Grape - Pinot Noir
Alcohol - 13%
Price - £14
From - Laithwaite's
Appearance - Clear; medium- appearance; ruby
Nose - Clean; medium intensity; developed; red fruit, decomposing leaves
Palate - Dry; medium+ acidity, medium- tannin; medium alcohol; medium body; medium+ intensity; cherries, redcurrant, leather, decomposing leaves, earth, other vegetal.
Balance - 7; Length - 8 Intensity - 7.5 Complexity - 9
I was lucky enough to try this wine at a Laithwaite's tasting in Ipswich earlier this year. In the midst of many good wines, this stuck out as a really exceptional one and the pick of the bunch. I headed home with a bottle, with the intention of opening it on successful completion of my Wine Specialist course. Having heard of my success on Monday, the bottle was promptly opened. I did wonder whether it would live up to my recollection, and my goodness it did.
Most of you will be familiar with Pinot Noir, and I've reviewed a few. I am a big fan. Generally PN is drunk young, as the fruitiness will fade over time. However, I had heard tell of the delicious, strange complexity that careful ageing can give to a very good PN, and this provided me with such an experience. You have your lovely red fruit coming through loud and clear, but it is accompanied by a very distinct vegetal taste which includes that aroma of rotting leaves that you may get on a country walk this time of year. That may sound weird, and it probably is, but I cannot begin to tell you just how delicious it is. I am not given to hyperbole, but I genuinely cannot imagine a more satisfying bottle of wine. Not to my palate, anyway.
The aspects of the palate are not particularly balanced, as you will see, but the balance of fruit and vegetal/animal flavours is great. I think I would drink this vintage now, as time would fade the fruit and bring the vegetal more to the fore, which I do not think would be an improvement on now. I have scored the complexity high because of the strange and wonderful combination of flavours that have occurred due to high quality fruit and careful ageing.
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