2001 Martinelli Bondi Home Ranch Pinot Noir

[dananne]

"Water Trough Vineyard." Sonoma -- Green Valley.

Decanted. Highly complex and aromatic nose of smoke, bacon fat, and a touch of barnyard. Deep blood-red color. This is just a mouthfilling wine. Great black cherry fruit wrapped up in all these complex flavors suggested by the nose. Satin-like texture, and tasted lighter in body than would be assumed given the 14.7% alc. Finish went on for days, and a streak of acidity that comes on late keeps it from being flabby. This was just dynamite. When asked for comment, Anne somewhat enigmatically said, "You can't dispute this." One of the best 3 or 4 pinots we've had in the last few years.

Paid $49 locally, partly because you just can't find Martinelli down here in Atlanta. My wine guy got a 10-pack for some reason with the stipulation that he couldn't put it out on the shelf. So, he's selling them one by one out of the back room to regulars such as myself. I say one by one, but I've got another bottle in the cellar, and there may be one left for me at the store. So, that means 3 for me and 7 for the rest of Atlanta. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

FWIW, WS gave it an 88 (which I feel is low). Said drink to '07. I'd agree with that.

[wondersofwine]

Sounds delish!

[dananne]

Had the other one last night, and it's still an outstanding bottle. Again, we decanted it. I had thought it might have begun to fade just a bit, but the only real changes from the above notes are the color, which had turned more garnet with the slightest bricking around the edges, and the acidic streak wasn't as pronounced as before, leaving it ever so slightly flabby on the finish. And, it really was slight, so I'm quibbling. Finally, the heat was just a touch evident on the finish, but not too bad -- sorta like the hint of heat from a high octane Loring. Overall, really tasty stuff, and we probably drank this last one at just the right time. Nice way to spend a Friday night. I really like Martinelli's style with PN (and Chard, for that matter), much more so than their style with Zin (they make monsters that behave much like Victor's creation). We had a nice visit last month when we were out there, so we've got a few more Martinelli wines in the cellar.