May 7, 2015 - At J & A's. Big wine befitting vintage and producer, lavish lavish did I say lavish oak, a bit hot, but fruit has held on admirably for it's age. Controversial within our foursome: two thumbs way up, one neutral, one down (mine).
April 2, 2014 - The fruit is fading; still has some structure, but not enough to really take much more time in the bottle; drink up.
December 29, 2013 - Hot, alcoholic, and medicinal. Not very pleasant.
August 20, 2010 - Oregon Pinots with the Wine Thursday group at WWS (Willamette Wine Storage - Portland, OR): Served blind: Deep nose of dark cherries, mushroom and soil, some toasted oak and vanilla coming out as well. Very large nose here, I found it very pleasing. Big on the palate as well, big velvety texture in the mouth. A few were guessing this as a California ringer, being as this was an all Oregon blind tasting. The palate shows flavors of prunes, dried cherries, damp earth. The way these flavors evolve on the palate was very pleasing. There is also ample acidity and tannins to back everything up. Very drying on the finish. Someone called this "crushed velvet elvis pinot noir", lol. Tasted young, I guessed 2005. I really enjoyed this overall.
August 19, 2010 - Oregon Pinot Noir 1997-2005 (Willamette Wine Storage - Portland, OR): This is a big, heavy wine on the nose. Roast beef and blackberry scents are supported by even oak and aged plums. Some heat shows through as well. Plums and blackberries appear right away on the palate, and there is a bit of aged character that is noticeable early on. The tannins build to become quite large and they dry the mouth fully with a bit of heat showing on the finish. 90-
August 19, 2010 - WWS Tasting Event, Portland OR--nice PN with good strawberry, cherry with nice complexity and transitions to the forest floor, & a raisin/port-ish pleasing finish. Had to be whole or lot of cluster/stem as it was more acidic than many Oregon Pinots with long tannins..this could improve for several years! Touch of sweetness on finish to go with the tartness. Nice wine with a uniqueness to the whole package.
August 19, 2010 - 1997-2005 Oregon Pinot Noir (Willamette Wine Storage): Much younger smelling than the previous, though it's also new and modern smelling, quite a bit bigger than the previous wines, showing some heat. There's some fruit reduction of big dark red fruits on the nose. It's softer on the palate, almost nice, showing some tart strawberry sauce over cheesecake. The finish tastes as if something's on fire, which is nice, and the tongue is left covered in red fruits.
May 4, 2010 - Very good, seemed to be at it's peak.
March 6, 2010 - Notes of earth and red fruit. Tastes of dark ripe cherries, earth and bacon and finishes with notes of flowers.
June 6, 2009 - Fruity, drinking well, will last another year at least.