1 | Wine | Pinot Noir, Oregon | Page 10

"The similarly styled 2006 Pinot Noir Rastaban is medium ruby with an alluring bouquet of toast, spice box, and red fruits. This leads to a smooth-textured, savory, nicely balanced wine which also needs better depth and concentration."

"Like all of his 2010 Pinots, bottled in January - early by Maresh's standards - the 2010 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard takes us into a realm of high-toned red berry; mysterious underbrush; noble fungus; meat stock; and overall elegance fondly reminiscent of great Volnay. Piquant fruit pit and mouthwatering salinity lend a goosebump-inducing degree of invigoration to this satiny, sleek, ravishingly long Pinot that kept revealing new nuances and deeper, multi-faceted sweetness as it took on air. I suspect this will have a 12-15 year run and become a yet more profoundly satisfying along the course."

"Ripe, round and vivid, offering a checkerboard of spicy cherry, mint and dark chocolate flavors that wind their way past refined tannins and linger on the open, harmonious finish."

"The 2011 Brittan Vineyard Pinot Noir is an intense, dark, rich yet silky Pinot Noir. On the nose, stony minerality envelops aromas of crushed blueberries, blackberries, dried cherries and allspice. The bright palate is rich with blueberries, cranberry, chocolate covered cherries and licorice. Slate minerality persists on the extremely long finish."

"Licorice, horehound, spruce, raspberry, and red currant inform an athletically lean, bright and penetratingly finishing Pinot that deserves some time before revisiting and will surely be worth following for at least a decade."