December 15, 2023 - Robert's Holiday Dinner at Margaux's Table (Margaux's Table, White Bear Lake, MN): Light red color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour plus. I love the gorgeous red fruits here; more strawberry on the nose and raspberry on the palate, classic earth and dusty minerality, with amazing intensity from this pale charmer with exquisite purity on a light-medium frame. love it. 92+ to 93pts.
December 15, 2023 - Robert's Holiday Party (Margaux's): This paired nicely with a 2001 Robert Ampeau & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots....both are lighter wines and on the lean side. I liked this wine because of the strawberry component, which I usually find in Rose, but not so much in American Pinot. The wine showed quite a bit of red fruit, although more on the delicate side, i.e., light cherry, raspberry and strawberry notes with some bramble and spice. The strawberry component stood out the most for me. A nice wine I enjoyed sipping! 91+ for me, and surprising, especially for a 2011 Oregon Pinot.
December 15, 2023 - Robert's holiday get-together: Drank a small pour at a tasting. Lush strawberry and raspberry fruit that manages to mix with herbs and earth while remaining light.
May 26, 2023 - Sad to drink the last one that I have, but it's really good :-)
October 7, 2021 - Popped and poured. Intense raspberry aroma. Rich flavors of cherry and herbs, vanilla and some cola notes in the sappy finish. Firm backbone, accessible, some complexity. Well made, very good. I liked it even though I'm not normally a fan of vanilla/cherry cola flavors in Pinot Noir.
April 24, 2021 - Immediately appealing. Light weight, sweet cherry fruit. Suave and round with a lithe, light feel. Very pretty. Perfect for warm weather.
September 22, 2020 - Consumed as part of a little vertical that also included 2013-2016.
This was the WOTN, even for the person who tends towards much riper stuff. That should tell you how much weight this wine has put on in the past few years. It’s distinctly fruitier and less light than my last bottle four years ago, which surprised me. More of the typical Dundee cherry cough syrup thing going on than was present before.
I consumed this several nights ago now so I don’t have any details to recount, but it’s a stunningly aromatic wine with pure fruit, mushroomy damp earth, and savory soy-sauce-type notes backing it up. This is a very unique and beautiful wine that’s developing nicely. Drink or hold.
May 6, 2020 - Upon opening this was a little spritzy, but that went away with a few minutes in the glass/decanter. Very light in color, translucent, super light, but good intensity of flavor. Crisp red berries, minerality, and some earthiness for complexity. Excellent balance on the acid, which is present but doesn't overpower the fruit. Very elegant, immensely enjoyable.
December 25, 2019 - Nose is interesting, but body is thin and not a lot left. Past prime?
March 14, 2018 - On the backslope of it’s lifespan but still spectacular. Delicate, red fruit bouquet.