The olfactory malaise is only hinted at by the amber brown miasma visible in the pour but even then it is a bit of a shock. An urban battle-zone of rotting vegetables, downed power lines and burning cars create a backdrop horrifying enough to send chills through even the most stalwart Pinot taster. Candied oxidation struggles with roasted pickled almond juice for eye-twitching rejection. Vapid and hollow in the mouth, no fruit WHAT-SO-EVER, a watery amalgam of rejection and fake pain without enough dime-store bitterness to even raise the final product into “artistically depressed.”
2013 J. MCFARLAND Pinot Noir ‘Tribute’ River Road Santa Lucia Highlands Monterey Co. California 12.5