Oh, the pressure!!! I bow to the humor and creativity of my counterparts. I disclaim by saying I’m just happy the 3 year old and baby are sound asleep…I’m hoping for a “wakefree” evening of wine tasting. If I get that, I’m going to be REALLY happy. So with laptop in hand I’ll tackle the Kent Rasmussen Pinot Noir.
The Fedex man dropped my box and golden ticket off in the afternoon, too early to open, so I brought it to the cellar and let it maintain its temp – it was perfect cool weather for wine delivery today. In the evening, I brought it back out, and opened it to find very little color on the cork and an initial aroma of light berry, perhaps cherry and strawberry.
Since I’m not the patient type, I poured a small taste right away. The color is beautiful – a perfect light, ruby red with exceptional clarity that sparkled in the light. I’m now getting a little floral perhaps, but definitely still the light berry. Initial taste is high alcohol, moderate tannins and cherry/strawberry. It definitely needs time to breathe. Its very hard to discern flavor over the acidity/alcohol at this point.
(Really wanting to start drinking this wine now. I have an open bottle of Pinotage from last night – vacuum sealed. Tempted to try some, but will resist to maintain fairness for the PN. Sigh.)
30 minutes after opening – Its easing up a bit, but needs more time.
1 hour after opening – Still no real lasting strong flavors. Tried it with both Salmon and Chicken, and we both agreed that food did not improve the wine and vice versa. Food made it have even more bite on immediate taste. Maybe if it had more time to breathe it would be a different story. If I had to pick, I much preferred the Rosemary chicken with it versus the Salmon. Perhaps the earthiness of the Rosemary plays off the wine a bit. Perhaps we should have eaten a little later, but I was hungry, so I digress…
2 hours after opening – More flavors are starting to come through. It does not leave the palette immediately anymore. It continues to have too much bite for my taste, so I must conserve the remainder and stay up later to see how this changes.
Time to start considering chocolate. I have a great triple layer chocolate mousse cake in the fridge. I think its going to have to be eaten. Soon.
3 hours after opening – Ok, here we go. Now I’m really starting to see a change. The flavors now sit on the palette, rather than disappearing quickly. I’m getting a bright, sharp, berry explosion upon tasting which drifts off into a fresh tartness. Now getting more dark cherry and raspberry. The acidity is no longer overpowering the flavors. I’m getting excited to see what its like at 4 hours!
4 hours after opening – Really enjoying this now. The cherry, raspberry are still prevalent and rich. Flavor fills the mouth and has a hint of light earthiness. Such a dramatic change from when it was first opened. I still wouldn’t put it with the Salmon, but it probably would have gone nicely with the chicken at this point. Going to get that chocolate cake…now.
The bottom line: It’s a gorgeous looking wine – the color and clarity are remarkable. After sufficient time, the flavors were bright, fresh and enjoyable. The change from initial opening to several hours later was absolutely remarkable. Ultimately, I think it will be a really good wine after a few more years. I’m glad I bought it, but plan to keep my 3 bottles for awhile before opening. Should you woot? Yes, go click that button if you’ve got patience to let it sit a bit. I think it will be a really nice wine, given some time.
Full circle - Children are still sleeping, and mommy had a nice night wine tasting. Thanks for sending the golden ticket Wine.woot! I'd love to do it again sometime!
