vineyard and producer, with just enough foundation to dig into. I don't know that it's evolving much with age, though, so might as well go for it immediately. |
| Red |
2014 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch VineyardRussian River Valley more |
9/18/2023 - LesPaul wrote: 87 pointsShowing lots of aged secondary characteristics in late 2023, not really to its benefit. A big wine, not as lean as other producers made from this vineyard. Some ungainliness comes to the fore without acid to balance things. The fruit is still plush, but forward brightness has gone away, now much more about underlying darkness. But not as many layers as I would hope. On the whole something of a disappointment given the pedigree. |
Search Results - Save This Search
- Tasting notes: 447 notes on 390 wines
