Traci and I cracked one last night before heading over to dinner with some non drinkers. Lovely vegetarian pasta dish with an amazing chocolate cake to celebrate a couple of birthdays…on to the wine.
2006 August West, Pinot Noir, Rosella’s Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands
This was awesome last night. Nose exhibits toasted bread, bing cherries, orange blossom, and a little bit of a floral quality. On the palate, cranberries, bing cherries, citrus, and a little bit of an underbrush quality. It’s seamless, silky with terrific weight and length…I can only imagine how much better this will be in a year or two but I really enjoyed it last night. 94/100
Disclaimer: Traci and I are really good friends with Ed Kurtzman and help bottle some of his wines and sometimes muck things up around harvest.
i am letting mine rest now until summer 2010, just got my 07s in too. here is what i thought of the one bottle i cracked a month or so ago:
tried this last night with an hour long decant as i have their 2007 offering in front of me and i am trying to make some decisions.
wine is a lovely light red color, really varietally correct. nose closed for all intents and purposes. hope age will improve, perhaps add some aromatics. cola was the dominant aspect of the flavor profile with maybe a touch of red fruit, some citrus, and definitely bright cherries. not a lot of forest, dirt, fungi to speak of. i was impressed by the acidity and nearly imperceptible EtOH.
good wine and hoping good things happen over the next few years.
Normally I would let them rest a little longer too but…we were looking for a Sandler Pinot to open since I am helping Ed bottle on Wednesday and well…we were out of Sandler Pinots so I grabbed a Rosellas from August West.
I did notice a little beet root/cola on the finish now that you mention it.
The 2006 August West Pinot really seem to be benefiting from bottle time to me. I’m with Glen in that I will probably wait until next year before going after anymore of mine.
How does the 06 compare to the 05?
Steve - good question. I am sure I have some 05 AW Rosella’s if Traci didn’t consume them all. but I haven’t had one in a while. I’ll see if I can talk Ed into opening one on Wednesday.
The 06 is ridiculously good though!
I found the 05’s bigger and more forward than the 06’s. They have also performed better early on. I think the 06’s seem leaner and more acidic as well as not quite as expressive.
-
2006 August West Pinot Noir Rosella’s Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (3/6/2010)
Dinner at Leatherby’s. My fourth tasting of this wine. Notes of crushed raspberries, maraschino cherries, wet stones, cinnamon spice, and a touch of dirty rags (not necessarily in a bad way). The palate is fleshy and more harmonious than I remember, but the finish still seems a little weak. Had I only had a small taste, I probably would have rated this wine higher, but after tracking it over the course of our meal, I noticed that it did not change or become more interesting; while very good, it remained relatively monotone from beginning to end. Such is the difference, I suppose, between tasting and drinking. (88 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
If I recall correctly, this wine was on the sweet side, when compared to other AW bottlings - could just be Rosella’s fruit that vintage, but I don’t recall all Rosella’s being that way.
I opened an 05 a week ago. Delicious and rich. Not at all over the top, and very young. I’ll post the full note Monday.
I’ll add on here, since coincidentally I had the 2006 AW Rosella’s PN last night, too. I will agree with Todd, to the extent that I found the wine on the sweet side, too. It had the AW Rosella’s color, which was more pink then rose, along with the silky and feminine aspect that Ed seems to often present with this fruit. I do think we served the wine a bit warmer than I would have liked, probably closer to 65 degrees. I did not take notes last night so this is the best I can do.
Funny, just realized this thread was started LAST year…I was going to ask Tony to post an updated TN on the 2005 he was going to drink!
We enjoyed another bottle of this tonight, although my SIL enjoyed more of it than I, which was great, as he’s had a tough week. Anyway, this bottle here showed better than the last one I posted on earlier this year and I’ll also add that the asian 5 spice element is a pretty cool component of this wine now.
-
2006 August West Pinot Noir Rosella’s Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (8/23/2010)
We finished this wine quickly, within less than 2 hours. I also put a bit of a chill on it but I’ll let this note stand on the air time mentioned here, along with drinking it at near room of about 70 degrees to create this TN. Aromatically, some Xmas spice, asian 5 spice and a hint of heat (that was also part of my most recent March 2010 note); however, the heat is less prominent this time in my perception. Strawberry, pomegranate and some light funk, along with a hint of citrus, candied red apple and pine. This bottle is much more akin to what I would expect Ed to do with this fruit. Of note, I’ll still maintain there is a touch more ripeness than I would like but overall, the bottle still works and the flavors are much more on point than the previous one.
Posted from CellarTracker
This really is drinking pretty well right now … awesome stuff.
Nice notes Tony; Ed is doing great work there, also love the Graham bottlings.