Tried the two new Drew Pinots over the last few days:
1. Drew PinotNoir TheFogEater AndersonVlly (13.4%) 2017: Med.color; attractive fragrant PN/cherry/bright some pencilly/toasty/Fr.oak bright/pretty slight earthy nose; fairly tart/tangy bit lean bright/cherry/AV PN bit light some pencilly/oak flavor w/ light supple tannins; med.long bright cherry/AV PN/bit spicy finish w/ light gentle tannins; a pretty drinkable very cherry classic AV PN; drink over the short term. $36.00
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2. Drew PinotNoir Joshua'sVnyd/AndersonVlly (13.5%; Plntd: own roots in early '70's;mystery clone; 40% w-c;
Aged: 25% new Fr.oak for 11 mo; Y=1.3 tons/acre; Drk: 2020-2030: JD) 2017: Dark color; strong toasty/smokey/Fr.oak strong black cherry/black cherry cola/PN fairly intense rich nose; rather tart/tagy very strong PN/black cherry cola/spicy fairly toasty/Fr.oak/bit smokey quite structured flavor w/ ample chewey tannins; very long/lingering intense black cherry cola/PN/black cherry slight herbal/earthy some toasty/smokey/oak finish w/ ample tannins; needs 5-10 yrs; a very big/structured PN that needs age but not out of balance. $46.75
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. JasonDrew is one of the darlings of the IPOB cabal. When he started down in SantaBarbara, he made pretty big wines, mostly Syrah. When he moved up to the MendocinoRidge, he started to rein in the style of his winemaking & aiming for lower alcohols, the mantra of the IPOB crowd. Still, they are not lean & anemic like some of those wines can be. I like his Pinots, but it is his Syrahs that I really like.
Tom