Pours light, fully transparent. Nose of cherry jam, sawdust, strawberry, soil, herbs, a kiss of alcohol and some very slight reduction (so little that I'm sure it will vanish with some bottle age or decanting). The palate reveals medium minus tannin, medium plus acid and a moderate finish of cherry jam, herbs and soil. I like the profile though the wine is showing a little simple. 100% destemmed and the 14.5% alcohol does show.

This is some pretty serious stuff. Still transparent in appearance though a hair darker than the previous. The nose shows a good deal of very ripe red fruit: strawberry jam, plant stems, just a bit of smoky whole cluster, pomegranate, cedar, peat, a hint of black raspberry, mineral, touches of espresso and a hint of nose tingling pickled ginger. The mouthfeel is lush and round. Low tannin, high acid and a wonderfully spiced fresh red fruit finish. A refreshing 13.5% alcohol with some inclusion of stems during fermentation. Re-tasted later and it was showing even better. Great wine.

Funny enough I didn't like this quite as much as the Te Muna poured previous. This pours a touch darker. Translucent, but with a darker core. Nose is also darker of plum, dark cherries, black currants, some obvious unintegrated oak showing and some whole cluster character as well. Overall this is a little heavy, gloopy and dark for me today to score any higher. I would like a bit more finesse and red fruit. Fortunately the palate is somewhat more refreshing than the nose; tannins are medium minus, with medium plus acid.

This was dreadful. Pours inky, purple and blue. Purple/blue candy and Kool Aid nose. Do not like.

This pours a moderate translucent ruby. The nose is earthy, driven on brown spice, leather (just a touch of Brett!), red pomegranate, root beer and cherry. The palate has medium tannin, medium acid and a slightly hot finish. Not bad albeit a bit wild and rustic.

Another wine done in a style I can't stand. Pours inky and dark. Purple and blue candy fruit, blue jujube, kirsh and alcohol on the nose. Ringer for a Cotes du Rhone, no idea how this is passing for Pinot.

Pours a moderate translucent ruby. Evidently heavy on the oak. Nose of charred cedar, vanilla and marshmallow. Too bad because there is nice red fruit underneath: blood orange, pomegranate, cherry, strawberry and ginger. Alcohol is noted. The palate shows medium minus tannin, medium plus acid and is actually quite nice and savoury with mineral and red berry fruit. Sadly the oak and alcohol marrs this wine.

This pours moderately dark, translucent ruby with a some purple toward the rim. Slightly modern leaning with the aromatics centered on the fruit. The nose is of grapefruit, blood orange, dried red cranberries, red currant jam and mixed plums. Medium plus tannin (a little too high for me) and medium acid. The 14.0% alcohol shows up a bit on the finish and almost seems like more. I love the light citrus and red fruit but there is also some dark fruit that detracts bit for me today.

There is a fair bit of bricking on this wine at this stage. I can't speak to other showings, but this example is marred by notable VA, very heavy on the nail polish remover. I'm okay with a little VA but this was dominated by it.

This pours inky dark with heavy blue/purple saturation to the core. The nose is of violets, black licorice, purple hard candy and grape juice concentrate. Very much Southern Rhone like. Doesn't speak to Pinot Noir to me at all.

Really not bad for a budget bottle. The bottle lists a believable 12.5% alcohol and has no detected RS. Nose is mostly savoury of tar, leather, red currants, twizzlers, rubber (slight reduction, but not too bad) and a touch of red jujube. The palate has nice low dusty tannin and medium acid. Pretty short finish but what more do you want for $16? Coming to the LCBO general list this summer and I expect it'll be a pretty good value in Pinot Noir.

This pours on the lighter end of the spectrum and is bright and punchy. Similarly, the aromatics are mostly red fruited with red currants, cranberries, ginger, cream soda, herbs, dry rocky soil, organic soil, blood orange and mineral. 13.5% alcohol listed which seems accurate. The mouthfeel is round with high acid and low tannin. Beautiful. Medium plus finish. This is remarkable considering retail in Ontario would be $22. Too bad the agent doesn't have an order planned.

VA on the nose. A lot of nail polish remover I can't get past.

Wow, this one caught my attention! Such restraint and balance. This pours light and fully transparent. Nose is complex of fresh cut strawberry, fresh tilled wet soil, coffee, toast, mineral, blood orange, cranberry, pomegranate, red plum, thyme, cinnamon and raw beef. Balances the citrus tinged red fruit well against savoury non-fruit aromatics. The palate has everything in the right spot. Elevated acid, medium minus tannin with no perceived alcohol problems despite the 14.0% listed in the label. Long finish. If I'd bet on one wine in this room to age well, this would be up there. I'm impressed by the quality despite fully destemming the fruit. Lands at $40 CAD, occasionally coming through Vintages. This is a project by Kim Crawford.

This was a lovely wine in a style I quite liked. Elegant and light with pure red fruit. Nose of grapefruit, red currants, cranberry, ginger and dry soil. The palate enters with a core of wonderful optimally ripe red fruit. The palate has low tannin and medium plus acid with just a slight kiss of heat, 13.5% alcohol declared. Very good bottle. Flirting with 92 points, but a second pour later on didn't stand up quite as well as the first pour. Lands at $33 via an Ontario Agent who is new to the business, Connectionz.

This was reduced just enough for me not to enjoy it.

I have to say that I was surprised and impressed with this. I expected commercial garbage but instead found a decent QPR play at $20. Nice light colour. The nose is of light cherry, red currant, cranberry, sulfur, some light brown spice, herbs and a touch of strawberry jam. The palate enters with sweet red fruit and has good refreshing acid and low tannin. This finish is a tad short replaying some strawberry jam and herbs. While there is a bit of jammyness to the fruit at least it's entirely red. 13.5% alcohol with essentially no residual sugar. Well done.

Pours quite dark in colour. Nose is fully in the candy, licorice, kirsh, blueberry and blackberry realm. Unfortunaely another wine that is a Southern Rhone look alike and doesn't speak to Pinot Noir at all to me.

This pours moderate in colour, mostly transparent ruby, somewhere in the middle of the pack. It is predominantly red fruited with just a bit of dark fruit in reserve and a nice savoury note as well. The nose is of red cherry, plum, pomegranate, wet soil, undergrowth, a touch of incense, pickled ginger, green peppercorns and a touch of caper brine. Actually quite savoury and almost a tad like a cool climate syrah. The palate repeats the savoury edge with medium minus tannin and medium plus acid. Ever so slightly elevated alcohol pokes through on the finish but that is picking a nit. I thought this was one of the best values for money at $31 from the agent and I participated in a case buy. While drinking nicely now I expect it should improve for at least 5 more years, even under screwcap.