Last minute wine lunch (Gary's): Bright and elegant. A bold pinot that doesn't come across as typical Beaux Freres for me. I fear this has big fruit that is a hallmark of the vintage, and it lacks nuance. It would be great if it gained more complexity with time.
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Wine Lunch (Gary's Place, Hudson, WI): Medium-dark red color. Drank a glass plus over 3 hours. this starts you off with fine dried spices, pencil, red currants, and spiced black cherry. This has a medium body, very tangy and the palate shows more pretty red berries with some of the spiced cherry on the back end and more sublte dark fruits. Very nice, though I long for another level from this. Maybe still has a little upside? 92+pts.
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Baking spices, some decent acidic structure, strawberry and lighter cherry flavors. Some light tannins present. We didn’t let this sit in the decanter prior to drinking but probably should have. Seems like it’s aging well and should continue to do so.
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Decanted for 30 minutes based on my previous TN -- noting that the initial taste showed a lighter, more sparse and more acidic wine. The results of the wine opening and integrating during the 30 minute decant are virtually identical to our previous detailed TN (see below). A fine effort that should continue to hold for several years.
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The wine was initially a bit closed so decanted for 30 minutes with positive results. The color was a medium ruby-violet, but not overly dense. There were notes of dark red fruits and earth on the nose. The medium plus bodied palate was dark and brooding with lots of dark red fruits including black cherry and cranberry, some black tea, some spice, and a touch of earth. The tannins were integrated and the acidity was balancing. Definitely a Pinot from the "dark side" that could be mistaken for Sonoma Coast and that needs air up front to show its best. Should hold for several more years.
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Nose of dark cherries and baking spice. Lithe red fruits, stones, red licorice, and earthy complexity with clay and soft acidity. Tannins on he finish are strong, long and lean with a long drive into an earthy, mineral-driven finish with a touch of leather and dried cherries. Awesome! Not sure the notes capture it, but this is the best Oregon Pinot we've had in a while.
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color is slower turning brown around edges but still a rich hue lovely nose of cherries strawberries light fresh fruits taste same excellent vintage!! Drank the newly arrived 2018 last night and saw a lot of the 2012 in that bottle
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A top Oregon vintage 2012, a top Oregon Vintner producing again a top tasting Pinot Noir. Cork was fresh and tight, very slight weep. First try, decanted 1 hr, mixed berries and a hint of choco-cocoa, nice acidity, garnet color, no sediment yet and probably could use some more time for optimum enjoyment. Being "gifted", less critical, not sure I taste a WS95 here but a solid 92 at this point is warranted.
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This bottle ,gifted by James Cahill, was added to a line-up of 9 different Pinot Noirs from Willamette Valley; Relatively dark and dense color; big perfume, reminiscent of a good Côte de Nuits, but more feminine in style.. on palate cherries, maraschino and a touch of marzipan. Good balance and mouthfeel ; long and satisfying finish.
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Very dark purple hued red. PNP, drank a glass over 45 minutes. Lots of very dark berries, spices, pepper, earth. Sappy, ripe, blackberries, black cherry, glycerin, full bodied yet oddly a little hollow in the middle, woodsy, but quite spicy on the back end with a strong peppery finish. I expected more. Seems youthful but I not sure about long term aging either.
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Love this vineyard! Consistently terrific. Decanted with 90 minutes of air. First impression was bittersweet chocalote, star anise. Then after hour 2 more fruit flavors surfaced. Sweet pomegranate and tart cherry. Fairly long finish with a bit of minerality. Look forward to visiting this site next week.
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The nose reveals, ripe, bramble styled wild mixed berries. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries and bake strawberries. Cinnamon, vanillin, dark fruit liqueur notes, dark fruit cola, limestone, herbaceous notes, some black licorice, steeped black tea, dry crushed rocks, medium spice, fruit roll ups, fresh red & dark florals with some lavender & violets.
The body is full, rich, lush & well extracted. The structure & tension are still big. The wine shows fairly big round, powdery tannins for a Pinot. The length is and balance are nice and falling into place. However, if you own the 12, I’d continue to cellar it another 3-5 years for it to start hitting near its peak. Brambly styled wild mixed berries. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries, blueberries, boysenberries, warm dry cranberries and bake strawberries. Cinnamon, vanillin, clove & nutmeg, dark fruit liqueur notes, dark fruit cola, limestone, herbaceous notes, mint, some black licorice, steeped black tea, a little forest floor, dry crushed rocks, dry stones & clay, medium dark spice with some heat, fruit roll ups, fresh red & dark florals with some lavender & violets. The acidity is round and quite nice. The long finish is; rich, lush, elegant, polished & well balanced. It persists for 2 to 3 minutes.
The one slight flaw with the 12 right now is it shows some hot alcohol. I think it settles with another 5 years in bottle. It’s not awful but, nonetheless shows on the palate and in the back of the throat.
A good wine but, not sure it merited WS’s number three wine of the year in 2016.
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Very well done Oregon Pinot, top of the line. The nose is exellent as is the palate with exellent balance across the whole range. Drank with smoked salmon and was exellent. Was a little darker red then some Oregon pinots, but in no way over extracted.
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I figured it was time to try the '12... a lovely wine, very light and yet with a graceful balance: a feminine style of pinot noir. Color is actually black-cherry right to the rim, which fades to pink. But aromatically the wine is already lifted and elegant: sweet red currents, cloves, beeswax, vanilla. On the palate the wine is like silk: gentle, delicately flavored, with griotte cherry or perhaps tart raspberry fruit, moderate acidity, soft tannins, long mineral finish. I would bet on this continuing to gain complexity for at least five more years, and it might still be fresh and fascinating a decade out. In fact, tonight the bottle merits more like 91pts, but I'll rate it based on the obvious potential when it hits maturity a few years from now.
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I've drunk several bottles of this over the past six months or so and it has been consistently excellent. Lovely berry flavors and as smooth as silk. Will certainly age but drinking beautifully now. For my money Beaux Freres leads the pack for Oregon Pinot.
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- Garnet color. It's balanced with a medium body. Satin-Like texture with a medium finish - Its Thanksgiving and I opened my first bottle of 2012 Beaux Freres. The vintage has high expectations and it doesn't disappoint. No doubt it will continue to age well but don't be afraid to pop the cork on any 2012's you have in your cellar. Excellent fruit with a very smooth finish. Alcohol content is very balanced with the berry flavor. Love this wine.
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I tasted this via Coravin sample of 6 oz. Had to let it breathe for about 20 min, but this is going to be a great bottle to open fully soon. I'm more partial to RRV California Pinot, but this Oregon burgundy style has great depth, character and quality. Seems light bodied, but notes of stone fruit, licorice, crushed graphite, and tart cherries that eventually smoothed out to a medium bodied well balanced wine.
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Blinded, my first impression was of a rather dull New World meritage, but when suddenly the P-word was mentioned, my senses stopped regarding this as a bland meritage and instead registered it as an ok PN.
Nose: Raisins, plums, very young and quite simple. Palate: Rich plummy aromas. Suffers from a lack of tannic structure/backbone. Has a flaccid feeling. The PN spice peeks out after a long time in the glass. Did not do well with the food.
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This is an amazingly good pinot that is ready to enjoy right now, but will improve with some age as well. It is not what I normally think of as a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. It is full bodied with intriguing complexity. It's not fruit forward like a California pinot, but has much more substance, and yes maybe less elegance, than a burgundy. I got to find more - only one bottle left.
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Willamette Valley for Memorial day weekend and a peak at 2012; 5/25/2013-5/26/2013: Soft aromas, offering generous deep strawberry fruit. Mild palate entry with nicely integrated fruit. Pretty soft and mildly structured. Feels rather warm on the palate. Very soft finish with moderate structure. Pretty lean texturally, but at the same time fairly alcoholic (it was said to be 14.1%). This wine feels rather flabby and lean on structure for a Beaux Frères Vineyard bottling. Not sure where this is headed, but I always much prefer these wines in cool years, so this may be one of my least favorites since 2006. (86-89 points).
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4/12/2024 - galewskj wrote: 92 Points
Last minute wine lunch (Gary's): Bright and elegant. A bold pinot that doesn't come across as typical Beaux Freres for me. I fear this has big fruit that is a hallmark of the vintage, and it lacks nuance. It would be great if it gained more complexity with time.
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4/12/2024 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Wine Lunch (Gary's Place, Hudson, WI): Medium-dark red color. Drank a glass plus over 3 hours. this starts you off with fine dried spices, pencil, red currants, and spiced black cherry. This has a medium body, very tangy and the palate shows more pretty red berries with some of the spiced cherry on the back end and more sublte dark fruits. Very nice, though I long for another level from this. Maybe still has a little upside? 92+pts.
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5/21/2023 - pdxwinefan Likes this wine:
Baking spices, some decent acidic structure, strawberry and lighter cherry flavors. Some light tannins present. We didn’t let this sit in the decanter prior to drinking but probably should have. Seems like it’s aging well and should continue to do so.
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5/6/2023 - VlgJeff wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 30 minutes based on my previous TN -- noting that the initial taste showed a lighter, more sparse and more acidic wine. The results of the wine opening and integrating during the 30 minute decant are virtually identical to our previous detailed TN (see below). A fine effort that should continue to hold for several years.
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9/30/2022 - VlgJeff wrote: 92 Points
The wine was initially a bit closed so decanted for 30 minutes with positive results. The color was a medium ruby-violet, but not overly dense. There were notes of dark red fruits and earth on the nose. The medium plus bodied palate was dark and brooding with lots of dark red fruits including black cherry and cranberry, some black tea, some spice, and a touch of earth. The tannins were integrated and the acidity was balancing.
Definitely a Pinot from the "dark side" that could be mistaken for Sonoma Coast and that needs air up front to show its best. Should hold for several more years.
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4/15/2022 - bgriffi1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
A big Pinot! I think needs a number more years to mellow out and become more refined.
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9/10/2021 - VAGenius Likes this wine: 96 Points
Nose of dark cherries and baking spice. Lithe red fruits, stones, red licorice, and earthy complexity with clay and soft acidity. Tannins on he finish are strong, long and lean with a long drive into an earthy, mineral-driven finish with a touch of leather and dried cherries. Awesome! Not sure the notes capture it, but this is the best Oregon Pinot we've had in a while.
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7/18/2020 - up4wine wrote:
1st place Oregon Pinot Tasting - Part 1
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4/25/2020 - jww Likes this wine: 92 Points
color is slower turning brown around edges but still a rich hue
lovely nose of cherries strawberries light fresh fruits
taste same
excellent vintage!!
Drank the newly arrived 2018 last night and saw a lot of the 2012 in that bottle
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4/12/2020 - Swirl13 wrote: 92 Points
A top Oregon vintage 2012, a top Oregon Vintner producing again a top tasting Pinot Noir. Cork was fresh and tight, very slight weep. First try, decanted 1 hr, mixed berries and a hint of choco-cocoa, nice acidity, garnet color, no sediment yet and probably could use some more time for optimum enjoyment. Being "gifted", less critical, not sure I taste a WS95 here but a solid 92 at this point is warranted.
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3/13/2020 - Bandreas Likes this wine:
This bottle ,gifted by James Cahill, was added to a line-up of 9 different Pinot Noirs from Willamette Valley;
Relatively dark and dense color; big perfume, reminiscent of a good Côte de Nuits, but more feminine in style..
on palate cherries, maraschino and a touch of marzipan. Good balance and mouthfeel ; long and satisfying finish.
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2/3/2020 - R.Jos.Valent wrote: 94 Points
Slightly better then previous tasting 5 months ago. Very enjoyable wine!
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12/15/2019 - rocknroller wrote: 91 Points
Very dark purple hued red. PNP, drank a glass over 45 minutes. Lots of very dark berries, spices, pepper, earth. Sappy, ripe, blackberries, black cherry, glycerin, full bodied yet oddly a little hollow in the middle, woodsy, but quite spicy on the back end with a strong peppery finish. I expected more. Seems youthful but I not sure about long term aging either.
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11/28/2019 - Gruffalius wrote: 89 Points
Super tart out of the bottle. 45 minute decant helped but just starting to emerge. Needs more time. (89 for now but with way higher potential)
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7/25/2019 - R.Jos.Valent Likes this wine: 93 Points
Love this vineyard! Consistently terrific. Decanted with 90 minutes of air. First impression was bittersweet chocalote, star anise. Then after hour 2 more fruit flavors surfaced. Sweet pomegranate and tart cherry. Fairly long finish with a bit of minerality. Look forward to visiting this site next week.
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5/3/2019 - jwolf99 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Poured through aerator; big and juicy with ripe berries and cherries with notes of vanilla, dried herbs and star anise.
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4/11/2019 - wetlandwino wrote:
2012 vintage was great, but a couple of my bottles became slightly oxidized.
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1/5/2019 - Neras Likes this wine: 94 Points
This has developed very positively. Ruby red wine, great nose, fresh and balanced.
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11/24/2018 - Somm David T Likes this wine: 92 Points
The nose reveals, ripe, bramble styled wild mixed berries. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries and bake strawberries. Cinnamon, vanillin, dark fruit liqueur notes, dark fruit cola, limestone, herbaceous notes, some black licorice, steeped black tea, dry crushed rocks, medium spice, fruit roll ups, fresh red & dark florals with some lavender & violets.
The body is full, rich, lush & well extracted. The structure & tension are still big. The wine shows fairly big round, powdery tannins for a Pinot. The length is and balance are nice and falling into place. However, if you own the 12, I’d continue to cellar it another 3-5 years for it to start hitting near its peak. Brambly styled wild mixed berries. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries, blueberries, boysenberries, warm dry cranberries and bake strawberries. Cinnamon, vanillin, clove & nutmeg, dark fruit liqueur notes, dark fruit cola, limestone, herbaceous notes, mint, some black licorice, steeped black tea, a little forest floor, dry crushed rocks, dry stones & clay, medium dark spice with some heat, fruit roll ups, fresh red & dark florals with some lavender & violets. The acidity is round and quite nice. The long finish is; rich, lush, elegant, polished & well balanced. It persists for 2 to 3 minutes.
The one slight flaw with the 12 right now is it shows some hot alcohol. I think it settles with another 5 years in bottle. It’s not awful but, nonetheless shows on the palate and in the back of the throat.
A good wine but, not sure it merited WS’s number three wine of the year in 2016.
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9/29/2018 - Bellalisa99 wrote: 93 Points
Getting better with age
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7/23/2018 - Geoff Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful nose, great fuit, initially brambly, but dispersed with time in the glass. Balanced , neutral tannins, nice finish. Very nice wine.
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1/12/2018 - Bigtuna Likes this wine: 93 Points
PnP, excellent bottle of wine, drinking very well. Balanced, elegant. Hoping for more complexity in future bottles. 93
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11/11/2017 - SkeBum wrote: 92 Points
Very well done Oregon Pinot, top of the line. The nose is exellent as is the palate with exellent balance across the whole range. Drank with smoked salmon and was exellent. Was a little darker red then some Oregon pinots, but in no way over extracted.
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8/25/2017 - KPB wrote: 93 Points
I figured it was time to try the '12... a lovely wine, very light and yet with a graceful balance: a feminine style of pinot noir. Color is actually black-cherry right to the rim, which fades to pink. But aromatically the wine is already lifted and elegant: sweet red currents, cloves, beeswax, vanilla. On the palate the wine is like silk: gentle, delicately flavored, with griotte cherry or perhaps tart raspberry fruit, moderate acidity, soft tannins, long mineral finish. I would bet on this continuing to gain complexity for at least five more years, and it might still be fresh and fascinating a decade out. In fact, tonight the bottle merits more like 91pts, but I'll rate it based on the obvious potential when it hits maturity a few years from now.
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5/21/2017 - wetlandwino wrote: 95 Points
Perfect Ribbon Ridge pinot noir.
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4/22/2017 - depdoc Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drinking wonderfully well now.
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1/20/2017 - Puligny33 Likes this wine: 94 Points
I've drunk several bottles of this over the past six months or so and it has been consistently excellent. Lovely berry flavors and as smooth as silk. Will certainly age but drinking beautifully now. For my money Beaux Freres leads the pack for Oregon Pinot.
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11/25/2016 - "H" wrote:
- Garnet color. It's balanced with a medium body. Satin-Like texture with a medium finish - Its Thanksgiving and I opened my first bottle of 2012 Beaux Freres. The vintage has high expectations and it doesn't disappoint. No doubt it will continue to age well but don't be afraid to pop the cork on any 2012's you have in your cellar. Excellent fruit with a very smooth finish. Alcohol content is very balanced with the berry flavor. Love this wine.
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11/24/2016 - ClaytonDave Likes this wine: 93 Points
A fine Pinot. Intense ruby color. Sour cherry on the nose and excellent red fruit and licorice on the palate. Needs an hour decant.
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11/3/2016 - Myownscale wrote: 88 Points
Nose:
Fennel almost
Palate:
spicy, a hint of choco mint, minral, less fruit, tannic - Nate said it was the best
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9/16/2016 - jww Likes this wine: 92 Points
wonerful cherry nose bright and fruity taste
drinkinf nicely now
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8/25/2016 - Cholera Likes this wine: 93 Points
I tasted this via Coravin sample of 6 oz. Had to let it breathe for about 20 min, but this is going to be a great bottle to open fully soon. I'm more partial to RRV California Pinot, but this Oregon burgundy style has great depth, character and quality. Seems light bodied, but notes of stone fruit, licorice, crushed graphite, and tart cherries that eventually smoothed out to a medium bodied well balanced wine.
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7/2/2016 - Neras Likes this wine: 91 Points
Initially very closed. Opens up after a couple of hours, but although pleasant, it doesn't really shine.
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2/21/2016 - Geoff Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wonderful deep fruit and floral notes, balanced, long finish.
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9/20/2015 - wineduggery Likes this wine: 93 Points
A smooth and sophisticated Pinot. Just wonderful now, but it will improve with a few years of cellaring.
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7/31/2015 - wgmccallum Likes this wine: 91 Points
Not a detailed note. Smoky mineral aroma, lovely fruit layers, deep charged fruit with vibrant acid frame. Wonderful.
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6/14/2015 - Geoff Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful floral nose. Violets. Smooth texture, great balance, sophistication, depth without overextraction. Marvelous wine!
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3/15/2015 - Omar Khayyam wrote:
Go West tasting march 13 2015 (sheraton, stockholm, sweden): has great fruit, balance between structure, fruit and freshness, but it also shows a lot of new oak at the moment. needs some years to calm down and integrate
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2/27/2015 - cab blends wrote: 91 Points
S&E Wine Club - Blind Pinot Wine Tasting: Dark with a hint of purple. Baby powder with lilac and boiled sweets on the nose.
Tannins are 7/10. A nice moderately long finish.
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2/27/2015 - Millennial Drinkers Likes this wine: 93 Points
S & E Wine Club - Blind Pinot Noir Tasting (Wine Cave): huge lilac nose
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2/15/2015 - Bellalisa99 wrote: 92 Points
Nice balance of fruit, acid and minerality.
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12/26/2014 - StefanAkiko Likes this wine: 87 Points
Wineferno Tokyo 2014 (La Rochelle Akasaka (Tokyo)): I would not at all call this Burgundian in style.
Blinded, my first impression was of a rather dull New World meritage, but when suddenly the P-word was mentioned, my senses stopped regarding this as a bland meritage and instead registered it as an ok PN.
Nose: Raisins, plums, very young and quite simple.
Palate: Rich plummy aromas. Suffers from a lack of tannic structure/backbone. Has a flaccid feeling. The PN spice peeks out after a long time in the glass.
Did not do well with the food.
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7/27/2014 - wetlandwino wrote: 95 Points
This is an amazingly good pinot that is ready to enjoy right now, but will improve with some age as well. It is not what I normally think of as a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. It is full bodied with intriguing complexity. It's not fruit forward like a California pinot, but has much more substance, and yes maybe less elegance, than a burgundy. I got to find more - only one bottle left.
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6/12/2014 - theodore3 Likes this wine: 92 Points
I like this wine. Light for BF but bright and fruity.
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5/25/2013 - David Paris (dbp) wrote:
Willamette Valley for Memorial day weekend and a peak at 2012; 5/25/2013-5/26/2013: Soft aromas, offering generous deep strawberry fruit. Mild palate entry with nicely integrated fruit. Pretty soft and mildly structured. Feels rather warm on the palate. Very soft finish with moderate structure. Pretty lean texturally, but at the same time fairly alcoholic (it was said to be 14.1%). This wine feels rather flabby and lean on structure for a Beaux Frères Vineyard bottling. Not sure where this is headed, but I always much prefer these wines in cool years, so this may be one of my least favorites since 2006. (86-89 points).
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