I had only tried a few Flying Goat wines. None of them being my own but were poured at various dinners. Nothing had ever grabbed me (but I never really focused on them) so I thought maybe I should avoid them lest I get sucked into buying another producer. Well at FMIII’s Pinot Falltacular I tasted the 05s and was very intrigued. Absolutely fantastic. So when I ordered my 05s I got 04 Holiday pack. The first one to go was the Rancho Santa Rosa. Here are my thoughts.
2004 Flying Goat Pinot Noir Rancho Santa Rosa (Santa Rita Hills)
I struggled to keep my nose out of the glass. I just kept pulling me back in. Slightly syrah like but plenty of SRH pinot brambly fruit in there. Very broad on the palate because a syrupy flavor (caramelish) but that did not hurt the wine. Bing cherry jumped through and had a nice stony finish. A big wine with good complexity and mild acidity. Not for someone searching for a delicate flower. Not to say this wine is without elegance but more on the muscular side. Drinks really well now. 92pts
If I enjoy the others as much as this one I may need to start figuring out who I can bump off the “must buy” list.
Cheers,
Jason