An over extracted wine made to get a big number from Mr Parker. I guess that was the strategy back when it was made and Parker still mattered. Russian River Pinot should be elegant and pair well with food. Save this for the desert cheese course and cigars. The fruit and acid are all still there. Will last another 100 years.
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A nice PN that we drank over 2 days. We should have opened this some time ago as it has lost some fruit. All the elements are there. We will decant our remaining bottle through a Vinturi .
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Definitely on the big end of the PN spectrum, but it plays off the big fruit well. Plenty of earthy and spice flavors and great acidity to make this a very nice PN in this style. My score is lower than my prior 2 bottles just due to the fact my preference in PN has changed to the lighter side.
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This needed a lot of time in the decanter to mellow out. Opened up fairly harsh and hot. After several hours, it had smoothed into a decent wine. Not your prototypical pinot, but not bad. On the nose, candied raspberry, counterbalanced by forest floor and earthy notes and a hint of smoke. Palate offers sweet black cherry, unsweetened chocolate and cola, with a long, spicy finish. Based on the need for aeration, I'd be in no rush to drink these.
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Decanted 1+ hrs. Big and extracted, barely drinkable at first. In a word, disappointed. Very extracted, sweet and sappy, once it calmed down it didn't taste better than their regular RRV bottling. After 3 hours it fell apart. 85 is being nice.
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The bottle I had of this 1.5 years ago was definitely flawed because this wine rocked. Wonderful balance of red fruit, a little earthiness, balanced acidity, silky mouthfeel and a hint of spice on the finish. Leans toward the riper side but nowhere near OTT. My best Chasseur pinot to date.
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Just entering prime time. A wonderful pinot in the best of the California Big Style. Muddy red color, with a soaring nose of dark cherries, spice, earth, a touch of forest. In the mouth the palate is big and balanced, with sweet dark red pinot fruit, a mineral element and a darker earth element underneath. Only detraction is a touch of chalkyness or ever-so-mild bitterness at the back of the palate. Very nice finish. Goodbye KB, you've been replaced as the big Cali pinot member of TheOtherPoster's wine family.
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This was my first of the Chasseur 05 SVD's. I think the advice from Bill Hunter on the original release was to let these rest for quite awhile. They were sold as a 5 pack that year- 1 of each designate.
A recent note on E-Bob and some correspondence with Bill as I placed my 2007 order said it's time to pull one. I really liked the 05 appellation pinot's so I had I hopes for this wine. Initially I was a little concerned. The wine seemed a little light and not to the depth of flavors and structure that the last few appellation wines had. It took about 2 hours to fully blossom but when it did it really hit it's stride.
Drank it at a notch above cellar temp. Red fruit and flowers on the nose and deep red cherry with a bit of spice on the palate. Very clean and fresh. The wine was not shy on fruit but was never hot or jammy. I have always appreciated the flavor range Bill get's from his wines and the balance they maintain. Another great Pinot from Chasseur
If you have these drink now with some air time or hold a bit more....
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Rich and concentrated but not ponderous, with an emphasis on clean, ripe, dark red berry fruit along with candied citrus and strawberry and vanilla. This drank pretty well with a modest decant and on day 2, but I don't think this is a long term ager.
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Day 1, this was all green and stemmy on the nose. The palate seemed a little under-ripe as well, so I recorked. Day 3 (couldn't get to it day 2)...still a stemmy nose with some ripe fruit, smoke and spice emerging. Palate had delicate red fruits (for a Chasseur), earth and a good spicy finish, but still a little green overall. Better but not what I expect from Chasseur SVDs. This has been the first Chasseur than I have not enjoyed, so I will withhold a rating and hope it was an off bottle. Note: This bottle had a very strange cork. It was extremely hard and almost looked like someone stuck a branch in the top of the bottle and broke it off. The cork smelled exactly like the wine as well.
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Closed and monolithic when first opened. Decanted for 4 hours. Wonderful undercurrent of Burgundy within the candied fruits.The finish is long and even. Highly extractedand and concentrated this is a pleasure to drink now and imagine the potential. Definitely needs some time to come into balance. If your looking for a Chassuer that's more approachable now, I'd recommend the 2005 Sonoma Coast. It still benefits from decanting time but seems to be more balanced and accessible.
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A little funk on the nose at first. Surprised that the nose was a little closed. Burgundy on steroids. More body than the 2005 Chasseur sonoma pinot which is to be expected. Tons of sweet pinot fruit. Funkiness in the nose dies away. Boy I don't know..one minute I'm thinking Yeah! baby Yeah!.. then it's candied fruit bomb city. 93Pts?.
This has tremendous concentration (over extraction to some) that hides the structure. Over time I would expect things to come more into balance. Right now I personally prefer the Regular Sonoma Pinot to drink. It doesn't have near the the body or concentration of this wine but it drinks great right now.
After 3 hours decant time: WOW, This is a hugely extracted, rich pinot noir that is burying the acidity and tannins. The acidity is finally kicking in after a long decant. If trying again I'd decant this for a minimum of 4 hours. The acidity which is plenty kicks in after several hours and really offsets the huge fruit. Definitely has potential.
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10/28/2018 - Birorganic wrote: 87 Points
An over extracted wine made to get a big number from Mr Parker. I guess that was the strategy back when it was made and Parker still mattered. Russian River Pinot should be elegant and pair well with food. Save this for the desert cheese course and cigars. The fruit and acid are all still there. Will last another 100 years.
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6/11/2018 - Labrador wrote: 84 Points
A nice PN that we drank over 2 days. We should have opened this some time ago as it has lost some fruit. All the elements are there. We will decant our remaining bottle through a Vinturi .
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10/14/2013 - cmcmullen wrote:
McMullen Family Thanksgiving 2013
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10/11/2012 - meatman wrote: 92 Points
Definitely on the big end of the PN spectrum, but it plays off the big fruit well. Plenty of earthy and spice flavors and great acidity to make this a very nice PN in this style. My score is lower than my prior 2 bottles just due to the fact my preference in PN has changed to the lighter side.
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2/3/2012 - JOJ wrote: 89 Points
This needed a lot of time in the decanter to mellow out. Opened up fairly harsh and hot. After several hours, it had smoothed into a decent wine. Not your prototypical pinot, but not bad. On the nose, candied raspberry, counterbalanced by forest floor and earthy notes and a hint of smoke. Palate offers sweet black cherry, unsweetened chocolate and cola, with a long, spicy finish. Based on the need for aeration, I'd be in no rush to drink these.
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9/11/2011 - JS199 wrote: 85 Points
Decanted 1+ hrs. Big and extracted, barely drinkable at first. In a word, disappointed. Very extracted, sweet and sappy, once it calmed down it didn't taste better than their regular RRV bottling. After 3 hours it fell apart. 85 is being nice.
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4/8/2011 - meatman wrote: 93 Points
Similar notes to last time. A very nice pinot noir.
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4/23/2010 - meatman wrote: 94 Points
The bottle I had of this 1.5 years ago was definitely flawed because this wine rocked. Wonderful balance of red fruit, a little earthiness, balanced acidity, silky mouthfeel and a hint of spice on the finish. Leans toward the riper side but nowhere near OTT. My best Chasseur pinot to date.
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3/14/2010 - rralls wrote: 93 Points
93+ Had one glass. Remember colves/cinnamon ad pronounced fruit, but had mellowed enough that it was very pleasant.
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3/8/2010 - TheOtherPoster wrote: 92 Points
Just entering prime time. A wonderful pinot in the best of the California Big Style. Muddy red color, with a soaring nose of dark cherries, spice, earth, a touch of forest. In the mouth the palate is big and balanced, with sweet dark red pinot fruit, a mineral element and a darker earth element underneath. Only detraction is a touch of chalkyness or ever-so-mild bitterness at the back of the palate. Very nice finish. Goodbye KB, you've been replaced as the big Cali pinot member of TheOtherPoster's wine family.
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5/21/2009 - fdaner wrote: 93 Points
This was my first of the Chasseur 05 SVD's. I think the advice from Bill Hunter on the original release was to let these rest for quite awhile. They were sold as a 5 pack that year- 1 of each designate.
A recent note on E-Bob and some correspondence with Bill as I placed my 2007 order said it's time to pull one. I really liked the 05 appellation pinot's so I had I hopes for this wine. Initially I was a little concerned. The wine seemed a little light and not to the depth of flavors and structure that the last few appellation wines had. It took about 2 hours to fully blossom but when it did it really hit it's stride.
Drank it at a notch above cellar temp. Red fruit and flowers on the nose and deep red cherry with a bit of spice on the palate. Very clean and fresh. The wine was not shy on fruit but was never hot or jammy. I have always appreciated the flavor range Bill get's from his wines and the balance they maintain. Another great Pinot from Chasseur
If you have these drink now with some air time or hold a bit more....
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1/11/2009 - silton wrote: 92 Points
Rich and concentrated but not ponderous, with an emphasis on clean, ripe, dark red berry fruit along with candied citrus and strawberry and vanilla. This drank pretty well with a modest decant and on day 2, but I don't think this is a long term ager.
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10/8/2008 - meatman wrote:
Day 1, this was all green and stemmy on the nose. The palate seemed a little under-ripe as well, so I recorked. Day 3 (couldn't get to it day 2)...still a stemmy nose with some ripe fruit, smoke and spice emerging. Palate had delicate red fruits (for a Chasseur), earth and a good spicy finish, but still a little green overall. Better but not what I expect from Chasseur SVDs. This has been the first Chasseur than I have not enjoyed, so I will withhold a rating and hope it was an off bottle. Note: This bottle had a very strange cork. It was extremely hard and almost looked like someone stuck a branch in the top of the bottle and broke it off. The cork smelled exactly like the wine as well.
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2/10/2008 - 8trigram wrote: 93 Points
Closed and monolithic when first opened. Decanted for 4 hours. Wonderful undercurrent of Burgundy within the candied fruits.The finish is long and even. Highly extractedand and concentrated this is a pleasure to drink now and imagine the potential. Definitely needs some time to come into balance. If your looking for a Chassuer that's more approachable now, I'd recommend the 2005 Sonoma Coast. It still benefits from decanting time but seems to be more balanced and accessible.
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2/1/2008 - beachnic wrote: 93 Points
A little funk on the nose at first. Surprised that the nose was a little closed. Burgundy on steroids. More body than the 2005 Chasseur sonoma pinot which is to be expected. Tons of sweet pinot fruit. Funkiness in the nose dies away. Boy I don't know..one minute I'm thinking Yeah! baby Yeah!.. then it's candied fruit bomb city. 93Pts?.
This has tremendous concentration (over extraction to some) that hides the structure. Over time I would expect things to come more into balance. Right now I personally prefer the Regular Sonoma Pinot to drink. It doesn't have near the the body or concentration of this wine but it drinks great right now.
After 3 hours decant time: WOW, This is a hugely extracted, rich pinot noir that is burying the acidity and tannins. The acidity is finally kicking in after a long decant. If trying again I'd decant this for a minimum of 4 hours. The acidity which is plenty kicks in after several hours and really offsets the huge fruit. Definitely has potential.
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7/1/2007 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
2007 Pinot Days Grand Tasting (Fort Mason, San Francisco): concentrated, good 92+ pts.
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