2001 Ken Wright Guadalupe Vineyard Pinot Noir

[dananne]

This is from a 40-acre vineyard in Oregon's Dundee Hills, even though the site has more in common with Yamhill-Carlton's marine sedimentary soils than the red clay soils of Dundee. For our taste and money, Ken Wright makes the best Pinot in the U.S. Every Pinot we've had from him has landed on our top-10 of all-time list.

Decanted 30 minutes before 1st pour. Deep reddish-purple in color, with a nose of red cherries, crushed raspberries, cinnamon, leather, and subtle earth. Flavors of spiced cherries are lush, yet restrained. This packs a great deal of flavor without being heavy or syrupy. Soft and silky in the mouth, with nice acidity and balance. Not as intense an experience when compared to younger Ken Wright wines, it seems more restrained and subtle due to the bottle age. Due to the balance, Wright wines tend to age very gracefully, and this one could have gone another 5 before beginning a slow decline. Paid $36 for it many years ago in Chicago (recent vintages are running $10-15 more). Alc. 13.5%.

[winoweenie]

Looks like you and Anne did some heavy lifting whilst she be home. Know you were busy so tell her I was trying to say hello. BPR, WW

[dananne]

Saw that you had tried to say "Hi" when I got home from the airport yesterday, and I passed your salutations along to Anne. She returned to Milwaukee last night, and today she got a winning verdict. The victor shall be home for good tomorrow afternoon, so some celebration will be certain to ensue! I'll try to get in touch later this week and we can get caught up [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]