2006 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir Saratoga Cuvée - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (6/3/2009)
Hoh hum. I always pop the Sartoga Cuvees but rarely think much of them. I need to leave them alone for a few more years. This is way to young ,aggressive and boring right now. Should have the structure to outlive the monster fruit and hopefully develop some elegance but right now it just bashes you on the head.
Cheers,
Jason
Posted from CellarTracker
Interesting. Thanks for the perspective. I’ve never had a Saratoga Cuvee, but recently purchased an '05 from K&L. At half the price of the '05 Estate, which I loved, I am interested to compare.
I was impressed with the '05. It’s drinking well now and will probably be best over the next 5 years or so. Haven’t had the '06, yet, but I would expect it to be a noticeable step down due to vintage quality.
Thanks, Wes. I’m looking forward to trying the '05 and will post a note when I do.
Nice note, Jason. I haven’t had this bottling from Mount Eden. It’s a good reminder that I need to get more of these wines.
I noticed K&L has a bunch of '05 Saratoga Cuvee back in stock, marked down to $23. (Was $30 in November. The '06 is $28.)
$23 seems like a nice price for the 05.
I just had a bottle of the 2005 Saratoga Cuvee Pinot and liked it but don’t know exactly where it’s headed. It was a bit like you described the 2006 – sort of unformed and aggressive. Far from ripe, but riper that I expected based on my experience with the Estate Mount Eden Pinot. Persistent finish that had nice acidity but just a bit of astringency - probably just tannin. This is the worst tasting note ever because I certainly enjoyed it – I’m just nit-picking the faults and trying to figure if this might be better in a year or two.
Scott
I think it should improve over the next 5 years. Maybe visit the next one in a year to see how they’re doing.