Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2018 vintage. Blockbuster nose with a pleasant amount of brett. Lean but as concentrated as ever throughout and on the finish. If you’re looking to drive a Napa Plushy De Ville cab, hit another dealership. 6.21.24. — 16 days ago

Shay A

9.4

This was served during my annual WWC hosting. Typical format of sparkler, three whites, four reds, one dessert, all served blind.

Poured alongside the 2003 Mondavi VHR as a comparison. 60 cab/40 merlot.

Decanted an hour. The similarities between this and the ‘03 Mondavi VHR the first hour was shocking…even as the host, I wondered if I switched the wines. Slight hint of brett but certainly not overpowering. Leather, herbs de Provence, sweet vanilla pipe tobacco, graphite up front aromatically. Dark roast mocha, red and black berry fruit, cassis, really nice vein of acidity and tannin. This remained unchanged during the lunch. Seems like it’s in a peak window (maybe close to the top?) where I imagine it will hold another 5-7yrs easily before turning more tertiary. — a year ago

Ben Lehman

9.0

For one of my all time favorite wines, this was a bit disappointing. What has previously smelled like garrigue and lavender, this time around smelled a bit too much of brett for my taste — 3 years ago

Shay A

9.2

Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.

Fun to open birth year wines around your birthday, especially when you can do a Bordeaux and Napa side by side. While not a great vintage, this held up well after a few hours and presented as expected. Clean and zero Brett. Great color! Deep ruby with hardly any bricking. Leather, cassis, vanilla pipe tobacco on the nose. Sporting a good bit of dusty red and black fruits (mostly tart raspberries and blackberries), there was a little savory truffle note mixed with an herbal and mocha finish. Still quite grippy. Pretty. — 3 months ago

Doug Powers

9.6

En Magnum. Cork came out in 100+ little pieces, but thankfully no cork taint, this shows a little Brett, but other than a mid-shoulder fill level and obvious signs of weepage, pristine redfruits and impeccable balance, everything that the 1989 has been showing for at least 10 years, outstanding!! — 2 years ago

with Jim

Roberto Carli

9.1

Now I see how this wine can be so divisive. LOTS of brett at first, more band-aid than barnyard. Takes a while to get past it and then lots of exotic spices show up. But after 40 minutes in the glass still nothing primary. It’s got the funk I can appreciate in some good left bank Bordeaux but also feels somewhat single-threaded. — 3 years ago

Douglas Braun

9.0

2019 - Vintage earthy ,wild fruit, rose petal, (little bit of V.A. & Brett) but still drinking well and fairly well balanced — 7 months ago

Ed Chin

9.2

Where is that signature brett funk? Loads of dominate fruit yet the structure isn’t quite up to par. — 10 months ago

Aaron Rankin

9.4

These have begun showing Brett/funk, but this bottle is clean. My first without the horseshit kiss. PnP. Forest floor, wet sticks, and a bramble pie cooling by a distant window. This is Autumn Pinot at its most perfect. Plush mouthfeel with viscosity like a mild reduction (not reductive). While the tannin has faded, the concentration provides more than expected structure. — 2 years ago

David J Rodriguez

8.9

Shame the Brett barnyard doesn’t integrate better with the lovely berry-cherry undertones swirling about...three days in, funkadelic subsided into pleasant, easy drinking juice. — 3 years ago