1996 Acacia Pinot Noir Carneros

Community Tasting Notes (2) Avg Score: 93 points

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  11/2/2021 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  13% alcohol. Tasted blind.
  
  Quite translucent and moderately evolved brick-red color. Ripe, dark-toned and quite perfumed nose with aromas of brambly black raspberries, some lifted greenish nuances of peppermint, a little bit of cranberry sauce, light meaty notes, a hint of wizened black cherry and a sweeter touch of marmaladey richness. The wine is ripe, silky in texture and enjoyably acid-driven on the palate with a medium body and quite intense flavors of juicy cranberries, some cooling green nuances of peppermint, a little bit of sweet cherry-driven red fruit, light evolved notes of old leather, a hint of meaty umami and a touch of savory old wood spice. The high acidity lends good intensity and sense of balance to the wine, while the ripe, gently grippy tannins contribute both to the texture and to the structure. The finish is juicy, long and savory with a little bit of tannic tug on the gums along with a layered aftertaste of ripe cranberries, some minty tones, a little bit of old leather, light sweet notes of wizened cherries and strawberries, a hint of cranberry sauce and a touch of earthy spices.
  
  A stylish, pleasantly evolved yet still relatively youthful Carneros Pinot Noir that was surprisingly dark-toned and minty for the style. The meaty flavors and especially the nuances of peppermint took me into a completely different direction, so I honestly guessed that this was an aged Australian Shiraz from the lighter end of the spectrum - not anything huge and jammy, but instead something more delicate with emphasis on freshness and brightness of fruit. But did they make such wines 20 years ago? I don't know. Well, it doesn't matter as the wine turned out to be not from Australia and not a Shiraz. However, even though the wine really didn't make me think of California nor Pinot Noir, in any case it's a pretty lovely wine for such. Although showing some evolved characteristics, the wine isn't yet particularly mature, so I can imagine the wine will continue to improve for some years and keep just fine for much longer. Priced according to its quality at 43€.

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  2/14/1999 - SadEdjo wrote:

  strawberry fruit-bomb; med. finish with mild tannins

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