This one was OUTSTANDING. Last bottle must have had a minor flaw. Rebecca was looking for something special so she picked this. Great balance, explosive red fruit and smooth white pepper to match. Acidity was good and the wine was not flabby. Tertiary meaty flavors perhaps from resolved toasted oak. I really wish the proprietors were not such PITAs. They drove me nuts screwing up my mailing list mailings and kept blaming me so I gave up and stopped buying a decade ago, I wish I had a decade more of these because the wines are wonderful. (94 pts.)
Alban “customer service” is an oxymoron. I guess they’ve cleaned it up, but it was horrible ten years ago. Doesn’t do me any good, I got the boot for complaining. I still buy the wines when I see them at retail.
Let’s just say that they blamed me for their own e-commerce ineptness and then when they put me back on their list after I did not buy an offer I did not get, they sent me a post card or a letter with an order deadline that expired before I got the letter, and when I contacted them about that, I got an obnoxious response which was a marginally more cordial version of “tough shit.” My thought was, “It’s your wine, you can sell it however you want, but it’s my money, and I can spend it however I want.” I stopped trying to convince them to let me buy their wine and I have spent a lot of money elsewhere over the intervening 10 years on other wines I also like. I bought a few Alban bottles at auction since then.
I have had no problems with their customer service and I do love how these wines age. Have not had the 05 in a while but happy to hear that it is still drinking nicely.
We opened a 2012 Reva a few nights ago. Big, rich, thick, ferric, raisins, prunes. Elegant isn’t a word I’d use to describe it. Unctuous, decadent and a bit brutish yet still tasty in its own right.
We had the 08 Reva and 09 Grenache per the weekend and these are descriptors I would use for them, as well, Kyle. I even decanted for 8 hrs prior to serving. While I appreciate the style is something many might like, I just don’t think its for me.
Just like with a SQN, one should have no expectations of anything other than big rich and unctuous when opening an Alban red (or even how whites). It’s the way the wines have always been made and will continue to be. To me, the syrahs still have plenty of complexity and are enjoyable every now and then.
I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy his estate Roussannes, especially with age on them. Stunning examples of the variety.
I am amazed that John is able to get both power and elegance in his roussanne. I always enjoy drinking this variety closer to room temperature and I’m amazed that he can make a 16% alcohol version that shows off the best qualities of the grape without being hot at all. Amazing.
I have not enjoyed many older Stolpmans but we’ll have to change that in the near year. I have enjoyed older Tablas Creek’s as well as Copains from the James Berry Vyd - both worth seeking out.
not sure where the PITA would come from today, but fortunately you can buy 10 years of Alban secondarily