2007 Ceritas Pinot Noir Escarpa Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (11/23/2009)
The first thing I noticed about this Pinot was the extremely dark color, closer to a Merlot. Upon opening, scents of toasted almond and caramel were the most dominant (quality oak was evident here), but quickly blew off to a more natural Pinot nose – soft cherry, Indian spices, and slightly floral.
This was a beast of a wine but extremely balanced, especially as it opened. I was very impressed with the weight of the wine mid-palate. The solid acid structure led to sort of a strawberry Now & Later flavor, and a slightly spicy finish (white pepper). Tannins were slightly above average for a CA Pinot.
Overall, I absolutely loved this wine. The best Pinot I have had in 2009. Very big and very balanced with luscious flavors. Highly recommended.
Decanted, but poured right away, drank over 3 hours. (95 pts.)
Great note, Eric. Thanks for posting. My shipment of the Chard and Pinot arrived last week. My curiosity is too great to hold off several years on these. I’ll probably sacrifice one – most likely a Chard – within the next few months.
Given that most people who bought have never tasted this, I would try one of each reasonably soon, if only to see how you like the style of the wines. I have no doubt they will be well received, having tasted both several times now, and they are both drinking very well. I think time will be good to the Pinot, won’t hurt the Chard in the least, but they’re so tasty now, no reason to wait
The 2007 Escarpa will be fine to hold on to for several years it seems, but I am too much of a wine nerd to not try and monitor the development. I bought 3, so one can be “sacrificed”.
I believe if you bought several and open one now, it might not be at its prime, but you won’t be upset for giving it a shot.
I was lucky enough to attend their inaugural pickup day. Good chard. The pinot is definitely a candidate to shove in the back of the cellar and to forget about for a few years. Here’s what I scribbled down that day.
07 Ceritas Chard: “Flinty with some honey on the nose. Nice structure and acids. Very nice”
07 Escarpa PN: “Dark cherry fruits, some meat (?) aromas. In the mouth some flintiness. Not too much heavy oak. Silky, elegant. Relatively light body with a light but obvious coat of tannins in the mouth. Very young.”
I hung around for around an hour and the pinot opened up a bit (but I neglected to write anything down). The aroma became intriguing, which is a must for me for any high quality pinot noir/Burgundy.
i tasted both wines for quite awhile on a brutally hot day out @ Porter Bass Vineyard this summer. couldn’t have been a worse day to evaluate wine outdoors and i loved both wines so i’ll let them lie sleeping awhile.
Very nice note. I must say I have very little interest in Pinot of this profile and I’m a hard-core skeptic when I hear things like, “Monster, massive, but amazingly racy and elegant.” Not saying the author used that exact phrase, but I hear it so often from JL and others that it’s hard to believe. Especially so after trying wines that were described as “monstrous yet balanced” or the like - many have turned out to simply be over-bearing monsters. So I tend to think some tasters like JL like to convince themselves that elegance is their target instead of confronting their preferences, which tend toward fruit missiles.
But that’s the beauty of wine. Palates and preferences vary.
And the very best bottles I’ve had do indeed combine power and elegance. It’s happily achievable, and I’d love to seek it out in this bottle. Cheers and thanks again for the note.
