Lost interest in the wines after the '16 vintage and sold my remaining half case. It’s possible they would have aged into something I enjoyed more, but felt I had seen tasted enough and the amount of sunk money was frustrating. Here’s a summary of my DDLC journey:
Enjoyed the '12 and '14 vintages, in particular, the appellation level wine, the Ste. Rita Hils. This convinced me to subscribe to the mailing list without trying the specific wines on offer.
The '15 vintage of all these single-vineyard wines (Bloom’s Field, Memorious, La Cote) was a disaster for me. Over sweet jolly rancher flavors combined with a lot of steminess that made them taste muddy. Rarely do I have no interest in finishing the bottle.
'16s were much better than '15, but still had some jolly rancher flavor. I liked Memorious (drank both my bottles) better than Bloom’s Field (which wasn’t really ready to drink when I tried it). But not seeing much in the way of flavors I enjoy, sold rest.
Could they have come around? Possibly, but I tend to think if I don’t enjoy the flavors when young or even middle-aged, I’m not going to like them later on. I have liked some Sandhi wines made by Rajat Parr, so possible I just don’t get along with this site.
I have had them since the 2016 vintage and I love them. They take a good amount of time to achieve balance and need cellar age. The more the better in my experience. The 2016 La Cote was singing a few weeks ago with about 2 hour decant. Wine of the night among 5 other well known American pinots. Lots of whole cluster characteristics, especially noticeable when enjoyed young, so something to consider as to whether you will like the style. I think these are fantastic pinots that are really built to age with crunchy high tannins, high acidity and plenty of fruit (though often on the sour red cherry side due to acidity). I have at times found them to be disjointed when served PnP, but that evens out with more air. La Cote in particular has the highest tannin content and age worthiness. Memorious typically can be enjoyed sooner. Bloom’s Field is probably the most aromatic and has been incorrectly guessed as a burg by friends during tastings.
Many years since my visit and tasting of these wines. All had experienced a fair amount of air and were quite compelling. The la cote was a bit wound up and was certainly the most structured of the bunch and also seemed to have the stuffing to age gracefully. Believe I was tasting 15s
First time buyer today. I agree on the shipping. I also don’t like the fact you have to buy a pre-selected pack. I like to build my own. I still bought a 3 pack though.