2003 Cuvaison Pinot Noir "Carneros"

I need to open wine with a little more of an open mind sometimes.  How many times to I open a bottle and expect one thing or another based on little or no real reason?  This can have a number of effects.  I can be disappointed because I expected too much or impressed because I expected too little.  Such was the case with 2003 Cuvaison Carneros Pinot Noir.  I received a complimentary bottle from Pete Danko of Paterno Wines a few months back.  I don't know why, but I expected an average, modern styled, non-distinctive pinot with a little too much oak.  To be sure, the 2003 Carneros is a modern styled pinot.  Lots of upfront fruit, but the impressive thing about the Cuvaison was that it carried its weight very well and the oak acted as a nice creamy frame rather than an imposing element of its own.  There is a really nice core of fruit that is multi-dimensional.  Steve Rogstad, the winemaker wrote,"The Pinot is typically 35% to 40% new French oak, and the balance used-French oak. We typically just use two coopers for the Pinot and 3-year-old air dried wood of exceedingly tight grain, mostly Alliers forest.
The Carneros Pinot sees about 10 months in barrel."
One of the other things I enjoyed about the Cuvaison was that it really evolved well over the course of the 2-3 hours that it was open.  Had I known or expected this, I would have decanted a few hours earlier.  I can imagine this being a great sleeper wine to pull out in 2010 in which people would say with astonishment, "Cuvaison?"

This wine runs about $25 and should be widely available.

Comments

[jamesmorgans]

Hallo!
My name dr. James Morgan.
I do study the anti depressants. And wish to introduce to you the new drug called zoloft.
If you want to feel good, look at these links.

http://zoloft1.blogsome.com/2008/05/02/zoloft-side-effects/
http://zoloft1.blogsome.com/2008/05/01/buy-zoloft-online/

http://zoloft1.blogsome.com/

best wishes.

[Michal M]

I think that it’s always good to have a nice wine from time to time. Personally I like red and white, it depends on what I want at that time. Over all I think quality is important and it’s good for health as well. Check this page that is all about a good wine topic http://www.wine-expert-101.com/Good-Wine.php