Santa Barbara County
14.5% abv
$29.00 a bottle
Fess Parker Winery
Santa Maria, California, USA
Aroma: berry bowl mix, spice, and I am picking up the alcohol.
Flavors: I really have to agree with the description on the bottle, which does not happen very often. Actually, I have found that Fess Parker Winery does a pretty good job with their descriptions. Here it is, “Bursting with flavors of spice, cranberry, light blueberry, and strawberry, …” I thought the strawberry and cranberry notes were right on. The spice seemed delicate but hiding behind some of the alcohol. Little touch of pink peppercorn and faint oak.
Mouthfeel: smooth delivery, light but bright body, nice lingering berries on the palate.
I had a glass of this wine before dinner with sourdough crackers with Gouda and goat cheeses and another glass with dinner – pomegranate lamb chops topped with goat cheese and parsley.
Four hours later I popped that cork to have another glass. Wow, the aroma is really different and with the first sip … this tastes different than earlier.
Aroma: The spice has really opened up: Sage, faint white pepper, light ginger, and every now and then a whiff of roasted vanilla. The spice is stealing the show on the nose.
Hit the spice cabinet and smell the different spices and see what you experience.
Flavors: toasted vanilla, light oak, faint black licorice, black currant, cranberry, the strawberry is not standing out front and center like it did on the first glass, which I had before dinner. I am not detecting the alcohol on the flavor.
Mouthfeel: now the alcohol warmth seems to be on the finish. Rich, smooth, wow tasty, and the light body is raised just a notch.
So, the question is which glass of wine is the real Fess Parker Pinot Noir? Then, which one do I like the best? I guess I’ll have to buy another bottle and make a decision then.
To the Point: this is a sexy and tasty Pinot Noir. Very tasty berry notes and when the wine opens up the complexity is just wonderful. I would give it an A if I was into grading wines.
And, I made it back to The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan to pick up two more bottles.
