Tasting Notes 72 found

Burgundian nose. Elegant and refined, but perhaps a bit short on the finish. Tannins have been shed resulting in a refined balanced Pinot with black cherry nuance. Splendid match with salmon tonight, a classic Pacific Northwest pairing (1020 views)

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Burgundian nose. Fully mature but not over the hill, although perhaps a bit short on the finish. Tannins have been shed, resulting in a very balanced Pinot with dark cherry nuance. Splendid with our salmon dinner, a classic Pacific Northwest pairing (925 views)

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Second Sunday Group: 2008 Ken Wright Pinots (Fontina’s Italian Kitchen (MiY)): Double blind. Bouillon; madeirized.

My #8, Domino’s #4
Group #8, 78 pts (1570 views)

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I can’t say it was definitely flawed, and I don’t think it was corked, but the flavor profile was odd and not good. I like old wines, but if these flavors were due to age, I think it’s faded and not great anymore. (1962 views)

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Tasty. Age has nicely added to the integration of dark fruit and tannins. Will give my other bottles another five years. (1726 views)

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Out of a Jereboam, an outstanding Pinot that may have been benefitted being in a 3 L bottle. The wine of the night! (1471 views)

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Developing secondary characteristics. Fruit forward but awkward biter tannic finish was distracting. Front palette dark fruit and mid caramel and hints of herbs. Wish the tannins were more integrated. Nice weight/mouth feel. (2134 views)

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A Ten Year Tasting: Wines of 2008 (Primarily Oregon Pinot Noir & Ringers) - Graciously hosted by Grinner:

Flight One of Five - Wine 5:

Appealing, if modern, fruit forward perfume. Juicy, rounded, and balanced. Not my preferred style of Oregon Pinot Noir, although not lacking for charm. Just lovely. (2142 views)

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The Lyon 10 Year Tasting: 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir (Lyon Den): I MAY have the opposite effect with Carter vineyard, compared to the previous wine. An idiosyncratic love for wines from this vineyard. Loved the balance of deep black cherry, plum, and raspberry notes on a taut frame. This bottle was an exception to the rule: DON'T AGE KW's! 3-5 is good, 7 ok, but younger is FINE! 92 on day 2. (1614 views)

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This is a fantastic wine. Seems to be picking up weight. Very fruity but nicely balanced by a vibrant acidity. A bit tart on the attack but smooths out into a nice long rich finish. Red berry fruit, maybe trending towards cranberry, forest floor, black pepper, tangy, really nice. (1833 views)

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Big. Still young and tannins shortened the finish. Needed a decant but wasn’t that excited enough to do it. Too rich for my taste, but still has good energy and primary notes. (2135 views)

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This is about the 10th bottle of older vintage KW that just didn't last. Too bad. (1574 views)

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Brought for a very nice dinner with the Leons. PnP. Dark ruby in color. Cherry blossoms on the nose. Dark cherries and black raspberries on the palate. Tannin is mostly gone and there is some acidity. Velvety texture . However some Oregon PN structure still remains. Likely to maintain this level for a few more years, but I'm not certain it will actually improve much with further aging. Certainly enjoyable now. (1363 views)

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Nice bing cherry fruit, supple tannins and a silky texture. (1610 views)

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Doesn't smell very good. Cranberries, pie cherries. Smells ripe. On the palate, dried cherries and cranberry, red tea. Structurally still holding well, however the acid is a bit strong. Blind I'd probably call this a 2009 which is weird because it's 13.2% on the label, but still tastes ripe and somewhat alcoholic, or perhaps the acid is making me think it's more alcoholic than it is. Overall, it's ok. Maybe I'm being too critical. This wine was quite good on release and each bottle I've opened has been really underwhelming as I've been aging it. (1668 views)

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In a nice place, smooth and resolved. Nice cherry notes. (1599 views)

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Friends shared this with us when we stopped by on 9/8/17. It had a deep, expressive bouquet of black cherry, baking spice, toast, tea and cola aromas. The palate was rich, layered and dry with flavors of black cherry, baking spice, tea and cola. (1442 views)

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A big-bodied bruiser of a pinot. Dense, ripe black cherry with strong aromas of cinnamon, cola, black tea, and game. Big tannins. Not what I look for in a pinot, but it's a high-quality wine. (1667 views)

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Lasted better than most Ken Wrights this old, but most of the flavor is gone. Once again, too bad. (1710 views)

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The wine has silky red fruit, including raspberry and plum, some green tea, and a medium finish. Good complexity. The wine is in a very nice place right now. (2070 views)

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Seems like it's past its best drinking window. (2034 views)

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Nice earth tones. Great structure. (2056 views)

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Tasted against the2013 vintage. Somewhat uninspiring- not a whole lot of evolution here. I enjoyed the '08 Shea more. Same red cherry fruits and dusty earth, a big warmer around the edges(acids have softened), but the result is not exciting enough. (2344 views)

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Echoing the last few reviews, we were disappointed in this bottle - simple, one-sided red fruits, but not much more. Pretty meh. (2291 views)

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Very disappointing. I would not have picked this as Willamette PN blind. It came off as ponderous, coarse, disjointed, and lacking in complexity. I’m not sure if it was slightly flawed or just in a bad mood. Decanted for an hour, it did not pair well at all with the salmon but did show a little better with the cheeses and additional airtime.
This was the first of three purchased on release and I will try it again a year to see if comes around. (3528 views)

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Seems to lack the complexity I recall from earlier bottles, and acidity overrides the fruit on the palate. A little disappointed... (2470 views)

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The wine had a lovely dark red color and a red violet bouquet. Really nice red silky fruit on the palate and balanced acidity. A really enjoyable Pinot Noir. (2084 views)

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This wine is in a great place right now, this is the last of 6. Fruit forward but not overpowering, simply delicious. (2364 views)

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Something was amiss about this bottle and I'm refraining from placing a numerical score on it.

Defined brick red in color, this wine showed stewed red berry fruits of cranberry and subtle smoke and Asian spices including tamarind. The mouth feel brought fading acidity and more spices. The finish was short and almost completely devoid of fruit.

Drank at the Ryland Inn in Whitehouse, NJ, this bottle, from my boss's wine cellar ($50 corkage fee) was mostly DOA. He assured me the provenance was perfect and the cork showed no staining. However, the fruit was gone and the secondary flavors and aromas were barely existent. Reading other recent CT notes on this show that other bottles have plently of life left. This one did not. (2137 views)

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Singing.

Nose of red berry fruit, earth, perhaps juniper, a little smoke. Medium bodied, slightly dusty tannins still. The fruit resolves toward cranberry perhaps as you drink, very well balanced, acidic but not overly so, very long finish, kind of bright in a way. (1913 views)

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Drank from a .375. What the hell... synthetic/plastic cork still? Aromas are incredibly deep and brooding and I could smell this from feet away once poured. There are notes of charcoal, raspberry, plum, and a bit of spicy alcoholic notes. Smells rich, but perhaps synthetic or superficial smelling? The flavors on the palate are quite bright and red & blue fruited. Very pleasing perfectly ripe strawberries and blueberries. Nothing over ripe. Palate texture is soft with vibrant acidity and very light tannins. Spicy, acidic finish as well, which then lingers to more blue and red fruit. Quite spicy and acidic. Acidified? Perhaps. Based upon some of the notes here I was expecting this to not show very well, but this is actually quite delicious today, and fairly well balanced. Many '08s have been a bit out of balance lately, but this is quite nice. Every sip I take I want to take another sip shortly thereafter due to the drinkability. The tannin profile is actually fairly subdued and fine, so I do believe the window on this may be full open. The acid and fruit vibrancy are holding strong though, so I bet this will continue to go on for some time. Still... plastic cork and all, these won't be left for the long term in my cellar (think 10 years). (2110 views)

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Very well integrated, darker fruit on the palate, mid weight, nice finish, a touch sweet. (2143 views)

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Smoky rhubarb noise. Floral lavender mineral mouth. Vanilla. Tobacco. Strawberry cherry. Still some Tanin tart kick that compliments the body. (2074 views)

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Sweet, deep flavors, red fruits. Note by Jerry & Jacob (2343 views)

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We had this on 10/17/14. It had gorgeous, ripe and expressive bouquet of black cherry, cola, sassafras and baking spice aromas. The palate was beautifully integrated, smooth and balanced with flavors that followed the nose…MUCH better than the 3/15/14 bottle. 91+ (2016 views)

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Good fruit that developed through the second glass. Also became more complex. Weight and mouthfeel typical of Ken Wright Pinot. Just seemed to lack some sense of place--could not taste Willamette soil. (2650 views)

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Purple. Wonderful nose of raspberry and a hint strawberry jam. Had with barbecue at a wedding rehearsal dinner. I really think this is hitting all of the high notes for an Oregon Pinot. Great fruit and concentration. Perfect acidity. (2711 views)

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Well made, muted nose, medium weight , dark ruby Red in color. Red fruit flavors fade rather quickly, seems a bit shut down. 2 hour decant. Not sure if this is indicative of 2008 not drinking well at this stage or if this particular bottle need more time. (2690 views)

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A nose of cherry, earth and spice lead way much of the same on the tart cherry fruited palate which paired quite well with pork chops and felt rounder and richer than when drinking by itself. Good but not great. (2411 views)

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We had this after dinner on 3/15/14. It had a nice, expressive bouquet of black cherry, baking spice and loam. The palate was sharp and tart with flavors of sour cherry, baking spice and mocha. It seems bound up and restrained…not something I expect from a six year old Oregon pinot! (2548 views)

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Light mouth feel, fruit still there but seems to be fading, short finish. I agree with others, disappointing. I have more, so maybe this is going through a shutdown phase, or it is on the downhill.
It is well made, just not what I expect from Ken Wright. (2096 views)

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Light to medium body; same with palate. Seems to be mature, but without anything special to warrant the price. (2402 views)

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Good fruit, but nothing that wowed me. Overpriced (2032 views)

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Well balanced and fully ready, but lacking extra dimensions. Some earth with cherry fruit, but a bit dull. (2299 views)

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I don't know where to go with a score on this still as I feel this is still super tight. There is some great things going on in the nose, a bit of cherry pie and crust, dried fig, mushroom, damp earth. Smells pretty good. Those flavors play out initially, some nice rich fruit and earthy flavors but the structure is still pretty strong on this. I know there is more here but it's a bit over acidic and tannic in the finish. I've got 2 more bottles, I'd give these a lot of time (2-3 years at least?) based on this. I'll re-try this tomorrow, for now I'd place it around 87-88 points. (3464 views)

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Decanted 1 hour. Medium body nice taste. very drinkable & pleasant. Not as impressive as other KW offerings. (3107 views)

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Disappointing big time, this is very light with limited complexity. I decanted it for over an hour and it just didn't evolve much even as it sat for a couple more hours and we continued to hope that it would open up and shine, be er did :(. (4435 views)

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Nose of bing cherry and pomegranate with similar flavor. Medium weight fruit on the palate that still has a youthful ripeness. Acidity is just a bit tart with a touch of well integrated oak on the finish. (4850 views)

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Very nice. Not as earthy as expected. Sour cherry notes. Medium bodied. Clearly not as big as some CA pinots. In a good spot now. (4773 views)

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I'm a huge fan of all of Ken Wright's wine & will continue to be as well!! Out of all of his wines this might be my least favorite! Very closed off to me, flat & no pop at all! Disappointed with this vintage! Decanted for 2+ hours & continued to drop off! I'd like to think that I may have purchased a mishandled bottle... (4280 views)

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Drinking beautifully now. Terrific sour cherry flavors in a medium body. (4554 views)

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Popped about 6 hours before drinking. The cork was plastic. Not decanted. Moderate red-garnet color. Not-subtle oak on the nose with loads of spice, fruit, licorice, and a medicinal component (iodine?). More overt oak on the palate with less fruit than either the Evesham Wood Cuvee J or the Antica Terra that accompanied it. Long, rather tart finish. Nothing special here, especially for the price and in the contecxt of this vintage. (3812 views)

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Barnyard on the nose but with some notes I do not usually associate with pinot such as chocolate and coffee. Oak made its presence known and the tannins are still firm. This wine is quite young but I opened it because of the synthetic which I do not understand for a "serious" wine. (4289 views)

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Bright red color. Strawberry & smokey potpourri aromas. Cherry & oriental spice flavors with a beautiful complex finish (4509 views)

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This is my wife's wine - so I will refrain from a score. However, it does seem to be growing on me and I refuse to believe it is just the '08 vintage magic. I always thought of this as a fruit bomb, but there is certainly a brambly element that balances the wine through to a long finish. Pretty good stuff. (4588 views)

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Tasting room visit- 9/8. Lots of earth and barnyard aromas with fruit notes of fig and plum. Ripe red fruit, mulled spice, sandalwood, and subtle earth notes on the palate. Fine tannins and mineral & fig notes on the finish. Good length. Very nice. (4653 views)

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A solid Pinot Noir, with red fruits. Not a big pinot. Had some vegetal notes. Solid, maybe hoping for more. (4920 views)

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Very nicely balanced, masterful winemaking from a great year in The Willamette Valley. (4852 views)

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Clear violet/purple color; ripe and smooth, pure strawberry flavor; good intensity balanced by ripe acidity. Not bad, but my expectations were higher. (4750 views)

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No notes. Recall this being nice and rounded - an early drinker. Lacked complexity and interest, especially in light of the vintage. (5034 views)

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Nicely balanced nose of red and blue fruits, but more driven by spice and tea notes. Refined palate, finishes dry with fine grained tannins. (4440 views)

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Newish purple and ruby color with fresh aromas of bing cherry, red berries, earth and minerals. Medium body with beautiful acidity that cradles and adds complexity to the fruit core. One outstanding P.N. (5113 views)

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Ruby. Expressive fragrances of cherry, pepper, and wildflowers which is the best part of the wine right now. Far more weight in the mouth than the nose foreshadows with a rich chewy and dense texture that gives the general impresion that another year or two in the bottle would help. Tends more to the smoke, raw meat, pepper side and away from the cherry fruit with time open. Should be interesting to see where all this goes in a couple of years, but a bit heavy handed at present. (5417 views)

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Lots of potential here - typical New World style, but plenty of depth and soft but dense tannins through the bright and abundant fruit. 89 points now, with room to grow over the next 5+ years. (6081 views)

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Definite spicy and herbal notes in this wine. Not as fruit driven or rich as some of his other offerings. Some hints of strawberry and watermelon after whiffs of leaves and herbs. Very interesting for my first 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir. (4229 views)

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Pretty closed -- earthy, meaty aromas at first. Palate showed a bit more fruit. Seemed quite simple but I think it's b/c it just didn't show much. Hold for a year. (6505 views)

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Drank from 375ml. Earth, forest floor and black cherry aromas. Flavors a bit tight with cherry, pomegranate and some oaky tannins. Too young now, but should evolve into a nice wine. (6880 views)

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Extremely young. Tasted from a 375. Dark ruby. Nose of musty raspberry and blackberry. Low acidity and some tartness on the tongue; very tight and somewhat unyielding. Too early to evaluate fairly. (6989 views)

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Tasting at Scott Paul and Tyrus Evan (Carlton, OR): Deep purple-red. Lovely nose of flowers, cranberries and a hint of wood (my wife also noted hay). Firm and fruity on the palate with good acidity and ripe, somewhat drying tannin. Long, tarry finish. Far and away the best of these four KW wines today. (7616 views)

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So young I shouldn't score it, very primary at this point. Super dark in the glass. Very dark berries with bits of fresh leather. Darker fruits again show through on the palate, absolutely delicious. Structured beautifully, this carries superb balance between fruit/tannin/acidity. This is one to age, right now the fruit is primary and tightly wound, there's a lot of it there though, this should be fantastic in a few years. From a half-bottle, 1 hour air. (7493 views)

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Memorial Weekend Wine Tasting (Chehalem Mountains & Carlton, OR): Barrel sample. My favorite of our barrel samples at Ken Wright (again). Tasty cherry and cranberry fruit, leather and earth, even a touch of something floral. This will be one to watch for on release. (9022 views)

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Thanksgiving Wine Tasting (Carlton, OR): Barrel sample. Now THIS wine has potential! Even though it has only been in barrel for a month or so, fruit is already showing nicely, and tannins are prominently appearing on the finish. My favorite of the three barrel samples we tasted by a long shot. Case purchase requirements kept me from buying futures of this wine...No rating. (9179 views)

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