Pinot Noir

Nice to revisit this again.  It has done nicely in the last couple of years.  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  The nose has black cherries and sour cherries with a bit of earthiness.  Wonderful texture.  On the palate, lots of cherries and black cherries and some sour cherries.  This still has a bit more maturing until peak.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.  Nice on its own, this would work well with roasted chicken.  

At or near peak and drinking well.  Garnet in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, slight funk. slight black cherries and spice.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, bold cherry and some black cherry fruit.  Slight forest floor and mushroom underneath.  Nice energy and balance.  Good finish.  This should drink well for another ten to twelve years.  Great on its own, this would work well with salmon or a mushroom dish.  

Purple/ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is dusty with some cedar and alcohol.  Just a hint of cherries.  On the palate, just a touch of cherry cough drops.  Firm tannins.  Shorter finish.  Certainly drinkable if at a wedding but this seems past prime.  Drink now.  Better on its own than with food.  

At age 10, this is drinking great.  Deep ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, slight sour cherries, and spice.  Medium bodied.  This seems to be closing in on maturity.  Nice cherry fruit with a bit of underlying earth and slight char.  Nice acidity.  Long finish.  There is a nice complexity to this wine but it is also delicious.  It is nice on its own but even better with food.  Salmon would be a nice choice.  

This is made from 100% organically grown Pinot Noir grapes from the foothills of the Andes (4,000 feet) in Argentina.  13.1% ABV.  Very attractive packaging.  Salmon copper in color, very light, clear and bright.  The nose is nice, clean with strawberries and watermelons.  Medium bodied, slightly viscous and slightly tart on the palate.  Refreshing.  The nose has cherries and rhubarb with a nice minerality.  This is a reasonably serious Rosé with some depth.  There is some noticeable alcohol/warmth on the moderate finish.  It took about 30 minutes to open and then drank well on it own.  Thi

From the idiosyncratic wine maker John Thomas.  While 2008 is considered a great vintage in the Willamette Valley, it was ripe and not really up John's wheelhouse, yet, he adapted and made a wine consistent with his style and taking what the vintage offered.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, slight Kirsch and just a hint of spice.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, big cherry fruit with underlying spice.  13.5% abv.  There are also firm tannins, not something you get much with Pinot Noir.  It was be interesting to let the tannins resolve and there is pl

There is a lot of controversy about this American producer.  I won't go into the here except to say, all the wines I personally purchased and opened so far have been at or above expectations.  Pop and pour.  Light ruby in color, slightly hazy which is not uncommon in Burgundies.  The nose is very nice.  Earthy with slight mushrooms, cherries, slight cranberry notes and just a bit of funk.  Medium bodied with tart acidity (in a good way).  On the palate, nice cherry fruit with underlying earthiness and slight mushrooms.  Still on the youthful side of full maturity.  That said at age eleven,

At age 19, this is doing just fine with no signs of being past prime.  The vineyard has since been bought and is now part of the Burgundy producer's Louis Jadot winery in Oregon.  Darker ruby in color, mostly opaque and looking a bit flat at this point.  On the nose, there are cherries, black cherries and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this has nice cherry fruit with some underlying dry forest floor.  Long finish.  It has a nice depth and complexity.  At this age, all bottles are different (it uses a natural cork), but well stored bottles should last another decade.  It drin

This is a Pinot Noir from the new Orin Swift Cellars.  Like many of his wines, there will be a subsection of people who won't like it because it is too big and too ripe.  Those people will also dismiss those who do like it as being "the masses".  The thing is, "the masses" are not buying $50 Pinot Noir's.  It is a matter of style and preference.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, baking spices, slight chocolate and figs.  Full bodied.  On the nose, this has raspberries, slight confectionary sugar notes, a hint of black pepper with some cherries on the finish.