Bright lively fruits. No sense of fading. Every time I drink a Rochioli SVD I am reminded why I keep buying them. Very very smooth with no sharp edges. Drink or Hold (or in my case move onto 2012 as that was my last '11)
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I have always enjoyed Rochioli Pinot, but this 2011 Little Hill exceeded my expectations. Great deep ruby color, slight funkiness in the nose when opened completely disintegrated and the wine just kept improving throughout dinner, not what I was expecting in this twelve year old bottle. Lots of black cherries and raspberries in the nose with hints of licorice and floral. Cherries and black raspberries in the flavor with some pleasant minerality in the finish. Well balanced, nice complexity, medium to full bodied and a very smooth medium to long finish. An excellent Pinot. It will be interesting to compare this to my other remaining 2011 Rochioli single vineyards. 93/94,
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Bright red fruits at 12 years of age. Very prototypically Cali Pinot - Sour red cherries predominate. Lively in the mouth with a lingering finish. Reminds why I keep buying their wines - great new world pinot.
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Decanted this bottle for only 30 minutes and it was almost identical to our previous bottle about 7 months ago. In summary - a very satisfying, dark and savory Pinot Noir that paired extremely well with our soy sauce/sesame oil/ginger/garlic/brown sugar/dry sherry marinated salmon. Would consider enjoying this wine in the next year or two.
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Decided to decant this bottle based on some mentions in previous TNs. Followed the wine as it continued to open (fruit/acid balance) and "flesh out". At about an hour and a half it was ready to go. The color was a medium to deep purple. The medium to plus bodied palate showed lots of black fruit along with a good deal of red fruit, gobs of spice, some earth, and juicy acidity that nicely balanced all of that fruit. No trace of oak, tannins, the 14.5 % abv, or the usually present RRV "cola". Just a solidly impressive 10+ year old Pinot wearing its big boy pants. Should hold for at least another few years -- but give it AIR.
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-- decanted 3 hours before initial taste -- -- tasted non-blind over a couple hours --
NOSE: rich blue/red berries; nice little savory/green streak (thank you, 2011), but it doesn't stand out; light oak; not funky; not high-toned; expressive.
BODY: medium-full bodied.
TASTE: big, ripe, lush, but well-contained; medium-low acidity; no noticeable tannins; still primary, but it's relaxed/open; not sure how this will age: doesn't seem to be at risk of deteriorating soon, but it is labelled at 14.5% alc., and acidity is low; if it ages well, it will be on the strength of its ample fruit. gut impression score: 91.
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Still fruit forward. Silky on the tongue. Everything is well integrated. Delicious with Asian marinated grilled pork loin. Drinking perfectly right now. Enjoy!
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Super juicy and expressive. Still young. Bursting with berries and holiday spice, undercut by cola and an earthy finish. Layers of raspberry, cherry, strawberry, plum, citrus, beautifully integrated with the wood influence expressing itself as an exotic and floral earthiness. Full-bodied and luscious, with a wonderful acidity washing over it all. Not shy on the alcohol but certainly isn't strong, plus the heat blows off after a bit in bottle. Not decanted. Big and ripe, but complex and satisfying.
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Impressive showing. Gave this about an hour of air, but did not decant. Dark red and holding up well. Notes of vanilla, spice, and oak. This had good heft and a decent finish. Drink or hold.
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Was going to give a brief note but will try to add more as no one has left a TN in a couple of years. Deep ruby red color, no sign of age. Nice nose if a little reticent at first, hint of oak, bit of orange peel, bit of white flowers. Big on the palate to start, could taste the extra hang time of 2011. Nicely balanced acidity. Also got the orange peel on the palate. Long juicy finish. Rounded out nicely over a couple of hours, nose opened up, fruit eased into harmony. This is my second top-shelf 2011 in a couple of weeks, both very enjoyable, I enjoy this vintage very much with top-end examples. No hurry here, lots of years ahead.
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Fresh, grabbing some texture from the tannins, at first. Then the fruit comes forward and rolls through to the finish. beginning to find the fruit after 20-30 min
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Lovely and pure, intense raspberry with distinct scent of truffle. Great texture and solid intensity. Can't mistake this for Burgundy; it's RRV through and through.
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Starting the New Year right (Columbus Berserkers offline #3) (Chris P's): Thanks to Dusty for bringing this. A baby but what a treat, coming from someone who doesn't always enjoy RRV pinots. Red cherry, raspberry and spice aromas. The palate has very pure fruit that matches the nose. Incredibly balanced, soft mouthfeel and just delicious to drink.
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11/25/2023 - EyeDoc wrote: 93 Points
Bright lively fruits. No sense of fading. Every time I drink a Rochioli SVD I am reminded why I keep buying them. Very very smooth with no sharp edges. Drink or Hold (or in my case move onto 2012 as that was my last '11)
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10/22/2023 - buckeye76 Likes this wine: 94 Points
I have always enjoyed Rochioli Pinot, but this 2011 Little Hill exceeded my expectations. Great deep ruby color, slight funkiness in the nose when opened completely disintegrated and the wine just kept improving throughout dinner, not what I was expecting in this twelve year old bottle. Lots of black cherries and raspberries in the nose with hints of licorice and floral. Cherries and black raspberries in the flavor with some pleasant minerality in the finish. Well balanced, nice complexity, medium to full bodied and a very smooth medium to long finish. An excellent Pinot. It will be interesting to compare this to my other remaining 2011 Rochioli single vineyards. 93/94,
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9/28/2023 - EyeDoc wrote: 92 Points
Bright red fruits at 12 years of age. Very prototypically Cali Pinot - Sour red cherries predominate. Lively in the mouth with a lingering finish. Reminds why I keep buying their wines - great new world pinot.
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2/5/2023 - VlgJeff wrote: 93 Points
Decanted this bottle for only 30 minutes and it was almost identical to our previous bottle about 7 months ago. In summary - a very satisfying, dark and savory Pinot Noir that paired extremely well with our soy sauce/sesame oil/ginger/garlic/brown sugar/dry sherry marinated salmon. Would consider enjoying this wine in the next year or two.
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7/3/2022 - VlgJeff Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decided to decant this bottle based on some mentions in previous TNs. Followed the wine as it continued to open (fruit/acid balance) and "flesh out". At about an hour and a half it was ready to go. The color was a medium to deep purple. The medium to plus bodied palate showed lots of black fruit along with a good deal of red fruit, gobs of spice, some earth, and juicy acidity that nicely balanced all of that fruit. No trace of oak, tannins, the 14.5 % abv, or the usually present RRV "cola". Just a solidly impressive 10+ year old Pinot wearing its big boy pants. Should hold for at least another few years -- but give it AIR.
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4/2/2021 - Jsorger wrote:
Wow. Decanted about 30 minutes. Best I’ve had in some time.
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2/6/2021 - JayAAllen Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking spectacularly!
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12/4/2020 - hadlieh2 Does not like this wine: 75 Points
Opened an hour before drinking. Maybe we should have decanted. Hot alcohol noise that overpowered anything on taste. Dried cherry.
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7/21/2020 - grafstrb wrote:
-- decanted 3 hours before initial taste --
-- tasted non-blind over a couple hours --
NOSE: rich blue/red berries; nice little savory/green streak (thank you, 2011), but it doesn't stand out; light oak; not funky; not high-toned; expressive.
BODY: medium-full bodied.
TASTE: big, ripe, lush, but well-contained; medium-low acidity; no noticeable tannins; still primary, but it's relaxed/open; not sure how this will age: doesn't seem to be at risk of deteriorating soon, but it is labelled at 14.5% alc., and acidity is low; if it ages well, it will be on the strength of its ample fruit. gut impression score: 91.
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4/4/2020 - ccbyer wrote:
Tasty, consumed during 2020 Covid-19 quarantine
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2/6/2019 - JayAAllen Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still fruit forward. Silky on the tongue. Everything is well integrated. Delicious with Asian marinated grilled pork loin. Drinking perfectly right now. Enjoy!
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1/2/2019 - dougie Likes this wine: 94 Points
Improved since I drank two years ago. Complex and lush while not being a sledgehammer. Impressive!
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12/30/2018 - jdtonic Likes this wine: 94 Points
A bit more poise than recent Rochioli drunk by me.
Got the “wow” from a woman sitting across from me.
Fun.
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11/1/2018 - PVTerroir wrote: 94 Points
Super juicy and expressive. Still young. Bursting with berries and holiday spice, undercut by cola and an earthy finish. Layers of raspberry, cherry, strawberry, plum, citrus, beautifully integrated with the wood influence expressing itself as an exotic and floral earthiness. Full-bodied and luscious, with a wonderful acidity washing over it all. Not shy on the alcohol but certainly isn't strong, plus the heat blows off after a bit in bottle. Not decanted. Big and ripe, but complex and satisfying.
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10/26/2018 - ListenToMeWine Does not like this wine: 80 Points
past its prime, lifeless, black magic marker on the nose, no fruit
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6/23/2018 - Matt T wrote: 93 Points
Impressive showing. Gave this about an hour of air, but did not decant. Dark red and holding up well. Notes of vanilla, spice, and oak. This had good heft and a decent finish. Drink or hold.
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5/7/2018 - blaine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Was going to give a brief note but will try to add more as no one has left a TN in a couple of years. Deep ruby red color, no sign of age. Nice nose if a little reticent at first, hint of oak, bit of orange peel, bit of white flowers. Big on the palate to start, could taste the extra hang time of 2011. Nicely balanced acidity. Also got the orange peel on the palate. Long juicy finish. Rounded out nicely over a couple of hours, nose opened up, fruit eased into harmony. This is my second top-shelf 2011 in a couple of weeks, both very enjoyable, I enjoy this vintage very much with top-end examples. No hurry here, lots of years ahead.
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5/25/2016 - dougie Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank over 3 hours. Improved over time. Beautiful!
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5/24/2016 - tonysmith72 wrote: 92 Points
Good drinking
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1/23/2016 - dougie Likes this wine: 93 Points
Big and lush Russian River pinot. Decanted and drank over 4 hours. Became more complex and less heavy over time. Drink next one in 2-3 years.
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10/24/2015 - drwinenut Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fresh, grabbing some texture from the tannins, at first. Then the fruit comes forward and rolls through to the finish. beginning to find the fruit after 20-30 min
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8/17/2015 - nectar14 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely and pure, intense raspberry with distinct scent of truffle. Great texture and solid intensity. Can't mistake this for Burgundy; it's RRV through and through.
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1/8/2015 - Rob MacKay wrote: 92 Points
Fantastic wine. Spice, cola, dark red berries. An excellent expression of the Russian River Valley.
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3/2/2014 - ptelgenh wrote: 93 Points
Laube clearly go this one wrong. 88 points, are you kidding me? This is a beautiful effort. Spice and ripe raspberries. Very enjoyable.
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1/4/2014 - David_T Likes this wine: 93 Points
Starting the New Year right (Columbus Berserkers offline #3) (Chris P's): Thanks to Dusty for bringing this. A baby but what a treat, coming from someone who doesn't always enjoy RRV pinots. Red cherry, raspberry and spice aromas. The palate has very pure fruit that matches the nose. Incredibly balanced, soft mouthfeel and just delicious to drink.
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