Prog Rock Pinot
May 14th, 2018
(Yes, I know it's 4:25pm on a Friday, but I just had to get this one in front of you.)
Every possible little nuance you can imagine from great Oregon Pinot Noir.
That would be my answer if you asked me what today's wine tastes like.
I say that because it was my immediate reaction to tasting the 2014 Silvershot Pinot Noir from Holden last week. Actually, it wasn't even the 'tasting' of the wine, it was the first quick whiff I got when I brought the glass up to my nose.
Within a half of a second of the aromas teasing my nostrils, I'd already decided that I was going to buy everything they'd sell me of it.
After a proper whiff, I'd already decided it was one of the two best Pinots from Oregon that I've encountered this year (the other one being Mimi Kasteel's fabulous 'Hope Well' Pinot, but alas the sole 6-pack that I receive does not a newsletter make).
Then, upon tasting it, it was all over. There were a whole bunch of other really fantastic wines that I was supposed to be paying attention to at that time, but I kinda had that 'do we have to?' voice in my head.
All I wanted to do was drink this wine that seemed to express every single thing you could ask for from a Willamette Pinot.
Like all proper Pinot from this famous region, the fruit profile is dark and rich, but to leave it at that would be like saying Der Ring des Nieblungen is 'long'.
Despite the dark, hauntingly deep fruit, at the edges there is a brightness, a playfulness...a vibrant energy that keeps you invigorated and carries the kaleidoscope of earthy, exotic spiciness that lurks in the mid-palate all the way across to the finish without the slightest perceptible weight.
Even now, as I type these final words, I'm resisting all temptation to crack the bottle that's sitting here on my desk...staring me down with its prog-rock-album-cover label (which I suppose is appropriate given the intricacy of the flavor here).
I would love nothing more to than to be head first in a glass right now...
...but then it would be one less bottle for all of you...and there just isn't enough of it for me to be so self-indulgent.
Do you see what kind of sacrifices I make for you?!
(that 'prog-rock' label is actually a piece entitled Meiosis and You by the artist eatcho.)
WARNING: DRINKING DISTILLED SPIRITS, BEER, COOLERS, WINE AND OTHER ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES MAY INCREASE CANCER RISK, AND, DURING PREGNANCY, CAN CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS.