Red Car Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Heaven & Earth La Bohème Vineyard 2007
WineSpectator (James Laube) 97: “…rich, pure, concentrated blackberry and wild berry fruit that’s full-bodied…”
Parker 88: “…sassafras, cola, and earthy undertones, medium body…”
Are they tasting the same wine??? It’s this sort of stuff that makes me more and more skeptical of “expert” opinions. I actually made a half-hearted attempt to buy some of this when it was released, but the price had gone up on the Laube score. Maybe the wine would have wowed me, but actually neither of these critics seem to run parallel with my taste in PN. More and more I think that community tasting notes like those available on Cellar Tracker are more reliable than one sole person’s evaluation.
Seen this before with the '02 or '03 vintage on Central Coast. Critics were all over the board on the exact same wines: Parker, Tanzer, Laube.
That’s what makes them different, and for you to allign (if you must) your palate to their point assessment.
Or…you can just decide for yourself through extensive research… ![berserker [berserker.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8600bbd4810d342b8fbd4ffb62b4f0026275fd37.gif)
It’s not even worth 88 pts. Absolutely terrible candied confected wine. Yuck
Of course, your own taste should rule, but on these small production or hot wines, and especially true when I was living in Quebec and Ontario, you don’t get an opportunity to taste the wines before you have to make a buying decision, so you have to make your decision based on the expert opinions that you have access to.
Interestingly, Tony V’s tasting note is pretty close to Laube’s, but Tony hates the wine, and Laube loves it. But at least you see that the wine is concentrated, candied, fruity, ripe, etc., so if that is the type of Pinot you like, this is the wine for you. The trouble is that I didn’t get that kind of profile from Parker’s write-up.
That mirrors my notes on every Red Car wine I’ve had, not a fan.
I tried one of these a couple months ago. All sweet fruit up front with some alcohol. Absolutely nothing more at this point. It’s delicious fruit, but 97 seems like a mighty high score for the wine I tasted.