Cranberry, raspberry, cherry, smoke and spice box on the nose and palate. Opened and aerated about 20 minutes before serving. Needed the airtime, as the acidity and tannins created more sour cherry than cherry. As the meal progressed, the wine really came into balance. Served with an apple stuffed pork loin, smashed new potatoes, and carmelized pancetta brussels sprouts. Lovely pairing! The fruit is beginning to fade but this is still a very nice Pinot, no residue. I wouldn't hold it much longer.
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Slo-oxed about 20 minutes and continued to open. Some light aromas of dark red fruit and earth on the nose. The medium bodied palate showed these same dark red fruits and earth, along with balancing acidity, and totally integrated tannins. It has been almost 3 years since our previous bottle of this wine and while the wine remains in balance it has definitely faded and is showing its age. Drink up!
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Decanted off ample sediment 1/2 hour in advance. Surprisingly bright and fresh nose and palate. On the ripe side but still decent acidity and with complexity of flavors. Glad we opened this now.
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PnP. Initial nose was musky, and palate gave only some red fruit with overwhelming acidity. After 15+ minutes of slo-ox, the nose cleaned up and yielded dark red fruit and earth. The medium bodied palate showed, in abundance, these same dark red fruits and earth, along with juicy, but balancing acidity, and totally integrated tannins. There was no sediment. The wine should hold for another couple of years.
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This deep ruby wine serves up aromas and flavors of spice cake, Montmorency cherries, raspberries and sassafras. Medium-bodied, fresh and with nicely integrated alcohol (listed as 13.5%), it supports its flavors with ample ripe tannins. While the middle palate thins a bit, the resurrected finish is medium in length. There is certainly nothing technically wrong with this Pinot, but it is somewhat simple and unmemorable. Drink now-2022.
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Extremely sweet cherry fruit - not terribly complex or sophisticated. More up front then on the mid-palate of finish. Did not fare well with other blind tasters who had some relatively negative reviews...
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This sour and angular Pinot seems lost between two worlds; a little fruit-heavy at the beginning, and a little acid-heavy on the end, it ends up tasting like a mess. Light garnet in color, medium in body, nose of strawberry, pomegranate, and straw. Tastes of raspberry, cherry cola, anise, and spices, with a brief, sour, and stemmy finish. 13.5% alcohol.
I don't know what Rusty Gaffney (PinotFile) was tasting here, but - to me - this Pinot just isn't that good. I tasted on the same night as Pinots from Rhys, Cattleya, and Kosta Browne, and this was a distant fourth place. I wish these folks all the best, but this bottle just wasn't ready for prime time.
Our first Big Basin Pinot. Won’t be our last. Good complexity and balance. The integrated acidity gives the red berries a nice mouth watering quality on the palate, so if you’re not careful it will disappear quickly. The nose is the star, and the only reason we didn’t kill the bottle in less than an hour after pouring the first glasses. A little time in the decanter really woke things up, and the notes of mushroom, earth, and holiday spices were kind enough to emerge before the fruit starts fading.
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Tannins were still very bright. I will wait another year before opening the next bottle. Much potential, as the wine smoothed out over the course of the evening.
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Red berries, pine forest floor, hints of spice on the nose. Delicious but loaded with tannins. Opened up nicely after two hours in the decanter. I would let this one sit for another year or so
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Black cherry and plum on the nose, with a smoky accent and a savory/meaty note. Palate is blackberry and plum, cut but a nice citrus streak. Loads of acid, and hint of wet stones. Complex, and should improve as it settles down.
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This was awesome, as expected. It pours lightly cloudy, translucent and fully red. The nose is of red currant jelly, dried cranberries, wet soil, thyme, cardamom, cinnamon, pine sap, smoke and strawberry jam. Showing it's 42% whole cluster fermentation via a lot of added complexity. Despite Big Basin using carbonic maceration on these Pinots lately I didn't find any of the bubblegum notes that I tend to dislike. My only complaint at the moment is that the red fruit is a bit large scaled and I would like to see it calm down as it ages and hopefully integrates.The palate has just what I like; low dusty tannin, high red fruited acid and a medium plus finish replaying many of the elements of the nose. Very enjoyable with grilled BC Coho Salmon.
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13.5% abv. Medium light ruby. Bright aromas of cloves and cinnamon. A delightful red fruit and spice palate impression. Deep, but very light on its feet. Great job by Bradley!
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750ml; PnP; Opened this wine within the week it arrived at my offsite. A bit darker crimson while still mostly translucent. Obviously no bricking. Nose of strawberry, currants, cherry, and cinnamon and white pepper spice. On the palate, medium intensity strawberry, currants, slightly stemmy flavor (vegetal), cinnamon and clove. Moderate to low tannins with slightly stiff acidity. Tasted without food and was a bit untamed - would be better with food or wait a year or two to calm down.
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11/23/2023 - WineJunkieWest Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cranberry, raspberry, cherry, smoke and spice box on the nose and palate. Opened and aerated about 20 minutes before serving. Needed the airtime, as the acidity and tannins created more sour cherry than cherry. As the meal progressed, the wine really came into balance. Served with an apple stuffed pork loin, smashed new potatoes, and carmelized pancetta brussels sprouts. Lovely pairing!
The fruit is beginning to fade but this is still a very nice Pinot, no residue. I wouldn't hold it much longer.
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3/12/2023 - VlgJeff wrote: 88 Points
Slo-oxed about 20 minutes and continued to open. Some light aromas of dark red fruit and earth on the nose. The medium bodied palate showed these same dark red fruits and earth, along with balancing acidity, and totally integrated tannins.
It has been almost 3 years since our previous bottle of this wine and while the wine remains in balance it has definitely faded and is showing its age. Drink up!
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12/29/2021 - DBdeParis Likes this wine:
Decanted off ample sediment 1/2 hour in advance. Surprisingly bright and fresh nose and palate. On the ripe side but still decent acidity and with complexity of flavors. Glad we opened this now.
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4/22/2020 - VlgJeff wrote: 90 Points
PnP. Initial nose was musky, and palate gave only some red fruit with overwhelming acidity. After 15+ minutes of slo-ox, the nose cleaned up and yielded dark red fruit and earth. The medium bodied palate showed, in abundance, these same dark red fruits and earth, along with juicy, but balancing acidity, and totally integrated tannins. There was no sediment. The wine should hold for another couple of years.
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8/23/2019 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 86 Points
This deep ruby wine serves up aromas and flavors of spice cake, Montmorency cherries, raspberries and sassafras. Medium-bodied, fresh and with nicely integrated alcohol (listed as 13.5%), it supports its flavors with ample ripe tannins. While the middle palate thins a bit, the resurrected finish is medium in length. There is certainly nothing technically wrong with this Pinot, but it is somewhat simple and unmemorable. Drink now-2022.
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8/23/2019 - BHRH Likes this wine: 89 Points
Extremely sweet cherry fruit - not terribly complex or sophisticated. More up front then on the mid-palate of finish. Did not fare well with other blind tasters who had some relatively negative reviews...
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2/4/2019 - msuwine wrote: 88 Points
This sour and angular Pinot seems lost between two worlds; a little fruit-heavy at the beginning, and a little acid-heavy on the end, it ends up tasting like a mess. Light garnet in color, medium in body, nose of strawberry, pomegranate, and straw. Tastes of raspberry, cherry cola, anise, and spices, with a brief, sour, and stemmy finish. 13.5% alcohol.
I don't know what Rusty Gaffney (PinotFile) was tasting here, but - to me - this Pinot just isn't that good. I tasted on the same night as Pinots from Rhys, Cattleya, and Kosta Browne, and this was a distant fourth place. I wish these folks all the best, but this bottle just wasn't ready for prime time.
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9/15/2018 - millerarner Likes this wine: 93 Points
Our first Big Basin Pinot. Won’t be our last. Good complexity and balance. The integrated acidity gives the red berries a nice mouth watering quality on the palate, so if you’re not careful it will disappear quickly. The nose is the star, and the only reason we didn’t kill the bottle in less than an hour after pouring the first glasses. A little time in the decanter really woke things up, and the notes of mushroom, earth, and holiday spices were kind enough to emerge before the fruit starts fading.
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12/31/2017 - jemccray64 wrote: 94 Points
Great SCM Pinot! Strawberry, earth, and spice.
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7/11/2017 - norsktorsk wrote: 90 Points
Thin, not my favorite.
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5/19/2017 - WineJunkieWest Likes this wine: 90 Points
Tannins were still very bright. I will wait another year before opening the next bottle. Much potential, as the wine smoothed out over the course of the evening.
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3/8/2017 - jemccray64 wrote: 90 Points
Red berries, pine forest floor, hints of spice on the nose. Delicious but loaded with tannins. Opened up nicely after two hours in the decanter. I would let this one sit for another year or so
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2/18/2017 - JOJ wrote: 90 Points
Black cherry and plum on the nose, with a smoky accent and a savory/meaty note. Palate is blackberry and plum, cut but a nice citrus streak. Loads of acid, and hint of wet stones. Complex, and should improve as it settles down.
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7/19/2016 - Gruffalius Likes this wine: 94 Points
Big, red fruit. Just delicious!!
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9/5/2015 - tekygeek wrote: 95 Points
Thought I was drinking Burgundy. Gorgeous after 45 mins.
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8/28/2015 - Wine Canuck wrote: 92 Points
This was awesome, as expected. It pours lightly cloudy, translucent and fully red. The nose is of red currant jelly, dried cranberries, wet soil, thyme, cardamom, cinnamon, pine sap, smoke and strawberry jam. Showing it's 42% whole cluster fermentation via a lot of added complexity. Despite Big Basin using carbonic maceration on these Pinots lately I didn't find any of the bubblegum notes that I tend to dislike. My only complaint at the moment is that the red fruit is a bit large scaled and I would like to see it calm down as it ages and hopefully integrates.The palate has just what I like; low dusty tannin, high red fruited acid and a medium plus finish replaying many of the elements of the nose. Very enjoyable with grilled BC Coho Salmon.
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7/12/2015 - jemccray64 wrote: 93 Points
Complex Floral aromas, red current, and a bit of oak on the nose. Flavors of rich red fruits with a long earthy finish
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3/6/2015 - kosinski wrote:
Aroma: wildflowers, cedar, blueberries, loam.
Palate: blueberry cobbler, wet earth, plum, cedar. Velvety texture. Soft tannin. Good structure. Moderate complexity. Drink early.
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2/28/2015 - jemccray64 wrote: 95 Points
Too early, but we couldn't resist. Delicious with lavender and violent aromas, Santa Cruz forest, Carmel and great structure
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12/27/2014 - Mike Dildine Likes this wine: 93 Points
13.5% abv. Medium light ruby. Bright aromas of cloves and cinnamon. A delightful red fruit and spice palate impression. Deep, but very light on its feet. Great job by Bradley!
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12/20/2014 - jemccray64 wrote: 93 Points
Ripe plum, violet, rose petal and subtle spice scents, plum and strawberry on palate. Put awY for another year.
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11/22/2014 - BornToRhone wrote: 90 Points
750ml; PnP; Opened this wine within the week it arrived at my offsite. A bit darker crimson while still mostly translucent. Obviously no bricking. Nose of strawberry, currants, cherry, and cinnamon and white pepper spice. On the palate, medium intensity strawberry, currants, slightly stemmy flavor (vegetal), cinnamon and clove. Moderate to low tannins with slightly stiff acidity. Tasted without food and was a bit untamed - would be better with food or wait a year or two to calm down.
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