Melville, Carrie's Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills

This wine is much the same now as it was when last tasted in 2009. In fact, it doesn’t not appeared to have changed as much in taste as it has in texture. It may be softer and rounder now, but its scents and flavors are much the same with a nose and palate of cherry, cola, and ground clove. A touch of brown sugar perhaps as well as graham cracker. Perhaps the wine is a touch more balanced with …

2005 vintage

Made with Pinot Noir Dijon clones 114 and 115. Typically made with partially destemmed (1/3 to 2/3) fruit, first cold-soaked for a week, then fermented in open-top fermentors for approximately two weeks, followed by another week of post-fermentation maceration, totaling to a month of skin maceration. Aged in oak barrels, of which a small portion were new. 15,3% alcohol. Deep and somewhat evolved pomegranate red color with relatively little translucency for a Pinot Noir. Seductive, somewhat sweet-toned and very harmonious …

2005 vintage

Wow what a Pinot

2005 vintage

Beautiful. Earthy. Dark red fruits. Well balanced.

2005 vintage

Medium-deep garnet in color with some clearing at the edges. Full, forward & attractive nose of ripe fruit aromas of red cherries, strawberries & plums with overtones of spices notes of cloves, herbs, earthy/dusty, minerals, a hint of vanilla & toasty oak in the background. Medium bodied with a good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, ripe fruit flavors of sweet cherries, strawberries & raspberries with spices, cherry-cola, herbs, earthy, minerals, some vanilla & toasty oak. Long lingering finish. …

2005 vintage

Black, deep and sweet as aged Melvilles tend to be and surprisingly lacking in mature notes for a passively-stored 15 year old bottle. Would wish for just a tad more acid, but nice.

2002 vintage

Ripe, but balanced with fully resolved tannins. Excellent minty spice on finish. A very enjoyable wine with many years left, I'd guess.

2002 vintage

This wine has definitely evolved, it is still excellent, but it is very different than it was in it's youth. The earthy undertones are more pronounced and it's not nearly as sweet. There are still plenty of dark fruits (cherry & plum) but it seems lighter on it's feet. Nice long finish, good acidity, nose slightly mooted. More Burgundian. Definitely drinkable now, but should continue to evolve/age for another 2-3 years, as there are still some tannins to resolve; however, …

2005 vintage

Massive wine. Prune, blackberry jam, violet, cinnamon, nubuck, tiger balm, peat. Medium-plus bodied with a warm, oak inflected finish. Will hold in the mid-term.

2005 vintage

I am a big fan of the winemaker, Greg Brewer. Even a huge fan. This is why. Sure, he's working with great fruit, but almost ten years out this is fantastic. The characteristic eucalyptus that I associate with Sta Rita Hills but a ton more. Fruit, balance, earth. Like that vacation you plan, save for, worry about, and it actually turns out wonderfully. Outstanding. thedrunkencyclist.com

2005 vintage

This is really delicious. This is quintessential, impeccably made, Santa Rita Hills pinot noir. It doesn't remind me of Burgundy, but it's exquisite in its own way. At the start on the palate, it's dark cherry, pomegranate, dried plums. Then follows layers of asian five spice and hoisin. On the finish, I recognize what others have described as bitter stemminess. For me, it's brussels sprouts and root vegetables that I do enjoy. There is a little heat that is noticeable, …

2005 vintage

Liked more when younger.

2005 vintage

Nice aromatics but lacks acidity at this point. While balanced, it fell flat for us. No room for improvement, sadly.

2002 vintage

No bitter finish this time. It was very bright on the nose and on the palate. Seemed fresher than the last bottle. The fruits were on the redder side. Not as much vanilla. Decanted an hour before drinling over another hour.

2005 vintage

Agree with wine4ever description of the wine. What knocked it down for me was a bitterness in the wine on the finish. May just have been a product of not decanting long enough.Stopped short of wowing me.

2005 vintage

moved to pvt notes.

2005 vintage

Beautiful and complex, lush bouquet with ripe fruits. Very full bodied and ripe fruits in the mouth; cherries on alcohol impression (not negative meant). Filling the whole mouth. A very jammy new world style pinot noir with a very long finish. Ready now; no hurry.

2002 vintage

Still improving. Decanted, very little sediment. Started off a tad sweet, but really improved quickly as it warmed to room temperature. Surprisingly very complex. Great texture....creamy and smooth. Medium bodied. Lovely black cherry, brown sugar, vanilla, plums and mushrooms. Long finish. Drink now or continue to hold thru 2015. 92-93

2005 vintage

Improved since the last time I drank this. Decannted for an hour. A bit 'simple' at beginning. But, filled out very quickly. Became almost smooth after 4 hours. Complex, fruity with many differring flavors.

2005 vintage

Wine has aged well and is drinking nicely. Ripe cherry and a smooth earthy finish.

2005 vintage

Pop 'n Poured. Bright red cherries, pretty fruit forward, with some raw almond tone and a little sweet vanilla oak nuance. Unmistakably New World. Some alcohol heat on the finish. But rather delicious regardless.

2005 vintage

Badly corked.

2005 vintage

Fruity, brown spice, plum jam and some vanilla. Lacked some structure and although some stems are in it still, it's forward so let 'er rip.

2005 vintage

My last bottle. Pretty plump still, big mid palate, lots of black cherry, some mushroom but lacks acidity at this point........so I gave the wine an overnight rest in the bottle, like I often do. My impressions tonight are much the same. Where the wine suceeds is in the color it still carrries, the balanced alcohol (the som kept giving me wine last night until I had killed 2/3rds of the bottle over dinner--much more than I often drink but …

2002 vintage

In 2008 I thought the wine was tight and good but not great. After another 18 months, the wine has open up, with vibrate notes of ripe cherry and plums. Smooth, earthy finish.

2005 vintage

Disjointed when first opened, and almost watery. Afeter an hour, the fruit picked up. Very enjoyable with southwest rubbed salmon....

2005 vintage

One of my favorite wines from the CDP. Gushing with ripe fruit and a silky mouthfeel. Definitely stood out.

2005 vintage

A wonderful Santa Rita Hills wine. Nose of black cherry, blueberry, pine, Asian spice, and a hint of earth. Palate offers chalky black cherry, wet earth, and minerals. Sharp and bracing acidity. Was angular when opened, but smoothed out nicely with air and with food. Paired superbly with goat cheese and then with cedar plank salmon. Wish I had more, as this has a long life ahead.

2005 vintage

This wine is still young and takes a little bit to open up. Once it does, it offers both a nose and palate of cherry, cola, ground clove, brown sugar with a slight banana fosters finish. The alcohol on the nose translates to a warm, alcoholic finish. The banana fosters element is very surprising, unanimously capturing the attention of the table. 15.3% alc. With grilled ribeyes under a mushroom sauce. With Rodney Young. Recommended, but at $50, it’s not a …

2005 vintage

Has candied cherry and cranberry contrasted by roasted herbs, spice and beetroot. Flavors are complimented nicely by good acidity, which leads into a plus finish that has an interesting beet element. Drink now-2014. 88 pt.

2005 vintage

Been a year since I had this bottling so opened my last remaining bottle and took to dinner last night. Kind of a curious wine. The sommelier and I tried to settle on one of the prominent descriptors--he called it briny, saline-like. I think that's a good reference. There's also an herbal quality, I would posit from the whole cluster treatment, that still is providing a thread of herbal notes on the palate. This herbal piece doesn't work for me, …

2002 vintage

Shows some deep pinot aromas on the nose. But also some dark chocolate. Really dense entry on the palate. a little heat on the finish. needed time to open up, but I can't really assess where this is going. Will this open up and get better? Not a traditional pinot pairing wine for me now

2002 vintage

A very nicely aging pinot.

2002 vintage

The cork was not saturated at all. Wine is translucent reddish brown. As soon as it was opened, it had an outstanding perfume. Fruit forward refined aromas of raspberries and strawberries. Well integrated complex flavors: raspberries, flowers, cranberries, cloves and a hint of nutty notes. One feels the high alcohol of the wine on the attack and mid palette. The strength of this wine is not on finesse and restraint, but in bouquet and forward taste. Nearly no tannins. Warm. …

2002 vintage

Seems tight and closed down to me. Little thick and jammy. I still own one of these so I'll be curious to see how others at the dinner post on this wine. I'm wondering whether this wine may not be what it once was or it needs more time to soften? Didn't ring for me.

2002 vintage

Melville Wine Dinner (Antonello Ristorante - Costa Mesa, CA) : This pinot came across as one of the more tannic in the flight with a strong black tea and tree bark component. With more time in the glass, the tannins started to subside and the wine reveals ripe black cherries, plum, and boysenberries.

2002 vintage

Really

2002 vintage

decadent nose of forest, pine, licorice and rich ripe red and dark fruits. luxurious mouthfeel, with lots of nice fruit and finishes bright with mouthwatering acididty. great stuff

2002 vintage

Same notes as previous bottle in 1/2006. Good.

2002 vintage

This is one fine Pinot Noir. It is still pretty primary but is much more integrated than the previous bottle we opened. It has a beautiful nose of spices, strawberries and a bit of violets. There is no doubt this is Pinot Noir. At 15.1% alcohol there was no hint of heat which is rather remarkable. Lip-smacking. [~$40 on release; Decanted about 30 minutes but an hour might be ideal; Served with a tri-tip roast for a Central CA theme]

2002 vintage

Purchased off the restaurant wine list at The Tavern in Libertyville for $99. This wine was spectacular from the moment the cork was popped. Really a tremendous nose, one of the best I've ever had on a pinot. An ebullient bouquet of violets, wild strawberries, and juniper berries. The flavors follow from there, with soft and ripe cherry/strawberry fruit and spicy oak hints. Velvety texture and flavorsome finish. Slightly more hedonistic and perhaps not as deep as the '01 vintage, …

2002 vintage

Brought this to a dinner with friends...this is my third bottle of this vintage. The first two I thought were incredible, one of the 5 best 2002 California Pinot's I 've tried. This bottle was really good, but wasn't quite as aromatically interesting as the previous two. Here are my notes... Visual-Deep ruby red, slightly cloudy, with little rim variation (4 pts). Nose-cinammon, red and black cherry, slight spice (cinammon, clove), hint of black olive, and a touch of smoke. …

2002 vintage

<Hualalai> No Tasting note. Classy Pinot. Clean Dark Cherries on the palate and earthy 'Pinot Funk' flavors carrying through on the finish

2002 vintage

Decanted 2 hours and enjoyed with mustard encrusted ribeye roast. Didn't take notes but really enjoyed this wine. Very pure fruit and very much in balance. Would rate it 92-93 points informally.

2002 vintage

$39;After a decant we eagerly jumped into the 2002 version of one of my favorite 01 Pinots. The good news is that there is not a drop-off in quality for the 02. It started out with a spicy nose with cherries, cloves and a hint of roses. In the middle there was black cherry, strawberry, spices (between nutmeg and cloves), a hint of ground coffee, anise and an herbal component that I was IDing as eucalyptus. It finished strong and …

2002 vintage

Tasted at the winery. Bigger and bolder than the Clone 115, but not quite as closed as the Terraces. Probably not as concentrated, but tastier now. 91-92 pts.

2002 vintage

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Melville, Carrie's Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills

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