Two for tonight:
2009 Cartograph Floodgate: From a favorite RRV Pinot vineyard and favorite family producer. Last of 3 bottles, most recent in April. Reasonable amount of bricking. Takes an hour to shake off some rust and opens to vibrant dark fruit and a little strawberry showing through, as well as some lovely spicey notes with a touch of acid on the finish. Starting to show real tertiary flavors but they’re having a hard time coming through. Interested to see where this goes, so may see if there are still some for sale from the library.
2017 Drouhin Côte de Nuits Villages: Picked up towards the tail end of a trip down to a family place at the beach as stocks ran low. A little musty on the nose. Lots of sweet fruit, very little in way of tannin. Easy to drink, nothing special.
Kutch Bohan 2013
Cheerful red cherry, red apple, cranberry fruit. A dusty quality, with some bay leaf and autumn spice.
Less intense and serious than some Kutch pinots, not quite as much power driving through the core, but a pretty, savory styled red, good balance and energy.
2007 August West Rosella’s Vineyard - Just Coravin’ed a glass and a beautiful scent of black cherries came rising up from the pour. In the glass, the nose bursts forth with juicy cherries, making my mouth water for that first sip. Wow - on the palate, it is dark and grippy with the same dark berry flavors just coating my mouth and a nice little tart streak running down the middle of my tongue. Finish is a little short, but doesn’t take away from a really enjoyable drink. I’ve been drinking through a lot of my older pinots over the past many months being stuck at home - some have been hits, some have been misses - but this pinot is showing terrific and ranks up there with the most enjoyable ones that I have enjoyed during this time!
If you think Brig makes the rules, you have not been here long enough. By the way, are you aware of the Jason Momoa thread? 
Aha! A solution. We have just teed up a 2013 Aubert Sonoma Coast Pinot for tonight. Jay Miller has mistaken that TWICE blind for Cali Syrah.
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2016 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (11/21/2020)
On vacation for a while, so wine with lunch is a go. Popped a 1/2 bottle of this, and it was classic Loring. Ripe red and black fruit, baking spices and a rich mouthfeel stands up to flavorful fare. I have been drinking Brian’s wines since the 2000 vintage, and they always bring 110%.
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I think u need a photo of the btl with you in it!
Not just the btl if I understand correctly 
)
I wasn’t going for extra credit on that one.
2018 Peay Vineyards Pomarium Estate Pinot Noir
Lucky timing, sometimes you want to open what you know will be a delicious bottle. This was a charming bottle of Pinot noir. This year, it was deep, dark fruited and yet lifted like it normally is with a fair level of acidity. Not sure the percent of whole cluster. Great persistence and mid to end palate. Aromas are lovely as well. With cellaring another 3-5-8 years it will develop the 2ndary characteristics that Peay wines are known for. (For those who use Coravin, it worked for the 7 months since the last tasting.) It’s drinking well now.
2006 Calera Jensen Vineyard Pinot Noir
Red fruited raspberry, cherry nose with strawberry, cranberry on the palate. Slight alcoholic finish. Lovely aged Pinot, clearly a size able portion of whole cluster that imparts some leaves, forest floor and choco/cocoa notes.
Matt Taylor Wines Cuvee Kaela 2017
Admittedly, Sonoma Pinot is not typically my thing. But I grabbed this at the suggestion of my ITB friend who gave it a very strong reach and I’m glad I did. The nose alone is worth pouring a glass, its youthful and bright and full of happy red fruit. The palate is cherry cola and minerality and goodness. Its still really primary, but its really enjoyable. I have no doubt this will be a good long haul wine, but its a good roast chicken on a weeknight wine as well. I’m happy this wine exists because the single vineyard stuff is almost twice as much and is a little harder to pull the trigger on because of it… but honestly this is enjoyable enough at half the price that I’m not sure why you’d make the jump. maybe a 91ish?
2016 Davenport Cellars Pinot Noir . - USA, Oregon (11/21/2020)
Solid Oregon Pinot featuring strawberry, minerals, floral and spice. Medium plus finish. For under $15.00 a bottle hard to beat. (91 points)
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2018 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (11/21/2020)
This is a heartfelt tasting note. I really didn’t like this wine when I tasted with Jamie right after it was bottled, it came off with a lot of tomato. I was really concerned because Falstaff is one of my favorite bottlings of Pinot Noir in the world. I was concerned.
I guess it’s a bit like saying that your dog is ugly. Nobody has the heart to say it and I felt very reserved based on the fact that it was just recently bottled and I don’t consider myself an expert.
FMIII had opened a bottle last night and we happened to cross paths today and he said hey I think you should taste the 2018 Falstaff again, I said gladly.
Wow, what a terrific bottle of wine. It has a reduced concentration and intensity of the typical falstaff but is absolutely fantastic. A leaning towards old world yet doesn’t forget it’s California roots.
If nothing, this bottle will always remind me that wine is about the time and the place and the people. And if those are all things that you enjoy then you enjoy the wine.
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2015 Lingua Franca Joshua, Junichi & Siri. A one-off of random cuvees that didn’t work on their own, it’s still my favorite Lingua Franca wine. Super aromatic, loads of red fruits, light bodied, singing acid. Great juice.
Pretty darn good everyday Burg for $27. Primary, dark fruits with a dusty, mineral spine. Tart fruits fleshing out with some air. Not overly complex, but often simple and honest hits the right note. (89 pts.)
I need to open one soon. I still have a single 2015 in the cellar as well. Maybe open that first.
Thanks for getting this going again Frank, you’re a good man!
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2015 Briceland Vineyards Pinot Noir Ronda’s Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Humboldt County (11/21/2020)
Pours a brickish ruby color. Nose of cranberry, nutmeg and sandlewood. Cranberry, red raspberry and black tea on an expressive palate. The brightness of the fruit splashed against a backdrop of strawberry and chalk and a great acidic lift. Man I like this. Finish lingers and beckons another sip.
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I am glad you got to give this a whirl today. Those 4oz bottles do the trick in terms of handing off wine to be shared.
I’m working through another glass tonight and your note is a terrific summation, Brig. The wine has maintained all of the intensity from yesterday, with just more breadth, along with the acidity coming through to round it all out. It’s a really good vintage for Falstaff.
Brian, great to have you in the mix, dude. Miss seeing you.
Oh, drinking in Big Daddy Brian’s backyard is an epic experience.
We need to have a post vaccine offline with Brian on the grills. Yes, pural grills.
I hate cell phone photos almost as much as I hate wimpy tasteless pinot . . . but for Laura’s House I will make a double exception.
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2013 Aubert Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (11/21/2020)
Although 7 years old, this was still infanticide. I decanted for about 45 minutes and should have decanted it at lunch for a dinner tasting. But FMIII’s charity challenge required pinot because his manhood was removed about 5 years ago, so I went for a wine that Jay Miller - The Good Jay Miller for those who understand the inside joke - twice mistook blind for Cali Syrah.
This wine is unmistakably pinot, with a fair amount of traditional Cali pinot funk (some call it cola) and a strong backbone of red fruit focusing on cherries. There is some undefined spiciness that evokes toasted oak, but it is not oaky at all. Color is moderately dark but not impenetrable by a long shot, comparable to aged, but not well aged, Barolo, for those who know the color evolution of that grape. The bottom line on this wine is to keep my hands off for another 10 years. I have a smattering of Aubert pinot going back to 2004 and maybe I should try one of those next . . . in about 2 years.
My score on this does not assume improvement, which is probably the wrong way to score this wine, because my guess is that 10 years from now it will show some elegant flavors but retain its power. (91 pts.)
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PS - I forgot to mention in the CT Note that there is an interesting citrus acidity component but I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is.
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I’m anxiously awaiting your return guys!
I double dipped tonight. Not sure if this site can handle so many close-ups if my ugly mug, but too bad! ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
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2007 Breggo Cellars Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (11/21/2020)
Pulling some older wines to cull out before they go south. Well, this one could have sat in the cellar another 5-6 years easily. Rich ruby color, rhubarb cola quality on the nose that I find in many Copain AV wines. Generous palate of red and black berries, not a lot of complexity here, could use a hit of acidity but we’ll see if I can coax more out with some air. Right now I’m just happy it’s not a brown dead mess. Finishes with a nice dose of spice. With proper provenance this wine will keep going for quite some time.
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