2003 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Anden - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (9/15/2008)
Although I though many 2003 wines showed well young, some I have tasted lately have been worrisome. Even though I planned to wait longer on this, I thought I should take a peak. Can’t say I was overjoyed with the result considering the high standard I have for SI. When I tried this a few years ago I found the wine very ripe but in balance. Now the ripe fruit has calmed down and the oak dominates. No noticeable fruit on the nose. The palate showed oak, earth/dirt and dark cherry fruit. Nice touch of touch of orange zest on the finish. Overall the oak and tannin were too much for me to be love this wine. It seems like the fruit is in there somewhere so we’ll see what 5 more years does. 87-88 pts (87 pts.)
2006 Zenith Vineyard Pinot Noir Barrel Select - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills (9/7/2008)
I had already tasted the regular bottling but now it was time for the barrel select. Normally I would wait until the wine had some bottle time but since this was the first vintage I thought I should get a peek. I didn’t get much at first but with about 60 minutes it started to wake up. Young, glycerol and ripe aromatics. Similar big sweet fruit that has been common with other 06 Oregon pinots I have tasted. On the palate, the Barrel Select does a better job of dealing with the sweetness. The fruit is dressed nicely in oak and tannin. The Barrel Select also carries a nice mineral line from the middle to the finish. As expected this is a bit wound up but for me this is a 90-92 point wine. I'll re-visit in 2011. (91 pts.)
2004 A.P. Vin Pinot Noir Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley (9/3/2008)
I really like how this vineyard can show big ripe fruit but seems to always bring refreshing acidity. Nice touch of earthy funk with this one. Enough to peak my interest but not enough to bother those that fear the funk. Still shows fresh and primary. The oak balances nicely. I don’t think I ever notice tannin from this vineyard other than on the Native 9 stuff, and this wine was much the same. Regardless, no need to hurry on this wine but I like where it is right now. (90 pts.)
Cheers,
Jason