I guess I’ll laugh now, as it’s only wine but have you ever had an instance where you pulled the wrong bottle from your cellar, only to realize it AFTER the cork was pulled. I had that moment last night. The flip side is that I hee-hawd myself with a bottle that tastes damn good. Some of you may have read my note I put up on this wine a few weeks ago so I figured I’d refresh that exercise and post both bottles now, laugh a little and chalk it up. Here’s a toast to Clos Pepe!
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2005 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir Vigneron Select - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills (6/7/2011)
One of those ‘ah crap’ moments…I pulled this wine last night and opened it, misreading my CT report and not realizing I had just DRANK one of these not more than 2 weeks ago. I found that bottle in a terrific drinking place, with what I felt was more room to develop so my goal was to age the last bottle for a few more years. So much for that bitchen plan, it seems. I didn’t realize my error until I had the cork out of it last night and then realized this was my last remaining bottle–damn it. To that end, one more TN, I guess! Not surprising, my notes will be consistent with candied red apple, sour cherry and hard red candy type of thing. That bit of volatile thing I wrote about is probably more akin to alcohol, although I have the wine for this note at room temp (69) and I am honestly splitting hairs with the aromatic comment. Take this wine down to 63, and the nose is totally pure. Make of that what you will then. All in, this is a fantastic example of CA pinot, showing some weight but then showing red fruit and crisp esdges with the red fruit to put this wine in a great place. I’d still offer the drink window of 203-2015, as there is spine here to help it carry. Really nice (but damn it, I killed my last one off!) -
2005 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir Vigneron Select - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills (5/16/2011)
Only 2 notes in CT, one from Senor Dietz, I see. I opened this last night, enjpying another glass tonight. I have to say this wine reminds me of something akin to Anderson Vallley, with an SRH size. What I mean by that is the aromatics suggest a bigger wine to follow, with just enough ripeness aromatically to throw notes of caramel, candied apple and what I perceive to be a passing hint of something volatile (and this note disappears to me when the right temp is put on this wine, which is what I did for this final note). Then, where the wine switches place is in the palate, flush with cranberry, tart red apple, sour cherry, lots of acid and some dryness to keep it all livened up. Where I really like this wine is in the finish, the mineral, red fruits, the tart acids, certainly appeals more to my new palate. The finish carries a good long ways and with the amount of perceived cut in this wine, this wine I think ought to live several more years (which is where Dietzie and I differ). I have one bottle left, I’ll leave it for 2013/14.
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