2018
That may be an angel’s tear on the label.
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A Patricia Green Cellars Dundee Hills evening for at least the three of us . . . . 
Had one of these from WineBid a year or two ago - stellar then and glad it is still kicking! First year they made the wine under PGC, maybe?
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How’s the 2005 drinking? I have 1 bottle remaining.
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Yes, that’s correct. 2000 is the first vintage of PGC. I have enjoyed a handful of the 2000’s over the last few months, but I can’t recall the 1B. My stash includes the Estate, Balcombe and Eason.
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2000s have been still showing. Color me pleased and surprised. Both the Block 1B and Notorious have shown to be both very good and still with a few years in front of it.
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Cross post
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Dagnabbit Chris!.. After reading your notes on this, I was going to bring one to my sister’s today. Then, you slip in the wait 5 more years on me!
I have 2 of 3 left
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That wine is built for the long haul. It’s 100% whole cluster and it’s quite different than any other bottling that has originated from that site. It’s one of my favorite bottlings from that vintage and I’m usually not pre-disposed to put our Dundee Hill wines into my personal Top-3 (or whatever).
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Dave,
I don’t think you will regret opening it now. It really was super tasty. However, if you only have 2 or 3, I’d save them for when you can sit and really savor them over several hours.
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2023 La Belle Promenade Ghost Barn Block
Is there a more poetic name for a wine anywhere? Sounds like a gothic horror novel in a bottle. This is scented with loads of rosy florals and features an intense stoniness, which continues the gothic theme, then super-friendly fruit - vividly red, rounded, and velvety, pure pinot yum - which I guess ends the gothic theme as the only ghost in this barn in Casper the Friendly Ghost. There is a little bit of CO2 which you don’t necessarily notice at first but it does sharpen things a bit so a light shake or slosh around a wide decanter is recommended.
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We started with this vineyard in 2019 and this was one of 2 blocks we were set up with (there’s a whole Peregrine Falcon thing involved but that’s another story). Grant Coulter, who was the winemaker at Flaneur (who owns the vineyard) at the time, said that the vineyard manager thought this was the best section of the vineyard and that, ultimately, a block designate would be made from there. It wasn’t until 2022 that we figured things out there. The 2023 is a step up.
There is a non-functioning barn at the top of this block and hence the name. However, I’m not sure it ever was a barn. First of all, it’s really small. Second, there aren’t any walls and there’s a staircase that leads straight up to the top where there’s a sitting area on the roof. Yes, it could have all been retrofitted to be an artsy-barn installation but I’m not sure it was ever a place where horses and chickens and supernatural livestock called home. But, it is a good vineyard name.
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2015 Notorious- Popped and poured at cellar temp. Quite dark burgundy color, showing no signs of age. Assertive nose of black cherry, sandalwood and white pepper. Lovely black cherry fruit on the palate, with plenty of structure and great balancing acidity. My sense is this is just starting to enter its drinking window and will pick up some complexity with age. Lovely companion to the Thanksgiving meal.
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The 2014 Berserker Cuvée once again was a lovely Thanksgiving wine.
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Nice. Glad that has done well over the years.
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Love the 2006s. They have really outperformed the nature of the vintage.
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Sadly this bottle not showing well. Stewy and flat. I believe this had some suspect storage in its life or maybe just cork failure. Winebid purchase. Dice roll came up snake eyes on this bottle. Unfortunate. Will revisit it tomorrow.
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Bummer. Yeah, only great bottles, not great wines.
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