February 15, 2015 - Sunday Night Dinner (Eric & Megan's - Chicago): Lots to like here. Had an inviting perfume of fresh cranberries, earth, cherries, and soft floral notes. The palate was soft and supple with beautiful cranberry and earth tones. Lovely.
September 14, 2014 - A great showing for Gamay Noir.
The nose had a nice funk upon opening which blew off after 15 minutes. On the swirl the light red cherry and wet hay rise from the glass.
On the palate the red cherry is ever present along with mid palate pepper and wet hay. This is a different Gamay but doing well.
The next bottle I will decant for at least an hour.
August 19, 2014 - Interesting. Good unusual wine.
December 25, 2012 - Nat cork. A thin, bright, but cloudy ruby - pretty in the glass. A beautiful nose with a pine or resin note under strawberry fruit. Pretty acidic on first opening, smoothed out to a slightly sour cherry (reminiscent of a gueze) a bit of pepper, light with lovely balance, not heavy at all but substantial in flavor and with a finish that hangs around for quite a while. Acidity became less aggressive and merely lip smacking. Delicious and probably even better in a years time if a bit more complexity gets layered in.
September 22, 2012 - Very nice wine. Cherry.
May 19, 2012 - Subtle, light wine that would pair well with most foods. White pepper finish and really opened up well after ~ 1 hr.
April 19, 2012 - Willamette Valley - Tasted at winery: Nose of spices, black pepper and dark fruits. The black pepper overwhelmed the fruit on the palate, with spicy undertones and floral accents. The wine was almost an effervescent spritz.
February 18, 2012 - Giant Wine Sale & Tasting 2/18/2012 (Cellar on Greene, Columbia, SC): This is a real treat. We don't get much Gamay Noir shipped to us here in South Carolina. Some nice person decided to share this with us from her personal stash. As expected, this wine immediately hits you with a slight gaminess on the nose, along with rose petal and other floral components. The viscosity is very similar to the French version, definitely more than their Pinot Noir. Cranberry red color. There is rustic, rich, mouthful of focused, intense, and layered, cherry, cranberry, red raspberry, and especially mullberry fruit. There is plenty of earthy white pepper spiciness with other Asian spices and a smokey earthiness. There is big acid to balance things out, but it is very civilized and easy on the palate. The finish is rustic and gamey at the start, but smooth and elegant in a second or two. This wine is more intense than concentrated just barely breaking the 90 point glass ceiling. Nice job.
January 16, 2012 - More on the peppery side than a typical Beaujolais but still nice cherry to round it out. Certainly unique to experience a Willamette Valley Gamay but lacking in depth compared to similarly priced Pinot Noir.
December 7, 2011 - Very nice wine. Pepper undertones make it easy to pair. Mine was paired with Pancetta Risotto.