Talley 2005 Pinot Noir Rincon (Arroyo Grande Valley) – Pure essence of fermented beets, both fresh and roasted. OK, perhaps not quite so pure; there’s an addition of simple strawberry and an underbelly of earth. I find it hard to criticize much in this wine, mostly because it’s so boring and one-note. (2/08)
pinot noir
Mount Ellison
Calera 2004 Pinot Noir Jensen (Mt. Harlan) – Pretty and full-bodied. Plummy, with golden beet and silken earth. Perfectly balanced. Wow. (2/08)
Charles
Dutton Goldfield 2004 Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch Sanchietti (Russian River Valley) – Great intensity of fruit – mostly mixed berries – with a gorgeous, silky finish. Nice hints of structure, as well. Quite good. (2/08)
Philosophers’ drinking song
David Bruce 2004 Pinot Noir (Santa Rita Hills) – Dirt, minerals, and structure overpower beet and orange. Highly ungenerous, but not overly off-putting. (2/08)
The red arrow
Archery Summit 2004 Pinot Noir Red Hills Estate (Dundee Hills) – Dark, concentrated fruit. Beet and cedar. Crunchy. Decent, but simple, and lacking the promise of future complexity; the wine is awfully monolithic. (2/08)
Jekyll
Paul Hobbs 2005 Pinot Noir Hyde (Carneros) – Big fruit, beety strawberry, then fruit concentrate verging on syrup. Tasty, but…eh. Perhaps better for pancakes. (2/08)
Adel’ed wit
Adelsheim 2006 Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley) – Cherry, strawberry, beet, and blood orange rind. Floral and pretty. Nice, if perhaps a bit too easygoing. (2/08)
Pink is the new black
Elk Cove 2006 Pinot Noir Rosé (Willamette Valley) – Pretty. Strawberry, raspberry, with good length and texture. A little flowery. (2/08)
Lizzie’s closet
Adelsheim 2006 Pinot Noir “Elizabeth’s Reserve” (Willamette Valley) – Dense and earthy, showing full-bodied plum, juicy berries, and spiced beet. Big and fulfilling. It lacks complexity, but that will likely come; this has both the stuffing and the structure to age. (2/08)
Cinq or swim
Elk Cove 2006 Pinot Noir Five Mountain (Willamette Valley) – Solid, with density traversing the palate. Very gravelly, some beet, but while there’s gravity there’s no freshness. (2/08)