Well...they came...and I had to do it! I couldn't wait any longer to open one of these inaugural Eric Sussman bottles. Picked the Savoy...only reason...first one out of the box.

Opened...poured immediately into glass :

Color - garnet red with a brownish tinge. A bit light in color...just not dense.

Nose- cherry, raspberry w/ a chocolate nutty essence , also lots of minerality notes (not real earthy but more mineral).

Taste- Wow...a bit different in style. Not incredibly fruit forward (not that that is bad, just maybe not my "go to" style), notes of plum & currant in mid-palate w/ only slight green notes (could it be the use of stems?). The one major taste sensation is SPICE - lots of it, cinammon and tons of allspice. I mean this is by far one of the spiciest PN I have had. Acid was beautiful- almost that Sonoma Coast brightness. Hints of chocolate, nicely integrated oak and complex, elegant finish. I would call the experience as a "wavey", layered mouthfeel. Lots of highs/lows. I like that! As it opened over the next few hours there came lots of cherry and even more spice!

I'm not giving points (cause I can't, not good at it) but I would say the wine is incedibly polished and an excellent pairing with food. Superb effort. I will buy/drink more...just maybe not entirely my style of PN. But that's why variety is the SPICE.

Cheers!

Thanks for the notes Andrew, I am a huge fan of spice in Pinot, this sounds like it will be right up my alley

Hi Andrew - thanks for the notes. I'm looking forward to these.

You might want to edit your TN to include "Pinot Noir" in the title just so folks will know.

Thanks Andrew!

From the Seaquam/dbw4 dinner on 3/15/04...

Initially closed on the nose, I let this sit for a good half hour in the glass before revisiting - and am I glad I did. As was mentioned previously, this wine has spice! And lots of it. The nose offers perfumed aromas of roses, anise, cherries, and gobs of spice. Elegantly textured, balanced, with a beautiful core of sweet fruit and fine tannins. Need a little cellar time, 93+ points.

Great nose. Lots of cotton candy. This pinot did not seem like a pinot. I did not get the regular pinot stink that I usually get from pinots. Very smooth and medium bodied. It will be interesting to see what some cellar time does for this one. 91 pts.

i opened this wine on friday night, four hours after it was delivered to my office. the hell with bottle shock.

it took a good hour for this wine to open up. once it did, it was well worth it. this is not a california fruit bomb, but there is plenty of fruit in this medium to full bodied wine. this is sort of california meets burgundy. nose was just wonderfull and the wine kept evolving in the mouth. excellent balance. i will keep my hands off the remainder of the bottles for awhile. this should develop and show its best in a few years. me93

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this is sort of california meets burgundy

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I think that's an apt description of this wine. What it lacks in overt fruit and power it makes up for in silky texture. My wife called it "pretty."

These tn's are making it really hard for me to keep my hands off one of my 3 bottles of this. Patience, I think...

ojeffso, how far out would you guess this could go? I'm thinking of trying my first one next year and then every other year after that.

jb

Its Pinot Noir Seaquam. Pinots are not supposed to hammer you over the head with power. They are supposed to be pretty. The best are pretty with concentration and strength.

Right on Seaquam / Jones. That's definitely the style of this wine. The Zin as well.... (forget the label name)

jb-i would try one now. the evolution of the wine over three hours was amazing. obviously, it should do much better with a little bottle age.

Thanks, ojeffso. I will give one a go soon.

jb

Greetings:

Could anyone compare this pinot to some other CA producers just so I can get a sense for whether I should buy some?

I've had pinots from:
Brewer Clifton
Kistler
Sea Smoke
Melville
Siduri
Copain
Loring
Sine Qua Non

Is R-C similar/comparable/better to any of these as I've really only got the budget to order from 2 pinot producers, one of which is already taken(SQN)? Thanks!


Cheers,


Arvin

This thread is helping me overcome my annoyance with myself for spending money that I shouldn't. It's so nice to have a support group with similar weaknesses. Personally, I'm going to try to hold these at least 'til the fall before I sample my first.

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Pinots are not supposed to hammer you over the head with power.

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I've always heard Pinot Noir described as a "VELVET HAMMER"

Yes, I also appreciate the fact that people are posting TNs on these Radio-Coteau wines. Sounds like winners. And, I will also hold until @ least the fall like wineaux.

We tried this one on Sunday night. I just ordered more of the Savoy, the Marsh and the zin.

Edit to answer Ajsoh's question - these Pinots are medium bodied and to me more like a Kistler Pinot in body than the full-bodied Loring Pinots. The aromatics and structure also seem similar to the Kistler PNs. They are dissimilar to the Sea Smoke Pinots in weight and concentration. Hopefully this helps a little as I haven't tried many of the Pinots on your list.