Start out by saying that everyone knows i love rhone ranger wines, this one is a mystery to me and i need some help understanding the wine.
Its the expected Alban vibrant purple, initial mouthfeel is very dry, almost tannic, as it develops though the sweetness of the 12 fruit takes over and dominates. The wine ends up almost cloyingly sweet.
How will this wine develop, will the dryness disappear leaving a sweet fruit bomb or will the sweetness subside to produce a great well balanced wine ?
I’ve only had the 2010, which was excellent, but have heard there are no evolved Albans…they just go on and on…
I’ve had, the '09’s, '10’s and '11’s. Give it time.
The first bottle of Alban (Reva) I had was amazing. I bought the 03-06 vintages deep and then started scratching my head. Some sweet, some funky and peppery, and some just bland. None have been as good as the first bottle I had, with the last few (03s and 04s) being just ok (consensus view, tasted blind). I will happily seek out tastes, but not sure I will ever buy another bottle.
After discussing with a few berserker Alban drinkers, i emailed John Alban about my experiences.
Now a few people have fallen out with Alban over mail lists issues but i cannot stress strongly enough how friendly and accommodating John was, this included the offer of a full refund for my entire allocation if i was not happy with the wine, now thats customer service.
Well i opened another bottle tonite and what a difference, the first bottle was a weak sweet wine that was just not good, the second bottle was a big monster syrah that wanted to rip off your head and shit a black pudding full of savoury, bloody, meaty goodness down your throat, absolutely glorious and exactly the young full on Alban i was expecting and wanted. OK, a lot of people will find the 12 way young and ive no idea where its going but i can say with certainty that it is has the balls to be a great wine.
So problem solved, not sure why but first bottle was just a bad bottle and faith in Alban style is restored
Alan, I wish you would tell us how you really feel about this wine. 
I love American Rhone varietals (along with Northern/Southern Rhone) and 4 producers make up 15% of my 2000+ bottle cellar in descending order Saxum, SQN, Cayuse and Alban. Each one is unique and special in different ways and worthy of the accolades they receive. Alban may be the desert island wine for me. It is the only one of the 4 whose mailing list I’m not one because of previous issues of getting it shipped to my state so I get them retail/auction when I can find a good price. I just got a bunch of the 2006 Reva at auction for a great price for a 100 point wine.
I have had a lot of the 2002-2006 Reva and in my experience they definitely need a couple years after release. I also do find they mellow at about 12 years after release and they lose that in your face quality which I prefer. I hope the 2006 stays younger longer. What John Alban has brought to us where many others have now followed makes him one of wines all time greats. Time to investigate getting back onto the wine list.
Can someone tell me current release prices?
Reva is $98
The others are i believe $140
Just to complete this story, I contacted John Alban with the results of second bottle tasting and he immediately insisted on replacing the bad bottle no questions asked.
Excellent wine, excellent customer service.
He deserves to be well supported