Gregory Dal Piaz's Wines Subscribe to this Feed

Gregory Dal Piaz's Review:

A bit funky with plenty of oak on the nose and a strong top note of peppery roast beef. There's a nice core of gently leafy dark berry fruit lurking under the more assertive elements of the bouquet. This is fairly simple with an aggressive raw quality to it, imparted by the oak. It does have some nice fruit that veers off to the blue end of the spectrum and finishes with notes of violets, blueberries, vanilla and toast. 84pts

Gregory Dal Piaz's Review:

This actually has some ass in the glass with a lovely, initial feral note that is joined by notes of sweet gum, wild raspberry, jasmine, and subtle oak. Really slinky on entry this glides into the mouth with the weight of a feather. It's got lovely cherry pit and black raspberry fruit tones on the palate but with a lovely transparency that allows the wonderful, aromatic forest floor elements of the wine to percolate up in the mouth. The finish is subtle but fairly spicy with good length and fine balance though it does end with a little heat. 91pts

Gregory Dal Piaz's Review:

Quite candied on the nose with notes of milk chocolate, tamarind, and butterscotch. A nice bit of acid on entry adds a counterweight to the rather sweet profile of the candied fruit tones across the palate. No real tannic presence leaves this a wine built on the tension between sweet and acid. The fruit flavors are nice with a complex herbal note adding some contrast to the sweetness but in the end this comes off as a touch candied. 86pts

Gregory Dal Piaz's Review:

Classic nose of cola, coriander, baked red berries, and mocha, spice, oak spice. Citrussy up front with a rich yet transparent feel this offers up very nice sappy and wild red berry fruit tones in a style that is a little hard and taut, in a good way and finishes with a refreshing, transparent, slightly jammy raspberry tone. Still youthful this could use another year in bottle to soften but I like it now for it's strict mouthfeel and fine balance 91pts

Gregory Dal Piaz's Review:

This smells distinctly of bacon fat, earth, violets and cola. It's an intense yet monotone nose. The palate follows suit with a blue fruit edge to the moderately thick and matte palate. The tannins are ripe and add nice volume, countered by the fine acidity but the flavors just don't seem very varietal. It's actually a very nice wine, little almost no sign of it's stated 15.5% alcohol but it's not what I look for in Pinot. 85pts

Gregory Dal Piaz's Review:

Cola, earth, musk, tea and blond tobacco add depth and complexity to the dried strawberry and cherry fruits of the nose. This is velvety, rich and round with the seamless character of the best domestic Pinots. It lacks some of the brightness I prefer but has lovely depth and a layered feel on the palate. It's a soft yet intense with an earthy complexion that makes this on outlier for the style, though it is a wine that has something for just about everyone. 91pts

Gregory Dal Piaz's Review:

Big and dense smelling with sweet balsamic notes, an underlay of baking spice and creamy, slightly medicinal black cherry fruit spread of toast and cedar. This is quite sharp on entry with bags of acid that cuts the glycerin rich mouthfeel down to size giving the whole package a rather light feel that is filled in by tannins on the backend. Rather marked with wood in the minty and cedary range with has sufficient fruit to balance the spicier elements but lacks some freshness to the fruit. 88pts

Gregory Dal Piaz's Review:

Dark tootsie roll, earth and herb scented fruit greets the nose and slowly opens to reveal a tight, menthol inflected core of baked black cherry fruit. On the palate this has a silky, open feel to it with integrated acids and ripe tannin only obvious on the edges. The fruit is fresh and deep with a slight medicinal tone that yields to the fruit on the backend. I rather like this though it is subtle; it is eminently drinkable and has a sneaky low intensity complexity that grabs your interest. The finish is quite strong with a wonderful herbal/stemmy character floating over the candied raspberry fruit. 92pts

Gregory Dal Piaz's Review:

Lightly sweet and smoky with notes of smoked meats, roasted herbs, and minerals framing the dark, roasted fruit. The wood is a bit raw on the nose and gives this a hard, aggressive edge. Nice cherry fruit on the palate with a slight herbal edge adding freshness and complexity. The tannins are a bit coarse and there is that raw woody edge on the short finish but the fruit is fresh with good intensity and the feel is fresh, if somewhat chunky. 86pts

Gregory Dal Piaz's Review:

Sweet and darkly spicy with a candied blackberry tone and a hint of black pepper over slightly weedy and slightly wood sweetened fruit. Quite acidic in the mouth with a small ball of sweet, dark cherry fruit framed by a ton of acid, that leads to a woody finish with astringent tannins and a metallic tone. 83pts