Wine Advocate – October 2015
October 2015, Jeb Dunnuck
2013 COASTVIEW VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 92 points
2013 BALD MOUNTAIN VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 90 points
2013 ALFARO VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 94 points
2013 COASTVIEW VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 93 points
2013 WOODRUFF VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 92 points
2013 COAST GRADE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 91 points
2013 LESTER VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 90+ points
2012 COASTVIEW VINEYARD SYRAH 94 points
2012 ODEON SYRAH/CABERNET 92+ points
2012 RATTLESNAKE ROCK SYRAH 91 points
2012 OLD CORRAL SYRAH 91 points
2013 HOMESTEAD 91 points
2012 GRIZZLY GRENACHE 90+ points
2012 GABILAN MOUNTAINS GSM 90 points
2012 COASTVIEW VINEYARD GRENACHE 90 points
2013 SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS SYRAH 91 points
“I continue to love the wines from Big Basin’s Bradley Brown, the style has shifted towards the fresher, leaner end of the spectrum. They certainly shine for their purity of fruit and tight, focused profiles” – Jeb Dunnuck
2013 COASTVIEW VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 92 points:
“My favorite of the Chardonnays is the 2013 Chardonnay Coastview Vineyard. From a cool site in Monterey County, it gives up crisp orchard fruits, citrus, blossom, white flowers and hints of brioche (it spent 15 months in French oak) to go with a medium-bodied, fresh, classically styled feel on the palate. Energetic, vibrant and almost racy with bright acidity, it was bottled unfined and unfiltered. There’s only 200 cases, but it’s superb and well worth tracking down.”
2013 BALD MOUNTAIN VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 90 points:
“A new wine from Bradley, there’s a tiny 42 cases of the 2013 Chardonnay Bald Mountain. Whole cluster pressed and barrel fermented, and aged 15 months (never racked), it offers a lot of orchard fruits, pineapple, white flowers and honeysuckle in a fruity, forward, yet balanced and refreshing style. It’s another outstanding wine from this estate.”
2013 ALFARO VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 94 points:
“A pretty, elegant and seamless effort, the 2013 Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyard is a rock star Pinot Noir that does everything right. Offering up classic red and black raspberry fruits, crushed flowers, peppery spice and wet rock like minerality, it’s perfectly balanced on the palate, with a lively, ethereal texture, vibrant, yet integrated acidity and a great finish. This is pure class.”
2013 COASTVIEW VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 93 points:
“I loved the fruit in the 2013 Pinot Noir Coastview Vineyard and it’s one of the more textured, layered wines in the lineup. Crushed rocks, rose petals, violets, leather and assorted, perfumed Pinot Noir fruit all emerge from this medium-bodied, balanced, juicy and straight up delicious wine. It shows the leaner, fresher style of the estate, yet has texture. Fermented with 30% whole clusters, give it a year or so and drink bottles through 2023.”
2013 WOODRUFF VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 92 points:
“Another focused, lean, yet incredibly classy effort is the 2013 Pinot Noir Woodruff Vineyard. It offers notes of gunpowder, rose petals, violets and passion fruit to go with medium-bodied depth and richness, integrated acidity and fine tannin on the finish. Fermented with 75% whole clusters and aged 15 months (like all the Pinot Noirs here, never racked, and bottled unfined and unfiltered) in French oak, give it a year or two and drink it through 2023.”
2013 COAST GRADE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 91 points:
“Another new wine, the 2013 Pinot Noir Coast Grade Vineyard has an almost Sta. Rita Hills like savoriness in its toasted spice, dusty soil, dried herbs and sweet cherry fruit profile. Medium-bodied, elegant, and lively on the palate with fine tannin, drink this balanced, savory, complex Pinot over the coming 4-5 years.”
2013 LESTER VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 90+ points:
“The 2013 Pinot Noir Lester Family Vineyard is dominated by its whole cluster inclusion (76%) at the moment, and offers a ton of pepper and herbal notes to go with black cherry, mushroom and sous bois on the nose. Medium-bodied, firm, tight and lean, yet with surprising mid-palate density, it needs a year or so in the cellar and should drink nicely through 2023.”
2012 COASTVIEW VINEYARD SYRAH 94 points:
“One of the stars of the lineup is the 2012 Syrah Coastview Vineyard from Monterey County. Cofermented with 7% Viognier and fermented with 20% whole clusters, it offers gorgeous notes of caramelized dark fruits, plums, olive, licorice and white pepper. Showing the meaty, gamy side to the variety, with full-bodied richness and excellent mid-palate concentration, it still has sensational purity and freshness. It’s already hard to resist but will drink nicely for 6-7 years.”
2012 ODEON 92+ points:
“One of the more age-worthy wines is the 2012 Odeon (Syrah / Cabernet). Made from 60% Syrah and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon that saw 21 months in French oak, it has a lot of graphite and lead pencil notes to go with tobacco, fresh plum and blackberry fruit-like characteristics. Full-bodied, rich, structured and beautifully balanced, it should hit prime time in another 2-3 years, and have 15 years or more of overall longevity. Note, this comes from a mix of the Betchart Vineyard (Cabernet Sauvignon) in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Brosseau Vineyard (Syrah) in the Chalone AVA.”
2012 RATTLESNAKE ROCK SYRAH 91 points:
“Incorporating 2% Viognier, the 2012 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock is pretty and lively, with a lot of black raspberry, cassis, sappy herbs, cracked pepper, violets and mint. Medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated and fresh, it has bright acidity, a silky, finesse-driven personality and a decade of longevity but has lots to love.”
2012 OLD CORRAL SYRAH 91 points:
“A classic Syrah from this estate, the 2012 Syrah Old Corral (there’s 9% Grenache in the blend) offers impressive black raspberry and crème de cassis like fruit to go with lots of graphite, crushed flowers and sweet spice. Elegant, medium-bodied, lightly textured and moderately concentrated but it will dish out plenty of pleasure over the coming 5-6 years.”
2013 HOMESTEAD 91 points:
“A juicy, peppery effort, the 2013 Homestead checks in as 30% Syrah, 26% Carignan, 22% Grenache, 19% Mourvedre and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged 11 months in barrel and bottled unfined and unfiltered, it offers medium-bodied, rounded, lively notes of licorice, violets, plum and purple fruits, with the Carignan front and center at the moment. It has some oak to be integrated, so hold bottles another 6-12 months.”
2013 GRIZZLY 90 points:
“A 240 case blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Syrah, the 2012 Grizzly offers a tight, fresh bouquet of Bing cherry, raspberry, watermelon, flowers and peppery herbs. This gives way to medium-bodied, fresh, lively wine that has bright acidity and a clean, classy finish. There’s a suppleness to the texture that keeps it thoroughly enjoyable.”
2013 GABILAN MOUNTAINS GSM 90 points:
“One of the more full-bodied wines in the portfolio, the 2012 GSM Gabilan Mountains checks in as 46% Grenache, 39% Syrah and 15% Mourvedre that spent 20 months in oak. It offers a ton of black fruits, plums, peppery spice and road tar to go with a concentrated, rich, textured, if not decadent style on the palate. Give it a year or two in the cellar.”
2012 COASTVIEW VINEYARD GRENACHE 90 points:
“Slightly closed aromatically, the 2012 Grenache Coastview Vineyard reluctantly gave up pretty kirsch, black raspberry, flowers and herbal notes to go with a medium-bodied, rounded, elegant style on the palate. Incorporating 6% Syrah and aged 21 months in French oak, it’s made in a seamless, juicy style that will drink well for 5-6 years.”
2013 SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS SYRAH 91 points:
“There’s 335 cases of the beautiful 2013 Syrah Santa Cruz Mountains. Floral, perfumed, and complex with a lot of incense, violets, blueberry and pepper, it’s medium to full-bodied, light on its feel and ready to go. Despite the upfront nature, I suspect it will evolve nicely on its balance. The blend here is 91% Syrah, 5% Grenache and 4% Viognier; it saw 38% whole clusters and 11 months in French oak.”