Pinot Noir

Very pale ruby in color.  Some Rose's are deeper in color.  Of course, with Pinot Noir, that is not really an indication of much about the wine.  The nose is dusty with cherries.  Some underlying earthiness.  Deep.  On the palate, this is already showing a nice complexity.  Soft texture.  Layers of cherries, bitter cherries and earth.  Balanced but not strong acidity.  Good finish.  This is very food friendly and should go with a wide variety of foods.  It seems of its place, that is to say, California with sunshine and fruit but it is made in a more earthy style.  It will be interesting to

Deep Ruby/Purple in color.  The nose has sour cherries and spice.  On the palate, this has big fruit; mostly sour cherries, some cherries.  Good balance.  Long finish.  This is a big, fruit forward style of Pinot that will work very well on its own.  It is delicious.  It will work with some bigger foods as well.  Promises to be a crowd pleaser.  

Really drinking in a nice place right now.  Very elegant and refined IMO, at least compared to other vintages.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is very nice with macerated cherries, spice and slight fresh cherries.  On the palate, this is not a big wine.  Cherries and cherry juice with layers of damp forest floor.  Good balance.  Delicious too.  Nice finish.  Very food friendly for a wide range of foods.  Very nice today.  It might not get better but no hurry.  

Purple in color.  The nose is great with black cherries, slight cola and a bit of roasted herbs.  On the palate, this has a great texture.  Black cherry fruit.  Very clean.  Still not yet at maturity, it may still have some upside.  Good balance with nice acidity.  Would work great with steakfish or fowl.  Rhys started commercially in 2004 and there wines have gotten better over time, but even the earlier ones seem to age quite well.  

Light ruby in color.  The nose has cherries, slight dust and slight funk.  On the palate, this is open and drinking nicely.  Some depth.  Cherries with slight minerality.  This might have a bit of upside with good cellaring but won't make old bones.  That's fine as it will make enjoyable drinking over the next 7 to 10 years.  

Purchased on release, this is holding up and in fact, drinking quite well at age 15.  It did need about 20 minutes to shed some bottle stink though.  Purple in color.  The nose has nice cherries, slight sour cherries, and some barnyard funk.  There is some Brett on the nose and palate showing as barnyard and slight band-aid.  On the palate, drying tannins.  Slightly sweet cherries.  And a bit of barnyard  comes through.  This is not drinking old, but probably never was a top level Pinot Noir.  Still, it has a nice complexity right now and seems in balance.  Would work well with fowl.  There

Light ruby in color.  The nose is sweaty with cherries and slight earth.  On the palate, this has macerated cherries.  A bit harsh but ok.  A mild bit of depth.  THis is a fine wine to serve for large parties.  It retails for $15 and is varietally correct.  Not a big wine, but not delicate either.  

Ruby/purple in color.  Cloudy.  The nose is sweaty socks.  Perhaps some macerated cherries.  On the palate, this is very soft.  Very sour cherries with some dank earthiness.  It is a style of Pinot that I like but this seems either mishandled or way past prime at this young age.  Not sure if this bottle was representative  It reminds me of some of the unclean Burgundies that were more prevalent 25 years ago.  That is not to say undrinkable or even bad, as this wine is certainly offering some nice and interesting notes, but more to say, what this might have been (or a pristine bottle is).

Very pale pink in color.  The nose is clean but lacking much fruit.  Very light cherries on the palate.  Light bodied.  This is probably well past its time as the fruit seems to have dropped out.  It would be good to try the 2017 for a comparison.