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Croft Bailey Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve 98

Now, in 2005, this Pinot has aged quite well, and provides a rare chance to purchase an older vintage Pinot noir at a reasonable price.

As with most older Pinots, the fruit flavors have become restrained, with red raspberry and tart red cherry dominant. The wine is quixotic in the mouth, one moment tart, the next spicy with a vanilla note. There is still good acidity (key in aging wine), well balanced, and the tannins are soft yet present in a way that sustains the flavors and the long finish.

This is not a wine for lovers of young, soft and fruity wines - but for someone who's interested in how Pinot noirs age, it's a fascinating glimpse into the maturation of a well made Pinot noir.

1998 Reserve = 92 points from Wine & Spirits Magazine in 2000: "All about velvet, a wine for sipping in a dark, blue-lit room while watching Mulholland Drive. But moody as it is, there's nothing foreboding about it. Instead it's just plush, cool, refined, seeming to shimmer in red persimmon fruitiness. That fruit is succulent, the creamy tannins fine-grained, the feel composed yet informal."

Detailed Info, Previous Vintage Notes, Reviews:

Garnet color with complex aromas of spiced plum, black cherry, graham, and mint. Focused and lively flavors of plum and black cherry, Long fruit finish balances youthful tannins; cellar 2 - 3 years. (Only 160 cases produced.) "Northwest Palate" January/February 2002

"Austere oak treatment gives this delicious pinot noir subtle and complex vanilla and space aromas with flavors of cherries, vanilla, plums and bright fruit. A well-crafted wine." "Wine Press Northwest" Winter 2001

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