wineismylife brought this to dinner this past Wednesday night to Pinot Brasserie, Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas.

wiml told the waiter not to be shy about pouring it into the decanter.  the aromas were powerful red fruit flavors.  It sat there for a while (an hour?) before we all took a sip and by -consensus port-like without being sweet or candied.  The flavors were very intense.  Let it sit there some more.  I looked at my watch at 9:30 pm, 3 hours after opening, and that's when it started to drink very well.  I did not get any heat while drinking this.
Rich dense layers of earth and red fruit with an excellent smooth finish.

A huge thanks to wiml for bringing this.  Given the proper lead time, I would open one of these again.

iirc I believe it spent about 90 minutes in the decanter & glasses before we finally started sipping it (having tasted the C&S SB and Melville first for obvious reasons before finishing with this brute).

Good morning Joe. I should have included the word "brute" in describing this wine.

Big thanks to vinocellar member who was generous enough to sell me 2 bottles at retail price. I would never be able to afford this at the current auction prices. Took to House of Prime Rib in SF with my entire family. Popped and poured. The wine started to show really well after about 30 minutes in the glass. Lots of ripe delicious fruit. Definitely pinot but full bodied and able to handle some prime rib. On the nose, lots of dark cherries and brown sugar. On the palate, pure ripe fruit that masks the 15+% alcohol level. A great CA pinot. Ends with a very long finish that coats the tongue and resembled a eating a cherry pie with a yummy crust. Very nice!

$56, Mailing List

Ditto, 91 points, drink or hold, but like wiml says above no need to hide this bottle in the back of the cellar. WS rated it a 96. A fine pinot, but it will never be a 96.