St. Innocent Pinot Noir O'Connor Vineyard

Opened by Allred at Anvil. This was opened after dinner and didn't really open until almost gone. Still plenty of tannin present. Notes of cherry and chalk.

Light color with an initial mustiness that blew off after a few minutes. Notes of cranberry, red fruit, sous bois, herbs/mint, and pine needles. Light-bodied with flavors of cherry, red fruit and clay with an interesting chalk quality. Needed some time to really open up. Drink now-2018, though give it an hour or two in bottle to breathe if opening now.

Decanted briefly off its sediment and reottled, this took a good two hours to really open up. Pale ruby color. Forest floor and black cherry notes follow through on the palate. Balanced, with a nice finish.

Mark brought this to the Haggis' house for a happy hour this week. We opened it next to a 2002 St. Innocent Seven Springs. I really enjoyed the opportunity to try these 2 wines side by side. This wine was more burglike than the 2002. It showed signs of bricking. A little compost pile on the nose. Earthy core of flavors. Smooth finish. 89-90 points.

Mark brought this to the happy hour at Haggis'. Ruby color, with cherries, spice and earthy notes. Sweet cherries and red fruit, with light tannins in the background, with a nice finish.