Yesterday we went poking around Whole Foods in search of something for dinner. We found their version of a hanger steak, (though they called it something else.) We decided to see how it compared to Flannery’s, (the Holy Grail of steak for us.) Being short of time and feeling a little lazy I just hit it with a Tom Douglas rub, normally we use a Thai marinade. To accompany the steak we made polenta two ways: with and without cheese. The steak was pretty good but nowhere near Flannery’s. The plain polenta was actually better with the steak. Everything went well with the Antica Terra. Where are the greens? 
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2006 Maresh Pinot Noir Red Hills Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (9/6/2009)
One thing I learned from my recent trip to the Willamette Valley: Look for the Maresh vineyard. Stopping at the Red Barn for a teeny weeny taste from a teeny weeny glass also seems to be a requirement. We did, and we bought this bottle. Plump and round but not fat. This is an easy drinking pinot with loads of red fruit that’s quite smooth. I didn’t find a ton of structure in this, (could be 'cause it followed a bottle of '07 Antica Terra) and thus think it’s a drink now wine rather than something to lay down. Very pleasant, very smooth, moderately complex, moderate finish. (88 pts.) -
2007 Antica Terra Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (9/6/2009)
Wow! This is a big big wine. The fruit profile of this was red heading towards blue, think bing cherries as opposed to rainier. I was very puzzled by this at first, big big big is all I could think of. However, it’s not big in an overdone candied fruit sort of way, it’s just got a lot of everything: huge aromatics, blast of fruit tempered with ample acidity… After a couple of hours it settled down a bit and knit into a seriously complex wine with plenty of structure and a very nice finish. The lesson here for me: hold for AT LEAST 4-5 years.
NOTE: I’ve had the '08 Antica Terra Rosé a couple of times and you could really see the lineage which was fun.
(92 pts.)
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