2010 Ayoub Pinot mailer

Been a buyer for a few years of Mo’s wine and just received the pre-release email for his '10 svd’s. Can’t say that I’ve paid attention in the past, but for the four wines offered, the abv ranges from 12.9%-13.25%. The trend of lower alcohol seems to be continuing. Yes, I know there is wiggle room in the %, but you get the idea.

Jeb, it was the weather. Trust me.

2010 WV Pinots in general will be lower alcohol, I think 12.5-13.5 will be the typical range. The fruit was able to hang and ripen slowly, so there’s great physiological development without a lot of sugar development. The problem is that there won’t be a lot of it around, as migratory birds ate more than their fair share of fruit.

I’ve tasted the 2010 Ayoub Estate and 2010 Ayoub ???. The Estate is delicious now, and will evolve into an amazing wine in 3-5 years. The ??? has quite a bit more structure, and I think it will take a little while to soften out (similar to the structure of the '09 Brittan early on).

Thanks for the notes, guys. Soooo, aside from the birds, it doesn’t seem all bad.

Au contraire. The 2010s I’ve tasted from barrel and bottle have been wonderful.

Completely agree Bob, 2010s are going to be amazing wines. I’m planning on going DEEP on 2010s.

Great, the 2010s are going to be amazing. I need that like I need another hole in my head. Oh well, its only money/debt…

Just placed an order for these and heard from Mo. Sounds like these will need time but should be fabulous!

For those who have tasted 2010s–any comparison to 2008s? Or completely different?

David: Are you asking about Ayoub wines specifically, or 2008 v 2010 vintages in general?

In general, I would say that 2008s have more structure, with a bit more complexity hidden behind that structure. They will definitely need time to integrate and let the structure to fade a bit to reveal all they have. 2010s have a nuanced complexity combined with a sense of weightlessness almost. Generally speaking, you could say that the more complex a wine, the bigger it is, but with 2010s, I would say they have almost the complexity of 2008, but without all the “heaviness”.

I would say that 2010 is similar to 2008, maybe a combination of the complexity of 2008 and the “weight” of 2007. 2010s are definitely not going to be juicy/jammy like 2006 or 2009.

Ayoub wines are always best after at least a year or two. Mo’s wines tend to be a bit “wound up” but settle down fairly quickly, and Mo is always saying that his wines need more time as people are tasting them (usually in his kitchen). I’ve been lucky enough to taste every vintage of Estate Pinot he’s done, and if you can wait a couple years, they definitely get better in just a couple years.

Thanks John, should have clarifies question but meant in general just as you outlined.

Thanks for the insight!

Nothing like tasting Mo’s wines in his kitchen. An experience all should enjoy.