Drinking well. Decanted for 6 hours. The alcohol is still coming through. Still has good fruit. — 8 years ago
Great fruit forward wine with great finish. Went great with the venison. — 8 years ago
I used to think there was no such thing as too big, tannic, and hit you over the head of a wine so long as it was well done. Well, this is very well done and excels at what it seems to be aiming for. But at this point in my evolving taste, it’ seems on the knife’s edge of being very enjoyable or too much. It comes close to drinking like 100% petite sirah. — 4 years ago
From the damned vintage comes another good wine. Is this as full-bodied as the 09 or 10? No. Notes on this wine are black cherry, rhubarb, mint on the nose and just about the same on the entry. Gains a floral note in the middle. Finishes with black cherry and white flowers. Rounded character but acidity is quite present. Tannin are a bit sweet, slightly astringent but doesn't really take away from this wine. If anything it adds a bit of mystery. This was a Coravin glass and a half today, with the remainder likely going down tomorrow. I'd say this is probably just about the time to start drinking on these if you have a few. — 7 years ago
One of my last bottles of B&H firewater. This is better integrated than the last, but still not where my palate is today. Super dark and rich, with black fruit and just a touch of heat. Drink up. — 9 years ago
Lovely! Bright and smooth. — 9 years ago
Caramel. Prune. Good age. — 7 years ago

My last bottle of 03 Alder Springs. I still have one bottle of the 02 Fortuna (better). Bottles from the earlier days of Behrens & Hitchcock. They’ve gone from B&H to Erna Schein to Behrens Family Winery. Back in the day when we first acquired these wines, we had to open them the night before, decent and put them back in the bottle overnight and re-decant the next evening in order to drink them as they were monsters with huge alcohol. 13 bottle years later, it’s more complex, rounder but still a big wine. While the alcohol has tamed some, it’s still hot...just not unbearably hot. This wine still has a ton of life in it. The nose still shows alcohol and is starting to take on a dark fruit liqueur/Port style. Blackberries, dark cherries, raisins, prunes, dates & blue fruits. Anise, black cherry licorice, a little eucalyptus/mint, dark chocolate, black tea, layers of baking spices, dark, sweet, rich, turned earth and fresh, dry crushed rocks and decayed dark florals. The body is full, round, lavish and lush. The palate also shows a dark fruit liqueur/Port character. Ripe, blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, stewed plums, raisins, prunes, dates, blue fruits, anise, black cherry licorice, a little eucalyptus/mint, dry sage, medium, dark intensity spice that heats up as it rises off the palate, dark chocolate, black tea, layers of baking spices, chocolate pudding, well used leather, cedar, dark, sweet, rich, turned earth and fresh, dry crushed rocks, decayed dark florals and fading violets. The acidity is nicely rounded, the length, tension, structure may outlive some people 55+. The finish is; big, round, well balanced but just a little hot. After a couple hours in the decanter, it really rounded out and the alcohol decreased quite a bit. Photos top to bottom and left to right; the latest incarnation of the winery, workers in the Alder Springs Vineyard, Owner/Winemaker Les Behrens and their tasting room; which is actually a restored 1947 Westcraft trailer. A quote on Les’s philosophy on winemaking, “We let the vineyards steal the show and the wine speak for itself.” They are also well know for some of the coolest wine labels. One of my favorites was, “The Heavyweight.” — 8 years ago


Dark inky purple color, nice tannins with a soft finish — 9 years ago
Mary H
Solid but standard Napa red blend — 2 months ago