From the Santa Cruz Mountains. Color is the lightest I've seen in a new world pinot noir, has the faintest hint of red and crystal clear. Alcohol is also the lowest I've ever seen at 13.2%. Burgundy fans, this is one you should have on your radar, especially if you are looking for burgundy-like qualities at a fraction of the cost. This bottle was only $27.50 and way over delivered on quality.

I decanted this for 3 hours before pouring a glass. In the decanter, it had that wonderfully nice pinot funk nose. First pour revealed a very, very expressive nose of leather, funk, earth and mushrooms. The leather in the nose made this pinot smell like the 1969 & 1968 BV Pinots I had the pleasure of drinking last year. The palate is in a lean style predominately strawberry flavors and earth and some cherry in the background. With some more time, the palate sweetened slightly to enhance the lean strawberry flavors. Tannins are soft and not noticable. The finish didn't last as long as I had hoped and is the only real nit on this wine. It made for a nice food wine with our Chinese tonight. I still can't believe it is only 4 years old. Everything about it says it is an older, well aged pinot.

This style is a little lean for my preference, but I am intrigued enough to want to explore this producer more. This was the last of the McHenry's available at Vinocruz of any vintage. So, my guess is, this isn't their best bottling.