Happy Birthday, Kim.

At Thanksgiving Kim brought a bottle of Pinot Noir for each house we visited.  The first was the Evesham Wood Willamette Valley 2008.  I remember enjoying it and liking it better than bottle number two so this past weekend she brought one up for her birthday (nice deal – she brings us a present for her birthday).  She also arrived with another bottle recommended by the store when she went back for more and discovered it was sold out.  The gentleman at the store told her this one was in a “higher category” so I was curious to try it while my palate was still fresh.
 
And so we started with the new and reportedly better bottle, the St. Innocent 2007 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Villages Cuvée.  The nose was overpowered by alcohol and then we discovered nice spice and fruit.  Again in the mouth we were rushed by alcohol and then able to enjoy nice fruit and a beautiful finish.  The winemaker’s notes suggest it can be aged up to five years.  I think we should have waited longer. 
 
The Thanksgiving redo was precisely as I remembered.  Ripe fruit and spice in the nose.  Same ripe red fruit in the mouth coupled with some nice acidity.  Not much of a finish.
 
While the St. Innocent is more classically sculpted, I prefer the Evesham Wood and find it a perfect holiday wine–for me–as I don’t have the time or attention with which I would normally enjoy a wine and I am looking for a pleasant quaff that pairs nicely with the food.  But maybe I’m also partial to their organic/biodynamic philosophy.  However, at $30 and $22, I’m think I’m heading out with Glenn on Plonk Patrol.
 
And on a random Eleni note, in researching the wines I unearthed the “Wine Terroirs“.  Watch out, Terry Orr.