April 2, 2024 - PnP. Nose shows hard candy, guava, sour cherry, and touch of lilac. Palate of black cherry, cola nut, forest floor, moss. Sour start to the finish with persistent lightweight tannins, cranberry, sour cherry, and long lasting baking spices.
January 11, 2024 - First time with this producer, a lighter expression of Sonoma coast Pinot noir coming in 13.2% alc. some vegetal notes and funk initially which somewhat blew off after an hour or so of air, still a bit present but a lot of juicy fruit like some cranberry and tart cherry. Nice acidity, juicy, nice savory finish. Seems more old world in style to some extent. Good stuff
December 9, 2023 - Pop and pour. Plum color. Not much on nose, light cherry. A little eucalyptus, some Forrest floor. Seems tight. Flavors on the front are a little sour. Follows through with a light raspberry jammy quality. Almost a bit citrus on the back. It’s good, may need to open up.
August 3, 2023 - PnP. Raspberry and cranberry fruit and lots of spice on the nose. Crunchy cherry fruit with lots of energy and red floral notes. Crisp finish shows the cranberry side with minerals, light earth layers, and cinnamon stick.
July 7, 2023 - Delicious and gets better with an hour decent.
January 15, 2023 - US and Burgundy Pinot Noir head to head: 2016 La Neblina from Radio-Coteau versus 2016 Les Perrières 1er Cru from Domaine Chevillon (NsG)
Two highly regarded producers, with the Frenchman costing some 50% more than the American.
Served semi-blind, meaning that we knew which wines we were having, but not in which glass they were served. 3/4 of the company were regular wine lovers, and not nearly as nerdy as me😊
The difference between the two was striking, and spotted by everyone. On the nose, La Neblina offered rich and ripe red fruit, generous and open armed, while Les Perrières was more restrained and precise. Where the Neblina fruit was sunny, Perrières was earthy.
It was the same with the palate. La Neblina again generous and charming versus Les Perrières tighter and more distinguished appearance - if that makes any sense. Good acidity in both of them, so Neblina did not go overboard, but again Perrières was more precise and tight.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the Perrières is a higher quality wine, but what you actually prefer to drink is a matter of taste preferences. And price, of course. I’m happy to have both
October 26, 2022 - - Ruby color with slow forming legs and aromas of smokey, cherry and tea. It's balanced and has flavours of cherry, black pepper and bacon with a medium body. Smooth texture with a long finish - Decanted two hours. Delicious fruit once the alc blows off. Smoked meat nose. Delicious full bodied Pinot that needs cellar time. RC Pinots are an amazing value and full of flavor.
July 8, 2022 - I could smell this wine all day!! Translucent purple, with rose petal, dried flower, sea spray and fresh berry field aromas. Flavors are broad with fresh cherry, cinnamon, nutmeg, toasty baked biscuit, and earthy forest floor. Acids are bright and fresh with layered, structured flavor. Delicate, very Pinot, and very complex and full. Love this wine. Could drink it all the time.
June 17, 2022 - Plush and rich with lots of sweet fruit upfront. Mostly darker berries but some lighter red notes as well. Also quite a lot of makeup from the oak, a tad too much for my taste. Nice underlying material with some spice and earth. Needs 5-10 years of cellaring to come together. Good upside.
April 27, 2022 - - Ruby color and aromas of cherry, cedar and bacon. It's somewhat balanced and has flavours of cherry and black pepper with a medium body. Smooth texture with a medium finish - Classic Radio Cocteau La and Lina Pinot aroma and flavors. Opened for 40 minutes before serving. The wine is young and needs to cellar longer. Spicy, tart cherry finish. This wine has excellent promise, but not for several years to come. Hold and cellar now.