Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2013 Pandora Grenache displays a tantalizing perfume of cherry pie, raspberry preserves, rose hip tea, potpourri and cinnamon stick with hints of white pepper, lavender, black olives and underbrush. Full-bodied and laden with red and black fruit coulis and baking spice layers, it has a firm, appealing chew to the texture and wonderfully savory layers coming through on the long finish.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
(raised in new 300-liter French oak barrels) Brilliant violet. Deep-pitched cherry and red berry liqueur aromas are complicated by suggestions of exotic Indian spices, minerals and floral oils, accompanied by cola and mocha notes that build in the background. Fleshy and alluringly sweet, offering deeply concentrated black raspberry and boysenberry flavors that are sharpened and given lift by a core of juicy acidity. Finishes alluringly sweet, minerally and extremely long; smooth tannins arrive late to add shape and gentle grip.
Similar to the classic Grenache, yet with even more polish and finesse on the palate, the 2013 Pandora is another monumental effort. Lavender, cassis, black cherry liqueur, flowers and toasted spice emerge from this huge, ethereally textured, sensationally rich Grenache that's every bit as good as the perfect 2012. It needs 2-3 years of cellaring to show at its best, and will have 20 years of overall longevity. If I had to come up with a list of the greatest wine estates in the world, Alban Vineyards would certainly be in there. Readers need to understand that this estate is an anomaly, lying at the very end of the Edna Valley, and the only estate in 50+ miles making wines of this quality. Vintages here marginally track the larger Central Coast theme, yet not always. These are singular wines. John commented that he thinks 2015 is a step down over 2012, 2013 and 2014, but that it’s better than 2011. I only tasted his whites, but like everyone else in 2015, his yields were decimated, so there’s very little of these to go around. I'll report on the reds from barrel next year. His 2014s are all terrific as well, with full-bodied, ripe, classic Alban Styles. Where this estate doesn’t track with the rest of the Central Coast is with his 2013s and 2012s; in general, the 2012s are the sexier, more open-knit wines, and the 2013s more concentrated and structured. In John’s case, the vintages are reversed, with the 2012s showing more structure and the 2013s just packed with sweet fruit. As I’ve written in the past, for the life of me, I can’t understand why no one else in the Edna Valley tries to make wine anywhere close to this level of quality.
Opaque ruby. Smoke- and spice-accented red and blue fruits, cola, incense and potpourri on the deeply perfumed nose. Plush, seamless and expansive on the palate, offering concentrated but lively raspberry, boysenberry and fruitcake flavors and a repeating floral quality. Decidedly rich but graceful as well, showing surprising nerviness and cut thanks to a spine of juicy acidity. Displays fabulous energy and focus on the persistent, fruit-driven finish, which is framed and firmed by silky, slow-building tannins.