Winery - Ambullneo
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Fans of delicate Pinot Noir need not apply. This is a big, tough, drily tannic wine, with almost the heft of Syrah. That makes it an oddball, but there’s no denying its deliciousness and complexity. You can criticize it for non-varietalness, but the wealth of cherry and blackberry jam, dark chocolate and rum punch flavors is addictive. It’s a blend of some of the best Pinot vineyards in California, including Bien Nacido, Laetitia and Solomon Hills, which is owned by the family that owns Bien Nacido. Could be an ager, but we know nothing of its history.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Mostly from Bien Nacido Vineyard, this is solidly in the winery’s style, which is huge, fruit-forward, full-bodied wines of vast concentration and deliciousness. There is nothing at all subtle about this Syrah. It overwhelms with blackberry pie, cassis and chocolate-coated cherry candy flavors, with licorice and white pepper overtones, and is also big in tannins, although they’re ripe and sweet. Racy acidity saves the day, and keeps it from being a fruit bomb.
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Ambullneo Syrah - 2004
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Ambullneo’s most expensive Pinot has a statewide appellation, but they pride themselves as masters of blending. This wine, from their portions of vineyards in Solomon Hills, Bien Nacido, Hyde and Hudson, is eloquent. It’s big, rich and flamboyant, almost Rhône-like, with cherry and raspberry pie-filling flavors, and the caramelized new oak that so spicily supports it. Has the volume and upscale complexity to accompany the best dishes, and should improve for five years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Partially barrel-fermented, this Chard is a blend of Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills. It’s a heavyweight, so full-bodied, in fact, that it’s one of the rare California Chardonnays that will benefit from bottle age. It has a candied, English dessert trifle flavor of apricots, peaches, citrons and green apples, baked into a custardy pudding, and the caramelized taste of charred oak. You’ll even find a dusting of tannins. Best after 2007, and for another five to seven years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is one of the larger, more imponderable Pinots I’ve tasted this year, meaning that it has the heft of something from the Rhône, perhaps a Grenache, although it never loses Pinot’s silkiness. It’s tremendous and forward in jammy cherries, raspberries and cola, and while it’s dry, it has the sweet finish of an extremely ripe wine. Enormously complicated, it’s an eccentric Pinot, but one you’ll probably reach for again and again. From the esteemed Hyde and Hudson vineyards.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is the winery’s stainless steel-fermented Chardonnay. It’s a big, ripe, full-throttled wine, and without undergoing malolactic fermentation, it’s also a bit raw in acidity. The flavors are enormous, suggesting baked apples, pineapple marmalade, sweet date tapenade, candied ginger and Asian spices. Could be a sleeper. Try aging it for five to ten years.
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