Random recent Pinot Noirs:
2005 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. 375 ml. This offers meaty aromas of dark raspberry and black cherry over soft tobacco and spicy cola. It does not show a huge amount of complexity in the mouth at this point, but it offers a very nicely-knit texture with no hard edges and fine balance. I think it just needs a bit of time.
2004 MacPhail Pinot Noir Goodin Vineyard Sonoma Coast. What a winner—I cannot recall a single domestic pinot I’ve enjoyed more than this in the past year. It has a gorgeous nose of sweet black cherry, candied raspberry and a full range of spices. In the mouth, it is elegant yet plush and powerful, with a fabulous sappy texture and solid weight. Focused flavors of sweet red cherry candy, raspberries, cola and soft cinammon spice gush forward in a sexy, effortless fashion. It just gives and gives right to the last drop (which comes much too quickly!).
1996 Jadot Santenay Clos de Malte. This wine sports a pale garnet color with a good amount of orange bricking at the rim. It opens with an incredibly earthy nose, with a strong autumnal feel—with leaves, nettles, cranberries, dried cherries and general sous bois characteristics in spades. Later, more or a kirsch note emerges, along with mulling spices and a strong streak of dried leather that becomes predominant as the hour grows late. In the mouth, it is lithe and sharply focused in a narrow beam of cool yet bright red berry fruit. It sports a strong acidity and there are really no tannins left to speak of. It is very mouthwatering, with a pleasing sharp berry twang. There is not a lot of depth but there is lots of charm to the top note character. I suggest drinking with the meal, as it fleshes out a good deal alongside beef bourguignon. Drink up now.
-Michael