2005 Acacia Carneros Pinot Noir

[dananne]

We picked this one up on our August visit to the winery. At the time, it was just a bit young tasting. However, the little bit of bottle age over the past few months helped it come together (even so, this is a "drink young" kind of wine). Clear, bright ruby in color. The nose and flavors suggest black cherry, loamy earth, the slightest whiff of smoke and barnyard, and a slight accent of oak on the finish. It's soft, but still has the required acidity that keeps it from feeling flabby in the mouth. Just a supple, easy, everyday Pinot, and a great value in the mid-$20s. It drinks more like a $30-$40 wine. We find Acacia to be a reliable producer, and we really enjoyed our visit there. We had the opportunity to taste several of the more serious single-vineyard Pinots, which were stellar, and we got to taste one of them alongside a 1991 from the same vineyard (either Beckstoffer or Lone Tree, I can't remember which one) that had been open for 24 hours. It was pretty amazing to see how much life it still had. Even after 16 years and sitting open overnight, it still tasted lovely and lively. It's the oldest Pinot we've ever had. In addition, we also tried the basic Carneros bottling from 1991, too. It was clearly on it's last legs, but it was still hanging in there, which is admirable. Anyway, Anne really loved this one, and we both recommend it. 14.4% alc. was completely integrated. FWIW, W&S gave it an 89, which seems fair.

[dananne]

Had another one over the weekend that I forgot to post on. Really coming along nicely, with the additional few months in bottle helping it shed that little bit of "too young" that had lingered. This one will really start to shine in about 6 months and be a reliable, inexpensive, very nice Carneros Pinot for the next 3-5 years. I doubt it has the fortitude to age like that '91 we tried at the winery, but I guarantee that none of our '05s will last long enough to find out.