2011 Johan Vineyards Pinot Noir Three Barrel

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 90 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View David Paris (dbp)'s profile
  • Report Issue

  10/1/2023 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 89 Points

  Amazingly, my first bottle consumed from my stash of 6 purchased on release the day of my last note where I tasted it at the winery 9 years ago. The wine is absolutely fine and correct; it simply is not very compelling at this stage of its evolution. It's lacking some of the energy that it had on release. The aromas are soft and light, expressing some forest floor, briar, spice, and some bright red fruits. It's all very light in complexion, though. Palate is on the lighter side of things, without as much of that sexy palate texture that is so wonderful in most Three Barrel bottlings. Nice acid dials in on the palate and some tart red fruits. It does this well, but not overtly compelling. Good acid dials in on the finish and you're left with a lot of briar, red fruit, and acidic spice. A very lean wine that's holding together very well on its acid. I'm not sure where it's heading, though... it is actually lacking tertiary development, so perhaps when that begins to develop it will create the complexity that this wine really needs to shine, because most certainly it has the acidic structure to get there. When we first popped the bottle on night one with dinner, we just thought it a bit simplistic and acidic. Upon further reflection on day two, I realize how compact it still is... so while I was thinking "drink up," I'm now realizing the light elegance of the wine and curiosity to see what happens when that tertiary development begins. So... it's a gamble that may not be worth it, but I think I will let them rest longer after all. I suspect this will always remain one of the lesser bottlings of Three Barrel, though.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Ben Christiansen's profile
  • Report Issue

  5/23/2017 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

  100 whole cluster, picked on aromatics, acidity, fruit to tannin balance, savory, ripe, mineral on the nose. And stays that way on the palate too. Lean but all there. A beautiful thing.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View David Paris (dbp)'s profile
  • Report Issue

  9/26/2014 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 91 Points

  Gorgeous aromas! Very balanced and smooth, with tons of briar and spice. Great elegance. It comes across tart and puckering, but really elegant. Lovely stuff. The palate enters very smoothly and quite pretty. Tart, soft, smooth fruit shows great class and elegance. Very docile and light on its feet. Finish is puckering and so graceful and smooth. Tart and puckering with elegance and length here too. I love the palate impression this wine gives. As the Three Barrel always is, this wine is very tightly wound at current and needs to rest for some time. Still, this is wine of the finest expressions of Pinot Noir available in the the US. Give it 10+ years.

  3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.