Was reminded this weekend–by the winemaker (oops!)–of my less-than-stellar review of this wine almost exactly 2 years ago. I’ve got a few left and decided to re-visit. Surprisingly, this bottle’s in a great place, and I’m not feeling much of the sullied nature I noted in the last one. Beautiful dark garnet, a light dusting of sediment evenly-placed around the bottle, nose creamy and rich–ALL PINOT–delicious and leathery with polished briar bringing up the rear. Dirty cherry and blackberry mingle with near-perfect barnyard in a slightly maraschino-ish nose unabridged by terrible amounts of funk. It smells absolutely beautiful.
Well-balanced on the palate, entry full and round-fruited with plenty of spicy bite at the edges. Going into 9 years, I can’t imagine too many other $30 pinots feeling this fresh and flush with fruit. Smooth and polished with an almost sweet, dessert-y texture, graphite and match-head grind against the plushness in proper Pinot form, adding peppery interest to the age of the berry. It’s a little chubby, but I’m proud of how well the counter-points rasp against the rich swell. Probably not a wine to pontificate dreamily over for hours, but stupidly delicious right now–and nothing indicates against it going another 5 years. I’m glad I have a couple more.
2012 PALI WINE COMPANY ‘Huntington’ Pinot Noir Santa Barbara Co. 14.7
Stephen McConnell 