Community Tasting Note

sid_loves_wine Likes this wine:

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 - This wine is just killer, being incredibly elegant, complex, and crazy well-priced around $65. The only other vintage I've tried is the 2018, which I had about a year ago. Although I slightly preferred the 2018 (if I had to choose) I'll rate this 2020 the same on my scale- it wasn't really a worse wine, just a tad different. I'd call the '18 a little "deeper", more complete and more intense, more classically burgundian if you care about that, but also more austere and challenging than the '20, which feels more vivid and immediate, with clearer fruit and maybe a more "elegant" profile overall without sacrificing complexity.

Gentle but very deep and persistent nose with all kinds of harmonious, wonderful Pinot beauty. High-toned notes of slightly musky damp forest floor and bright salty charcuterie are quickly followed by an unending aroma of super pure red cherries, sappy, ripe, but leaving plenty of room for that forest vibe. There's a very, very gentle sense of woodsmoke or some other kind of nutty, meaty umami sitting in the background. The fruit is at center stage, but it's so cool and pure, minerally and perfect. Maybe the nose lacks some of the awesome cedary intensity of the 2018, but this vintage is less "stemmy" outright, making the nose just a little friendlier. What a nose on this, showing totally present, pure fruit and an array of earth, minerals, umami.

As with the 2018, the palate is lacking some of that intense nose detail, but it's so damn good. Acidity is fairly high with bright red cherry and other assorted red berries (cranberry, strawberry), at times a little tart, but mostly super well-integrated. Tannins are perfect, being powdery and ultrafine while still giving enough body for aging (although it won't be as long-lived as the 2018 which was more dense and coarse.) All that foresty, minerally goodness returns on the cool finish. I wasn't really able to detect any oak notes on the nose or palate- it's all about the fruit and terroir.

Might be underrating this a bit, but I maintain that the Liaison cuvee is even better QPR, at least when I found it for $35. Now that it's nearing $50, not as sure. What a great wine.

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