Chilly,

Would love to hear your impressions and purchase decisions....

Will do.

i will be up there coming sat

I thought there would a connection between the two since one's purchases on the regular list are used to gain access to the reserve list.  I've got a lot a pride building up in my collection so I may only be in for a few anyway.

-2007 Viognier - Really enjoyed this.
2006(?) Vintners Select Chardonnay - Big rich buttery Chard.
2005 Merlot - Their best since the 2001/2002 - Starting to integrate nicely, but could definitely use a couple more years in the bottle
-2006 Merlot - The wood was dominating this one today. Has the fruit there, so I think this will be a winner.
-2006 Cabernet Franc - I think this is 77% Franc 12% Merlot and 11% Cab Sauv - Rich lush wine, with the oak still showing it's face. I think this will be a knock out in a few years.
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon - Blended with 8% Petite Verdot which usually goes into the Reserve and Claret. Cherry, mocha, hints of earth and pomegranate. Another winner.

They were not pouring the Syrah, so we didn't get a chance to try it. From the current releases, I think they are all good wines and would not hesitate to pick a couple up. If you want more details let me know.

Ricky, what were your impressions? I would put the 2005 Cab Sauv as close to the KL we had on Sunday. I think the KL is more integrated at this point, but the Pride definitely has the potential.

Thanks Chilly.... I've been waiting for the CC to roll to next month... I've always liked the Merlot and CF... no reason to stop now I suppose

Ricky,

Sounds like I should have gone tasting with you guys. We went up on Monday afternoon and tasted in the main tasting room with Mike Campbell.

I agree on the KL being a step ahead of the Pride. I need to be sure to pick some up. I ended up picking up a few of the 2005 Cab and Merlot and some of the 2006 Cab Franc. We also picked up the desert wine.

Jeff

I was at Pride last Friday. Here are my notes:

2007 Viognier - Killer nose (apricots, peaches), great in the mouth, 92 points easily. My wife and my dad also loved this white.
2006 Vintner's Chard - Nice. Good concentration. Not very complex. 88.
2006 Cabernet Franc - Great nose with nice notes of herbs, fruit, and oak. Tasty, with hints of brown sugar. Wish they had been selling this! Love this wine every year and this vintage is a winner. 92+ (but note that we tried the end of a bottle from the previous day and were lucky for the chance as this wine wasn't even on the tasting list).
2005 Merlot - Nose seemed somewhat muted, palate quickly confirmed. Hard to say where this is but I would think that it should turn out nice with another year in bottle. 90 (?).
2006 Merlot - Much more open for business, super young with great fruit and lots of oak. Better concentration than the '05. Will be a winner with some time in bottle. 91+.
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon - Black and red fruits initially dominate the nose and palate. As always, well oaked. More complexity developed as my pour received some air. Another great Cab from Pride. 92.

And a special taste:

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon - This was literally in blending process. Due to good fortune and perhaps my ability to sound like I'm actually informed we were able to receive one full glass from our very generous host, who told us to drink the 2005 Cab slowly while he ran in back...

Anyway, the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon blend we were able to taste was composed of 4 lots. The final blend will contain up to 11. As for the sample, it was simply delicious, easily the best wine of the tasting! Although obviously a baby, the waves of delicious fruit, oak, spice, and other nuances were something to behold. If the final blend tastes anything like this we all in for the best regular Pride Cab since the 2001 or 2002. I actually tried to my best to see if they would bottle this for me without label at whatever price they wanted...to no avail. I would have rated the blend sample at a 93-95 range. I will most certainly be purchasing a few when the blend is complete and available for purchase.

To end, this was not only my first time visiting Pride but also my first to Napa as well. Great place to start and man, what awesome scenery...have to get back for a picnic!

Vine -- glad you enjoyed Pride. They have great scenery, and picnics there are awesome. In the winter they actually do hay rides, where you are pulled around by a team of horses. A really fun place to visit, and some really good juice.

Thanks for the notes Vine.  I've slowed down on my pride purchases in recent years, but picked up some Franc as a result of your notes.  Incidentally, I've always asked to have ground-shipped to Colorado and they haven't been willing to do so in prior years, but they accommodated my request this year.  Had to phone it in as there's no ground-ship option online for my state, and have it billed and shipped separately from the winery rather than their fulfillment location.  I believe it was Chris who finally agreed to do this.

Went to the winery today to pick up my order, very briefly tasted

06 Merlot -- I really liked it, was juicy, tannic, and very Pride
05 Cab Franc -- a bit vegetal, dusty tannins
05 Cab Sauv -- looks to be a real winner, immense tannins and extract

but the real reason I wanted to post was because the lady there let me buy 2 x 2005 Cab Reserves (RP 96-98) because I've been on the reserve waiting list so long and haven't been offered any yet

Nice score!