A BAKER’S DOZEN OF ROSELLA’S - A HORIZONTAL OF ’04 ROSELLA’S PINOT NOIR - Drew's in Durham, NC (5/2/2007)

I can’t thank Drew enough for inviting me up to Durham for this one-of-a kind horizontal. He was a superb host, not only giving the newbs excellent background on Rosella’s vineyard, but also the fun stories behind the difficult acquisition of some of these bottles for this special event.

• 2004 Roar Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. Nose of cherries and light earth notes with a nice little bite on the edge. Predominately sweet cherries and pomegranate with the faintest earth notes wrapped in a broad structure that stays solid and consistent on the full and luxurious palate. Has some acidity and picks up additional spice notes on the long finish. Easily the biggest wine of the group, but could use a little more complexity. (92 pts.)


• 2004 Siduri Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. A sweet and light nose of bright red fruits and cinnamon. Bing cherry and light cherry cola flavors with good acidity, a light body and a pretty, delicate texture. Cinnamon spice increasing on the fine, lingering finish. This flattened out a bit on the second tasting later in the evening. (89 pts.)


• 2004 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. Reticent and somewhat reduced nose with cherry, cranberry and light earth notes. Dark cherry and a sack full of deep earth flavors did not seem well integrated. Has good weight but is oddly structured and has a short to medium finish. (86 pts.)


• 2004 A.P. Vin Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. Light nose of red fruit. Dark cherry flavors with some cranberry. Smooth texture and light acidity, this picks up a little heat on the mid-palate and builds on the spice finish. This was definitely preferred over the Loring - perhaps a case of the student eclipsing the teacher? (90 pts.)


• 2004 August West Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. Delicate nose of cherry and sage. Dark cherry, blackberry and light vanilla flavors with hints of earth that evolve nicely on the palate. Full bodied with a creamy entry that coats the palate and broadens as it progresses towards the spice infused and long finish. A nicely crafted wine that stood out from its peers. (93 pts.)


• 2004 Testarossa Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. Rich, vibrant nose of crushed cherries and sassafras – easily the best aromas of the night. This started slow, but opened up nicely on the second pour with nice and complex flavors of cherries and raspberry long with some blackberry and sassafras in a full body that has a nice velveteen Pinot bite to the texture. Good acidity and a consistent palate, but showing just a touch of heat on the long, full finish. Edgeing out the August West on the 2nd pour, this was the groups and my WOTN. (93 pts.)


• 2004 Morgan Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. Nice powdery, textured nose of cherries, strawberry and sage that did not deliver on the palate. First pour had good dark cherry fruit with cinnamon and oak spice but turned slightly tart on the second pour. The finish takes a nose dive and turns a bit metallic. If only this lived up to the nose. (86 pts.)


• 2004 Bernardus Winery Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. Moderate nose of strawberry and cherry. Flavors were deep, concentrated dark cherry and blackberry fleshed out with oak spice and cinnamon notes. Full bodied and slightly tannic. (88 pts.)


• 2004 Vision Cellars Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. Off-putting and reduced nose. Dense, concentrated and extracted dark cherry, strawberry and blackberry flavors along with oak. Full bodied with significant and burly tannins with an odd, candied mid-palate leading to a medium finish. (86 pts.)


• 2004 Pelerin Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. This was obviously corked just by the nose and just got worse as the night wore on. I kept my stemware at a safe distance. NR (flawed)


• 2004 Pessagno Winery Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. Unpleasant acidic quality on the nose. Assumed flawed and did not taste. NR (flawed)


• 2004 Miner Family Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. Open, clear and lightly floral nose has a touch of rose. Bing cherry flavors with some spice notes that are medium bodied on the palate. Light acidity with a little heat on the medium finish. (87 pts.)


• 2004 Miner Family Pinot Noir 777 Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  Bottle decanted 45 minutes. Very pale color and not much on the nose. Clear, light cherry and strawberry flavors have little depth and complexity. Light, almost thin body with a choppy and short finish. The Rosella’s vineyard blend has much more depth, texture and complexity. (85 pts.)

Of the wines, the Roar, August West and Testarossa were head and shoulders above the rest. I’m again struck by the lovely red fruit found in the ’04 CA PN vintage. Although most of these wines had a similar red fruit profile, the differences coming from the same vineyard were also striking.