Winery - McIntyre Vineyards
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This little appellation in the Salinas Valley is on an upswing with Pinot Noir, as evidenced by this fine bottling. It’s rich, as you’d expect from the perfect 2007 vintage, and well balanced, with the cherry, raspberry, cola and spice flavors bracketed by crisp acidity and smooth tannins. Probably not an ager, but a wine to watch.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Powerful and ripe, but a bit too big to be called elegant, although it is thoroughly dry. It’s almost Grenache-like in the medium-bodied texture that frames red cherry jam flavors. Give it until mid-2008 to resolve itself.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Inky dark, full-bodied, dry and, in a word, huge. That’s this Pinot, which shows typical Santa Lucia power. Densely concentrated in raspberry, cherry and blackberry fruit, it’s strong in tannins, but they’re velvety soft. An interesting wine, not particularly Pinot-esque, but delicious and possibly ageworthy.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Rather lemony and simple, with tart, crisp flavors and a clean finish. Sort of like lemonade with bubbles (sans sugar).
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Here’s a medium-bodied, silky wine that shows the classic elegance of cool-climate winegrowing. Fully dry, with complex flavors of cherries, cola, rhubarb, coffee and spice, it has a touch of smoky oak. It’s an irresistibly yummy Pinot Noir.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Drinks rather rough and syrupy, with the flavor of canned peaches and an oaky veneer.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Here’s a fat, unctuous, oily Chard, about as ripe as they come. Barrel fermented in all-new oak, it has an overlay of smoky char and caramelized vanilla riding over guava, nectarine and honeysuckle flavors. It sure is decadent.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A disappointing sparkler, too powerful in fruity flavor for the delicacy and restraint a good bubbly requires. The structure of acidity and low alcohol is just fine. The problem is that the raspberry, lime and vanilla flavors are overpowering.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
So ripe in pineapple tart, lime custard and lemon chiffon pie, so sweet in caramelized oak and vanilla, that it’s almost a dessert wine. Delicious, but needs to rein in the richness and make the finish dry and crisp, not sugary.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Delicious in black cherry pie filling flavor, with a smoky, spicy pie crust analog from oak. That’s good, but the wine is excessively soft, lacking vital structure.
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