2001 Scott Paul Cellars Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (5/22/2008)
My last Cali juice made by Scott. The wine smelled slightly oxidized but not off putting. The palate was a bit clamped down so I decided to give it some air. With dinner that palate was very clean. As with most Pisonis, there is not much complexity but the wine is very enjoyable. The finish has some heat but it was unnoticeable with food. The fruit is still alive and the dominant feature. Laura liked this a bit more than me. The wine still had strong tannins which she likes.
2003 Brick House Pinot Noir Les Dijonnais - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (5/21/2008)
I guess this was the only 03 Brick House wine I bought. I bought light in 03. I thought it was time to start checking on my 03s considering the vintage. Out of the bottle the aromatics were a bit weird. I assumed this wine was being overrun with VA. I decanted most of the bottle and but kept a little to revisit another day. When we drank the wine the aromatics seemed more healthy but the wine was out of balance and a bit hot. The wine came out with 3 separate components. Acid followed by ripe red and citrus fruit, followed by strong tannin. After 2 nights I revisited and the wine showed better but overall this was one of the few times I have been disappointed with. Maybe in a bad place, maybe an off bottle, maybe not for me, maybe not a great wine.
Cheers,
Jason
too funny
Well I certainly do enjoy some SLH pinots and do think they, at times, have one of the more interesting profiles for Cali ... but it doesn't suit my current preference. Time may change that as all of our palates change over time ... and the vines will get some decent age on them. And hopefully more producers will make wines in the style of Scott or Joe Davis.