Interesting. Black cherry, pomegranate and charcoal. Zippy acidity, which is great and impressive for its age. Wish it had more fruit and complexity to balance. Best after 15-30 minutes of air. More fruit loss after two hours, but the pleasant sour flinty flavor and zip remains. Enjoyable but I liked this more a few years ago. Drink up.
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Vivid red color. Just a hint of reduction in the nose keeps the wine in the deeper bass notes. Dark berry, pomegranate with notes of flint/crushed rocks and anise and smoky herbs. Entry is very bright and tangy with distinctive citrus and tart cherry and cranberry flavors. The reduction carries onto the palate as well with hints of struck flint. There is a real sap to the front and middle with weightlessness due to the refreshing acid. The tannins are not yet resolved and the wine can go for a few more years for sure.
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Black cherry, blackberry fruit. This has mellowed considerably- very food friendly. A bit of bitterness and finishing heat detracts from an otherwise elegant wine.
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Lean and mean but with enough stuffing to keep it interesting. Crushed rocks, fresh, bright red fruits, and pretty petally things. Downright gorgeous, if you ask me. Could have gone the distance, but I have an itchy trigger finger...
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This wine was excellent wish I had more to see where it would go with more age. I have no regrets opening though. A little forest floor to start but after more time it dissipated. Strong red fruit spice flavors, the balance was impeccable, good fruit not over the top and great acidity. This wine lingered on the mouth.
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This is what drinking Brittan is all about. The bottle age has served it well, with a taming of the high-octane fruit, bringing the ripe red cherries into balance with the beautiful salinity and crushed rock and acidity, with porcelain tannin. Not a lot of secondary flavors at this point, but the rest is so harmonious that I don't miss them. Drinking wonderfully right now - no regrets.
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Day 1: Huge fruit forward. Clearly new world with a raspberry palate with crushed stone and some slight notes savory leanings of and a tremendously mineral finish. Clearly the fruit as reddened over the past couple years. It's extracted probably to a fault, but that makes this such a visceral wine that falls back into balance with a little air. It's dense and by no means elegant, but it mineral levity keeping it interesting in spite being a bit monolithic. It's rare to find a new world wine with half this much minerality, but then again there is also so much extraction and fruit as well. Medium bodied. Plus acid. This will probably age for another decade.
Day 2: Fruit is much more reticent leading to a bit more a much more tangy, sappy, savory wine. Fruit is a bit darker leading to huckleberry with a hint of vanilla and cardomom. Such a different wine. Still great acid and minerality. The question is can this wine ever get out from under the extraction.
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Drank over two days. Not much changed between day one to two. Nice dark fruits balanced out by the acidity and minerality. I believe this has years ahead of it, but not sure what the possibility is for improvement.
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Really enjoyed this. Nice mix of red and blue fruits. Great minerality to it, very well balanced. Despite some darker fruits, would still say this is light on its feet. C liked it, I liked it more.
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Floral with a tremendous phenolic notes. Palate Gun flint, white pepper, blackberry, crushed stone with hint of bitter seed though right now a bit austere under a cloak of tannin and acidity making for a bit of a wild wine (picked at 22 brix). Needed a few hours to really show it's delicate under belly. Very ephemeral yet dense and focused. Polished tannins. Medium body. Medium plus length. Needs a couple years or more, but real cellar potential.
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PHMG WAG: 2010 Oregon Pinot Noir (Lyon Den): Nose of darker fruits and minerals, this has a very interesting way of hitting your palate with more glycerin than the others. Gives an impression of sweetness on entry. It evolves into a long juicy/tart red fruit finish. Can't easily guess at longevity.
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Taste: Full bodied with medium/high acidity and some chewy tannins. The palate is a bit chunky with the bigger structure and tones of dark red cherries, plums, some wood spices and a slight bit of oak as well.
Overall: If this can smooth out it can be really good. Right now it's a bit chunky and foursquare, but there are very good tones on both the nose and palate.
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"Pinot in the City" tasting (Chicago, Ill): Delicious, however I prefer Basalt over Gestalt. Gestalt is spicier and more of a rough rider than Basalt. Still young, needs more time in cellar.
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A fascinating oregon pinot - built to age. Definitely a cab-drinker's pinot, but not overextracted like cali pinots. can't wait to see this in a year or two.
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11/22/2020 - BillyRayValentine wrote: 90 Points
Interesting. Black cherry, pomegranate and charcoal. Zippy acidity, which is great and impressive for its age. Wish it had more fruit and complexity to balance. Best after 15-30 minutes of air. More fruit loss after two hours, but the pleasant sour flinty flavor and zip remains. Enjoyable but I liked this more a few years ago. Drink up.
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3/24/2020 - 560 B&W Likes this wine: 91 Points
Some funk on opening. Decanted. Very nice but not extraordinary. 13.5%
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2/9/2019 - Bmathews Likes this wine: 94 Points
Exceptional wine! Needs to open a bit so I would decant if you need to drink it soon after opening. The wet rock is so distinctive. Very enjoyable!
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2/5/2018 - manga wrote: 91 Points
Vivid red color. Just a hint of reduction in the nose keeps the wine in the deeper bass notes. Dark berry, pomegranate with notes of flint/crushed rocks and anise and smoky herbs. Entry is very bright and tangy with distinctive citrus and tart cherry and cranberry flavors. The reduction carries onto the palate as well with hints of struck flint. There is a real sap to the front and middle with weightlessness due to the refreshing acid. The tannins are not yet resolved and the wine can go for a few more years for sure.
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1/22/2018 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 89 Points
Black cherry, blackberry fruit. This has mellowed considerably- very food friendly. A bit of bitterness and finishing heat detracts from an otherwise elegant wine.
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11/4/2017 - trellisdoor Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lean and mean but with enough stuffing to keep it interesting. Crushed rocks, fresh, bright red fruits, and pretty petally things. Downright gorgeous, if you ask me. Could have gone the distance, but I have an itchy trigger finger...
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8/2/2016 - Intergraz wrote: 93 Points
This wine was excellent wish I had more to see where it would go with more age. I have no regrets opening though. A little forest floor to start but after more time it dissipated. Strong red fruit spice flavors, the balance was impeccable, good fruit not over the top and great acidity. This wine lingered on the mouth.
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6/28/2016 - BadOyster wrote: 94 Points
This is what drinking Brittan is all about. The bottle age has served it well, with a taming of the high-octane fruit, bringing the ripe red cherries into balance with the beautiful salinity and crushed rock and acidity, with porcelain tannin. Not a lot of secondary flavors at this point, but the rest is so harmonious that I don't miss them. Drinking wonderfully right now - no regrets.
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5/27/2015 - yossarian.livez wrote:
Day 1: Huge fruit forward. Clearly new world with a raspberry palate with crushed stone and some slight notes savory leanings of and a tremendously mineral finish. Clearly the fruit as reddened over the past couple years. It's extracted probably to a fault, but that makes this such a visceral wine that falls back into balance with a little air. It's dense and by no means elegant, but it mineral levity keeping it interesting in spite being a bit monolithic. It's rare to find a new world wine with half this much minerality, but then again there is also so much extraction and fruit as well. Medium bodied. Plus acid. This will probably age for another decade.
Day 2: Fruit is much more reticent leading to a bit more a much more tangy, sappy, savory wine. Fruit is a bit darker leading to huckleberry with a hint of vanilla and cardomom. Such a different wine. Still great acid and minerality. The question is can this wine ever get out from under the extraction.
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2/24/2015 - hawkeye54 wrote: 91 Points
Drank over two days. Not much changed between day one to two. Nice dark fruits balanced out by the acidity and minerality. I believe this has years ahead of it, but not sure what the possibility is for improvement.
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2/9/2015 - jhieb wrote: 90 Points
Dominant raspberry flavors, with a creamy smooth mouth feel. Great minerality.
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9/29/2013 - domco wrote:
Really enjoyed this. Nice mix of red and blue fruits. Great minerality to it, very well balanced. Despite some darker fruits, would still say this is light on its feet. C liked it, I liked it more.
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4/7/2013 - yossarian.livez wrote:
Floral with a tremendous phenolic notes. Palate Gun flint, white pepper, blackberry, crushed stone with hint of bitter seed though right now a bit austere under a cloak of tannin and acidity making for a bit of a wild wine (picked at 22 brix). Needed a few hours to really show it's delicate under belly. Very ephemeral yet dense and focused. Polished tannins. Medium body. Medium plus length. Needs a couple years or more, but real cellar potential.
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3/9/2013 - Grinner Likes this wine: 90 Points
PHMG WAG: 2010 Oregon Pinot Noir (Lyon Den): Nose of darker fruits and minerals, this has a very interesting way of hitting your palate with more glycerin than the others. Gives an impression of sweetness on entry. It evolves into a long juicy/tart red fruit finish. Can't easily guess at longevity.
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3/7/2013 - beezer6 wrote: 93 Points
Pinot in the City (City Winery, Chicago, IL): Floral. White peppercorns. Feminine. Powerful with restraint.
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3/7/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 88 Points
Willamette Valley Wines presents: Pinot in the City (City Winery, Chicago, IL): Nose: There is a darker quality to the nose with tones of dark red fruits, dark cherries, plums, and some spice tones. The tones are a bit chunky though and aren't too expressive.
Taste: Full bodied with medium/high acidity and some chewy tannins. The palate is a bit chunky with the bigger structure and tones of dark red cherries, plums, some wood spices and a slight bit of oak as well.
Overall: If this can smooth out it can be really good. Right now it's a bit chunky and foursquare, but there are very good tones on both the nose and palate.
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3/7/2013 - cliffkol wrote: 90 Points
"Pinot in the City" tasting (Chicago, Ill): Delicious, however I prefer Basalt over Gestalt. Gestalt is spicier and more of a rough rider than Basalt. Still young, needs more time in cellar.
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2/16/2013 - BadOyster wrote: 92 Points
A fascinating oregon pinot - built to age. Definitely a cab-drinker's pinot, but not overextracted like cali pinots. can't wait to see this in a year or two.
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