Knowing how good this vintage was in the CC, I grabbed this to check out what kind of “extra” juice Greg P. could get his hands on in 07.
Classic varietal aromas of bright, earthy cherry, cranberry, some orange peal, baking spices, and slight toast- not bad so far.
In the mouth it is pretty, though there is some bitterness that screams press wine. Flavors echo the nose, with cinnamon and clove on the finish. Med/low in acid, but is dry for CR. Tastes like 100% pinot(CR often blends syrah into thier pinots).
Not bad for $12 up here in Somes Bar(boon docks), CA.
I am no winemaker by any means so please correct me if I am wrong. Press wine would be all of the juice that is extracted from “harshly” pressing the grapes there for giving it more bitterness and tannins? Breaking seeds ect…
I liked the 06 castle rock Mendocino, thought it was great for $10
You got it Tyler. It just had that slightly thin, bitterness that comes from hard press fractions. When you’re pressing wine there is a point where the PH goes up and the wine tastes more like skin juice than fruit. Most winemakers don’t press this hard or discard the wine, but CC pinot is in such high demand, I wouldn’t be surprized if people were keeping it seperate and selling off to guys like Greg.
This wine is really young. It should improve though, as the components are all there.