I can summarize this in two words: Overextraction & Hyperconcentration. Lacks elegance, finesse, restrain, anything that resembles pinot noir actually.
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Needed to open up a bit and once it did it was outstanding. Fresh berries and red fruit backed up with generous, well balanced acid keeps this wine in balance and a real standout.
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Seems clipped and a bit shut down. The nose is mostly absent, bt the mouth is good, if a bit tart, and the length is present and accounted for. Gets better with air, definitely.
Needs asome time. Try next in 2013?
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Dark red, dark for a Pinot. Cherries, spice and some smoke on the nose. Balanced and integrated, with red fruit and spice coating the palate. Long, pleasant finish. Paired with a grilled arctic char - quite nice.
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Decanted for 1 hour, vey promissing on the nose, blueberries and blackcurrant on the palet, long lingering aftertast. Best Pinot Noir i have had for a while.
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Decanted about 30 minutes before taking to dinner. Dark color for a Pinot noir. Big nose of earthy dark red fruit. Nicely balanced on the palate, went very well with food and had a long finish. We were sorry when the bottle went dry.
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Out of all the small vineyards that Adam Tolmach wrings Pinot Noirs from, I think Fe Ciega is my favorite. As with all of them, this is a carefully crafted masterpiece evident with each sip.
At pop, this one is going to need around 60 minutes to breathe; initially alcohol is very prominent (Melissa thought medicinal), but remember this pinot has been napping for a number of years now – give it time to wake. Afterwards, time has paid off. It has a wonderful bouquet of gentle black cherry and blackberry, some organic earthiness, and a little shack-cured tobacco or stirrings of tea (as it progressed). Body was full, ruby coloration all the way to the meniscus. Very balanced, black cherry, some wet earth and very mild white oak. The finish was short on baked black cherry, yet long of mild, tart tannins; a little sage and black tea wafts across mid-palate at the end. Cherry transitioned from black to red as this one breathed, slightly brighter too.
Overall, a perfect integration of fruit, alcohol, and tannins, subtle Old World execution, not a full on fruit bash like some California pinot. If you like crafted pinots, this is your bottle. 92/B+ = 50/5/13/9/7/8
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Popped and poured. Full garnet color with a bit of a sheen to it. Very fragrant, concentrated notes of raspberry and cherry on the nose, along with a mossy earthiness and honey candied note. Lithe and silky on the palate with lots of pure red fruit and touches of baking and eastern spice. Balanced acids and dusty tannins through the middle and finish. Finishes with spice notes of medium length. I'd like to see if any of that earthiness from the bouquet developed on the palate with a little more bottle age. Very nice.
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This is a lovely, lovely wine. Amazing earthiness on the nose, which continues on the palate, along with a slight, appealing jamminess on the palate. Taste is of roasted cherries. Extraordinarily long finish. Yum.
The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Black currant (cassis), Cherry, Forest floor, and Tobacco.
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nose - dark sweet fruit followed by oak. missing the funk. mouth - a fuller flavor but still with the structure and body of a pinot. dark fruit and tea come through the most. perhaps slighter fuller (more extracted?)than my preference, i think this showed better when slightly chilled right out of the cellar. I think traditionalists would find this to be a central coast pinot-syrah. Will appeal to those seeking more serious fruit in their pinot at the expense of complexity and suaveness.
8/6/2015 - DoubleMagnum Does not like this wine: 85 Points
I can summarize this in two words: Overextraction & Hyperconcentration. Lacks elegance, finesse, restrain, anything that resembles pinot noir actually.
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5/15/2015 - DaButtah Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still super fresh and enjoyable. Sweet red and black berry that lingers on the palate.
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9/21/2013 - JWDykes wrote: flawed
Corked
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10/2/2012 - kdart000 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Needed to open up a bit and once it did it was outstanding. Fresh berries and red fruit backed up with generous, well balanced acid keeps this wine in balance and a real standout.
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3/4/2012 - jbaron wrote: 90 Points
Seems clipped and a bit shut down. The nose is mostly absent, bt the mouth is good, if a bit tart, and the length is present and accounted for. Gets better with air, definitely.
Needs asome time. Try next in 2013?
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2/19/2012 - chuckreece wrote: 93 Points
Drink it now. At its peak. Perfect balance.
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11/24/2011 - jcsf420 wrote: 92 Points
Last Pinot for Thanksgiving dinner this year. I forgot to decant this. What a shame as it was really singing on day 2. No formal notes.
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11/4/2011 - ELH wrote: 92 Points
Decanted in the glass for an hour. Deep, dark, earthy smoky cherry. Light on the tongue but heavy in the complexity. What a great food wine.
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10/29/2011 - Tony Poli Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark red, dark for a Pinot. Cherries, spice and some smoke on the nose. Balanced and integrated, with red fruit and spice coating the palate. Long, pleasant finish. Paired with a grilled arctic char - quite nice.
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10/22/2011 - soyhead wrote: 87 Points
limited notes, big for a pinot, good intensity, some floral aspects, but overall seemingly overextracted
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9/25/2011 - S-E wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 1 hour, vey promissing on the nose, blueberries and blackcurrant on the palet, long lingering aftertast. Best Pinot Noir i have had for a while.
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7/11/2011 - daved wrote: 93 Points
deep dark and sexy with a long lasting finish
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6/11/2011 - jcsf420 wrote: 91 Points
Decanted about 30 minutes before taking to dinner. Dark color for a Pinot noir. Big nose of earthy dark red fruit. Nicely balanced on the palate, went very well with food and had a long finish. We were sorry when the bottle went dry.
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5/4/2011 - Xfactor wrote: 92 Points
Out of all the small vineyards that Adam Tolmach wrings Pinot Noirs from, I think Fe Ciega is my favorite. As with all of them, this is a carefully crafted masterpiece evident with each sip.
At pop, this one is going to need around 60 minutes to breathe; initially alcohol is very prominent (Melissa thought medicinal), but remember this pinot has been napping for a number of years now – give it time to wake. Afterwards, time has paid off. It has a wonderful bouquet of gentle black cherry and blackberry, some organic earthiness, and a little shack-cured tobacco or stirrings of tea (as it progressed). Body was full, ruby coloration all the way to the meniscus. Very balanced, black cherry, some wet earth and very mild white oak. The finish was short on baked black cherry, yet long of mild, tart tannins; a little sage and black tea wafts across mid-palate at the end. Cherry transitioned from black to red as this one breathed, slightly brighter too.
Overall, a perfect integration of fruit, alcohol, and tannins, subtle Old World execution, not a full on fruit bash like some California pinot. If you like crafted pinots, this is your bottle. 92/B+ = 50/5/13/9/7/8
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4/23/2011 - MattMauldin wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured. Full garnet color with a bit of a sheen to it. Very fragrant, concentrated notes of raspberry and cherry on the nose, along with a mossy earthiness and honey candied note. Lithe and silky on the palate with lots of pure red fruit and touches of baking and eastern spice. Balanced acids and dusty tannins through the middle and finish. Finishes with spice notes of medium length. I'd like to see if any of that earthiness from the bouquet developed on the palate with a little more bottle age. Very nice.
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2/18/2011 - chuckreece Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is a lovely, lovely wine. Amazing earthiness on the nose, which continues on the palate, along with a slight, appealing jamminess on the palate. Taste is of roasted cherries. Extraordinarily long finish. Yum.
The wine looks Garnet colored.
The legs are Slow.
It smells like Black currant (cassis), Cherry, Forest floor, and Tobacco.
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12/6/2010 - lolo66 wrote: 91 Points
frangrant nose, dark, dark purple color, medium to full bodied, dark cherry and some stwed fruit, acid to balnace and lots of spices.
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6/29/2010 - soyhead wrote: 87 Points
nose - dark sweet fruit followed by oak. missing the funk.
mouth - a fuller flavor but still with the structure and body of a pinot. dark fruit and tea come through the most. perhaps slighter fuller (more extracted?)than my preference, i think this showed better when slightly chilled right out of the cellar. I think traditionalists would find this to be a central coast pinot-syrah. Will appeal to those seeking more serious fruit in their pinot at the expense of complexity and suaveness.
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8/7/2009 - jkkane wrote:
Dark and very fruity but not a sappy, sweet fruit bomb. Nice acidity and a long, balanced finish. Nice.
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