Varietal character (Appellation America) | Varietal article (Wikipedia)
Pinot Noir is the Noble red grape of Burgundy, capable of ripening in a cooler climate, which Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot will not reliably do. It is unpredictable and difficult both to grow and to vinify, but results in some of the finest reds in the world. It is believed to have been selected from wild vines two thousand years ago. It is also used in the production of champagne. In fact, more Pinot Noir goes into Champagne than is used in all of the Cote d'Or! It is also grown in Alsace, Germany, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Croatia, Serbia, Italy, Austria, and so forth, with varying degrees of success.

From Thomas Rivers Brown regarding drinking curves for his Pinots http://wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=59644):
I'll find out quite a lot this weekend when I open a 02-10 SOV vertical out of 750 for some folks in Marin. In terms of how I like to them, I'm beginning to whittle down my small stash of 04s and 05s right now. I had 04 SC and SV last night and 05 OR over the weekend. None of them showed any signs of cracks with the 04s actually needing a lot more time. Can't say I've had any 07s-09s recently, I'm letting those sleep. The best and most surprising bottle I've had recently is a 02 Summa regular, probably the best example of that wine I've had to date. It's developed quite a bit of bottle sweetness. Here's how I'd classify the wines across all the vintages:
2002--Drink soon, better a little too early than too late, stand up a day in advance, a lot of sediment
2003--SV drink soon, SOV I can't tell, at 12.4 alcohol it's moving at a glacial pace, I like it but wish it had a bit more mid-palate punch (personal preference)
2004--all need more time esp. the SOV, the goodness of the SC makes me very happy to be working with Gioia Vineyard again (it was 2/3s of the 04 SC)
2005--OR might be the best wine we've ever made, drinking great but no rush, SV needs more time
2006--big-berried year, good acidity but low tannin, definite drinkers
2007--will take a while for the baby fat to burn off, very primary but lots of acid and fruit tannin
2008--all shut down right now except the SC
2009--I wouldn't touch any of them

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