Zepaltas, Bottoms Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley

This is in a really fine spot right now. After 1 hr or so of being open light red strawberry and cherry perfumed nose that follow on the palate with some pine and a little spice on the finish. Very balanced and the wine gains stregnth with air. Tannins are now really fine and the wine has a terrific silky mouthfeel. No reason to wait on these but give it an hour or so of air. Another great Zepaltas wine …

A solidly medium bodied Cali PN. Light in color, nicely aromatic with a perfume of strawberries overlying light underbrush. Nicely balanced acidity. This just smells and tastes like pinot should.

Deeply seated and full. But with acidity. A bit of paradox, in the Terry Thesiean sense of the word.

Another solid offering from Zepaltas. Light in color, but just slightly murky- looks unfiltered but not distractingly so. Brings big flavor without raising suspicion about being artificially enhanced. Textbook CA Pinot with a nice dose of acidity to keep it balanced. A producer I'd highly recommend.

So soft and sensual on the palate. Not "smooth" per se, but dramatically beautiful. Just opened, I assume the aromatics will come up.

Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (Waterford Wine Co., Milwaukee) : very tense nose. sour cherry. nothing green in this wine. planted in 1998. cherry liquor. diseased and stressed vines. some plum in the background. highest acid yet, that really kicks on the finish.

The vineyard overlooks occidental. This site is shared with two other winemakers, 3 acre site planted meter by meter n 1998? Moving towards getting it certified organic. All dijion clones, it doesn't get as much diurnal shift as the rest of Russian River probably because of the trees around the vineyard. This ends up being an early september pick. To "it works well for what he is trying to do. It is very much a Pinot, but also very much …

Very lightly colored PN. Very aromatic, more strawberry than cherry based. Medium to full bodied- surprising given this wine's fairly pale appearance. Really nicely balanced- a very refreshing wine that I will make a point to buy more of next year.

Chicago Pinot Days-2009 (Navy Pier, Chicago IL) : nose: tight nose with tones of red berries, strawberries, red cherries, and bits of raspberries. Nice and elegant nose right now taste: real nice and pretty medium feel with good tones of red berries, strawberries, and creamy tones of red cherries. The fell is really smooth and polished right now as well overall: A real nice young pinot. Real good fruit and shows a very different side of the pinot spectrum from …

Pinot Days Chicago (Navy Pier, Chicago) : A bit reticent, with strawberry and cherry notes, and flavors of baked cherries and red fruit. A bit on the simple side.