2014 Patricia Green Cellars Freedom Hill Dijon 115 Pinot Noir
Alright, I tried to locate a 2012 Balcombe or Durant Madrone, but I was unsuccessful in my search. Hence, the 2014 Freedom Hill Dijon 115 Pinot to compare with the 2014 Balcombe Pinot from last night. The 2014 FH D115 maybe a little darker in appearance. I’m still getting darker fruits on the nose. This wine is tight, tight, tight. I think that the spice note is a little stronger on this wine which is surprising to me. I can see the potential, but it’s stubborn tonight. I would recheck in 3-5 years.
Great citrus notes with bright acidity and mineral note. Light on its feet without any of the funky sauv Blanc notes that normally make me shy away from SB. Good with a spicy vegetarian lentil dish
I’m seeing a lot of FH 115 posts but nothing from 2013. I’d love to pop my sole maggie, but hey, covid, and no one to share with. I’ve always been a fan of FH and the 115 bottling is my favorite. Good to see a lot of posts here.
Tonight was a simply roasted chicken with a bottle of 2001 Belle Pente Pinot Noir Murto Vineyard . There was a time when this wine showed confected fruit, almost stewed, and a bit flabby. Those days are long gone, however – this showed very nicely, sweet cherry fruit with just a bit of sous bois. Not quite the delineation of my last bottle, but by no means flabby. Probably at peak, I won’t hold my remaining bottles very long.
I own bottles of one American wine, and it happens to be an Oregon Riesling. This one makes it our way because the owner is Brian Crosser who has a long track record in the Australian industry. I know next to nothing about Oregon Riesling, and this was offered to me through one of the places I regularly buy, so I thought I’d give it a go
2012 Tunkalilla Riesling- USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills (12/12/2020)
Under screwcap and not showing much colour development. The aroma is slightly honeyed with orange blossom and orange citrus. I thought there was a touch of kerosene on the nose initially, but as the wine has had some air and warmed up a bit that seems to have disappeared.
There is a little bit of Lemon sherbet raciness right up front, and the orange citrus is there on the palate too. There is some mineral elements that emerge towards the end of the mid palate and any initial sweetness is swept away by acidity which provides a decent finish. Pretty nice to drink, albeit not super complex or profound.
A few months ago, Walter Scott came up on my radar screen; so I purchased a few bottles of chard. In the Thanksgiving sale promo thread, someone mentioned that Zachy’s had the 12 East restaurant version of their chard for $20, less 20% discount. I would have been a buyer at $20, but at $16, I broke down and purchased 3 bottles. If the bottle was to fail, it would be perfect for my wife’s book club.
I could taste the oak, but it wasn’t over powering. Some lemon on the nose. Lemon taste. Smooth and easy drinking wine. This wine is more than acceptable at whatever price you pay for it. I’m thinking long and hard about letting my wife drink this with her Zoom friends. 88.
Ended up saving some for night 2 and glad I did. The wine filled out and the funk notes turned more savory.
Also opened a 2018 Paetra Gewürztraminer - flowers, lychee and citrus on the nose and palate. Medium-bodied and dry. Went down too easy with Indian dinner.
I’ll check, but I don’t think that have any bottles of the 2013 FH 115. Jim A. and the fine folks at PGC do a wonderful job with the drinkability chart on the website. The 2013 FH 115 appears to be a firm hold. A magnum of 2013 FH 115 may be ready in 2030? Unless someone has multiple bottles, I think that a majority of PGC Pinots need 10+ years to shine.
Drank this over 3 or so days and the thing I kept coming back to was the texture. its a very well made chard with good acidity, bright ripe fruit, a hint of reduction. texture is linear, but its a line thats got a smooth graceful curve to it. very tasty all the way from day 1 to day 3. at like $30, its well worth the price of admission!
2015 Patricia Green Cellars Marine Sedimentary Chehalem Mountains
Double decanted. Upon opening, very earthy on the nose. On the palate focused dark fruit and cherry, almost bitter. Sharp, structured tannins. Medium acidity. Clipped finish of minerals. Still tight, drink with decant or hold. Update: Of course the last glass after four hours was the best.
So i should preface this, that my wife and I recently tried 22 Pinots under $20 (from Binnys in Chicago). Our expectations were fairly low in this price point, although there were a few QPR highlights (mostly from Oregon, New Zealand and Chile).
Quite an exotic nose of rose petals, dark cherries, camphor and underbrush.
Young on the palate, sour black cherry, quite chewy with moderate to firm tannins, Mineral streak that turns a bit bitter. Quite sappy. Fairly serious for the price point and benefits from air (better the next day).
Tasted as part of a series of Pinot Noir under $20. Near the top in this lineup, although looking at the pricing, perhaps not usually <$20 ($18 at Binnys - large chain in Chicago). (89 pts.)
