May 1, 2024 - Medium dark crimson. Medium bodied, cherries, pomegranates, cinnamon, fully integrated tannins, nice acid, and a long spicy finish. Well made and tasty.
February 25, 2023 - Double decanted 30 mins before dinner. Lovely pinot fruit coming from decanter. Poured glass for wife and myself. Dark in glass, with no browning at rim. Nose dark strawberry and spice on the nose and taste. Medium length finish with just right amount of tannins. Really enjoyable wine. I tried recalling where I purchased this, until I remembered I had purchased the 2016 vintage at local Costco. Would hope the next vintage is as delightful as this bottle. Last glass was the best, should have more time in bottle. Enjoyable now.
October 1, 2021 - Deep dark crimson in the glass. Nice nose of cherry. The finish is long with gobs of cherry pie. Solid Willamette expression.
March 19, 2020 - PnP. A bit tart out of the bottle but solid.
August 13, 2019 - there is good wine and bad wine. This is good wine, i.e. drinkable and enjoyable, but in that category I will criticize it, quite unfairly, by comparing it to the higher priced jacob hart vineyard version. I found this $35 wine in the bin properly belonging to the rex hill jacob hart vineyard $55 wine, and thought the wine gods were tempting me to try to fool my wife and save $20.
My wife actually [said she] liked it, but at the end of the evening, half of it is still in the carafe, as opposed to the evenings when we had the jacob hart and competed over the last glass until it was quite gone. So this is tasty and pleasant, but comparatively dilute, and gradually becomes boring, as contrasted with the jacob hart, which is addictive and interesting, and more concentrated. The jacob hart needs a bit of airing to open up, and I gave this some also since it smelled of alcohol on opening.
So this is good enough wine when shared around the table, indeed you do not need to be ashamed of serving it, but it cannot compare to the 2015 rex hill jacob hart vineyard.
so my advice is not to have both. i.e. if you want to try this, do so before having the higher priced wine rather than after.
edit one day later: ok today we had first a light rose wine and a white gewurtztraminer, then i poured another glass of the left - over pinot. to my surprize, it tastes now richer and more flavorful than last night. i do not know if the difference is the comparison with tonight's whites or the extra air, or the forgetfulness since the much preferred jacob hart, but tonight it is fine.
April 11, 2019 - Loved this - subtle strawberry, peppery.
March 11, 2019 - More extracted and ripe than I would have expected from an Oregon Pinot. It is still a solid effort, but I don’t like the touch of alcohol on the finish, especially for Oregon.
February 20, 2019 - This is quite good for the price. Great entry level. Mixed fruits with some darker tones. Holds up well over 3 days.
December 22, 2018 - On the nose- Really oppulent nose, cherry cola, violets, dark smoked cherries, raspberry, marionberry, baking spice, forest floor, oak and a bit of vanilla
On the palate- This wine is super smooth and rich, great cherry colate and violets, dark smoked cherries, raspberry and marionberry, great fresh baking spice, some forest floor and a little oak and vanilla, this wine is super smooth but with good acid that keeps everthing together, this wine is drinking well now with a 1 hour decant but could age another 8-10 years if not longer with no problem at all, just a fantastic Pinot from Oregon
December 6, 2018 - Wonderful Pinot for a fantastic price. Let open for about 30 minutes for ideal taste. Full bodied; medium acidity. Blueberries and smoked cherries, almost like a cherry cola taste, firm, very nice tannins. Stock up.