2003 Chehalem Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Reserve

My best guess is that the finest lots of Ridgecrest were all culled out to fashion the superb 2003 Pinot Noir Reserve (70-80% of the blend is from Ridgecrest). This terrific wine’s aromas display spicy black fruits and candied red berries. Suave, satin-textured, and broad, it is powerful, exceptionally well-balanced (with 15.4% alcohol, no less!), and intense. This deeply concentrated wine is loaded with fruit and seemingly never stops expanding on the palate. Its red cherry and blackberry flavors linger throughout its angle-free, lengthy finish. Drink this beauty over the next 10 years. www.chehalemwines.com; tel. (503) 538-4700