Thomas Brenner

8.9

On fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, motherfucker.

(Best if enjoyed by intonating in a Samuel L. Jackson fashion) — 8 years ago

Doctor No

9.3

Gorgeous, lifted floral blue fruited wonder. Maybe my favorite Bedrock and that's saying a lot — 9 years ago

Charine Tan

9.0

Backstory: Tasted this at the winery and loved it so much that we bought a bottle to take along with us to Mexico. Chad Melville is the owner and winemaker at Samsara. He's also the chief winegrower at Melville Winery.

Winemaking Process: Single vineyard wine with grapes harvested from the Cargasacchi vineyard, which is in the middle aka sweet spot of Santa Rital Hills. 75% whole cluster fermentation with native yeast. 50% in new French oak barrels for 22 months, followed by 12-month ageing in the bottle. Unfiltered.

Tasting Notes: Colour is ruby red with some clarity, no sediment. On the nose, it has blue fruit, cherry, cassis, cigar, asphalt, lambskin leather and pronounced earthy notes. On the palate, it is medium-bodied with full, mouth-filling texture. Red fruit notes appear first, and then the taste turns into an earthy, allspice notes, and finishes off with something so bright and refreshing that reminds us of orange peel. The tannins are soft. End palate is long, around 10 seconds, marked by minerality and cherry. I love this wine because unlike many Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara, it isn't over extracted and not too sweet (like fruit pastille). There's a fleeting burst of sweet red fruit flavour on the mid palate and the flavour quickly transits to earthy notes and tannins. It's a more earthy Pinot Noir but yet still elegant and ready to be consumed. At $55, I think it's well worth the price. — 9 years ago

Korey Hill

9.2

Deep black/blue fruit. Some oak. Oregano on the back end. Very enjoyable. — 10 years ago

with Kathy

Brian Grech

9.2

The best with Old Bay and hand-picked blue crab — 11 years ago

Mark Freund

9.7

Northern Rhone nose of white pepper, blue fruit, and a bit of Parliament-like funk. Terrific Syrah. — 12 years ago

Grant Simpson

9.2

Unreal quality. Smoke olives, and cured meat mingled w blue fruit and herbs.... high acid. Stupid good! — 8 years ago

Nils Johnson

9.2

Spicy and aromatic. Blue and red fruits fighting for dominance with a firm grip and a more subtle herbal/rosemary background note than I expected. — 9 years ago

with Ryan

Robin Hicks

9.5

And we have a winnah! Though the malty goodness of the Blue Buck was a close second. This is a Pilsner with balls. — 9 years ago

Yianni Stone

9.2

Awesome juicy red fruit, dark tannin, cool blue acidity, noticeable oak vanillin. — 10 years ago

with Haley

AEL

9.0

Outstanding American whisky. Slightly lower alcohol than the norm - better drinkability. A definite buy. — 10 years ago

Doug Pabst

9.3

2012 Sodini. Dark red/blue fruits. Medium to full-bodied with food acid/tannin balance. Nice wine, though I'm not sure it's particularly distinctive. — 11 years ago

Rebecca Firestone

10

From abc wine co - 4th anniv night — 13 years ago

Hannah

9.8

Yummy surprise brought home from my hubby — 9 years ago

Alan Doughty

8.9

2012. Classic Santa Barbara smoky blue fruit. Full bodied and ripe with just enough acidity and tannin to keep it balanced. — 9 years ago

Cody Short

9.5

Co WOTN and drinking beautifully. 2 hr slow ox and it was singing — 9 years ago

with Suzanne and Holli

Dave Wood

9.3

Really wonderful stuff. You always wonder if holding is better when it's this good now??? Great dry black and blue fruits with a smooth tannic grip. There is acidity to keep it balanced. Drank over three days and it lost nothing. 👍👍👍 — 9 years ago

Ryan Mullins

9.0

Blue black fruit, pepper, meat and a texture that feels like heavy cream — 10 years ago

Korey Hill

9.3

Black and blue fruits that don't stop without being a one-dimensional fruit bomb. Delicious — 11 years ago

Daoud Sangwa

Sommelier Whole Foods Market

9.4

I had this with scallops wrapped with smoked bacon that I sautéed in Irish garlic butter with some artisanal bread and salad. Perfect :) — 12 years ago