1 | Wine | Willamette, 86 or higher | Page 3

"Vivid red. Pungent, smoky aromas of blackberry, cherry-cola and licorice, with cracked pepper and anise notes adding complexity. Sappy, penetrating dark berry flavors show very good density, picking up bitter cherry and spicecake qualities with air. Gentle acidity gives the wine good spine. This ripe, lively pinot finishes with impressive punch and spicy persistence."

"Light and floral, offering a lovely rose petal grace note to the strawberry and cherry flavors, finishing with transparency and a gentle intensity."

"Light on its feet and intense in flavor, offering tea leaf-accented cherry and pomegranate flavors, with nicely buffed tannins. Finishes with richness and deftness."

"Bright red. High-pitched aromas of strawberry and raspberry, with complicating notes of dried rose and Asian spices. Lively and precise on the palate, with gently sweet red fruit flavors and a touch of rose pastille. The floral and spice notes repeat on the gripping, persistent finish."

"An exotically perfumed bouquet evokes candied cherry and black raspberry, with musky herb and dried rose nuances. Sappy, penetrating red and dark berry flavors show very good intensity and pick up subtle cola and sassafras qualities with air. Finishes smoky and very long, with resonating spiciness and lingering mocha and cola notes."

"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."

"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."