Community Tasting Notes 6

• lachord Likes this wine: 90 points

  August 4, 2019 - Dark ruby color, berries, cherry and hints of spice. A heavier Pinot, but very nice.

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• Rootmann Likes this wine: 91 points

  November 8, 2018 - Paired this up with a pork tenderloin roasted w2ith vidalia onions & baby bella mushrooms. Once it opened up after an hour of decanting, it was wonderful!!!

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• DaveZack Likes this wine: 92 points

  February 18, 2015 - We received this bottle from Fess’ wine club in November, 2012. The bouquet suggests dark fruit, oak, earth, and an abundance of spices. The wine pours pretty dark for a Pinot (not too surprising considering the fruit was sourced from a cool-climate region (the Santa Maria Valley, a world-class region for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir)).
  Like pretty much all of Fess’ wines, this is a fabulous Pinot. As the nose suggested, there is indeed mostly dark/black fruit (plums, blackberries, etc.), along with a MOUNTAIN of black pepper and other savory herbs. Fess’ wines can often be a bit too ripe and oaky (especially their whites), but this beauty is actually gorgeously well-balanced. There’s just a hint/suggestion of oak (which also contributes a tad of vanilla to the flavor profile along with some rich creaminess), which integrates beautifully with the wine’s structure (smooth/elegant tannins, the perfect amount of food-friendly acidity and zippiness, and despite the wine’s 14.9% alcohol (which sounds WAY too high) the overall structure is nicely balanced and should allow this wine to continue to age/mature beautifully for another 5+ years.
  I LOVE Pinots from cool-climate regions; they’re generally VERY food-friendly and have fantastic structure (tannins/acidity/alcohol) that will allow them to mellow-out beautifully in the cellar. This beauty is dark, spicy, beautifully/perfectly tannic/acidic (making it incredibly food-friendly), rich, creamy, spicy, and fabulously delicious. I paired this Pinot with pork loins spiced with CostCo’s “Sweet Mesquite” spice blend (for those who have read my previous write-ups/reviews, I eat a lot of chicken thighs and pork loins spiced with that FANTASTIC spice blend (I’ll probably have a Fess white wine in the next day or two paired with those chicken thighs)). This wine is drinking gorgeously right now and should continue to age nicely until at least 2020. This is a cool-climate Pinot Noir that’s tough to beat (it almost tastes like a Northern Sonoma Coast Pinot).

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• bbcc66 Likes this wine: 90 points

  June 6, 2014 - Dark red color. Pretty big-bodied for a Pinot (in a good way). Nice big, bold, dark fruit tastes.

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• rjdoan wrote: 90 points

  December 23, 2012 - Great Pinot noir. Nice color deeper than most. Hints of strawberry on the nose and palate. Some complexity.

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Pro Reviews 2

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2010
• Type Red
• Producer Fess Parker
• Varietal Pinot Noir
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard Bien Nacido Vineyard
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Central Coast
• Appellation Santa Maria Valley
• UPC Code 718038555996

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
• In Cellars 31 (33%)
• Consumed 64 (67%)

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