Saturday night and we are revisiting an old friend of ours, the Bonaccorsi 2003 Fiddlestix Vineyard Pinot Noir from Santa Rita Hills. I had this bottle for the first time in Dec-06 in Las Vegas (after which I had to get some for home), could not wait and opened one in January this year. Time for a new taste tonight, and then there is only one bottle left in my stack for future enjoyment.The color in the glass is a dark ruby red with a slight purple shade. The nose is still bursting of bright fruit and berries, with dark cherries, dark raspberry, plum and for the first time I am noticing an herbaceous note. On the palate the dark cherry rules again with dark raspberry, and oak notes. The acidity is mouth watering and the tannins are well integrated and have mellowed down a bit from last time I had this wine, at that point I remember them being firm with an edge. The edge is gone...Hard to get a hold of I found just a fews site online where you can order it, Wine-Searcher.com for $54.99.
Bonaccorsi rocks! I've said it before and I'll say it again... (Review here, here, and here.)The Bonaccorsi 2002 Melville Vineyard Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir has a dark, dense reddish purple color in the glass. The very first moment you pour it in the glass and inhale, you get a whiff of strong cinnamon. That wears of almost immediately and after that I can not quite detect it again. Dark, ripe, cherries and fruit shows on the nose, with the dark cherries following the wine to the palate, accentuated by dark berries and pleasantly neutral, but very much existing, acidity, and firm tannins. This all wraps up in a nice clean finish with a trace of spice. This is a fruity but very much structured Pinot Noir with the pleasant fruit and berries that are not to overwhelmingly fruity or jammy. It has that nice fruit you are longing for in a slightly more elegant style...Only 200 cases was made of this wine and the only place I can find it online today is at RaedersWines.com for $57.99. Pri
Going wine tasting this afternoon in our local wine store we picked up a bottle of the Samsara 2005 Ampelos Vinyard Pinot Noir ($48.95) from the Pinot Noir section to try something new.Samsara was founded in 2002 by proprietors Chad and Mary Melville. Chad is also assistant winemaker and vineyard manager at his dad's (Ron Melville) winery, Melville, since 1997. Deciding to start his own venture as well, Samsara was created. A little philosophy behind this name to give some thought: Samsara is sanskrit for the eternal cycle of life, the world we live in now, one of passion, oneness, harmony. It talks about each individual human being longing to be in control of every aspect of life. When it comes to farming, as so many other things in life, you can not control everything, no matter how hard you try, and the final result is a harmony of the power of nature, things beyond our control, and the human desire to reach perfection. This will ultimately result in the expressions of the finished
Badge is the new venture of former Sanford winemaker Bruno D'Alfonso. The 2004 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir is his second release of this label and is a small production of only 100 cases. I had the luck to find it in my favorite grocery store in Santa Ynez, El Rancho. (You can also find it at www.wine-searcher.com from $30.) It is a new and very exciting Pinot Noir and was rated 92-94 by Wine Spectator. It is a powerful, rich and fruity wine with nice tannins. Red fruit, dark cherry and blackberry greets you on the palate. I really enjoyed this wine and will try to get my hands on some more of it. You should to...
A new tasting and review of a Pinot Noir from Santa Ynez Valley, the Longoria 2003 Fe Ciega Vineyard Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir . Do not miss this one!Episode 9: Tasting of Longoria 2003 Fe Ciega Vineyard Pinot NoirVote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog TopYou can vote once every 24 hours!
