Pinot Noir

Consumed over two days, this was better on day 2.  Momtazi is an interesting vineyard with a bit different profile than most Oregon Pinot Noir vineyards.  It seems to produce bigger wines with a few different qualities such as coffee, char and dry forest floor when young.  Ruby/Purple in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has black cherries, plums, coffee beans and char.  On day 2, more red fruit cam out along with a bit of forest floor - dry leaves.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  Good balance.  The palate has black cherry flavors.  On day 2 there were also some red cherries and a

Great showing for this.  At age 15, it is still youthful but showing some tertiary development.  For Burgundy, this is on the bigger, more powerful side.  deep ruby in color with some purple swirls, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is great with black cherries, cherries, spices, and slight earthiness.  Full bodied.  Light but present tannins.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is delicious with cherries, black cherries and spice.  Long finish.  Showing depth and complexity that will no doubt emerge over the next decade or more.  Great on its own, this would be very nice with a plate of

Burgundy is not the "mine field" it used to be but back when this wine was released, every bottle and most producers seemed like a crap shoot.  Opening this bottle certainly had me concerned, but I need not have been.  It showed very well and at least equaled my highest hopes.  Better than a very good bottle opened about six months ago.

Calera is unique in that it is not in the typical Pinot Noir growing regions in California – it is unto itself. Therefore, the wines coming from here offer a unique perspective. The acidity and minerality along with earthy volcanic soil and higher elevation growing makes these interesting wines. The Jensen Vineyard Pinot offers black cherry, strawberry, lingonberry, light huckleberry and blueberry fruit notes. Additionally there are light notes of pomegranate, sandalwood, Douglas fir, candied almond and Rainer cherry.

As the name suggests, this Pinot grows at an average elevation of 1,300 feet, a scant 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean. There’s a wonderful rustic quality to this, given that the Santa Cruz Mountain are comprised of ancient soils. The fruit is restrained, more earthy and mineral driven, just the sort of style that works well with a variety of different foods. Yes, there is black cherry, pomegranate, huckleberry, but also a light dried raisin note. There as also great acidity, a whisper of candied almond, sandalwood, resin and boysenberry.

The allure of Kosta Browne wines has been that, though they are very expressive wines, they are subtle. Shunning the in-your-face-Pinot-with-a-dash-of-Syrah, these wines are meant to reflect the place where they are grown, and the proof of this is that they taste like it. To further this point I received five Pinot Noirs to sample and opened one blind and tasted it. My first thought this was Sonoma Coast, and after looking at the label, it was.

With vineyards in both Santa Cruz and Mendocino counties, Rhys can pull from a variety of sources to make a variety of Pinot Noir. With Bearwallow, their vineyard in the Anderson Valley, there is a delicate and quite lovely feel to this – something as smooth as silk. The softness texturally belies its layered complexity. Yes there is the requisite black cherry, boysenberry, loganberry and light strawberry, but there is also black tea leaf, light resin and sandalwood.

As Pinot Noir goes, this is quite simply a very pretty wine. Sure, that’s not the sort of descriptor that most reviews use, but it is accurate. Subtle, soft, almost subversive, this is a Pinot that doesn’t announce itself, it doesn’t brag, it simply waits in the glass for you to try it. There is noticeable but subdued fruit; black cherry, pomegranate, Rainer cherry, light strawberry, pomegranate but they are wonderfully melded together so that nothing stands out – except for the quality of the wine in your glass at that moment.

As temperatures rise, the Finger Lakes is positioned well to make very good Pinot Noir's on a more consistent basis.  The biggest challenge is having to deal with late spring frosts and early autumn hail.  This one is good if not great.  From what I have been told, this  was a cool, wet vintage in the Finger Lakes.  Light ruby in color, clear and bright.  It looks to already have some bricking.  The nose has cherries and a curious dandelion note.  Light to medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, a bit of cherry fruit with a fresh plantlike green streak.  It would undoubtedly work bet

This is the flagship wine, 100% Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.    Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and night.  The  nose is dusty with black cherries.  Light tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, black cherries and cherries with a musky quality that is interesting.  Good finish.  This is an earthy, musky Pinot that Burgundy lovers might really enjoy.  It is nice on its own but would be better with food.  It would work well with some soft, stinky cheese.  Drink over the next ten years.