#Donald Patz Pinot Noir

[wine-porn]

Martaella McFly

They don’t call him Dr. Pinot for nothin. Rich and delicious in the nose, a ackground of bitter mineral steely and vegetal: gunpowder fluff on ripe decadence–or maybe the opposite. Layers of licorice and rust on juice rather tart in bouquet but built on leathery pillows of smoky grandeur. Isn’t Pinot wonderful? It’s not sharp and acidic in the mouth: rather capitalizing on RRV luxury throughout…

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Take my breathe away...

Dark brooding garnet with a purple tinge of youthfulness visible and positively bounding from it. The nose a green asphalty tincture of fresh sapling grinds and mulled oak leaves, the berry contained angsty and ridged with sharp points of infantile grate. Quite closed-in: the afore-mentioned flows quite freely, but coaxing anything deeper, riper, or more mature requires plentiful air. Eventually,…

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Jenkins Plot

This is that girl’s sweat you tasted you’ll never forget. This is that week at the lake with your more energeteic parents–younger than you are now–where the sand and campfire and clear mountain water between your toes makes you wonder how they kept it all together and will never end. This is that paragraph you re-wound because it insulted your vocabulary with juxtapositions you never dreamed…

[wine-porn]

Not Jinxed

Always anticipating a rich, decadent bottle from this producer, and this one doesn’t slight on even the smallest detail. Someone on a FB wine-page the other day asked “Why does every RRV Pinot I try feel like a candy bar?” Well, son–hate to break it to ya–that’s just the way they’re wired. Is there a more luxurious reflection of Pinot in California? I can’t think of one. SLH comes close… A few…

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Moonshiner's Revenge

Moonshiner’s Revenge

Light crimson with a hint of amber at the wide, clear rim. The Diam-30 is a nice touch… and these wines–while beautiful now–have the stuffing and balance to probably go that distance. Full, round cherry in the nose, touches of clean horse-stall and the wet earth just outside: crazy cinnamon and cigar smoke flushing and filling the gorgeous fruit. It’s just beautiful to smell: there’s really no…

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5 of Diamonds

The new releases from Dr. Pinot are always a pleasure. The artist formerly known as Patz & Hall has deep roots in Russian River Valley, and ALL his new labels are phenomenal quality. Since “retirement”, his Maritana bottlings have continued to carry the torch for RRV Pinot and Chard. Not a trace of garnet on this one: all purple-ruby transparency. Easy, dusky nose of smoky briar: a wet-leaves…

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The Russians Are Coming!

Shrill green and briar in the nose, a wintergreen pepper shockingly bright with edges of 5-spice showing. Equally shrill ruby, perfectly transparent with a wide clear rim. It kinda smells like the sort of Syrah I am attracted to most. Now, everyone wants their Syrah compared to Pinot, but I fully realize the danger in comparisons the other direction. This is in a good, peppery, spicy, way,…

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Ranch Vibes

Mmm mmm mmm… gorgeous, luxurious RRV Pinot. Every time. Beautiful, translucent garnet in the glass, a nose ripe and dripping with dense, smoky, grainy cherry fruit, peach-peel and nutmeg and butter-fat cake frosting, ridiculous to smell, the clamor of match-head and graphite laying chalky notes down low. In the mouth: so supple and invigorating. Headily thin, the light body tranferring shocking…

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Marty McFly

Well, this is rather gorgeous. Don’t mean to sound surprised, as we’re all getting used to the beautiful Pinot expressions from this label. Typical rich, heady, tarry earth and spice in the nose, a granular texture to the oak and ripe fruit expressing Russian River Valley at its finest. Blood orange and briar make an announcement, wet horse-stall and petrichor sealing the deal. I really like the…

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Pinot Heaven on Earth

The term *burgundian style* is thrown around WAY too much in regards to California Pinot. 99.999% of it is nowhere NEAR that style, and yet, the marketing people have spoken and THOSE WORDS are how you sell Pinot Noir. And it is such a farce and a joke. CA pinots are chub-rubs and reach-arounds nowhere NEAR approaching Burgundy. But once in a while, one transcends. Maritana makes several pinots,…

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Moonshine

Instant dusty machinery and carob on the nose. Clear bright ruby with a wide clear edge. I mean–there’s a *breath* of garnet in it, but for all rights and purposes, it is medium ruby even heading towards the purple-blue arena. Nice meaty bouquet, thick black cherry, sweet campfire smoke in your eyes, piles of gorgeous oak nearby ready for consumption. Sage and raspberry-leaf offer a welcome…