Much better than when I last had it over a decade ago, the fruit came to the fore, nice raspberry, maybe a little on the thin side but more well rounded and little to none of the bell pepper. Dry and not the longest finish but very nice surprise.
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My last bottle. Sad. Still really, really good ... good fruit, good body. Went out on a high note with some chipotle-spiced thick-cut bone-in pork chops.
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Still has deep color and good fruit coming through. Paired with a salmon dish. Nice acidity. Still really enjoy this wine. And this was apparently my last bottle.
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Wow, what staying power this wine has. It hasn't faded at all. It vibrant with great (medium weight) body and balanced fruit and acidity. Bright red cherry on the nose with lots of red fruit and spice on the palate. Starts bright, but then coats tongue with a nice complex earthiness. Nice on its own but also excellent paired with a pork roast.
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PnP: delicious. Earth and bright cherry, leaning slightly toward raspberry, also with a nice dose of mushroom. Just what I like in a Pinot.
Second glass, about an hour or so later. The fruit is a touch darker, more firmly into the cherry range, at least on the nose. Some spiciness has come out as well, almost clove-like. Similar evolution of the palate. The mushroom/earth has become more integrated as well and it's a great sip.
The evolution continues in basically the same way. Delicious wine, nice waves of fruit alternating with mushroom. Tons of life left in this one.
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Very hot right out of the bottle. After decanting for about an hour it improved quite a bit. Beautiful translucent color, excellent with fennel spiced salmon burgers.
No specific notes, only that my OR-centric palate found this to be a reasonable PN. Not usually fan of Carneros PN but I think this is in a good spot right now.
This is a very nice medium to fuller bodied Carneros Pinot that is a great deal for the price. I enjoy the hints of spice and testures of this bottle. I don't think this wine is getting any better now so drink them up. Dink now till 2013
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Last opened in '09. Let this one breathe awhile. Probably won't improve anymore than where it is now. Won't disappoint. Probably one of the best $20ish pinots you'll find.
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Medium ruby color. Somewhat closed on the nose with faint hints of red fruit coming through. Slightly earthy on the palate with a bit of black cherry and cranberry. A little flat on the palate with medium acid at best and a soft mouthfeel. Previous bottles were better. Time to drink up if you are still holding any of this wine.
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Clear, slightly brownish magenta. Raspberry pie, mulled spice, and earth nose. Medium bodied, lots of cherries, cranberries, pepper, cedar, well integrated tannins, good acid, some heat, and a slightly tart medium finish. An iron fist in a velvet glove. Excellent.
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Fascinating, atypical Pinot noir. Strong color, biggish fruit, and distinctive flavor of coffee on the finish. Unusual lack of cherry fruit so common in Pinot.
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This is a true traditional Carneros Pinot. The sweet cherry on the nose is a wonderful appetizer to the first drink. The cherries from the nose continued through to the finish with a nice amount of acid and maybe the slightest hint of white pepper. A wonderful Pinot that is at its peak and ready to be enjoyed today.
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Even better with another year of age. Vibrant red fruits with a strong acid backbone, and excellent length. No funk, just red fruit. hints of leather coming through and lots of other things going on too. Classic Carneros. On the austere, restrained side, but with fruit! With this balance, these bottles should last quite a few years, and might well improve with bottle age secondaries.
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Good. Drank after another bottle of red. It was thinner in texture so didn't taste very well at first. But after it had time to breath it was very good.
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Light body, subtle aromas bing cherry, leather and spearmint, mild tannins and acid finish. A very subtle wine with alcohol in check. Balanced. Drank w/ grilled beef tenderloin and asparagus, a south beach delight.
Tasted on 3/6/11 with Scott in Syracuse. Great, smooth taste, consistent across the board. Slight smokey finish. Nice cherry and raspberry notes with a spicy nose
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Much less red fruit this time around with some slightly earthy notes coming through on the nose and palate along with some baking spice. The palate also showed much more tart cranberry and dried cherry flavors than juicy red fruits like my last bottle. Went well with food but it felt a little thinner this time around. I do not think this wine is meant for the long haul so I would drink up in the near future.
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V nice but too light. Red clean Pinot nose. White pepper start. Good acid. Red fruit zippty zip on the palate. Light-ish. Sort-medium finish. Tartish Loganberries at the finish, but thins in the end. Kent said it was “big and jammy” Well, to his palate, maybe. Very good wine, overshadowed by the new 2007.
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nose is flat upon opening. bright fruit and spice on the delicious palate. finish is ok. a little one dimensional as mentioned in other notes, but this is pleasurable everyday drinker.
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This is an exceptional pinot noir. I can't tell you what berries it tastes like, but I can tell you that this is an excellent wine with a great nose and it goes great with most any meal, even steak...
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Was kept on a rack at room temp for 6 months. Opened with dinner and was not good. Nose was excellent initial taste was good. But the wine had a huge bitter finish. I do not remember the other I bottle tasting this way. We didn't even finish it. I am unsure if if it was storage that ruined it or if it just happened to be a bad bottle.
This bottle was misused, planned to have with dinner and it got opened for cocktails-not a sipping wine by itself. Was better a little later with food.
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Similar to previous notes though I think the cranberry is moving a bit towards like an underripe/tart plum. Still drinking well but this bottle confirms to me that it's not really gaining anything with bottle age anymore. Drink over the next year or so.
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Similar notes to previous tastings, though the nose was somewhat more challenged and the previously strong cranberry tartness was far more muted... Im wondering if this may have just past its peak or if it is bottle variability.
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One of the fruitiest Pinot's I've come across. Fruit overpowers all else, although you can still tell it's a Pinot. Much more subtle 2 days later, so I'll enjoy again in a couple years. Don't recall what I paid but it's only an average QPR around $20.
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On first opening, greeny notes, very pleasant, but somewhat closed. 3 minutes of sitting and the berries started coming out, then a swirl and some earthy tones come out too. Nice. Loooong finish. T says: so far mostly agrees. A bit of heat/kick still.
Getting better with time. This bodes well. Jammy flavours are coming out.
Really happy to have had this one now. Even happier that I've got two more laying down.
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Predominantly cherry and red fruit, with the oak coming through. Fine as a $20 food wine - but really, if you are paying anything more, there are better (less one dimensional) pinot's from OR or burgandies that are far more interesting. Would not buy again.
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This was served at a birthday dinner along with two other Pinots. I decanted this three hours before dinner. When served, it had a nice medium red color and a wonderful nose of red fruits - mostly cherries, some cranberry - and earth. It tasted as good as I remembered, with the red cherry coming through even stronger than on the nose, along with spices and a hint of vanilla. A very nice wine.
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Pop and pour -- fruit on the nose, some latexy/alcohol smell as well. taste: cherries at first. very strong cranberry note on finish. tasting really good right now.
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March 24, 2009: First Impressions Before opening the bottle, I let the temperature come up to approximately 68° F. I noted that this wine was a little darker in color than some of my other pinots. The initial nose was of black cherries and currants, perhaps. I got a little floral smell as well. When it first went in my mouth, I had a distinct impression of sour red berries – not fully ripe red raspberries and pie cherries. It had distinctive and pleasant tannins and a moderately long finish, going toward vegetal and herbal as it faded. My over-all impression at this point was that it was a VERY good pinot – it certainly held up to the best I tried in the Willamette Valley recently. Okay, pizza’s done, so it’s off to the kitchen for further tasting… The pizza was a mild-flavored Canadian bacon, mushrooms, black olives and fresh onions. I spiced it up with a liberal sprinkling of red pepper flakes. The wine had opened up substantially while the pizza was cooking and had a much fruitier nose. The acidity really worked well with the slight sweetness of the pizza sauce and the fruitiness was a nice counterpoint to the capsaicin in the pepper flakes. Definitely a wine for food! It had a longer and slightly fruitier finish than other pinots I tasted it against. This is a wine that wants to hang out with a nice meal, and it would go with a wide variety of dishes. Last, tasted the wine with chocolate. I picked a 61% cocoa solids semisweet chocolate, which was suggested by the manufacturer for pairing with Pinot Noir or Merlot. The Rasmussen had a full, round, robust taste that nicely complemented the chocolate. Well, so much for the sensory qualities. Now, on to the scoring. Rather than choosing just one scale, I have decided to rate this wine on several different scales. Please choose the one that speaks to you. On the two-point “Y” scale, my first impression was that this wine “yum” (as opposed to “yuck”). In the end, though, after the pizza and chocolate tests, I find this scale inadequate to the situation. On this rating scale, it was impossible to differentiate this wine from the two others I was tasting at the same time – all rate “yum”, yet there were clearly differences among them. On the Internet 5 Star rating scale, the Rasmussen earned a score of 5 stars – “I Love It.” This was better than the worst of the wines I was tasting, but another wine – which clearly did not match this one in overall quality was given the identical score. On the 20-point French Higher Education scale, the Rasmussen again earns an identical score with one of the other wines: 17 points – “tres bien.” On the 20-point UC Davis scale, the Rasmussen edges out its nearest competitor (of the three I was tasting) by scoring an 18 against the competitor’s 17. On the 100-point Robert Parker scale, I score this Rasmussen at 91 points – a truly outstanding wine. This puts it 2 or 3 points ahead of the next best wine I was tasting. Finally, if not most importantly on the open-ended f***ing scale, this wine scores, “this is the best f***ing Pinot Noir I have had – even a cheap bast**d like me would be willing to shell out to put a few bottles of this in the cellar. Of course, I’m not going to f***ing serve it to my clueless friends who don’t know Chardonnay from f***ing Cabernet!” March 25, 2009 - morning: Pinot – not just for dinner any more While I don't usually drink before work, I decided to have a (small) glass with my morning toast to see how the Rasmussen held up after 12 hours. First, I am sorry to say that Colgate Sensitive Whitening is not the best background against which to taste this wine. It took a couple of mouthfuls swished around over the pearly whites before I thought I was getting a good taste of the wine. I had stuffed the cork back in the bottle after about 3 1/2 hours last night and it was now about 12 hours since I first opened the bottle. There is a distinct mellowing of some of the sharpness and I detect more earthy, vegetal tones. Still a very good wine, but not quite to my taste now. March 25, 2009 – evening: Improving by the Hour I'm home from work. The bottle of Rasmussen was opened 22 hours ago now, but it has had a cork in it for 18 of those hours. When I pour a slug, the fruit immediately wafts out of the glass - redolent of cherries, currents and dark berries. There's also turned earth in the background - kind of a clay-like thing, but not in a bad way. My nose doesn't usually pick up on the herbal kinds of things, nor so much on the floral. Anyway, unlike this morning (when it was clearly me that was off), this really smells good. The color is still crystal-sharp ruby red, with a light ring around the glass. In my mouth, I don't get near as much sour as I did last night. The first impression is definitely fruit, echoing what went up the snoot. Then, it hits pretty hard with the tannins on the back sides of the tongue. It slowly fades over more than 20 seconds, with the last bit reminding me of ... the skin of a red delicious apple? Make of it what you will, that's what I got. Better now than ever. The moral of this story is, don't drink good wine in the morning and, whatever you do, don't brush with mint toothpaste first. Wow! Just took a big gulp to empty the glass. It seemed wasteful, but it was really good, covering all the surfaces of the palate and tongue at the same time. Very complex - lots of stuff going on all at once. My assessment: the Kent Rasmussen 2006 Carneros Pinot Noir is a very good Pinot. At $35 per bottle, it is beyond my normal price comfort zone, but based on my limited experience with good Pinots, that price is fair. At $25 per bottle it's really good QPR. I think this will be even better in a couple years, but its darned good now.
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Medium ruby color. Lovely nose of bright red fruit (strawberry and cherry) with a nice floral component and sweet spice. Tons of juicy red berry flavors on the palate as well with medium+ acid makes the wine dance on the palate. Smooth mouthfeel and enjoyable finish. This is very nice pinot for the money.
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this is an 89 with upside as this ages. Decanted a couple hours. Wonderful fruity nose. Still just a little tight -- looking forward to opening again in a couple years....
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Brought to a NYC Sip-n-Sail tasting aboard a 1920s sailing yacht, tasted out of Govino shatterproof wine glasses. Not giving an official rating due to already knowing it was being opened too soon & the less-than-ideal glasses, but it's in the 91+ range. It was essential a pop-n-pour due to the situation, so it started out extremely tight on the nose, but eventually gave way to earthy tones with cherry fruits. Highly tannic on the palate as expected, but still brings forth bold earthy fruits. This was one of my favorites of the day & I plan to cellar my next 5 bottles for at least 2 more years. Or at least a 3 hour decant if opened before that.
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This is arguably the best pinot noir I've had (typically not a pinot fan, but it's growing on me). Fruit on the nose, silky, with a nice, full body. As it opened, more earthen notes. I think this will age for years to come.
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Needed some time to open up, but once it did, nice sour cherries on the front with an easy finish. I will be waiting for at least a year to open up the next bottle as this is still very young.
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Dark, vivid, translucent raspberry. Nose is quite hot and tart, with red berries, tobacco and earth.
Ripe strawberry and cherry (almost maraschino); loads of fruit but not flabby, due to the excellent acidity and even some appreciable tannins. The latter two fairly make my mouth water, sort of zingy and chalky. I still find this a bit hot, but the lushness of the fruit tempers much of the heat. I get more astringent earthiness on the mid-palate, with spice and tobacco on the finish.
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LWTF - Napa Tasting (London): (Brief notes & thoughts from Walkaround Tasting): Light to mid-ruby in colour, the wine has cherry cola and that classic Californian nose. Light in the body, the wine is still high in alcohol with notes of toasty oak strawberry and ripe, almost tinned cherries. Framed by velvety tannins, this has gobs of fruit balanced by a lively acidity to make it highly enjoyable if a little front and centre!
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13% alcohol. Tried this side-by-side with the 05 - at this point the comparison isn't fair - this wine isn't ready for prime time... The nose is very lean in offering anything showing just alcohol, seems tight...the palate reveals the same impression. Not rating.
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3/2/2023 - ccrida Likes this wine: 89 Points
Much better than when I last had it over a decade ago, the fruit came to the fore, nice raspberry, maybe a little on the thin side but more well rounded and little to none of the bell pepper. Dry and not the longest finish but very nice surprise.
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9/20/2019 - Acohen Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nice rich cherry and still good body and finish
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7/29/2016 - foobarski Likes this wine: 92 Points
My last bottle. Sad. Still really, really good ... good fruit, good body.
Went out on a high note with some chipotle-spiced thick-cut bone-in pork chops.
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5/18/2016 - PolarBear22 wrote: 92 Points
Still has deep color and good fruit coming through. Paired with a salmon dish. Nice acidity. Still really enjoy this wine. And this was apparently my last bottle.
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3/9/2016 - thunderfly Likes this wine: 88 Points
Light bodied with lightly floral and berry fruit aromas. Mild tannins and acidity. Still drinking nicely.
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1/16/2016 - foobarski Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still drinking exceptionally well. Killed with a roast pork loin.
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9/30/2015 - snowstrm Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wow, what staying power this wine has. It hasn't faded at all. It vibrant with great (medium weight) body and balanced fruit and acidity. Bright red cherry on the nose with lots of red fruit and spice on the palate. Starts bright, but then coats tongue with a nice complex earthiness. Nice on its own but also excellent paired with a pork roast.
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6/21/2015 - PolarBear22 wrote: 92 Points
Fantastic fruit and deep color. Great wine.
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11/22/2014 - foobarski Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still exceptional and wonderful. Full of spice and fruit.
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7/6/2014 - Jetjock wrote: 90 Points
Lovely aroma, very smooth with subtle flavors and very good length. Glad I put some in the cellar and well done, Mr. Rasmussen!
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6/29/2014 - foobarski Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still drinking exceptionally well.
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9/29/2013 - klezman wrote:
PnP: delicious. Earth and bright cherry, leaning slightly toward raspberry, also with a nice dose of mushroom. Just what I like in a Pinot.
Second glass, about an hour or so later. The fruit is a touch darker, more firmly into the cherry range, at least on the nose. Some spiciness has come out as well, almost clove-like. Similar evolution of the palate. The mushroom/earth has become more integrated as well and it's a great sip.
The evolution continues in basically the same way. Delicious wine, nice waves of fruit alternating with mushroom. Tons of life left in this one.
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7/21/2013 - Bill1100 wrote: 88 Points
Very hot right out of the bottle. After decanting for about an hour it improved quite a bit. Beautiful translucent color, excellent with fennel spiced salmon burgers.
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5/10/2013 - 10centpower Likes this wine:
No specific notes, only that my OR-centric palate found this to be a reasonable PN. Not usually fan of Carneros PN but I think this is in a good spot right now.
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3/23/2013 - foobarski Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still going strong. Not as much of the typical PN "tang". Just rich and mellow. Simultaneously powerful and subtle, if that makes any sense. :-)
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3/3/2013 - WDSteers wrote: 91 Points
Restrained soft tannins strawberry accents
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1/11/2013 - foobarski Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still magnificent. Slightly "darker" now, I believe.
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12/17/2012 - juneau bob wrote: 88 Points
Nose of beet and apple and sugar frosting. Medium body. Tart berry flavor.
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9/19/2012 - NEwino wrote: 91 Points
This is a very nice medium to fuller bodied Carneros Pinot that is a great deal for the price. I enjoy the hints of spice and testures of this bottle. I don't think this wine is getting any better now so drink them up. Dink now till 2013
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7/1/2012 - WineBovine wrote: 89 Points
Last opened in '09. Let this one breathe awhile. Probably won't improve anymore than where it is now. Won't disappoint. Probably one of the best $20ish pinots you'll find.
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6/9/2012 - Rich S wrote: 86 Points
Medium ruby color. Somewhat closed on the nose with faint hints of red fruit coming through. Slightly earthy on the palate with a bit of black cherry and cranberry. A little flat on the palate with medium acid at best and a soft mouthfeel. Previous bottles were better. Time to drink up if you are still holding any of this wine.
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4/4/2012 - NEwino Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasting Notes from my January 2012 bottle still apply. This is a wonderful bottle with a slight hint of spice. A very nice Carneros Pinot.
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3/2/2012 - merryberry wrote: 91 Points
Clear, slightly brownish magenta. Raspberry pie, mulled spice, and earth nose. Medium bodied, lots of cherries, cranberries, pepper, cedar, well integrated tannins, good acid, some heat, and a slightly tart medium finish. An iron fist in a velvet glove. Excellent.
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1/27/2012 - kdwoodrow@gmail.com Likes this wine:
Fascinating, atypical Pinot noir. Strong color, biggish fruit, and distinctive flavor of coffee on the finish. Unusual lack of cherry fruit so common in Pinot.
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1/23/2012 - foobarski wrote: 92 Points
Every bit as good as it's always been.
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1/18/2012 - NEwino Likes this wine: 91 Points
This is a true traditional Carneros Pinot. The sweet cherry on the nose is a wonderful appetizer to the first drink. The cherries from the nose continued through to the finish with a nice amount of acid and maybe the slightest hint of white pepper. A wonderful Pinot that is at its peak and ready to be enjoyed today.
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1/13/2012 - richardhod Likes this wine: 90 Points
Even better with another year of age. Vibrant red fruits with a strong acid backbone, and excellent length. No funk, just red fruit. hints of leather coming through and lots of other things going on too. Classic Carneros. On the austere, restrained side, but with fruit! With this balance, these bottles should last quite a few years, and might well improve with bottle age secondaries.
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12/19/2011 - boatman72 wrote: 91 Points
Sweet cherry carresses your mouth leading into a smooth finish. Excellent Pinot! Drank up two bottles & everyone loved it.
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11/25/2011 - mgribble94 wrote: 86 Points
Not our favorite. Improved with food and opened up after a bit. Gren pepper funk kinda threw me off.
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11/25/2011 - ccrida wrote: 87 Points
This was disappointing. Lots of bell pepper. A little hot as well. Not much depth. Decanted for a few hours.
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11/23/2011 - foobarski wrote: 92 Points
Vinturi'd into decanter. Smoke and spice, leather and cedar. Excellent with an over-roasted pork loin.
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7/4/2011 - TPV Wine Cellar wrote:
Good. Drank after another bottle of red. It was thinner in texture so didn't taste very well at first. But after it had time to breath it was very good.
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4/15/2011 - woodwardcellar wrote:
Still dirty. But good dirty.
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3/12/2011 - juneau bob wrote: 89 Points
Light body, subtle aromas bing cherry, leather and spearmint, mild tannins and acid finish. A very subtle wine with alcohol in check. Balanced. Drank w/ grilled beef tenderloin and asparagus, a south beach delight.
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3/6/2011 - WinemakerJosh Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasted on 3/6/11 with Scott in Syracuse. Great, smooth taste, consistent across the board. Slight smokey finish. Nice cherry and raspberry notes with a spicy nose
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2/23/2011 - BigTarheel wrote: 86 Points
Fairly straight-forward and simple but quaffable.
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2/21/2011 - richardhod Likes this wine: 88 Points
light, but full of red fruit and well-made.
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2/21/2011 - richardhod wrote:
birthday for Alex woot! 4th aug...
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2/14/2011 - Bebe8 wrote: 88 Points
Little light
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2/5/2011 - Wicked Panda wrote: 90 Points
Drinking very well. Fruit, low alcohol, nice soft finish.
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1/7/2011 - nlassow wrote:
Wonderful PN. Drank along side '06 Riverbench. KR was more subtle and the extra cellar time seemed to pay off!
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12/18/2010 - foobarski wrote: 92 Points
Still very bright and fruity and delish.
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11/21/2010 - Rich S wrote: 88 Points
Much less red fruit this time around with some slightly earthy notes coming through on the nose and palate along with some baking spice. The palate also showed much more tart cranberry and dried cherry flavors than juicy red fruits like my last bottle. Went well with food but it felt a little thinner this time around. I do not think this wine is meant for the long haul so I would drink up in the near future.
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11/17/2010 - richardhod Likes this wine: 89 Points
V nice but too light.
Red clean Pinot nose. White pepper start. Good acid. Red fruit zippty zip on the palate. Light-ish. Sort-medium finish. Tartish Loganberries at the finish, but thins in the end. Kent said it was “big and jammy” Well, to his palate, maybe.
Very good wine, overshadowed by the new 2007.
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8/9/2010 - hawkeye54 wrote: 89 Points
nose is flat upon opening. bright fruit and spice on the delicious palate. finish is ok. a little one dimensional as mentioned in other notes, but this is pleasurable everyday drinker.
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7/25/2010 - DUnit wrote: 90 Points
Smooth, lots of spice, well balanced.
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7/21/2010 - merryberry wrote: 87 Points
Light red color. Raspberry nose, stewed cranberry, leather, and a dry finish. Not ready for prime time.
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7/19/2010 - RobertDwyer wrote: 85 Points
Nice enough but a lands a little flat. I think I know now why this was a closeout.
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5/21/2010 - Dormouse99 wrote: 89 Points
Lighter red color. Balanced, light body. Cranberries immediately after opening. Wonderful fruity finish.
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4/26/2010 - Bill1100 wrote: 89 Points
This is an exceptional pinot noir. I can't tell you what berries it tastes like, but I can tell you that this is an excellent wine with a great nose and it goes great with most any meal, even steak...
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4/17/2010 - TottenCellars wrote: flawed
Was kept on a rack at room temp for 6 months. Opened with dinner and was not good.
Nose was excellent initial taste was good. But the wine had a huge bitter finish.
I do not remember the other I bottle tasting this way. We didn't even finish it.
I am unsure if if it was storage that ruined it or if it just happened to be a bad bottle.
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4/5/2010 - midai wrote:
This bottle was misused, planned to have with dinner and it got opened for cocktails-not a sipping wine by itself. Was better a little later with food.
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3/26/2010 - sdaniel911 wrote: 89 Points
Cherries very upfront at first, then the cranberries come thru. Lots of red fruits. Very easy to drink, smooth finish.
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3/17/2010 - oog wrote: 90 Points
Similar to previous notes though I think the cranberry is moving a bit towards like an underripe/tart plum. Still drinking well but this bottle confirms to me that it's not really gaining anything with bottle age anymore. Drink over the next year or so.
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3/16/2010 - jdabrowski1027 wrote: 90 Points
solid
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2/27/2010 - oog wrote: 89 Points
Similar notes to previous tastings, though the nose was somewhat more challenged and the previously strong cranberry tartness was far more muted... Im wondering if this may have just past its peak or if it is bottle variability.
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2/10/2010 - wirelesswine wrote: 89 Points
A nice pinot - tart red fruits that suggest cherry, cranberry. Slightly simple but really tasty.
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1/31/2010 - 10centpower wrote: 88 Points
One of the fruitiest Pinot's I've come across. Fruit overpowers all else, although you can still tell it's a Pinot. Much more subtle 2 days later, so I'll enjoy again in a couple years. Don't recall what I paid but it's only an average QPR around $20.
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1/31/2010 - jdabrowski1027 wrote: 90 Points
drank over 3 days, and the fruit lasted.
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1/17/2010 - oog wrote: 91 Points
Same notes as last time. Very consistent.
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1/15/2010 - foobarski wrote: 92 Points
Luscious. Spicy fruity nose, lotsa berries.
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12/31/2009 - klezman wrote: 89 Points
On first opening, greeny notes, very pleasant, but somewhat closed. 3 minutes of sitting and the berries started coming out, then a swirl and some earthy tones come out too. Nice. Loooong finish.
T says: so far mostly agrees. A bit of heat/kick still.
Getting better with time. This bodes well. Jammy flavours are coming out.
Really happy to have had this one now. Even happier that I've got two more laying down.
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12/30/2009 - housemaidsknee wrote: 87 Points
Predominantly cherry and red fruit, with the oak coming through. Fine as a $20 food wine - but really, if you are paying anything more, there are better (less one dimensional) pinot's from OR or burgandies that are far more interesting. Would not buy again.
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12/20/2009 - dayoff53 wrote: 91 Points
This was served at a birthday dinner along with two other Pinots. I decanted this three hours before dinner. When served, it had a nice medium red color and a wonderful nose of red fruits - mostly cherries, some cranberry - and earth. It tasted as good as I remembered, with the red cherry coming through even stronger than on the nose, along with spices and a hint of vanilla. A very nice wine.
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12/19/2009 - oog wrote: 91 Points
Pop and pour -- fruit on the nose, some latexy/alcohol smell as well. taste: cherries at first. very strong cranberry note on finish. tasting really good right now.
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12/13/2009 - dayoff53 wrote: 91 Points
March 24, 2009: First Impressions
Before opening the bottle, I let the temperature come up to approximately 68° F. I noted that this wine was a little darker in color than some of my other pinots. The initial nose was of black cherries and currants, perhaps. I got a little floral smell as well.
When it first went in my mouth, I had a distinct impression of sour red berries – not fully ripe red raspberries and pie cherries. It had distinctive and pleasant tannins and a moderately long finish, going toward vegetal and herbal as it faded. My over-all impression at this point was that it was a VERY good pinot – it certainly held up to the best I tried in the Willamette Valley recently.
Okay, pizza’s done, so it’s off to the kitchen for further tasting…
The pizza was a mild-flavored Canadian bacon, mushrooms, black olives and fresh onions. I spiced it up with a liberal sprinkling of red pepper flakes. The wine had opened up substantially while the pizza was cooking and had a much fruitier nose. The acidity really worked well with the slight sweetness of the pizza sauce and the fruitiness was a nice counterpoint to the capsaicin in the pepper flakes. Definitely a wine for food! It had a longer and slightly fruitier finish than other pinots I tasted it against. This is a wine that wants to hang out with a nice meal, and it would go with a wide variety of dishes.
Last, tasted the wine with chocolate. I picked a 61% cocoa solids semisweet chocolate, which was suggested by the manufacturer for pairing with Pinot Noir or Merlot. The Rasmussen had a full, round, robust taste that nicely complemented the chocolate.
Well, so much for the sensory qualities. Now, on to the scoring. Rather than choosing just one scale, I have decided to rate this wine on several different scales. Please choose the one that speaks to you.
On the two-point “Y” scale, my first impression was that this wine “yum” (as opposed to “yuck”). In the end, though, after the pizza and chocolate tests, I find this scale inadequate to the situation. On this rating scale, it was impossible to differentiate this wine from the two others I was tasting at the same time – all rate “yum”, yet there were clearly differences among them.
On the Internet 5 Star rating scale, the Rasmussen earned a score of 5 stars – “I Love It.” This was better than the worst of the wines I was tasting, but another wine – which clearly did not match this one in overall quality was given the identical score.
On the 20-point French Higher Education scale, the Rasmussen again earns an identical score with one of the other wines: 17 points – “tres bien.”
On the 20-point UC Davis scale, the Rasmussen edges out its nearest competitor (of the three I was tasting) by scoring an 18 against the competitor’s 17.
On the 100-point Robert Parker scale, I score this Rasmussen at 91 points – a truly outstanding wine. This puts it 2 or 3 points ahead of the next best wine I was tasting.
Finally, if not most importantly on the open-ended f***ing scale, this wine scores, “this is the best f***ing Pinot Noir I have had – even a cheap bast**d like me would be willing to shell out to put a few bottles of this in the cellar. Of course, I’m not going to f***ing serve it to my clueless friends who don’t know Chardonnay from f***ing Cabernet!”
March 25, 2009 - morning: Pinot – not just for dinner any more
While I don't usually drink before work, I decided to have a (small) glass with my morning toast to see how the Rasmussen held up after 12 hours. First, I am sorry to say that Colgate Sensitive Whitening is not the best background against which to taste this wine. It took a couple of mouthfuls swished around over the pearly whites before I thought I was getting a good taste of the wine. I had stuffed the cork back in the bottle after about 3 1/2 hours last night and it was now about 12 hours since I first opened the bottle. There is a distinct mellowing of some of the sharpness and I detect more earthy, vegetal tones. Still a very good wine, but not quite to my taste now.
March 25, 2009 – evening: Improving by the Hour
I'm home from work. The bottle of Rasmussen was opened 22 hours ago now, but it has had a cork in it for 18 of those hours. When I pour a slug, the fruit immediately wafts out of the glass - redolent of cherries, currents and dark berries. There's also turned earth in the background - kind of a clay-like thing, but not in a bad way. My nose doesn't usually pick up on the herbal kinds of things, nor so much on the floral. Anyway, unlike this morning (when it was clearly me that was off), this really smells good.
The color is still crystal-sharp ruby red, with a light ring around the glass. In my mouth, I don't get near as much sour as I did last night. The first impression is definitely fruit, echoing what went up the snoot. Then, it hits pretty hard with the tannins on the back sides of the tongue. It slowly fades over more than 20 seconds, with the last bit reminding me of ... the skin of a red delicious apple? Make of it what you will, that's what I got.
Better now than ever. The moral of this story is, don't drink good wine in the morning and, whatever you do, don't brush with mint toothpaste first.
Wow! Just took a big gulp to empty the glass. It seemed wasteful, but it was really good, covering all the surfaces of the palate and tongue at the same time. Very complex - lots of stuff going on all at once.
My assessment: the Kent Rasmussen 2006 Carneros Pinot Noir is a very good Pinot. At $35 per bottle, it is beyond my normal price comfort zone, but based on my limited experience with good Pinots, that price is fair. At $25 per bottle it's really good QPR. I think this will be even better in a couple years, but its darned good now.
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12/10/2009 - Bill1100 wrote: 90 Points
Love this wine - lots of fruit, especially cherries. This wine could easily stand up to a big steak, but quite good with turkey and swiss sandwich!
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10/23/2009 - Rich S wrote: 90 Points
Medium ruby color. Lovely nose of bright red fruit (strawberry and cherry) with a nice floral component and sweet spice. Tons of juicy red berry flavors on the palate as well with medium+ acid makes the wine dance on the palate. Smooth mouthfeel and enjoyable finish. This is very nice pinot for the money.
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9/14/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 90 Points
Glunz Wines Fall Portfolio tasting (The Westin, Chicago IL): nose: very good nose of creamed berries, red cherries, cola, and spice tones. Well balanced with nice depth and good forward tones
taste: excellent medium tones of raspberries, cola, red cherries and various berry tones. Good medium acidity gives this a nice spine
overall: Extremely enjoyable. While there is some cola and tart fruit tones on this, its balanced well and isn't too much in that direction
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8/9/2009 - WineBovine wrote: 89 Points
this is an 89 with upside as this ages. Decanted a couple hours. Wonderful fruity nose. Still just a little tight -- looking forward to opening again in a couple years....
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7/27/2009 - tommy_gunn wrote: 88 Points
Still young but is good and will get better with age
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7/20/2009 - HitAnyKey wrote:
Brought to a NYC Sip-n-Sail tasting aboard a 1920s sailing yacht, tasted out of Govino shatterproof wine glasses. Not giving an official rating due to already knowing it was being opened too soon & the less-than-ideal glasses, but it's in the 91+ range.
It was essential a pop-n-pour due to the situation, so it started out extremely tight on the nose, but eventually gave way to earthy tones with cherry fruits. Highly tannic on the palate as expected, but still brings forth bold earthy fruits. This was one of my favorites of the day & I plan to cellar my next 5 bottles for at least 2 more years. Or at least a 3 hour decant if opened before that.
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6/19/2009 - Otolith wrote: 92 Points
This is arguably the best pinot noir I've had (typically not a pinot fan, but it's growing on me). Fruit on the nose, silky, with a nice, full body. As it opened, more earthen notes. I think this will age for years to come.
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6/4/2009 - schuey wrote: 89 Points
Needed some time to open up, but once it did, nice sour cherries on the front with an easy finish. I will be waiting for at least a year to open up the next bottle as this is still very young.
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5/31/2009 - hld1970 wrote: 90 Points
On the young side, but decanting helped as well as extra time opening up in the glass. Served with grilled salmon, couscous and grilled asparagus.
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5/1/2009 - tommy_gunn wrote: 88 Points
very good, still needs some time in the cellar... decant
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4/14/2009 - cbloszinsky wrote: 90 Points
I drank this with the family over dinner and they all loved it. Good fruit and it lasted longer then I expected.
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4/13/2009 - fairnymph wrote: 88 Points
Dark, vivid, translucent raspberry. Nose is quite hot and tart, with red berries, tobacco and earth.
Ripe strawberry and cherry (almost maraschino); loads of fruit but not flabby, due to the excellent acidity and even some appreciable tannins. The latter two fairly make my mouth water, sort of zingy and chalky. I still find this a bit hot, but the lushness of the fruit tempers much of the heat. I get more astringent earthiness on the mid-palate, with spice and tobacco on the finish.
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4/6/2009 - RossR wrote: 93 Points
My new favorite Pinot! The potential this already excellent wine has to improve with some age is phenomenal.
Earthy nose, bright cherry fruits, velvety but strong tannins,, and a tart acid finish.
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5/24/2008 - rikipedia Likes this wine: 90 Points
LWTF - Napa Tasting (London): (Brief notes & thoughts from Walkaround Tasting): Light to mid-ruby in colour, the wine has cherry cola and that classic Californian nose. Light in the body, the wine is still high in alcohol with notes of toasty oak strawberry and ripe, almost tinned cherries.
Framed by velvety tannins, this has gobs of fruit balanced by a lively acidity to make it highly enjoyable if a little front and centre!
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11/10/2007 - vinole wrote: 87 Points
Crown Fall 07 Upscale Tasting (Boca Raton, FL): Bing cherries and high acidity with a sharp finish. Probably too soon to evaluate fairly.
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9/23/2007 - CO CHRIS wrote:
13% alcohol.
Tried this side-by-side with the 05 - at this point the comparison isn't fair - this wine isn't ready for prime time...
The nose is very lean in offering anything showing just alcohol, seems tight...the palate reveals the same impression. Not rating.
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