pinot days chicago

I was able to go to the first Pinot Days in chicago. There was so much wine and the crowd was very reasonable. I wasn't able to taste as much as I wanted to as I didn't get there until around 2:15-2:30, so I only had an hour and a half to taste. I also ran into someone and ended up talking to them for a while. Even though I wasn't able to get to anywhere near as much as I wanted, it was still a great event and I'm really looking forward to going again next year

well, if you're gonna try a whole bunch of pinot, you gotta have some burgundy in there too right? This wine was the reason that I got there late with my friends because we were enjoying this wine for almost two hours between the three of us

• 2002 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  nice dark red color
  
  nose: a bit of sweaty sock, barnyard notes, red fruit, and a bit of chalk. It took a bit to open up, but when it did, it really showed it's pedigree. Really nice burgundian nose
  
  taste: really nice elegant mouth. Nice silky mouth with cherry and cranberry. just an utterly gorgeous mouth that screams finesse and elegance
  
  overall: just wonderful, utterly wonderful. Beautiful silky mouth that just explodes with flavor and just makes your mouth happy that you have this wonderful wine in it. It still needs a bit of time, but man, this wine is just amazing

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I really wish I had been able to get to try all of the Caleras. My friends were getting antsy, so I wasn't able to try all 6 of what Calera had to offer. Sadly it looks like I missed out on one of the best Caleras with the 04 Mills, damn

• 2005 Calera Pinot Noir Mount Harlan Cuvée 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Mount Harlan

  nose: nice bright nose. cherry, chocolate, and a hint of plum.
  
  taste: nice smooth mouth with lots of cherry and chocolate
  
  overall: young, but firm. nice mouth integration and a really nice lasting finish. A real quality wine

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• 2004 Calera Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Mount Harlan

  extremely light color
  
  nose: a bit tight. getting a bit of earth and chocolate. nice subtle nose
  
  taste: nice silky mouth. a bit of earth on the mouth with a hint of chocolate. The taste is a bit light though
  
  overall: nice, a bit hollow on the mid pallate, but, this one probably needs a bit more time. Still, it's a very nice wine

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• 2002 Calera Pinot Noir Mills Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Mount Harlan

  nose: very nice subtle nose. very grounded nose with some earth, chocolate, and a bit of cherry.
  
  taste: nice light mouth. real good mid pallate attack with chocolate and a bit of earth notes
  
  overall: real nice and easy drinker. solid, but, it's a bit simple and isn't all that complex. Still a well made wine that is easy to drink

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they have consistently been one of my favorite Pinot producers, and it really showed right here. Small production and great wine. Both of the Mortimers were extremely nice and great to talk to

• 2005 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Rocheux 94 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  real nice purple color on this
  
  nose: whew baby, this is what I love. Real nice earth driven nose with some plumb, mushrooms, and a slight bit of candied cherry. Very beautiful nose that interacts well
  
  taste: beautiful luscious mouth. Just really cotes your palate in splendor. Plum and chocolate just dance about with a slight bit of earth on the back palate
  
  overall: beautiful, just beautiful. So much polish on this one and is just pure delight. It leaves a great lasting finish that you are getting a good 45 seconds later. I think with some age, more secondary notes will emerge and it will be even more special. That said, this is just great right now and is a great wine

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• 2005 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Côte Est 92 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  nose: some dark fruit driven notes. plum, dark cherry, and even a bit of a salmony flavor on the nose. pretty good nose
  
  taste: gorgeous with a nice firm mouth that is like the 04 cote est. A nice plum and chocolate attack on the pallate
  
  overall: beautiful and has some very firm tannins. It's really showing in the vintages of cote est that I've had that this is a wine that is definitely made to age. It still brings a nice lasting finish that is typical of le cadeau wines in general. these wines just constantly leave me happy

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• 2006 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Côte Est 92 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  nose: very powerful nose. Lots of plum, chocolate, and earth driven notes. This was just bottled recently, and shows zero sign of bottle shock. There is just so much power behind this nose, really nice
  
  taste: very firm mouth. Nice earth driven mouth with some plum behind it. That power still exists behind it, but yet, there is still that finesse that you'd expect from a really nice pinot. This really reminds me of some of the really nice 03 burgs that I've had as far as the power behind it goes
  
  overall: this one is a winner. Very young(thank god for the mortimers pouring this at pinot days, :)) and firm on the tannins. This wine has a ton of life ahead of it and is really getting me excited for the 06 oregon pinots that are starting to trickle in. this gets a 92 now, but, this has some serious transformation ahead of it and can easily become a very special wine

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• 2006 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Rocheux 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  nose: very candy driven. More california in style with candied cherry and some plum
  
  taste: completely different mouth feel then the nose. wonderful silk feel on the mouth with cherry and a nice milk chocolate finish
  
  overall: very beautiful wine. very polished and drinking great already. intersting wine that should gain some more complexity with age

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• 2005 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Diversite 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  nice light ruby color
  
  nose: a lot of candy cherry and chocolate with some beets and other roots on the nose
  
  taste: nice silky mouth. plum and milk chocolate just attack your pallate
  
  overall: a really beautiful wine. real nice concentration and a nice lasting finish

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this was all that was left at Dain by the time I got to them. I wish I had been able to have more, but hey, it was fun just being there in the first place

• 2006 Dain Wines Pinot Noir American Beauty Amber Ridge Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  nose: cherry, strawberry, a bit of clove, and abit of mettalic notes
  
  taste: clove, strawberry, and cherry. nice solid mouth
  
  overall: nice mouth feel. Very light taste with a light finish. I just wish that there was a bit more to this wine, it's young, so there most likely is more to ti, but I can only judge at this point

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I really wanted to check them out and was very glad to get a chance to try what they still had out

• 2006 Siduri Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains 92 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains

  very light ruby color
  
  nose: a bit of toasted oak, vanilla, and a hint of coffee and licorice.
  
  taste: real nice rich mouth with dark cherry, coffee, and vanilla
  
  overall: really nice. Extremely long finish and is has a lot of polish to it.

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• 2006 Siduri Pinot Noir Terra Di Promissio Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  nose: big fruit bomb nose. Getting some candied cherry and strawberry with a small bit of spice to it
  
  taste: real sharp on the pallate. The Cherry and strawberry dominate
  
  overall: it's good, but it doesn't do it for me. Not my style at all, but people who are fans of big time cali fruit forward pinot should really like this one

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I was really impressed by this one, and even more so seeing that it's a pinot at around 30. I just hit it up on a whim and it also led me to running into someone I hadn't seen in 7 years and was very glad to see her. That's part of the fun of wine in how it brings people together

• 2005 MacRostie Pinot Noir Carneros 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  nose: nice complex nose with some candied cherry and a bit of citrus fruit. Tart mouth
  
  taste: nice smooth mouth with some cherry, strawberry, and a bit of citrus fruit too.
  
  overall: real nice wine. Firm tannins and very well structured

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What a great event that was put on. I hope that next year I'll be able to try more wines. I'm already planning on heading to the New York event in the summer