WTN: RRV Pinot at the Opera

I was given a pair of tickets to Phantom at a local dinner theater. My experiences with dinner theaters are mixed - usually good performances mixed with mediocre food. But since the tickets were free, I called up a lady friend and we went for the final Saturday performance two weeks back. At the Arizona Broadway Theater an excellent performance was paired with excellent food and an ok wine list.

I felt like drinking Pinot Noir, so I chose the Mossback. The other choices were Castle Rock and Camelot (French, but not Burgundy( No vintages were listed, but I guessed, asked the server to check the bottle and learned I got it right.

2007 Mossback Russian River Pinot Noir Typical Pinot nose with red fruit and spices, nicely mixed flavors of cherries, raspberries, cranberries, red currants and a hint of spiced rhubarb. Nicely tart, with more heft than most of the 06 CA Pinot's I've had, which is why I leaned toward 07. The website shows this to be a mix of 92% Pinot Noir with 8% Syrah. The blend was deftly done - I had no clue I wasn't drinking 100% Pinot. I gotta track down some of this for my cellar.

[Jenise]

Haven't heard of that producer. The inclusion of syrah would normally have me worried but from your description it doesn't sound like it added huge body or black fruit of the type that would tone down the pinot character.

Doug, would you hazard a guess as to why the syrah was added? The only thing I can think of is that it added a bit of color. I checked the web site

http://www.crewwines.com/mossback_pinot.php

and while it detailed the 92% of pinot and 8% syrah in the wine, it stated that the syrah added some weight to the "delicate pinot", maybe so, but I bet it also added some color too. Like Jenise, I might be turned off with the blending of the two grapes, but I suppose it must have been done well enough if you are seeking more of it.

Bob, my only guess is as they stated on the website - to add weight. Looking back, it probably deepened the color a bit, however, the lights were low so I didn't really pay much attention to color.

Bob, my only guess is as they stated on the website - to add weight. Looking back, it probably deepened the color a bit, however, the lights were low so I didn't really pay much attention to color.

Thanks Doug.