Joseph Phelps, Freestone Vineyards Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Waited too long, vinegar

2009 vintage

This wine is still tasting great right now !! At or just past peak !! The cork was remarkably perfect after over a dozen years in the bottle. I consumed this delicious Pinot Noir with friends at dinner. Dark ruby color with minor oxidation, clarity good. Aromas of pomegranate, cranberry, fresh fig, and black tea; flavors of black cherry, red fruit compote, rhubarb, glycerin, and marine soil with a medium to long finish. This age worthy wine has a couple …

2010 vintage

I agree with my tasting note of almost three years ago. This wine is still tasting great right now !! At peak !! The cork was remarkably perfect after over a dozen years in the bottle. I consumed this delicious Pinot Noir over two days. Dark ruby color with minor oxidation, clarity good. Aromas of pomegranate, cranberry, fresh fig, and black tea; flavors of black cherry, red fruit compote, rhubarb, glycerin, and marine soil with a medium to long finish. …

2009 vintage

This was a great POP pairing with oven-roasted, pan-seared thick Berkshire ribeye pork chop. Aromas of dark pitted fruits and leather. Medium bodied, great balance with soft tannins. Joseph Phelps of course is best known for his cabernets, but this Sonoma Coast pinot rocks and deserves its fair share of attention as well.

2017 vintage

From the winery. This was too acidic for me. There's more darker, briary fruit vs. any lightness in style. Feels overpriced. I'm realizing I generally need to veer away from Pinot Noir as the acidity is too much, but that's just my personal palate.

2017 vintage

Il Giallo dinner (Sommelier Guild of Atlanta) (Atlanta, GA) : Tasted at Somm Guild of ATL dinner @ il Giallo. No formal notes (just scores) since this was a social event. Paired with beef short rib lasagna and bread. This course turned into somewhat of a "Pinot Fest" as several guests brought pinots to share. The five pinot lineup for me was Tantara, Jewell (which I brought), Belle Glos, Phelps and Rhys. All wildly different expressions (and ages) and I'm …

2017 vintage

Nothing spectacular.

2017 vintage

Cranberry, cherry, tomato leaf, compost, chocolate and forest floor on the nose. Medium-light bodied, satin texture, plush tannins, brightly acidic. Strong presence, yet graceful, with cherry-cranberry and earthy tones, with a lingering finish.

2017 vintage

.

2017 vintage

I agree with my tasting note of three months ago. This wine is really tasting great right now !! At peak !! The cork was remarkably perfect after over a decade in the bottle. I consumed this delicious Pinot Noir over two days. Dark ruby color with little to no oxidation, clarity was medium. Aromas of pomegranate, cranberry, fresh fig, and black tea; flavors of black cherry, red fruit compote, rhubarb, glycerin, and marine soil with a medium to long …

2009 vintage

This wine is really tasting great right now !! At peak !! The cork was remarkably perfect after over a decade in the bottle. I consumed this delicious Pinot Noir over two days. Dark ruby color with little to no oxidation, clarity was medium. Aromas of pomegranate, cranberry, fresh fig, and black tea; flavors of black cherry, red fruit compote, rhubarb, glycerin, and marine soil with a medium to long finish. This age worthy wine has many more years of …

2009 vintage

Med body pinot. PnP. Goes down easy. Good to have around.

2017 vintage

Excellent

2017 vintage

Lots of jammy fruit on the nose at initial pour. Balanced out quite nicely after a couple of hours.

2017 vintage

Post Hurricane Ian bonfire drink

2017 vintage

Decent, but not one of Phelp's best Pas

2017 vintage

Consistent with previous tastings. Red fruits, aromatic, floral, a little earthy. Getting a little cola this time. On the palate, acidity is medium plus, balanced, medium plus finish. Well made, but a little boring.

2017 vintage

Echos others impressions … solid, nice red fruit nose and initial attack… some floral notes in the mid-palate then a nice crisp finish… good acidity and sustained fruit notes Solid though not spectacular … well made and drinking well (pared with ginger/soy glazed salmon tonight)… overall, very satisfying.

2017 vintage

It's a nice pinot with plenty of acidity and nice balance, but there is nothing particularly memorable or impressive about this vintage.decanted for 3 hours but it didn't change much during that time other than the initial opening up in 30 minutes. I think it's bad QPR at £60 here in the UK.

2017 vintage

Very enjoyable Pinot Noir. Was able to drink immediately after opening, and did not notice much change over the next hour. I imagine the best phrase one could use is that this is a very easy drinking Pinot

2017 vintage

Nice dark red fruited pinot with some spice and twigginess (is that a word?)! A bit sweet on entry but smooth with a nice finish. Pleasant and well made but not very complex or amazing.

2017 vintage

Medium body. Velvety mouthfeel. Nice bing cherry fruit on the palate with a hint of cranberry tart on the finish.

2017 vintage

Needed :20 to soften at open, then was a tasty summer drinker. Med Pinot body, Hint of raspberry more prominent than other fruit. Good price for the return.

2017 vintage

PnP'd. Drinking very well.

2009 vintage

Savory aromas, orange peel, & stone On the palate dark cherry & clove Silky mouth feel with a super long finish

2017 vintage

Dark and brooding on the nose (for a PN), takes some coaxing but the fruit that is revealed is seductive. Some stems here? Silky and velvet mouthfeel, nice weight. Very good PN. Classy and long.

2017 vintage

Great Pinot with a lot of fruit. Nothing complex but a nice balance.

2017 vintage

Elegant but rich with nice structure with old world sensibilties. Drinking well. No hurry

2010 vintage

A nice pinot but nothing memorable. 89-90.

2017 vintage

Very nice Pinot. Can always count on Joesph Phelps to deliver.

2017 vintage

Needed a good hour to really open up. Balanced red fruit, not much minerality or earthiness. Fine tannins

2017 vintage

Even better than the last time I tried this wine about 14 months ago. Savory red and blue fruits with excellent supporting structure. Tannins are fading a bit from the substantial tannins from the last bottle. Excellent finish. This is really coming together nicely. Great QPR on this pottle, which I paid in the $30's from Costco in summer of 2019.

2017 vintage

Decidedly better than the bottles opened a couple of years ago. The early rough edges are gone and it's developed some complexity. A fair amount of fine sediment now, not evident previously. Very good balance now. Drinking window seems to be about 2019 to 2023 or so; much later than the consensus.

2009 vintage

Did not like - either of us

2009 vintage

Bottle was bad.

2009 vintage

Aged pinot that was pleasant to drink but not exciting or different in any way. Pleasant cherry fruit with a touch of stemmy flavor. Silky and smooth finish. Easy drinker.

2010 vintage

Reminds me of all I dislike about Pinot. Eau de Sweatsock (I guess that means earthy). Typical off-putting flavor of this grape. Was hopeful that a higher end Pinot would be more acceptable to my palate, but alas , no. Miles can keep it!

2009 vintage

Same notes as before. Slightly less effervescent that’s the last bottle.

2010 vintage

Clear, slightly pale garnet, with some rim browning. Cherry, honey, plum. Low acids, low tannins. Lemon curd. Short balanced finish.

2009 vintage

Cherry cola and a slight bit of carbonation (bubbles) suggesting that some secondary fermentation might have occurred in bottle?

2010 vintage

Very disappointing. I am a seller of these going forward

2009 vintage

Deep purple in color, with fine balance of red fruit, lavender and a touch of herbaceous character. Very consistent wine over course of its life; sorry this was last bottle.

2009 vintage

Second bottle of this. Upon opening it has a distinctly stemmy note which I dislike - it's common to many northern California pinots. However that blew off about half an hour after decanting. From then on it was similar to my previous notes on this. Nice, but not very complex, and somewhat weak fruit. There are better west coast pinots for less.

2009 vintage

Classic violet pinot nose. More perfumery than normal in a very nice way.

2009 vintage

Attractive cherry fruit notes, adequately balanced with acid. Modest residual sweetness, enough to make it easy to drink and readily enjoyable. Initially upon opening not a great deal of complexity but perhaps it will open up.

2009 vintage

Steel rock nose with light floral tones. Full medium body with a finish that is fairly flat but lingers. N6 F7 T 6.5 B7 F6

2009 vintage

Corked

2009 vintage

Still ruby, with only a hint of caramel tones at the edge. Currant on the nose and palate, leather, plum. Smooth, medium mouthfeel.

2009 vintage

Continues to be very nice.

2010 vintage

Very nice! Gave it 2 hours of air - made a big difference. At first a bit closed - but after two ours opening up! Smooth, fruity - very much world meets old. I normally prefer Pinot Noirs that are more towards New World - but this was a great balanced approach. My last bottle :-(

2009 vintage

Are you sure?

Joseph Phelps, Freestone Vineyards Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews