2010 Pandora Alban Estate

John and Lorraine Alban's winery is stripped down to the barest essentials. There is no fancy tasting room, just a makeshift table and a couple of chairs in the middle of fermentation tanks and barrels. Offers still go out to the mailing list via snail mail. It's great to know all of the emphasis is where it matters - the vineyards and wines. The 2010 Pandora and Reva are the highlights in this range of show stopping wines. John and Lorraine Alban are always among the last to bottle, so these are the current releases. The last few years have not been easy here. Vintage 2010 was quite challenging. Poor weather in spring and summer, especially during flowering, created widespread shatter and punishingly low yields, especially for Grenache. In 2010, Alban did not bottle their straight Grenache at all. In 2011, Alban saw the coldest vintage on record. I did not have a chance to taste the 2012 or 2013 reds from barrel, but they should mark a return to a greater sense of normalcy. As always, the Alban wines are built on textural depth, although the style has evolved quite a bit since I started tasting them 20 years ago. Today's Alban wines are as rich and hedonistic as they have always been, but they are also not quite as heavy or overpowering as they used to be. Most importantly though, Alban has succeeded in creating a deeply personal, unique signature that is unlike anything else.