Technically not a Pobega because I put the bottle in the wine rack for 4 hours then opened it.
2013 Harrington Pinot Noir Coast Grade Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (1/30/2015)
Pop n pour. Light cherry color. If you love strawberries then this wine has the nose for you, a muddled berry, and even a hint of strawberry shortcake. Heading over to the palate I’m curious. Wow, is this tasty. Strawberry, rhubarb, prickly fine tannins, light toast, and stem flavor. There a lot of acid mid palate, that’s a good thing. The finish is very long and the tannins are lightly nipping my tongue throughout. Weight is medium, you won’t find any goopy syrup here probably because the acid, extremely clean. Is this an early indicator for '13 PN from Santa Cruz? Let’s hope that’s the case.
I was just following orders from Bryan Harrington, here’s what he said about the drinking windows for the BD wines in his offer.
Trousseau: Don’t need to wait too long on this. Feel free to open and pour. Usually ready for business by the second glass. The jury is still out as to how these will age. We are all learning together on this one.
Nebbiolo: Think of this wine as more of a Langhe Nebbiolo. This is not a Barolo. It is a reasonably accessible wine right now. That being said, it will most likely gather a bit more gravity with time. But don’t be afraid to put it on the table sometime soon with some lamb shanks. No matter what, it’s pretty aromatically, like all good Nebbiolo.
Coast Grade Pinot Noir: > I am so excited about this wine that I want you to pop a bottle right now> . It will undoubtedly be better in two three years, but this young Pinot from those rare limestone soils needs to be experienced young and old. Since you only have one bottle, open it soon, drink half the first day, drink the other half the second. I’m drinking “day two” Coast Grade right now and there is no pain involved, believe me. The point is, get to know this appellation’s potential as soon as possible, these new SCM limestone Pinots are floral, spicy, structured and earthy.
Lagrein: This wine will be better with a decant. It takes a little time to open up but there is plenty there. It’s from Westside Paso, afterall. Just give it time. Not too shabby on day 2 or 3 either.
This is exactly why I bought two 4-packs. One to open now and one to lay down for a few years. I have a real bad habit of laying things down for too many years and only learning how much I like some producers until years after I have purchased.
Yup…pretty much as you describe, Brig. Bryan makes Pinots that are on the more delicate/elegant side and doesn’t boost its impact by huge Syrah additions,
like most Calif Pinot producers do.
It probably would have benefited by another 30 minutes on the wine rack, though!!!
I received my 4-pack and opened the Pinot last night, too. I can’t find much to quibble with or add to your excellent note. Our bottle didn’t make it to day two as Bryan suggested. We really enjoyed this wine. Highly recommended.