December 12, 2011 - Meh. The elements of something good are there, but this wine is just sort of messy at this point. The tannins are just a bit too strong. There's just a bit too much oak. Not much fruit at all, though I detected some raspberry. A bit too much bramble. And none of it is integrated. I just didn't enjoy this.
January 24, 2010 - Great dark color in the glass, with a nice nose of strawberry and cherry, with subtle hints of spice and anise. Some swirling in the glass shows some blueberry tones, with a faint hint of blackberry. A bit of menthol rounds out the nose. On the palate, as expected, this isn't your typical fruit forward California pinot noir, although, for Oregon, I think that this is showing more fruit on the palate than most, but I think that is from the time it has spent in the bottle, and the maturity that this wine now has. A nice medium acidity round out the mid palate, with hints of oak and spice, creating nice vanilla tones. The tannin is this wine is showing just a tad, and adds a really nice element. The pleasant finish lingers on for abut 25 seconds making this wine yet another Oregon winner. This paired well with Zelda's mustard chicken tonight, a Colt's win, and hopefully what turns into a Viking's win as they just tied it up at 21 in the 3rd. All in all, another great Antica Terra offering, even pre-Maggie, and worthy of 92 points. It's been a great weekend for pinot! Cheers!
September 1, 2009 - Drank this at St. Regis with dinner after a cancelled Shafer wine dinner. Maggie Harrison is now the Antica Terra winemaker, but this actually precedes the change in ownership. I've not seen it around before. Big, bold, dark Oregon pinot. Dark berries, chocolate, charcoal smoke, sweet oak, bit of peat moss, some herbs and spices. Very nicely layered with high and low tones. Medium, supple body with steady interest from attack to finish. Dark, chewy fruit, but not candied, and with integrated tannins. Haven't had the newer versions, but there's clearly some good terroir to work with here. Drops off a bit after maybe 75 minutes, but otherwise drinking mighty fine right now.
May 19, 2009 - This guy is peaking and it's drinking VERY well. This is Oregon. This is why Oregon Pinot is world class.
December 20, 2008 - Not nearly as tasty as the last bottle, but still a nice Oregon with a few years on it....
September 19, 2008 - Classic Oregon pinot, very Burgundy-esq, not fruit forward like the Cali's. Absolutely delicious! Looking very forward to the 2006 with Maggie Harrison at the helm! This vineyard is obviously producing great fruit, so it will be really nice tos ee what Maggie can do with the '06 and '07's. From what I heard, the '05 fruit was declassified and sold off and used for something else. Good things to come in 2006 with the re-working/pruning of the vineyard! Great things to come I think!
June 5, 2008 - outstanding wine with a deep fruit taste laced with black licorice. incredibly deep for a Willamette pinot with strong tannins.
April 28, 2007 - Lovely smooth entry to the taste, but halfway thru it gets pretty astringent and a lot of acid, even for me. Overcompensates for the soft and silky entry. The nose is a beautiful super-grapey wiff. After 20 minutes the astringency moderated a bit so perhaps this will balance better after being open for a while. I don't know how this viinified, but I would bet some new oak involved given the nose and initial flavors. Even so (since I see too much bad stuff done with new oak barrels) it is overall a pleasurable drink.
May 8, 2006 - One of the best Oregon pinots I've had. Smooth and silky as the other side of the pillow. Rich nose, soft and silky going down with a little acidity and just enough tannin to give it some backbone. Elegant.