2002 Maresh Red Hills Vineyard Pinot Noir

[dananne]

Whenever I post on Maresh, I always mention that they are grape growers in the Red Hills of Dundee (Oregon's Willamette Valley). While they supply grapes to others, they also have Archery Summit and Rex Hill make some wine for them that they put a Maresh label on and sell at their landmark red barn tasting room. This was the Rex Hill-made one, and I believe we bought this on our '05 visit.

Clear ruby in color, with sweet cherry fruit on the nose. Flavors offer very delicate cherry, but the finish includes wonderful cinnamon (like Red Hots candy) and peppermint stick notes. Silky smooth in texture, and very feminine overall. Very nice stuff. Alc. 13%. I believe we paid around $20. Drinking beautifully right now. I may start revisiting some more Oregon '02s.

[wondersofwine]

Sounds delicious, Dan.

[dananne]

We cracked the Archery Summit-made one last night, and it's interesting to see how the same fruit, given to two different winemakers, can produce such different wines. This one was much denser and darker, with cherry cola on the nose and entry and a clove note on the finish. It tastes like a Central Coast PN, only at 13% alc. I like the more feminine one by Rex Hill described in the notes above better than this more muscular style, while Anne's feelings were more mixed. "It depends what mood you're in," she said. A nice drink, though, and like the one above, very much worth the $20-ish price.