WTN: Hope & Grace Russian River Pinot and "Regret" Langhe

2006 Hope and Grace Pinot Russian River Valley. Have to admit I much prefer their Central Coast pinots. This was very plummy, very fruity, very extracted. Quite "sweet." Not a lot of obvious alcohol, but not a lot of "Pinosity" either. I almost switched this one out for the Central Coast bottling. Wish I had.

I know Russian River Valley is considered a hot spot for California Pinots, but I find I don't like many of these wines very much. I prefer the true "Sonoma Coast" wines or Carneros, to be honest. I know this is a gross generalization, but...

2004 NEBBIOLO "REGRET" (Monchiero Carbone) According to the importer, this sees 6 months in barrique. I would say that the wine is not particularly "fruity" or "oaky". My experience with Nebbiolo is too limited to say whether this would be considered "international" in style. It was certainly less "fruity" than the Chiarlo wine we tried earlier this year. In fact, it was a earthy, savory wine with present tannins, for sure, and nice floral notes and a whisper of cherry fruit. Quite lovely. A.G. Ferrari is currently selling the 2006 vintage for less than $20...I think this is a pretty fine QPR. We preferred this to the Sonoma Pinot. http://www.villaitaliawines.com/cantina ... idWine=187

Brian,
I plan to visit Sonoma again in October for Pinot on the River--Octl 22-24. Will contact you closer to those dates to see if we can taste some wines together.

Cool, J.C. Looking forward to it!