August 19, 2013 - A solid pinot noir from a great producer. Opened with big fruit of strawberry and crisp berries. Long on the finish and lasted a good 2 hours. Second bottle was a 2009 Williams-Seleym, a more expensive bottle but I think the Red Car beat it.
The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Medium.
It smells like Strawberry, and Raspberry.
The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Juicy texture.
March 18, 2013 - Well balanced and very approachable Pinot. Light body, sweet cherry overtones, and a pleasant finish make this a real joy.
October 1, 2011 - ---
COLOR: Purplish-ruby, translucent
NOTE: Nice standard fruity PN nose with fresh ripe strawberry, sweet black cherry, a little cinnamon/nutmeg, a hint of heat this time. No tomato or leather here. Mouth is rich with ripe red raspberries, strawberry, pomagranate, then some brown sugar that gives it a little opulence. The finish is nice at 30 seconds, with a little kick of heat, but the fruit dominates with a dusting of baking spices. This is still in great shape and could probably go a few more years. I wish I could taste this side-by-side with the Heaven and Earth to see which one wins. This could edge it out! Great QPR.
DECANT: 1 hr
GLASS USED: PN
TASTE: 9.2
OTHER:
COST: 45
VALUE: 8.8
PREVIOUSLY TASTED: 08/09
TRY AGAIN: n/a
PAIRING: n/a
Inquiries can be addressed to troypeterson@usa.net
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September 5, 2011 - 2nd bottle of this for us. Again, a little underwhelmed given the high WS scores. Definitely a well made wine, almost silky in the glass. Beautiful Pinot nose of strawberry, rose petal and spice right out of the bottle. Lacked acidity on the palate, however. The tannins were soft and round. I imagine that this was better a few years ago. A very good wine. Drink now.
July 26, 2011 - wine seemed to be in a weird stage. Still pronounced oak which needs more integration. I don't believe this wine is a long lived wine and should probably be consumed over the next 3 years. Wine should continue to improve slightly as the oak further integrates with my wine. The fruit forwardness I tasted back in 09 has somewhat subsided. This was my last bottle, so I guess I will never know how well this wine will improve other than reading others tasting notes. My final score after three years tasting this wine 89. I will also say I much prefer their heaven and earth bottling.
June 10, 2011 - Sweet cherry and berry flavors that are both complex and spicy. Silky tanins and a long finish which seems sweet and spicy. A California style pinotnoir which is fruit forward.
April 15, 2011 - Well-made wine, though I think we may have caught it at an inopportune time. Nose was closed--really not giving anything up at all save for a faint whiff of sour cherries. There was a green, stem-like component on the front end of the palate, leading to a nice full strawberry mid-palate. Citrus (grapefruit?) component on the back end. Very good, but not transcendent.
March 18, 2011 - Decanted in glass. Have to say I was very underwhelmed. The fruit was there, the tannins were polished, but there was no complexity to this that warrants the big scores. Didn't really evolve at all over the next 1.5 hours. Hoping that the other bottle I have will show better.
November 29, 2010 - This is the second time I've had this wine and it is the second time I have been disappointed. Not sure where the 94 point Spectator score is coming from. This time the wine was more balanced than when I had it a year ago, but it still just didn't do it for me.
November 17, 2010 - Big cherry, strawberry and rose aromatics. Wonderful. Disappointed only by the fact it is the last bottle.