2002 Littorai Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir

[dananne]

This Sonoma Coast wine comes from a Ted Lemon project. I believe he was the only American winemaker at a major Burgundian domaine for a long time, possibly still is the only one to have done it. I'm not sure. At any rate, we've tasted many Hirsch wines through the years, as well as several from '02, with the Patricia Green as probably our favorite. We cracked this last night and left it in the decanter for a half hour before 1st pour.

An earthiness to the nose, bordering on barnyard-y, but not in an overpowering way. Behind that was a core of gushing cherry fruit and a cola note. Very creamy in the mouth, with all the syrupy cherry flavors creating sensations that I remember from old Wisconsin soda fountains from when I was a kid, when I used to make them hold my soda under the cherry flavor tap for longer than the usual time. Some vanilla flavors at the end only contribute to the soda fountain illusion, flavors likely due to 18 months in 50% new French oak. There was enough fruit to tackle the wood, but the fault I'd find in the wine was in the low acidity. This needed something to cut across all the creaminess. As it stands, I wouldn't call it a food-friendly wine, as it would seem flabby with most things you'd pair with a PN. As a stand-alone wine, it's tasty stuff, though. Anne enjoyed it more than I did, and she did the real damage to the bottle. We paid $50 for it locally. Alc. 14.2% and in check.