On the nose this wine exudes beautiful aromas of tart sour cherry, cranberry sauce, and strawberry rhubarb pie. There are certainly secondary aromas or underlining earthy-type essences of potters clay and dried provencal herbs. The wine also shows a touch of bottle age which was slightly unexpected but quite enjoyable. It almost comes across as brown sugar and fall spices.....caramelized pie crust.

On the palate the wine expresses similar strawberry rhubarb pie notes. There is a tartness and great underlining acidity to this wine which is of course very indicative of the cool and wet 2011 Sonoma County vintage. The wine finishes long with bright and clear red raspberry notes.

This wine is showing very nicely at the moment and is actually peaking a bit earlier than I would have expected. I would say drink this wine now as it most likely won't improve to a higher level and may start to decline in 2-3 years time. 90 points

SIMILAR ARTICLES