Popped and poured with no decant. We expected that this might be over the hill. We found that it was soft, very well balanced, and with a long finish. It might be missing the initial punch it had when younger, but a very nice bottle.
Age becomes this as mourning becomes Electra; it is smooth, elegant and has lost the aggressive sweetness, that so often marks the youth of this wine. It is crisp,.clear, no signs of age, and only in the sweet aftertaste do you detect the very ripe fruit; will keep, eaysily. #apinotforAD
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Red cherry and a whiff of cola on the nose and palate. Well balanced, it has decent freshness and structure with good spice and tannic backbone for its level.
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Dark ruby red color. The nose is red fruited with a emphasis on cherry and raspberry. The palate matches the nose. This medium-bodied wine has good acidity but seems heavier than the 2008 Ken Wright Savoya we had earlier. The finish is solid as well. Overall, this was a very enjoyable bottle of wine.
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- Purple color and aromas of violet and has flavours of black currant - Drank with fresh wild Alaskan salmon at our house with Marty and Henry on July 12, 2014. Great sunset over Cabezon and a Super Full Moon.
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- Purple color - Dinner w/Kermite at our house on 5/30/14. Slight butterscotch nose that went away quickly resolving into classic smoke and gun metal after taste.
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Initially on pop and pour, this wine is surprisingly neutral - not giving much aroma especially for a California pinot noir. The palate gives dark cherry fruit and a savory edge; not sure I would've even picked this as pinot noir if tasting blind. The acidity is good and the fruit not overripe, but this just felt a bit dull at first. No presence of TCA, just reminded me of an over-the-hill Bourgogne.
On nights 2 and 3 after refrigeration, this loosened up and showed more typicity, and the juicy acid backbone here provides most of the pleasure, but given that I liked this wine at release, this is perhaps a bit disappointing. Could be an awkward middle stage?
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PnP w/30 min glass time. Clear, deep dark purple/ruby color. Opened up w/time. Proper Pinot nose/taste profile. Good balance/drinking window. Med/body/finish, on the bigger side, not over ripe, red vs. black fruit, somewhat tart. Nothing off, $40.
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Beautiful expression of terroir. Bright ruby color. Nose of red fruits. Palate of red fruit, soft baking spice and oak. Finely integrated tannins on the medium finish. Drinking nicely right now.
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A bit more complex than the 2008. Similar red fruit nose, quite nice. Palate has a little more complexity with red fruit and earth more apparent. Decent finish but still a bit light & watery, especially for the usually more fruit-forward Pinots of Sonoma. At $50ish it's still not a great QPR and is competing with so many solid Cali pinots in that price point.
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Medium garnet color. Very nice nose of fresh raspberries, root beer, and some cedar. Front palate is dry with some light fruit and a woody character, finish is cola with moderate tannins and acidity.
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This bottle has a lot of tar, both on the nose and mid palate. Not anise. The finish is somewhat thin and drops off. I was going to order some more tonight but think I will hold off. Either patz/hall or talley for drinking after work.
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Pinot Noir - Mendocino and Sonoma Counties (The Wine Country, Signal Hill, CA): $47.99. Fragrant, perfumed nose with good amplitude. Palate starts out soft and round but transitions to a very well balanced and elegant mid-palate. Long finish with good depth of fruit. I'd like to see a touch more acidity overall, but this is a very nice wine. Quite expensive for an appellation offering and not a great QPR. My #2 wine of the tasting, but clearly behind the much less expensive Elizabeth Spencer for me.
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Light in color, with a weak aroma at this pricepoint. However, the flavors were well integrated and sparkled on the tongue. The finish was of moderate length.
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Granted it was the fifth bottle of the dinner, but I was pleasantly surprised by this California pinot, definitely a California Pinot with fruit, bigger than the preceding Fourrier, still medium bodied, good balance, good acidity, went down just fine
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Cherries and a hint of vanilla on the nose. Soft on the palate with overtones of cassis, some cola, and slight, well-integrated oak notes . Creamy mouthfeel.
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Nice pinot! Wonderfully soft and easy to drink. Not a bunch of aroma in the glass, but caught a hint of orange peel which was fun to detect. Would have rated higher commensurate with more complexity, but it is a blend.... If you're sensitive to highly acidic wines, try this one. Makes we want to taste all their other pinot offerings.
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A blend of 8 pinot noir clones this one has a great color and a great briar patch nose. My inclination is to smell this one for hours. On the palate this one shows vibrant strawberry, raspberry, and dark black cherry fruit with firm acidity. Bright and big without being over extracted it maintains focus leading to a nice, soft (but tart) lingering finish. I really enjoyed this one and am sad to see the last of it go. Already looking forward to our next encounter…
Wine Geek Notes: 93pts Wine & Spirits; Cellared in 100% French Oak, 34% new, for 9 months.
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Showing a lot of oak right now for me. Sweet dark fruit, hints of cherry. Not especially complex, but not altogether bad. Shows some elegance. If only that oak would soak up...
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Taste at server meeting at S&W. Ripe and plump fruit driven wine. Red flowers, sweet baking spice aromatics. Pleasant mouth feel but not as good as the nose lets on.
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3/21/2021 - diggydan wrote: 92 Points
Ripe and fruity, not too much cola. Not too secondary, either.
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3/13/2021 - schott Likes this wine: 91 Points
Popped and poured with no decant. We expected that this might be over the hill. We found that it was soft, very well balanced, and with a long finish. It might be missing the initial punch it had when younger, but a very nice bottle.
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12/22/2019 - diggydan wrote: 93 Points
Drinking very well tonight - relatively pure Pinot with little in the way of cola.
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5/25/2019 - diggydan wrote: 91 Points
See prior note.
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1/13/2018 - diggydan wrote: 89 Points
Nice earth and cherry nose and black cherry and cola palate. Would have given it a 91 were it not for an oaky, bitter astringency on the finish.
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10/10/2017 - EvanRose Likes this wine: 92 Points
Light and crisp, soft raspberry and red fruit with some floral overtones. Good acid and medium finish
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7/24/2017 - mdipietro wrote: flawed
past its prime...
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10/24/2016 - beatles Likes this wine: 91 Points
Age becomes this as mourning becomes Electra; it is smooth, elegant and has lost the aggressive sweetness, that so often marks the youth of this wine. It is crisp,.clear, no signs of age, and only in the sweet aftertaste do you detect the very ripe fruit; will keep, eaysily. #apinotforAD
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12/25/2014 - Robert Pavlovich wrote:
Red cherry and a whiff of cola on the nose and palate. Well balanced, it has decent freshness and structure with good spice and tannic backbone for its level.
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12/25/2014 - Meerlust wrote: 89 Points
Dark ruby red color. The nose is red fruited with a emphasis on cherry and raspberry. The palate matches the nose. This medium-bodied wine has good acidity but seems heavier than the 2008 Ken Wright Savoya we had earlier. The finish is solid as well. Overall, this was a very enjoyable bottle of wine.
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12/14/2014 - EvanRose Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very light and sweet red cherry, medium finis. Went great with chicken marsala and risotto
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7/13/2014 - rshumard wrote:
- Purple color and aromas of violet and has flavours of black currant - Drank with fresh wild Alaskan salmon at our house with Marty and Henry on July 12, 2014. Great sunset over Cabezon and a Super Full Moon.
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5/31/2014 - rshumard wrote:
- Purple color - Dinner w/Kermite at our house on 5/30/14. Slight butterscotch nose that went away quickly resolving into classic smoke and gun metal after taste.
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4/24/2014 - amateurwino wrote:
Initially on pop and pour, this wine is surprisingly neutral - not giving much aroma especially for a California pinot noir. The palate gives dark cherry fruit and a savory edge; not sure I would've even picked this as pinot noir if tasting blind. The acidity is good and the fruit not overripe, but this just felt a bit dull at first. No presence of TCA, just reminded me of an over-the-hill Bourgogne.
On nights 2 and 3 after refrigeration, this loosened up and showed more typicity, and the juicy acid backbone here provides most of the pleasure, but given that I liked this wine at release, this is perhaps a bit disappointing. Could be an awkward middle stage?
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2/8/2014 - winelover1808 wrote: 91 Points
very nice. nice elegant fruit, hints of fog, nice acidity and finish.
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12/8/2013 - Pluecht wrote: 90 Points
Full bodied, drinking nice
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11/29/2013 - Pluecht wrote: 90 Points
Easy drinking medium bodied Pinot. Crowd favorite.
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5/24/2013 - garyty wrote: 91 Points
Berries forward with an elegant finish. Solid as always.
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4/1/2013 - Barry Notes wrote: 89 Points
PnP w/30 min glass time. Clear, deep dark purple/ruby color. Opened up w/time. Proper Pinot nose/taste profile. Good balance/drinking window. Med/body/finish, on the bigger side, not over ripe, red vs. black fruit, somewhat tart. Nothing off, $40.
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12/31/2012 - Helmut78 wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 30 min prior to pairing with homemade cioppino.
Bright red fruity nose.
Soft and well balanced on the palate with velvety finish.
Very good + Pinot. Ready to drink now.
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12/30/2012 - dsheetz wrote: 87 Points
Good but not great pinot. Tart, not that sophisticated. Too pricey for the quality.
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11/19/2012 - dransford wrote: 91 Points
Very nice. Lovely perfume.
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11/18/2012 - Boxster Guy wrote: 89 Points
Beautiful expression of terroir. Bright ruby color. Nose of red fruits. Palate of red fruit, soft baking spice and oak. Finely integrated tannins on the medium finish. Drinking nicely right now.
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11/1/2012 - EvanRose Likes this wine: 92 Points
Soft on the palate, short finish and slight floral accent. A quality wine
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10/17/2012 - thetong wrote: 89 Points
A bit more complex than the 2008. Similar red fruit nose, quite nice. Palate has a little more complexity with red fruit and earth more apparent. Decent finish but still a bit light & watery, especially for the usually more fruit-forward Pinots of Sonoma. At $50ish it's still not a great QPR and is competing with so many solid Cali pinots in that price point.
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10/7/2012 - Scharin wrote: 92 Points
Medium garnet color. Very nice nose of fresh raspberries, root beer, and some cedar. Front palate is dry with some light fruit and a woody character, finish is cola with moderate tannins and acidity.
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7/3/2012 - taudelt wrote: 93 Points
Earthy notes throughout. Reminiscent of a cab sauv but without tannic finish. Nicely paired with pork and beef entrees.
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6/18/2012 - norsktorsk wrote: 88 Points
This bottle has a lot of tar, both on the nose and mid palate. Not anise. The finish is somewhat thin and drops off. I was going to order some more tonight but think I will hold off. Either patz/hall or talley for drinking after work.
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6/10/2012 - maderay wrote: 92 Points
VG+. Spicy, berries, medium to full-body. Drank with Steve and Aymee at their place with salmon and a ginger-soy sauce.
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5/5/2012 - PIntag wrote: 90 Points
Pinot Noir - Mendocino and Sonoma Counties (The Wine Country, Signal Hill, CA): $47.99. Fragrant, perfumed nose with good amplitude. Palate starts out soft and round but transitions to a very well balanced and elegant mid-palate. Long finish with good depth of fruit. I'd like to see a touch more acidity overall, but this is a very nice wine. Quite expensive for an appellation offering and not a great QPR. My #2 wine of the tasting, but clearly behind the much less expensive Elizabeth Spencer for me.
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3/30/2012 - GoBlue2002 wrote: 89 Points
Light in color, with a weak aroma at this pricepoint. However, the flavors were well integrated and sparkled on the tongue. The finish was of moderate length.
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3/18/2012 - Federsin Likes this wine:
Granted it was the fifth bottle of the dinner, but I was pleasantly surprised by this California pinot, definitely a California Pinot with fruit, bigger than the preceding Fourrier, still medium bodied, good balance, good acidity, went down just fine
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3/15/2012 - anonymoose12345 Likes this wine:
Good Sonoma coast expression of pinot.
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2/12/2012 - theronware wrote: 90 Points
Cherries and a hint of vanilla on the nose. Soft on the palate with overtones of cassis, some cola, and slight, well-integrated oak notes . Creamy mouthfeel.
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12/4/2011 - wineduggery wrote: 93 Points
So underrated. Earth and cola nose. Red fruit, cola, spice, and earth on the palate. Lingering finish. Pricey, but worth the money.
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11/22/2011 - Drmarg wrote: 89 Points
Nice pinot! Wonderfully soft and easy to drink. Not a bunch of aroma in the glass, but caught a hint of orange peel which was fun to detect. Would have rated higher commensurate with more complexity, but it is a blend.... If you're sensitive to highly acidic wines, try this one. Makes we want to taste all their other pinot offerings.
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10/11/2011 - Jason Rzutkiewicz Likes this wine: 91 Points
A blend of 8 pinot noir clones this one has a great color and a great briar patch nose. My inclination is to smell this one for hours. On the palate this one shows vibrant strawberry, raspberry, and dark black cherry fruit with firm acidity. Bright and big without being over extracted it maintains focus leading to a nice, soft (but tart) lingering finish. I really enjoyed this one and am sad to see the last of it go. Already looking forward to our next encounter…
Wine Geek Notes: 93pts Wine & Spirits; Cellared in 100% French Oak, 34% new, for 9 months.
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9/9/2011 - decaturwinedude wrote: 87 Points
Showing a lot of oak right now for me. Sweet dark fruit, hints of cherry. Not especially complex, but not altogether bad. Shows some elegance. If only that oak would soak up...
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8/31/2011 - beezer6 wrote: 89 Points
Taste at server meeting at S&W.
Ripe and plump fruit driven wine.
Red flowers, sweet baking spice aromatics.
Pleasant mouth feel but not as good as the nose lets on.
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6/18/2011 - Brainprusnek wrote: 85 Points
Wine is definitely delicious. Though I feel it is over priced given some other Sonoma coast pinots. Well balanced and great with food.
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4/3/2011 - bethlp wrote: 95 Points
Very nice and not complex pinot nori. Right balance of fruit and tanin
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