Pick My Next Bottle – 2010 Pinot Noir

The October Installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on great bottles of Pinot Noir from the 2010 vintage. This vintage was very good in both Oregon and Sonoma and it is certainly time to check in on some of my favorite producers. The idea for this installment was crowd sourced from some of my favorite followers on Twitter. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened this weekend and a Bottle Note will be published the following week.

The Contenders:

• 2010 Rochioli Estate Pinot Noir – This is Rochioli’s estate Pinot—without a vineyard designation. It’s a fabulous wine, showing the winery’s signature power, complexity and balance. The flavors are rich, with notes of red berries, persimmons, red currants, bacon and cola. Absolutely delicious now, and it should gain traction and change interestingly over 6–8 years.  95 points from the Wine Enthusiast.
• 2010 Dehlinger Pinot Noir Goldridge Vineyard – Deep ruby. Complex scents of red and dark berry preserves, smoky herbs and cola, with a spicy overtone. Pungent and palate-staining raspberry and blackberry flavors are buoyed by a zesty mineral nuance. The dark berry and cola notes resonate on a long, smoky and appealingly sweet finish. Plenty rich but comes off balanced and quite pure.  92 points from Stephen Tanzer.
• 2010 Thomas Pinot Noir Dundee Hills –  Vivid ruby. Pungent earth- and spice-accented black raspberry and cherry-cola aromas are lifted by a suave floral quality that gains strength with air. Deeply pitched, energetic dark fruit flavors take a brighter turn with air and pick up spicecake and anise nuances, along with a hint of smokiness. Chewy and penetrating on the strikingly persistent finish, which features supple tannins, lingering spiciness an a touch of smokiness. 95 points from Vinous.

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Thanks for voting! I’d love to see a comment below on why you picked one bottle over another. Also, let me know if you have any suggestions for the November installment of Pick My Next Bottle.

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