2001 Goldeneye Anderson Valley Pinot Noir

[dananne]

Decanted an hour before pouring and throughout evening. Deep ruby color with purple flashes. Nose really filled the room with cherries, figs, cloves, and cinnamon. This one could go 3-5 easy, and if I had any more I'd wait. Didn't really start to show the flavors until the end of the evening. Nice chrry fruit at the core, and the red spices linger in the long finish. Proper weight and mouthfeel despite the somewhat high 14.5% alc. (I say that's high, but nowadays with Cali Pinot that really isn't out of line). This is a very good wine, but not one for which I'm going to run out and plop down another $50. For that amount of money, I'd rather have, say, 3 bottles of Patricia Green's regular Oregon bottling.

FWIW, WE 92.

[Thomas]

Dan,

I'm one of those weirdos who likes his Pinot Noir earthy. These wines (include your Iron Horse description) sound like all other fruit bombs. What makes them distinct, and what makes them worth so much?

[dananne]

You know, Foodie, I like my Pinots with some earth, too -- at least enough to ground (pun intended) the fruit. I look for and like the more feminine, delicate side of the grape that shows clean fruit, a willowy texture, some forest floor/pine needles, and an earthy/mushrooomy note that is complimentary. A small amount of barnyard is OK, too, so long as it is in the background. I have no idea what makes this all-fruit style distinct (unless their distinctiveness is derived, in fact, from the absence of earth), nor why they are so expensive. The cherry/berry fruit is usually there in some of these that I've worked through lately, and I'm guessing the clove component is from aging in new oak for some time. Part of me would like to say that, with some age, the earth tones will come out, but from my experience that isn't really the case -- a fruit bomb when young is a fruit bomb with age (or, worse yet -- an aged wine with no fruit left, leaving an empty cupboard).

[Thomas]

Amen to that!