Schug Carneros Pinot Noir 2010

Oaky and herbal on the nose with attractive bitter almond nuances and some smokey, almost meaty top notes over stony cranberry and raspberry fruit. Very smooth and supple in the mouth, this is soft and round with lovely cherry, red currant and raspberry fruit flavors backed up by well judged oak spice and a nice hint of wild herbs. The finish reveals a hint of tannin adding a touch of texture, but is otherwise long and driven by cranberry, apple and raspberry fruit that shows a hint of minerality. Finishes with a bit of spice and sweet red cherry fruit. 88pts

Ripe with an almost peachy aspect to the cherry fruit on the nose that gains sweetness with notes of cherry pie and a hint of blackberry. There’s some oak here as well, with a little black spice, some toast and a hint of allspice. Medium-plus full in the mouth, this is a touch chewy, with solid depth of dark red fruit and just a tiny bit of green herb spice and forest floor adding some nuance. The oak shows up as a little sweet nuttiness and contributes to the nice edge of tannin on the finish. This is very smooth and elegant, with solid spice tones on the lightly tannic finish. 91 points

The spicy nose shows a little sweetness with red berry, cranberry and cherry notes over a nicely integrated toasty oak base note, all topped with hints of watermelon and rose petal. This shows off big tart wild cherry fruit on entry, followed by a lovely core of cran/raspberry fruit, flecked with gentle hints of earth, herb and mineral. There’s some very clean fruit here, with a clear mouthfeel that’s surprisingly fresh (from the nose I might have expected more sweetness). Just lovely, fresh and pure Pinot. 89 points