Community Tasting Note

• CaliCab wrote: 90 points

  April 27, 2010 - To be honest - I was worried about trying this wine. Being friends with the winemaker...what if I didn't like it? What if it was crap? Not that I didn;t have expectations - this guy certainly knows his stuff - but everyone has their palate, and even the great ones miss every now and again.
  
  Man, was I worrying for nothing. This stuff is great. If I had never heard of this guy and picked it up off a shelf in a store for half again over what it actually cost, I would have been happy.
  
  Not translucent, but not opaque. A nice light, bright ruby, even with a slight brownish tinge. Nose of cotton candy and maple oak. Delicious nose. Scrumptious nose. The kind you want to just sit and sniff for a while before you even bother tasting. Strawberries and maple smoke. Delicious.
  
  On the palate, tart red fruits, and heavy fruit. This is a pinot in the new new world style, definite fruit forward but with the acifdity to keep it place-driven, not overly sweet or cloying, not too heavy and manipulated. Great acid definitely counterbalances the bright red fruit. This is along the lines of a Kutch pinot - I saw a lot of parallels here.
  
  If there is one criticism, it's a bit high alcohol, so it has a little too much heat and a touch of a bitter finish. It gives it good weight, though, which will be a plus to many drinkers, but it is a little bit of a mismatch to the good acid, the delicate appeal of the wine, to have a heavy handed body and abv. Don't know how much input Brandon had on harvest date.
  
  All in all, a truly great wine, and jaw dropping for a rookie effort.

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