Benton Lane 2006 Williamette Valley Pinot Noir

winehunter

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Benton Lane 2006 Williamette Valley Pinot Noir

geespot

Interesting bottle surely. I wanted to give this a much higher rating but...Popped and poured at cellar temp (nice screwcap btw), dark for pinot noir, nose is tight at this temp. Opens up in 15 minutes to lush raspberry, strawberry candy, cherry as well, with subtle hints of chocolate or mocha, smells of a confection of some sort. Skittles on the pallate, sour cherry, raspberry, and strawberry, but almost a contrived taste, so it's fooling me a little, no matter, I like it. Nice acidity and very tame soft tannins. Alcohol, 14.4, is well integrated, no burn, mid palate is clean and continues to be fruity, finish is pleasant and medium length. Sounds like a 90+ wine, right? Wrong. After 1.5hrs in the air the wine fell apart to something rather undrinkable. I was disappointed that I'd wasted the glass, but felt lucky that I vacu-vinned the rest of the bottle. This wine is so delicious at first, but has no staying power. This is a nice wine to serve at dinner, where it will surely be consumed quickly and your friends with think you splurged on some top Oregon pinot... for under 30 bones a bottle! Just don't let it sit out! I had it with some thick, juicy, perfectly seared Australian lamb chops and it killed.

Tasting Tags: cherry raspberry short-lived strawberry

Benton Lane 2006 Williamette Valley Pinot Noir

urhockey22

I agree with what geespot said for the most part, I just don't like the wine quite as much. It does benefit from a few minutes to open up, but I think there is a bit of a burn with the alcohol and the fruit flavors are a bit muddled, not quite as pronounced as I would hope with a pinot noir. This is still a good wine, and I bet it is better with a bit of meat than as a sipping wine. Enjoyable, but not quite a 90-pointer.

Tasting Tags: mocha raspberry strawberry

Benton Lane 2006 Williamette Valley Pinot Noir

nietzschephilosopher

Smoky rich nose with vanilla, cherries, earth, strawberries, and red raspberries. The midpallet was a little dull (the weakest point of the wine) but there are some decent tannins and good weight. The finish is long and flavorful. Good wine.

Tasting Tags: cherry earth raspberry smoke strawberry vanilla

Benton Lane 2006 Williamette Valley Pinot Noir

jawshy

Typical new world wine. Fruit forward with lots of cherry. Good acidity.

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