Pulled out at random to accompany a mushroom risotto, a task for which it was reasonably well suited. Consistent with my previous notes, although it's perfectly adequate this particular bottling is just not one of my favorites - partly due to vintage conditions and partly I think to stylistic winemaker choices. Cameron is usually my favorite OR pinot but the Reserve cuvees always seem less distinctive.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
It's been a while since we tried one of these. Still not really doing it for me, but the added time has improved the wine somewhat - nicely balanced darkish fruit coupled with some mushroomy notes. Despite over a decade sideways, there's not much sign of age in this bottle, so I'm going to leave my remaining bottles to see what a few more years does for them. I've never enjoyed Cameron's Reserve wines as much as his other bottlings - they seem more generic, tailored to a broader audience. This is a perfectly good wine, but for me it lacks the funky soul of some of John Paul's other wines.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted two hours, though first taste right at open was pretty stellar. Great nose, it's woodsy with dark berries and a subtle spice that shows up again through the finish. Lots of rich berry fruit to start - black cherry, blackcap raspberry - before winding through notes of mushrooms, English breakfast tea, orange zest and a lingering black pepper spice. Great structure, lots of acid - this still has some time left.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dinner party where one bottle lead to the next, so we didn't give this much time but it didn't really matter - it's bright and fresh, the fruit really leaps from the glass. Red fruits at the start though the fruit does trend darker with some air. This has been consistent with each bottle. Fruit meets savory, adding notes of French herbs and earth.
If prior notes didn't give it away I really like this wine - favorite 09 OR Pinot by far, but we're sitting on some CE too so we'll see.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is outstanding right now, it just smells great. Bright raspberries mix with tart pomegranate, adding a savory note that I can't quite pin down but it makes me want roast chicken. Similar red fruit on the palate, sweet to begin though it takes on a slightly tart, high acid note that runs across the palate. Over the last three hours the wine has gradually started to gain weight and turning a bit darker, trending to a notes of blueberries and boysenberries. There's a bit of a baked fruit quality too, like the caramelized crust on a berry cobbler. We really enjoyed the last bottle almost a year back, this was just a notch above - it's drinking in it's stride, no reason to wait.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Gave this about six hours of air time. Displayed typical vintage characteristics but with great restraint and balance. Nice fruit and berry aroma across the nose - dark, sweet cherries, pomegranate, raspberries - but not totally one-sided either, there's a distinct savory herb note that cuts through and lingers across the palate. The fruit gets darker and rounder in the mouth - ripe, rich plums and raspberries. There's a gravelly quality too, and always those interesting herbal notes. Higher level of acidity, no bite or tannins to contend with, just a really enjoyable experience.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
paired well with fresh salmon with a ginger/teriaki/shitaki mushroom sauce. Seemed a little young still and 3-4 more years would have made this better in my opinion but it was a fine everyday drinker.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A little Cameron funk or reduction but seemed to fade over an hour. A little sweet and thick but went really well with meatloaf off the BBQ with spicy bbq sauce. A little oak/chocolate swimming around but again matched well with the food so I didn't mind.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Open 24 hours: Smells freaking rad. Smells like strawberries dusted in powdered sugar initially, searching deeper there is some darker fruit, old blackberries, a bit of raisin, gravel road and grape stems. The palate is ripe cherries with less ripe strawberry and cranberry, with the flavors getting a bit darker as the wine finishes. Medium texture with slightly over-medium acidity and late, fine grained tannins. Overall, really nice wine and a killer value. I'm liking the sweet fruit on both nose and palate, great expression of ripe fruit. Don't know how it will age but it seems in a good place today, I would say there is no rush.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
I am absolutely loving this wine. It is reductive and needs and hour in the decanter but afterwards, look out. I didn't find this bottle as sweet as my last note suggests and all I could think about while drinking it was how lovely this will be in 5 years. Next to the 2010 Dundee Hills bottling this came off as darker, more viscous and not as high toned, but more serious and of higher pedigree. This is pushing the envelope on density for my palate but does so with balance and good acidity keeping things in check. A real treat.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
I'm sort of disappointed in '09 OR pinots, which are all a bit much: too much fruit, too much sweetness, too rich. John Paul never makes a bad bottle of wine, but even from him, I'm just not loving 'em - give me a lean, funky/elegant OR pinot any day. Nevertheless, this bottle showed typical Cameron balance, with a blast of dark fruits seamlessly offset by good acidity and some nice minerality. Certainly not holding anything back at this time - this wine is open for business. I think I'm going to throw the rest of my bottles way back in the cellar and hope that time mellows them out some.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine is finally open for business. It starts out with a good about of funk (reduction?) that mostly blows off after about 20 minutes of opening, but never goes away completely. But it's a welcome component of the wine and adds complexity and depth. The wine is on the darker side and the fruit is about black cherries, plum, and just a touch of raspberry and even grapefruit (on the finish there is a bit of tang). I found the wine to be fairly sweet but nicely balanced by good acidic spine and the dark fruit and earth. My wife had a glass and commented that it was a bit on the sweet side for her tastes, but this was after having a glass of a Loire cab franc...I am really impressed with how this wine has come around in the past 6 months. I tried two bottles last year and found them to be incredibly closed and unyielding, but now this wine is very generous and has great aromatics, a rich mouth feel and is drinking very nicely. I could have scored this wine higher if it had not been for the sweetness, but you should drink and decide for yourself, obviously. We had family over so the bottle went relatively quickly; I'd be interested to see how this shows on day 2.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Thoroughly enjoyed this offering.... light, nimble and bright on the nose and forefront of the palate.... definitely some nice barnyard that leads into some residual green which rounds out the wine nicely. A more rustic everyday OR Pinot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A slight amount of bottle shock that resolved with air and time in the decanter. It opened to a really nice pinot showing funk, earthiness, sappy cherry and plum - characteristic of the warmer vintage. Some minor astringency on the midpalate. decent finish. Great QPR. Smoked the 09 Seven of Hearts Lux, and 09 Prive Vineyard. Decant this daily drinker now or hide some in the back of the cellar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Great wine for the price (just under $25). Dark, almost purple, and a bit cloudy. Immediate greetings of the Cameron funk upon opening the bottle. Blows off with air/time, but hangs around enough to add intrigue. Lovely fruit and earthiness on the palate, with the funk shining through and complementing the ripe fruit beautifully. No heat to speak of. Long, satisfying finish. Appreciate the 13.2% -- one of the more restrained '09s. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
suffering from bottle shock, it seems. Came together a bit over a few hours in the decanter and was actually quite tasty, but at this point wasn't as good as the Dundee Hills bottling. Eric at Sec warned me this was not showing well and to wait.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
9/21/2023 - Brix wrote:
Pulled out at random to accompany a mushroom risotto, a task for which it was reasonably well suited. Consistent with my previous notes, although it's perfectly adequate this particular bottling is just not one of my favorites - partly due to vintage conditions and partly I think to stylistic winemaker choices. Cameron is usually my favorite OR pinot but the Reserve cuvees always seem less distinctive.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/10/2022 - Brix Likes this wine: 88 Points
It's been a while since we tried one of these. Still not really doing it for me, but the added time has improved the wine somewhat - nicely balanced darkish fruit coupled with some mushroomy notes. Despite over a decade sideways, there's not much sign of age in this bottle, so I'm going to leave my remaining bottles to see what a few more years does for them. I've never enjoyed Cameron's Reserve wines as much as his other bottlings - they seem more generic, tailored to a broader audience. This is a perfectly good wine, but for me it lacks the funky soul of some of John Paul's other wines.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/18/2018 - Ewhite30 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted two hours, though first taste right at open was pretty stellar. Great nose, it's woodsy with dark berries and a subtle spice that shows up again through the finish. Lots of rich berry fruit to start - black cherry, blackcap raspberry - before winding through notes of mushrooms, English breakfast tea, orange zest and a lingering black pepper spice. Great structure, lots of acid - this still has some time left.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/15/2016 - Ewhite30 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dinner party where one bottle lead to the next, so we didn't give this much time but it didn't really matter - it's bright and fresh, the fruit really leaps from the glass. Red fruits at the start though the fruit does trend darker with some air. This has been consistent with each bottle. Fruit meets savory, adding notes of French herbs and earth.
If prior notes didn't give it away I really like this wine - favorite 09 OR Pinot by far, but we're sitting on some CE too so we'll see.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/13/2015 - Ewhite30 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This is outstanding right now, it just smells great. Bright raspberries mix with tart pomegranate, adding a savory note that I can't quite pin down but it makes me want roast chicken. Similar red fruit on the palate, sweet to begin though it takes on a slightly tart, high acid note that runs across the palate. Over the last three hours the wine has gradually started to gain weight and turning a bit darker, trending to a notes of blueberries and boysenberries. There's a bit of a baked fruit quality too, like the caramelized crust on a berry cobbler. We really enjoyed the last bottle almost a year back, this was just a notch above - it's drinking in it's stride, no reason to wait.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/24/2015 - Ewhite30 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Gave this about six hours of air time. Displayed typical vintage characteristics but with great restraint and balance. Nice fruit and berry aroma across the nose - dark, sweet cherries, pomegranate, raspberries - but not totally one-sided either, there's a distinct savory herb note that cuts through and lingers across the palate. The fruit gets darker and rounder in the mouth - ripe, rich plums and raspberries. There's a gravelly quality too, and always those interesting herbal notes. Higher level of acidity, no bite or tannins to contend with, just a really enjoyable experience.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/10/2014 - hiker_guy Likes this wine:
paired well with fresh salmon with a ginger/teriaki/shitaki mushroom sauce.
Seemed a little young still and 3-4 more years would have made this better in my opinion but it was a fine everyday drinker.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/18/2014 - Vinsant wrote:
A little Cameron funk or reduction but seemed to fade over an hour. A little sweet and thick but went really well with meatloaf off the BBQ with spicy bbq sauce. A little oak/chocolate swimming around but again matched well with the food so I didn't mind.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/11/2014 - Ron Felthoven wrote:
Coming off as a bit sweet and showing the vintage, but no heat at all. Drink up and enjoy.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/28/2013 - gripNsip Likes this wine: 90 Points
Open 24 hours: Smells freaking rad. Smells like strawberries dusted in powdered sugar initially, searching deeper there is some darker fruit, old blackberries, a bit of raisin, gravel road and grape stems. The palate is ripe cherries with less ripe strawberry and cranberry, with the flavors getting a bit darker as the wine finishes. Medium texture with slightly over-medium acidity and late, fine grained tannins. Overall, really nice wine and a killer value. I'm liking the sweet fruit on both nose and palate, great expression of ripe fruit. Don't know how it will age but it seems in a good place today, I would say there is no rush.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/11/2013 - dgriffin3480 wrote: 86 Points
Decanted for hour. Disappointingly disjointed and reductive. All over the place over two hours and never really came together.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/1/2012 - Ron Felthoven wrote: 91 Points
I am absolutely loving this wine. It is reductive and needs and hour in the decanter but afterwards, look out. I didn't find this bottle as sweet as my last note suggests and all I could think about while drinking it was how lovely this will be in 5 years. Next to the 2010 Dundee Hills bottling this came off as darker, more viscous and not as high toned, but more serious and of higher pedigree. This is pushing the envelope on density for my palate but does so with balance and good acidity keeping things in check. A real treat.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/19/2012 - Brix wrote: 88 Points
I'm sort of disappointed in '09 OR pinots, which are all a bit much: too much fruit, too much sweetness, too rich. John Paul never makes a bad bottle of wine, but even from him, I'm just not loving 'em - give me a lean, funky/elegant OR pinot any day. Nevertheless, this bottle showed typical Cameron balance, with a blast of dark fruits seamlessly offset by good acidity and some nice minerality. Certainly not holding anything back at this time - this wine is open for business. I think I'm going to throw the rest of my bottles way back in the cellar and hope that time mellows them out some.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/25/2012 - Ron Felthoven wrote: 91 Points
This wine is finally open for business. It starts out with a good about of funk (reduction?) that mostly blows off after about 20 minutes of opening, but never goes away completely. But it's a welcome component of the wine and adds complexity and depth. The wine is on the darker side and the fruit is about black cherries, plum, and just a touch of raspberry and even grapefruit (on the finish there is a bit of tang). I found the wine to be fairly sweet but nicely balanced by good acidic spine and the dark fruit and earth. My wife had a glass and commented that it was a bit on the sweet side for her tastes, but this was after having a glass of a Loire cab franc...I am really impressed with how this wine has come around in the past 6 months. I tried two bottles last year and found them to be incredibly closed and unyielding, but now this wine is very generous and has great aromatics, a rich mouth feel and is drinking very nicely. I could have scored this wine higher if it had not been for the sweetness, but you should drink and decide for yourself, obviously. We had family over so the bottle went relatively quickly; I'd be interested to see how this shows on day 2.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/24/2011 - Ron Felthoven wrote:
Still not ready to be opened. It takes hours for it to come together at which point it is good but let it sleep
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/22/2011 - Ewhite30 wrote: 91 Points
Thoroughly enjoyed this offering.... light, nimble and bright on the nose and forefront of the palate.... definitely some nice barnyard that leads into some residual green which rounds out the wine nicely. A more rustic everyday OR Pinot.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/31/2011 - arthrovine wrote: 91 Points
A slight amount of bottle shock that resolved with air and time in the decanter. It opened to a really nice pinot showing funk, earthiness, sappy cherry and plum - characteristic of the warmer vintage. Some minor astringency on the midpalate. decent finish. Great QPR. Smoked the 09 Seven of Hearts Lux, and 09 Prive Vineyard. Decant this daily drinker now or hide some in the back of the cellar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/23/2011 - Sycamore wrote: 91 Points
Great wine for the price (just under $25). Dark, almost purple, and a bit cloudy. Immediate greetings of the Cameron funk upon opening the bottle. Blows off with air/time, but hangs around enough to add intrigue. Lovely fruit and earthiness on the palate, with the funk shining through and complementing the ripe fruit beautifully. No heat to speak of. Long, satisfying finish. Appreciate the 13.2% -- one of the more restrained '09s. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/23/2011 - Ron Felthoven wrote:
suffering from bottle shock, it seems. Came together a bit over a few hours in the decanter and was actually quite tasty, but at this point wasn't as good as the Dundee Hills bottling. Eric at Sec warned me this was not showing well and to wait.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment