2019 Walter Hansel Winery Pinot Noir The South Slope Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (15) Avg Score: 92.8 points

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  4/2/2024 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Fourth time tasted since April 2022:
  This bottle is even better and one of the best Walter Hansels we've tasted. We usually prefer North Slope but in 2019 this slightly eclipses it. Ruby-garnet, slight translucency. Powerful aroma of raspberries and black cherries, slight toasty oak. Lots of sweet, concentrated but round and balanced fruit, also a combination of dark red and some black fruits. High alcohol but not at all hot on the palate. There is some noticeable tannin but very soft. This will easily stay excellent for several more years but is at its peak. Tasted alongside 2019 Occidental Cuvee Elizabeth, which was almost triple the price and also excellent, but we liked Hansel slightly more. Hansel is the best price to quality pinot noir we know.
  Ric

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  2/29/2024 - Gruffalius Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Rich RRV fruit with a little spice. Solid, quality single vineyard Pinot for the price.

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  2/17/2024 - Rixley wrote: 92 Points

  Really liked this! Great aroma, (fighting a little cold so. . . ) fruit forward, youthful nose.
  Flavorful red fruits, still a little tannic bite in its youth, but my wife loved it and she does not like tannic monsters.
  A real winner - had only one and wish I had a couple of others.

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  2/2/2024 - oehlerd wrote: 88 Points

  RRV, it seems, does not compare to the willamette valley for new world Pinot.
  
  Opened this after dinner. No meaningful decant.
  Pale purple, characteristic Pinot color.
  Musty, forest floor bouquet. Has that Pinot dankness.
  The flavor though is too heavily oaked and ends on heavy cherry. Lots of vanilla. Very smooth. Not much tannin.
  
  Overall easy to enjoy, but well off the expectation I would have for a medium high priced Pinot. Perhaps too far south. Perhaps too much oak. Ranking low for price point.

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  1/7/2024 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Third time tasted since April 2022, gave it 95 and 92 previously. This bottle is even better and one of the best Walter Hansels we've tasted. We usually prefer North Slope but in 2019 this slightly eclipses it. Ruby-garnet, slight translucency. Powerful aroma of raspberries and black cherries, slight toasty oak. Lots of sweet, concentrated but round and balanced fruit, also a combination of dark red and some black fruits. High alcohol but not at all hot on the palate. There is some noticeable tannin but very soft. This will easily stay excellent for several more years but is at its peak. Different from their North Slope vineyard, which is darker fruit style. Tasted alongside 2019 Occidental Cuvee Catherine, which was triple the price but only one-third as good. No, you don't always get what you pay for! Walter Hansel is the best price to quality pinot noir we know.
  Ric

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View all 15 Community Tasting Notes

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