July 4, 2012 - Nose: Extreme barnyard funk. Like sniffing a cow's ass in the middle of a forest. Taste: an explosion of flavor -- high alcohol heat, cherries, tobacco, in that order. Major acidic tartness to balance the berry fruit sweetness throughout. A really aggressive Pinot with some fascinating characteristics, but overall a little too over-the-top.
August 19, 2011 - decanted for 1 hour and enjoyed over 3 hours. really pretty pinot aromas of black cherries, spice, and dried earth. put on weight and depth of flavor throughout the evening, leaning toward blacker fruits from its original red fruit profile. while pinot has yet to sway me as a go-to varietal, i am finding myself enjoying pinot more and more. paired with a blt and worked really well, playing with the bacon's savory qualities and the sweetness of the tomato. the weight of the wine was perfect for the interplay of textures from the blt. good stuff! 86-89.
May 18, 2011 - this was a great pinot and a steal at twenty dollars...tremendous balance and acidity with nice juicy red fruits..much better than a majority of pinots i have had recently at twice the price. this remained vibrant on day two. i am loading up on this. highly recommend if you can find it.
January 16, 2011 - Massive bouquet of red fruits. More body than typical pinot. Great finish and enough acidity to pair well with our appetizers. A steal at this price.
December 12, 2010 - have now tried 3 bottles and believe this is a best buy. Didn't experience any mustiness, but plenty of soft fruit and good balance. I would recommend this wine if it was 50% more costly.
October 14, 2010 - My second bottle of this consistently good PN. Great qpr
September 4, 2010 - Seriously good and perfectly balanced. Gimme more!
August 23, 2010 - pop and pour consumed over 3 days. day 1, musty and full of barnyard. let the first glass sit on the table for a few hours, then poured back in the bottle and decided to wait until day 2. day 2 still showed some funk, but the black cherries and wet earth showed through. the palate was round and full of beautiful red fruits. the finish was more of the same. day 3, funk was gone, replaced by a nice cherry cola aroma. the palate sweetened up quite a bit and lost its earthy complexity, and the finish took on some flat cola flavors. all in all, very enjoyable, but needs a year or two to come together.
June 13, 2010 - this Bottle may have been flawed. it was really musty at first. however, Del loved it and it did smooth out. there was enough there i will try again.
June 9, 2010 - Very serious Pinot at this price. Focused red fruits enveloped in a tightly wound package of fine mineral and tannins. Like drinking 1er cru cote de nuits with a hint of Russian River underneath the hood.