January 1, 2022 - Black fruit up front, moves smoothly into a dense, layered core with herbs, cocoa, earth, some slight tertiary notes just to let you know it's gone 13 years. Finishes long on softer tannins and a little pop of acidity. Beautiful integration and structure here... YUM!
May 13, 2021 - Nice wine. Drinking well. Did not seem tired. Bit of oak on the finish.
December 1, 2019 - Deep purple red color. Distinct nose - sour cherry, a bit of herbs and a hint of smoke. Different than most Cali pinots. Very smooth, good acid, integrated, still vibrant but starting downward aging curve.
November 10, 2019 - Really drinking beautifully here. Silky smooth with primary, secondary and tertiary notes in balance and integrated.
July 4, 2019 - As far as fun auction bottles go, this ‘09 Wetzel Pinot hit the mark - nicely aged, great condition, great price! This was a tasty treat giving a strongly red-fruited nose (strawberry, ripe red plum) with a palate leaning more towards an intriguing savoury side (dry soil, licorice root, cocoa). The mid-palate did seem a bit hollow for a while, but with time the wine did come around to provide a mouthfilling experience all the way through. Upon opening up, notes of cinnamon/woodspice, red nibs (delicious!), and black cherry emerged; oak was present, but certainly well integrated at this point. Nothing particularly tertiary jumped out suggesting there is still time for this bottle, though it seems to be in a good place at the moment - I did snag another bottle so maybe I’ll take a chance on further progression. Not mindblowing but most definitely worth the price - a great auction selection!
May 24, 2019 - Opened for 3 hours before serving; elected not to decant. This wine seems to be right at its probably very long peak. Expressive dark fruit, mineral and earth on opening that only improved with time and more so after pouring (a decant would not hurt). On palate this has just the right amount of full dark and some light berry pinot fruit, fresh (not crunchy) acidity and trace of tannic backbone. No signs of aging other than a performance that could not have been realized in its 1st three years.
May 16, 2019 - Purchased from Winebid for $25. A steal for this impeccably stored Pinot of this quality. Still exhibiting a dark color yhat hardly looks faded. Expressive nose of dark cherries, cola, mushroom and herbs. The acidity on this is so fresh and the dark fruits are so sharp that I would have never guessed it was a decade old. Wish I had bought more than one bottle to see what tertiary flavors and aromas develop.
November 9, 2018 - Needed to free some space in my wine lockers, so drank this - despite my plans to revisit in a few yrs. Same tasting note as before. Paired beautifully with braised lamb.
March 31, 2018 - PnP, another cali pinot noir tonight that is not really speaking to me. This one is perhaps a bit more restrained in the fruit and cherry cola department than the W-S and RM consumed beside, but still leans more to jam than to earthiness.
January 20, 2018 - Blind, I would have guessed Burgundy. Beautifully restrained, earthy, musty. Dried leaves and mushrooms. Sage. Garrigue. Hints of red fruit. Tremendous acidity. I will cellar my other bottle for *at least* 5 more yrs. This could become something quite special - a rarity, in my experience, when it comes to cellaring CA PN for the long haul, ie a decade plus.