January 31, 2024 - Wonderful expression of Pinot. I didn’t find it as stemmy as other have noted. AR pinots have become my favorite varietal over the years.
December 10, 2022 - See my previous note. Still too stemmy.
September 8, 2022 - Same. Could only be Santa Cruz.
November 19, 2021 - Decanted. Lovely. Ready but not in decline 12%
April 26, 2021 - I always like the AR PMR Pinot noir and buy it every year. I am not as much a fan of 2015 so far (3 bottles) due to the stemmy flavors. A bit too much herbal leafy note here and backend density compared to the usual brighter elegant fruit in most years. It is a decent wine, but not a great year for this wine. We’ll see how it ages. It does have a Burgundian nose which might mean this ages better than expected so I will wait longer on this. Might be better with a more deeply flavored meal.
November 20, 2020 - A lean and un-sweet style of pinot: not overripe fruit, herbs, vegetables, stems, cinnamon balanced by light oak on the finish. Delightful nose. Lighter in weight. Opens up nicely after an hour or so. Same with day two. Seems to suggest that it will continue to age well for many more years.
August 16, 2020 - Still a bit light and lean, which was a surprise after the relatively rich 2014. Needs food for sure and time.
July 23, 2020 - Red berries, cranberries, cherries, and savory herbs on the nose. Well balanced with medium+ acidit, good structure, and more red cherry and berry notes on the palate. Nice finish. This feels interesting and complex, but at the same time a bit primary. Could use another few years in the cellar, but quite promising.
June 12, 2020 - I’m a noob to Santa Cruz pinots, and looking forward to exploring the appellation in time.
PnP at cellar temp. Very light in color and body, true to its 12% abv. Nose is immediately intense and complex. Freshly baked cherry pie, sweet baking spices, botanicals, just-lighted bonfire, wet forest floor, soy sauce, and a catch all of funk. Palette is tense at this age, striking in the front and lifted in the mid. The finish lingers to infinity like a sherry would. Beautiful and very Burgundian. But an unusual bedfellow to tonight’s dinner of frozen pizza 🙃.
May 16, 2020 - Elegant, ethereal, delicious