Dinner tonight with some out of towners who had to do the Sideways thing. So we ordered a bunch of steaks, lamb, and quail served family style. I ordered 04 Hitching Post Bien Nacido PN off the list so the visitors could have a house Pinot.
04 Hitching Post Bien Nacido PN - Bright berry, mushroomy aroma. Delivers a good blast of fruit in the mouth, some unresolved tannin, and sweet plummy fruit. Pretty tasty, slightly clunky mouthfeel, but not overpowering. Give it a couple more years to round out. 88+.
NV Rocket Science Napa blend #101 (syrah, merlot, +???). I think this is the first vintage. I've gone through a fw bottles, and this keeps getting better and better. Not especially complex, but so smooth, sweet fruit (plum and blackberry), fully incorporated oak, lovely enticing bouquet. The wine drinks great, and it goes great with oak fired steaks. 93.
01 Siduri Cargasacchi Vineyard Pinot Noir - I think this is the first vintage that I've had Peter's pinot, from several different producers. While I've not had every PN in Adam Lee's portfolio, I've never had one this fantastic. This is also the best Cargasacchi PN I've had from any producer/vintage. The aroma is pure essence of pinot noir with some layered oak. In the mouth, this is PN liqueur. Velvety richness, lush ripe fruit, fully incorporated oak, but still a touch of nearly hidden tannin. This wine can improve for another 5-8 years, but it is so amazing now, it is worth popping the cork to have with the right food. Certainly not an elegant pinot, so have with robust food or steak. 94+ and could go higher with time if some tertiary complexity emerges.