My first bottle of this, the first ever Three Barrel, in nearly a decade. Nice aromas, expressing some chocolate, some herbal brush, briar, camphor, really nice mature seedy, soft black raspberries... there's still a tartness present with the fruit, but it does smell mature. Overall, the aromas are quite pretty and elegant, and to me comes across as wonderfully aged. There is still fruit on the nose, but it is getting more tertiary, and more earthy in its development. Soft round, puckering fruits on the palate, with flavors of licorice. The palate feels very well integrated. Sharp puckering acid on the finish; you're left with the feeling of chewing on anise seeds, green herbs, some soily earth tones. The wine feels very complete. Structurally it feels resolved; the acid is present nicely, but the tannins are mostly receded, though still lightly present, if rather diffuse despite still some drying sensation present. I think this is a beautifully aged Oregon Pinot Noir... just what I would seek at this age. No hesitation to drink these now, but I also will enjoy continuing to watch these evolve to their full tertiary phase.
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Not decanted. Deep garnet red with considerable fading at the rim. The nose was quite muted at first but eventually opened up to reveal some red fruit and earth but little complexity. The wine was pretty harsh and angular on the palate for the first 90 minutes or so and then softened. Tastes more of structure and acidity than anything else. Can the fruit really have already faded? Stored in my cellar since release.
Dark inky/opaque burgundy color with some browning at the edges. Nose dark fruited with some baking spice, hint of menthol. Palate surprisingly youthful, big yet with good acidity brightening the flavors, some red cherries. The color had worried me but the nose/palate are still shockingly primary, a powerful wine. 92 pts
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Just starting to enter it's drinking window IMO. Beautiful wine that barely shows signs of age, the structure is well balanced and starting to show polish. Ill check back in a few years.
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1/20/2023 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 91 Points
My first bottle of this, the first ever Three Barrel, in nearly a decade. Nice aromas, expressing some chocolate, some herbal brush, briar, camphor, really nice mature seedy, soft black raspberries... there's still a tartness present with the fruit, but it does smell mature. Overall, the aromas are quite pretty and elegant, and to me comes across as wonderfully aged. There is still fruit on the nose, but it is getting more tertiary, and more earthy in its development. Soft round, puckering fruits on the palate, with flavors of licorice. The palate feels very well integrated. Sharp puckering acid on the finish; you're left with the feeling of chewing on anise seeds, green herbs, some soily earth tones. The wine feels very complete. Structurally it feels resolved; the acid is present nicely, but the tannins are mostly receded, though still lightly present, if rather diffuse despite still some drying sensation present. I think this is a beautifully aged Oregon Pinot Noir... just what I would seek at this age. No hesitation to drink these now, but I also will enjoy continuing to watch these evolve to their full tertiary phase.
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6/4/2022 - tomandlu wrote: 83 Points
Not decanted. Deep garnet red with considerable fading at the rim. The nose was quite muted at first but eventually opened up to reveal some red fruit and earth but little complexity. The wine was pretty harsh and angular on the palate for the first 90 minutes or so and then softened. Tastes more of structure and acidity than anything else. Can the fruit really have already faded? Stored in my cellar since release.
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2/2/2021 - arthrovine wrote: flawed
Corked. Dammit. Fruit and structure still felt primary
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3/31/2018 - fred o. Likes this wine:
Dark inky/opaque burgundy color with some browning at the edges. Nose dark fruited with some baking spice, hint of menthol. Palate surprisingly youthful, big yet with good acidity brightening the flavors, some red cherries. The color had worried me but the nose/palate are still shockingly primary, a powerful wine. 92 pts
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9/9/2017 - gripNsip Likes this wine:
Just starting to enter it's drinking window IMO. Beautiful wine that barely shows signs of age, the structure is well balanced and starting to show polish. Ill check back in a few years.
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