2002 Walter Hansel Winery Pinot Noir The North Slope Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (8) Avg Score: 89.6 points

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  6/7/2009 - beezer6 wrote: 90 Points

  Light ruby color only showing slight signs of brick around the rim.
  Nose of lightly candied strawberries with a little earth on the back end.
  Light red flowers, sage, vanilla extract and white pepper aromas are also evident.
  Palate shows a silky mouth feel. More red berries. Raspberries with some white flowers.
  Balanced finish with lively acidity and a soft tannin structure. Very nice for a seven year old.

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  4/21/2009 - johnwine wrote: 93 Points

  Yes, still improving and even more wonderful. Lush, concentrated black fruit fills the mouth.

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  4/10/2008 - steffenpelz wrote:

  This one's going to require some explanations...I opened this on Monday night. I then decanted it for a couple of hours. When I poured it, it was fizzy with secondary fermentation, and had a bitter green streak on the finish. I could have easily justified pouring this down the drain at that point. Instead, I decided to re-cork and put back in the cellar. Fast forward to tonight...when I re-opened the wine, it was still fizzy when first poured, but with just minutes of air time, the fizziness was gone. The bitter green streak on the palate took a little longer to resolve, but it's now mostly gone, too, with the exception of a hint of it. What's left is a tremendously aromatic wine the (moderately bretty) nose of which just jumps out of the glass and grabs you. The nose actually seems like a cross between a young Burgundy and a mature Chateauneuf du Pape. Medium bodied for a Pinot, this has tremendous spice and orange zest, loads of plum and earth, and a long, structured finish. Although I wouldn't vote it the best food wine ever, this is drinking beautifully on its own tonight and I dare say this needs another few years to be at peak. In my estimation, this is still 3-4 years from its apogee.

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  1/20/2008 - decaturwinedude wrote: 86 Points

  Had a hard time with this over dinner. Nose smelled of just the faintest hint of TCA, but I was alone in picking that out. Palate featured uber-acidity that seemed slightly volitale. We drank the whole bottle, but it lacked something.

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  6/24/2006 - 5laton wrote: 90 Points

  Double-decanted 2 hours prior to drinking. Color is a dark cherry-red. Slight nose of sour cherries with a hint of barnyard. Deliciously subtle on the palate, with crunchy cherry, some spice, green herbs, and lovely acidity. Long (30+ second) finish. Really tasty, but subtle stuff...

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