Joseph Swan Vineyards Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

Old world style Pinot! Lovely barnyard, mushroom, truffles notes with a whiff of red bright cherry mixed with leather. The Acidity contributes to the vibrancy and long finish. Amazing! Who knew Russian River valley Pinot’s could develop like this.

A really nice contrast to the 1990 Estate, this shows more elegance. It's earthy, spicy, and showing great texture behind black cherries and floral notes. Wonderfully integrated. Long finish. A genuinely elegant and stately wine. A-

Phenomenal balance here. This is a medium-bodied wine of ripe red and dark fruits with a velevety texture. This is on the precipice between young and old and has years (or decades to go). The overall impression is pretty subtle -- this is not a blockbuster -- but the whole package is extremely well put together and very vibrant and attractive.

This has developed nicely over the last several years. Pristine bottle here. Red cherry color with lightening at the rim of the glass and only faint bricking. Lively nose of red cherry, baking spice, and an attractive floral note that marries with emerging secondary notes of mushroom and forest floor. In the mouth, the flavors from the nose unfold on your palate. It's very faithful to the nose. And this has become more Pinot-like over the years. There's fantastic life …

Rare Wine Co. Joseph Swan Retrospective Dinner (Murray Circle Restaurant, Cavallo Point, Marin, California) : Bricking medium dark red color; mature, subtle herbs, tart cherry, tart red fruit nose; mature, tart cherry, tart red fruit, cranberry palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish 90+ points

My system (nose mouth finish) +++, holding so well for California pinot noir this old. Really enjoyed it with food. Not sure how much longer I would hold this, may not get a lot better with time but definitely wont disappoint. Wish I had more.

13.7% alcohol. Really beautiful cherry red color, with no hints of bricking at the rim of the glass. The color was stunning. The bouquet was cloak-and-dagger. It wasn't overtly Pinot initially. There was a refined, Old World kind of fruit sensibility about the wine -- although more Bordeaux and not Burgundy -- but the mushroom, floral, and earth notes were distinctly Pinot. Lively and refreshing in the mouth, with darker cherry fruit, spice, earth, mushrooms, and flowers. The depth of …

Cellar Scraper Winetasting Potluck Dinner (Eric and Sylvie's, Mountain View, California) : Tart cherry and raspberry palate with sweet tannins; medium finish

great sturdy pinot fruit first, then very clean middle and big full somewhat tannic finish. cleaner taste than I remembered at winery