2008 Oregon Pinot noirs

Juicy sweet cherry, round and creamy - fresh fruit balanced by classic Pinot noir tannins - silky and approachable but well made for cellaring. Love this wine. - Jean

One of the best values among the highest rated wines in Wine Advocate's 2...
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Burghound 92 points!

With my over-the-top reaction to the Johan Three Barrel 08, the Nils got somewhat overlooked. It deserves better - Nils Reserve 08 is a beautiful wine that shares many of the best traits of the Three Bar...
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A standout at the Deep Roots Coalition tasting, this is gorgeous Pinot. It's one of those OMG (oh my god!) wines.

Instantly likeable when you first open the bottle, the balance and flavors are delicious and just get better as the wine opens....
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Highly Recommended 2008 Cellar Selection

Unquestionably Belle Pente's finest 08 Pinot, it gives meaning to the word "Reserve." The New York Times chose Belle Pente's entry-level Willamette Valley Pinot as their top 2008...
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Shea Vineyard Pinot for $30?! Most will stop reading right there and proceed to ordering, but then you'd miss the build up for this wine. The darkest of the 3 wines in all ways, with more weight and a plusher texture. Ripe, dark berries, mocha,...
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Our favorite of the 2008 Stevenson Barrie Pinots. Dancing out of the glass, the floral and licorice aromas frame a big, spicy palate of black cherry and raspberry. Great balance and irresistible drinkability - yeehaw! - Marcus

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Usually, I keep my cool when tasting wine at the store. I tend to "filter" my thoughts, not showing my hand, whethe...
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Note - the vintage was listed incorrectly as 2009 rather than 2008.

Patrick continues to make some of the best values in Oregon Pinot noir. The Black and the Red is among the highest rated wines in Wine Advocate's 10-31-2011 annual review o...
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Certified Biodynamically-grown Oregon Pinot noir for under $20 is a total rarity. Fresh nutmeg, black cherries, black raspberries, red licorice, cream and fir forest are woven together in a juicy, playful Pinot. Wow - that's great juice. The t...
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Love and marriage, horse and carriage, you know the song - two things that go together perfectly. Add Dusky Goose and Oregon's 2008 vintage, a heavenly match. The nose is like perfume for wine lovers, exotic and comforting at the same time, wi...
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2008 Wine Advocate - 92 points - The medium ruby-colored 2008 Pinot Noir Savoia displays an ethereal perfume of cedar, spice box, rose petal, and assorted red fruits. Leaner and racier on the palate than its peers, this is an...
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The most mysterious in nature, the 08 Temperance Hill opens with a red fruited nose shaded by smoke, earth, and musk. You're surprised by the rounded, silky body of red currant and cherry candy, finishing with mint. - Marcus

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Estate grown Pinot Noir from ROCO's Wits' End Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains, this luscious wine is always at the top of its game. Deep garnet color with an elegant combina0on of spiced cherries jubilee in the nose. The wine is full and ric...
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2008 Wine Advocate - 93 points - The 2008 Pinot Noir Carter Vineyard from a site planted in 1983 and farmed by Ken Wright for the past 10 years, is dark ruby red with a sexy nose of underbrush, cherry blossom, spice box, and as...
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2008 Tanzer - 92 points - Bright ruby-red. Intense red berry and Asian spice aromas, with a sexy potpourri quality and a hint of woodsmoke. Deeply pitched red and dark berry flavors show impressive energy and lift, picking up ...
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The medium ruby red 2008 Pinot Noir Of Poetry and Roses displays an enticing bouquet of exotic spices, incense, floral notes, and assorted red fruits. This sets the stage for a sweetly fruited, elegant wine that also contains plenty of density...
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2008 Tanzer - 93 points - Bright, ruby-red. Complex, spice-accented bouquet displays raspberry preserves, cherry-cola, potpourri and smoky minerals. Energetic and precise on the palate, offering juicy red and dark berry flavor...
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Avalon's Andy Osterhaus on the Claim 51:

Summer camp, golf camp, band camp – they have nothing on Pinot Camp. Three days in Oregon Wine Country, immersed in all things Oregon Pinot. I was lucky enough to go this summer (you have to be invited...
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One of Witness Tree's three Reserve Pinots, made from a tiny block of vines that sits on top of a small basalt outcropping. Winemaker Steven Westby describes the vines as producing wine with "the next level of quality, with depth, silky tanni...
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From a top-secret location five miles west of our store comes the value dynamo 720 Cellars. Organically grown Croft Vineyard 2008 Pinot for under $20?! Yes, please! Deep aromas lead to a complex palate of dark cherry, currant and spicy plum, wi...read more

Westrey absolutely crushed it with their 2008 wines - the Reserve is the final 08 Pinot noir release from Westrey. Spicy dried rose petal, morel, a touch of sweet blueberry compote, fresh black berry, a pinch of dried herbs and licorice, all in b...
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Ah memories. This was one of the first wines I tasted after starting at Avalon and further cemented my adoration of Oregon Pinot. After re-tasting and reading through my original note from last year, I was pleasantly surprised at how much the w...
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On the redder side of the 2008's, John Albin's Laurel Vineyard Pinot offers elegant, slightly dusty cherries and raspberries, with a fantastic sweetness/brightness equilibrium. It has a softer, more supple texture than many of its peers. Ta...
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Classic floral Dundee Hills aromatics with red raspberry, cherries, herbs and what I call "tire talc". The palate is rich and weighty with sweet red cherry, cocoa and strawberries. Bright acids help carry the sweet fruit to a long finish highl...
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2008 Tanzer - 90+ points - The 08 Iota Pinot Noir exhibits a dark, plummy hue. A cornucopia of berries and ripe cherries initially envelope one's nose with notes of sweet vanillin, chocolate, subtle smoke and spice. Upon con...
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Cancilla Vineyards is the choice of some of Oregon's best up-and-coming winemakers. Because the vineyard is less known than, say, Shea, the wines typically come in at half the price of the famous brands. And the vineyard is proving to be a ris...
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A big nose full of fresh-picked berries, fresh herbs, and spice encourages a taste - and sweet red raspberries, pie cherry, and red currant flavors reward the drinker. There's a restrained sweetness that balances the bright, fresh red fruit. ...
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Tanzer 92 points!

Full red. Red berries and cherry on the fragrant nose, along with a complex array of floral and herbal qualities. Fleshy and nicely concentrated, with...
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Ethereal Pinot smells of lilac , creamy earth, licorice and cherries. Plump and juicy dark cherry, red plum, dried herbs and white pepper accents. A whopping 90 cases were made!

A new winery and a new wine for May 2010. ...
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Territorial is one of those "Insider" wineries that is now beginning to receive regional and even national recognition. The wines are all made from the winery's own Estate vineyard, and this Pinot, their basic blend, gives a lot of bang for th...
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This luxurious, rich Pinot noir opens with soaring aromas of black cherry spice and toast. A full mid-palate bursting with chewy flavors of dark cherry, blackberry and plum is delightfully braced with a balance of bright acids and gripping ta...
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Daedalus Cellars Pinot noir Labyrinth is a blend of Seven Springs, Carabella, Maresh and Murto vineyards. Winemaker’s cuvee of the best barrels in the cellar. Elegant and complex with gorgeous mouthfeel. - The Winery...
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The 2009 Pinot Noir Temperance Hill Vineyard also displays some herbaceousness but less so than the 2009 Fine Block. Savory on the palate with relatively elevated acidity, this nicely proportioned wine is on track for some longevity. Give it 2-...
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Planted just under the famous tree that the vineyard is named after, the Hanson block is on a steep slope that looks down on the rest of the vineyard. Winemaker Steven Westby described the wine as having "concentrated fruit flavors with earth an...
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From Clawson Creek Vineyard.

Made by Ken Wright of Ken Wright Cellars for this tiny winery. The Beck family, of equestrian fame, co-own the winery and vineyard. The Becks are known for their South African-based Graham Beck Wines, a pioneer in...
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Previous Vintage Tasting Notes

2006 Vintage Tasting Notes

Spindrift Cellars 2006 Reserve has big flavors and a rich scent of red berry and cherry, vanilla blossom, and spice box. A shot silk text...
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The estate Pinot noir has aromas of cherry and plum, pie spice and nuts. The body is mouthfilling with lively acid and round tannins. This wine is elegant and will get even better with age. Cellar through 2016....
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Made by Jim Sanders for Le Cadeau Winery, Aubichon is their second label.

On the palate, this wine has explosive rich red fruit flavors, with a dense core. Think black raspberry confit, leavened by the perfect acidity of the ’08 vintage. ...
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This Pinot noir is made from grapes harvest from old vines in the Maresh Vineyards, one of the best in the Dundee Hills.

Previous Vintage Tasting Notes

2006 Vintage Tasting Notes

The Daedalus Mar...
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Made entirely from Old Vines, 20 to 34 years old. Only 100 cases produced....
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Suggested retail $36.

Rich, big Pinot. Very ripe, unusually full bodied for the vintage. A blend of cuvees from Vidon, Monks Gate, Anderson Family, and Grand Moraine vineyards. A special selection of what John thinks is best and most repres...
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An enticingly ruby-red splash in the glass reveals layered aromas of blackberries, black cherry cola, herbs, holiday spices, tea, tobacco, pepper and fresh earth. The senses are further enhanced by the full-bodied burst of red fruit—pomegranate...
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2007 Vintage Tasting Notes

New York Times #1 "Top Oregon Pinot noirs" 9-2-09 - "You could taste the vintage in the freshness of this wine. It was complex as well, with aromas and flavors of earth, flowers and fruit, ...
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2007 Vintage Tasting Notes

Tanzer score 91 points "Bright red. Powerfully scented aromas of black raspberry and cherry compote. Plush red fruit flavors are given a refreshingly bitter edge by candied ...
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2007 Vintage Tasting Notes

Le Cadeau's Equinoxe Pinot noir 07 is sublime. Nicely concentrated palate of ripe, sweet, juicy fruit - blackberry, dark raspberry, currant, blueberry, and red cherry - mingles with a sappy...
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A tremendous perfumed nose blossoms in the glass. Co-mingling of rose petal, lavender, crushed raspberry, forest floor, fresh turned earth, incense, roasted meat, cedar, and barely there peppery spice.

The 08 Estate has purity, perfect str...
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"Dense and focused, with a distinct minerality to the cherry and cassis flavors, which keep dancing lightly through the refined, harmonious finish. Needs time to soften the edges. Best from 2013 through 2020." - B.S.

The wine that is really...
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Very nice and well priced. Just released in the Spring of 2011, the winemaker, Aron Hess, cellared the wine for two years longer than many of the Oregon 2008's. The wine comes to market with a maturity that can be enjoyed now or cellared for sev...
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Aged in oak for 15 months, this Pinot noir has soft tannins and beautiful fruit flavors.

2006 Vintage Tasting Notes

Redman's 2006 Pinot noir features red fruit in both scent and flavor, which is typical of the 20...
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Lots of everything in this wine, starting with brilliant, saturated, red-purple color and transitioning immediately to vanilla and spice from fruit and a nice oak complement. Structure is great (from the 33% whole cluster) with big, still tightly ...
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2008 Tyee Estate Pinot Noir is made from a combination of all Pinot noir plantings in Tyee’s Estate Vineyard. This delicious wine boasts an enticing bouquet, with plenty of red berry fruit, a rich and toasty mid‐palate, delightful bal...
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The Le Pavillon Vineyard is located in the heart of the Red Hills of Dundee. It has jory (volcanic) soils that produce some of the best Oregon pinots....
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Aromas of pomegranate and raspberry with floral and earth tones including oak spice. Flavors of rich berries and silky tannins. This Pinot noir is sourced from the Mary's Peak Vineyard south of Philomath and the Rainbow's End Vineyard in Monr...
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Previous Vintage Tasting Notes

2007 Vintage Tasting Notes

Bright ruby color, medium- body and aromas reminiscent of fresh red fruit, dried cherries, and cranberries. The wine has a lush, velvety mou...
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Previous Vintage Tasting Notes

2006 Vintage Tasting Notes

Ruby and garnet-colored, possessing an expressively fragrant and floral bouquet, with hints of red fruit, violets, cinnamon, cocoa, cassis,...
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Bing cherries on the palate with notes of thyme and blackberries....
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This is an excellent value wine from a small winery in the South Willamette Valley. ...
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2009 Wine Spectator - 91 points - Dark and dense, still agile, offering licorice-accented blackberry and currant flavors, pushing easily into the open-textured finish. Drink now through 2018. 201 cases made. - H.S.

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Floral and red fruit aromatics of raspberry and cherry preserves, with a hint of pine needles. The palate shows a spectrum of red fruits: plums, cherries and raspberries. Overripe strawberries add an earthy core. The tannins offer nice texture ...
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The Benton-Lane First Class Pinot noir is their highest level "reserve" bottling.

Wine Spectator 91 points

"Light and open-textured, a delicate style that offers a hint of caramel weaving through cherry and raspberry f...
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Erath Vineyards' Estate Select Pinot noir 06 has an aroma of pie cherries with smoky and seductive herb garden aromas of sage and lavender. Cherry vanilla flavors with a hint of anise offer a sweet entry that leads to a satisfying even finish....
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King Estate makes this higher end Pinot noir each year...
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Dobbes Family Estate's mid-range Pinot noir, blended from several sources. It's a medium bodied wine with a good balance of red and black fruit....
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From the winery: Named after Joe Dobbes' Daughter, aka Skipper, this unique Pinot Noir initially opens with aromas of fresh earth that quickly yield to effusive boysenberry and cassis aromas. The medium body and soft mouth feel welcome bright...
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Wildaire Cellars Pinot noir Timothy 08 -

Excellent value Pinot from Wildaire Cellars. This Willamette Valley blend reveals a nice balance of red and black cherries and toasty spice....
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Pleasant, red cherry fruit and nice toasty coffee bean on the smooth finish. Organic and biodynamic!...
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 93 points

Wine Spectator 91 points

Light and fragrant, with dark berry flavors and meaty, spicy overtones, folding together...
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Aromas and flavors of dark, red fruits. Cherries and raspberries with notes of smoke and spice. ...
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2008 Tanzer - 92 points - Full ruby with a bright rim. Bright scents of black raspberry, cherry, rose and spicecake, with a hint of vanilla. At once dense and lively, offering zesty red and dark berry and cherry-cola flavors ...
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The Athena showcases the bigger, darker side of Boedecker Cellars Pinots. A little shy upfront, with toasty baking spice and cola hints moving to dark, dried cherries and blackberries. Appealing nuances of tea and cocoa appear on the lengthy f...
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Previous Vintage Tasting Notes

2006 Vintage Tasting Notes

Jubilee Vineyard in Dallas, Oregon is the newest vineyard to join our Artisanal line up and we could not be happier. With just a bit of pep...
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Barrel selection of pinot noir. Cherry, splash of vanilla from French oak barrels, long spicy finish....
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On the palate, the wine is soft and round, with a delightful core of cherries and red fruits. The structure is perhaps even a bit better than the much-admired 2005 Cloudline, and the overall fruit-forwardness makes for a wine that is thoroughly...
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This is the winery's great value introductory Pinot noir. This is the perfect house wine, a blend of six Pinot Noir clones that capture the grape varietal's many nuances. Selected from across the estate, this lively wine offers up a balanced t...
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A deep ruby colored wine. It has impressive aromas of Bing cherries, red plums, hibiscus and wild mushrooms. The smooth, ripe tannins give a voluptuous texture to the mixed berry, black cherry and cocoa flavors of the wine. A hint of white pepp...
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2008 Wine Spectator - 91 points - Berry fruit, spice and minerality on the nose. Weight and complex fruit on the palate with great length. Supple tannin structure is backed by lively acidity. A touch of earth on the finish. Tu...
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Aromas of black cherry, raspberry and blackberry followed by spice, black currant and a light smokiness. The flavors include cherry and blackberry, baking spice and wet stone. Approachable now or cellar for enjoyment later.

200...
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Aromas of cocoa, tobacco and blackberries. Dark garnet in color, with flavors of cherry pie. Balanced acidity with soft tannins. This wine should cellar well....
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The nose is typically cherry, strawberry with a hint of orange rind and anise. The oak is subtle throughout the aromas and taste with a nice vanillin quality. The fruit flavors carry through with moderate weight and finish. The wine will serv...
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Siltstone Guadalupe Pinot noir 08 -

Bright dark fruits and layered components of dusty road, mineral, bramble, and chinese spice....
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Bright maroon in color with garnet edging. Aromas of blueberry and tangy cherry. Flavors include blueberry combined with sweet cherry pie and allspice....
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Fruit aromas of raspberry jam, dark cherry and blackberry. Flavors of candied orange rinds, pipe tobacco and black tea combine with the dark fruit flavors. This wine will cellar well....
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Mistake Block refers to the fact that a small block of land was planted to Pommard instead of Dijon 113 as intended. This "mistake" yielded a grape so exceptional that it merited a single bottling....
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Sweet Cheeks Winery Pinot noir 08 -

Soft and inviting aromas open to a super easy-going, silky, and crowd-pleasing Pinot full of dark cherries. There's a sneaky long finish that leaves you with vanilla and peppercorn as you smack you lips fo...
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Coelho Winery Paciencia Estate Pinot noir 08 -

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 91 points

“The 2008 Pinot Noir Paciência Estate was aged in 15% new oak. It exhibits an entic...
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This fruit focused pinot has the most natural display of tannins and acidity of all the Ken Wright sites. Strong flavors of blue and black fruit, black currant and cassis....
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Our 2008 Pierre Léon offers the promise of a long cellar life and a constantly evolving depth of character. It presents aromas of dried cherries, dried rose petals, and sandalwood giving way to juicy black fruits, violets, and eau de vie as it...
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">Burghound 92 points!

Burghound 92 points - A deft touch of wood frames highly nuanced black cherry, spiced plum and cassis that complement well the generous and opulent flavor that despite the richness retain a fine sense...
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This wine opens with an intense perfume of ripe Oregon blackberries, fresh blueberries, violet and nag champa incense. A complex wine of many layers, it delivers additional nuances of lilac, allspice, marzipan, and rich black cherry upon the s...
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The 2008 Pinot Noir Yamhill Cuvee is medium ruby in color with an expressive nose of spicy red fruits and considerable terroir character. On the palate the fruit leans to the dark side of the spectrum with intense black cherry and black raspb...
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Light, simple, but balanced, with pleasant red raspberry and cherry flavors and reasonable acidity. Tannins are well integrated and unobtrusive. ...
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Previous vintage tasting notes:

"On the palate it has plenty of succulent fruit, good depth and concentration, and enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years. It will be at its best from 2011 to 2019 -90 pts" The Wine Advocate/Robert Parker ...
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Wine Spectator: Light and fragrant, this red is spicy with hints of clove and nutmeg around a lithe core of raspberry and cherry fruit, gliding serenely into the long, vivid finish. Drink now through 2018. H.S.

Only 75 cases made.

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2008 Tanzer - 92 points - High-pitched aromas of raspberry, cherry, Asian spice and fresh flowers, with a touch of white pepper. Lively and precise on the palate, offering sappy red berry and floral pastille flavors underscor...
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Strong flavors of red fruit, layers of fresh raspberry and candied red cherry, and hints of pomegranate. The bright acidity and firm tannins make it very attractive now as well as a wine to cellar for several years.

2007...
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Half bottle size!

2008 Tanzer - 93 points - Bright, ruby-red. Complex, spice-accented bouquet displays raspberry preserves, cherry-cola, potpourri and smoky minerals. Energetic and precise on the palat...
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Pinot noir from Estate fruit. Toasty coconut and black raspberry in the nose, flavors of intense black raspberry, black cherry, and toasty vanilla coconut. Best to decant this wine for an hour or so -- it becomes nicely rounded with good acidity a...
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This wine achieves the balanced spectrum of color, aroma, taste, structure, mouthfeel, and texture that we were after. Purple garnet in color, this Reserve shows shy aromas of rose petal and toasted graham. With air, these aromas become more prono...
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From some of the oldest vines in Oregon (planted in 1965), the Black Jack has fragrant aromas of vanilla and spice, cherry and earth. The balanced, textured wine has a long, smooth finish....
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