2008 Arcachon Cellars Pinot Noir

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 88 points

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  10/2/2011 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 88 Points

  Opened two days ago, stuck a cork in it, and finished the bottle today. It's tasting basically the same way it did upon opening. I loved the NV bottle from last year, which I gather was basically all 2007 fruit. This wine has a new label, is $2 more than the previous, and is vintage designate. I've had a lot of 2008 Pinot Noir, and the vintage definitely has a noticeable aroma, and this wine possess it in spades; amazing for an $8 wine. The aromas are of plump, full black raspberries, mild tartness, and a sweet hint of oak that last years bottling did not have. The palate is medium bodied, slightly creamy and fuller than last year, with similar plump berry flavors, mild acid, and nice tart fruit flavors. The oak touch is there here as well, but the spice and acid balance things out. The finish is nicely acidic again, and light, as acid dances on the tongue but a vanilla oak flavor lingers. The fruit here is very nice, but this feels a bit more massaged, and not as raw Pinot essence as the previous vintage. The oak influence here is a bit too much for me. I'm sure it's all older oak, but still, the cooperage is impressive considering the price here: Tonnellerie Remond and Francois Freres. Other details, this is from 7 different vineyards, all the way from the north to the furthest south. The press material said they made changes this year to "create a more approachable wine at an earlier age and decrease the hard tannin that our earlier vintages had." I preferred the honest wine the 2007 was slightly more, perhaps, but this is still a knock it out of the park value in Oregon Pinot Noir.

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