Tamar Ridge Pinot Noir 2008

Went down to meet some friends for a "couple" after work in Canary Wharf last night to find a bottle of this on the table. Having had previous experience of my colleagues' taste in plonk I was, frankly, terrified. What a pleasant surprise when I had when I poured myself a glass. It was a lovely bright red, with aromas of red berries, cherry and light spice underlined by notes of tobacco and a hint of leather. Lovely acidity and a big splash of fruit on the tongue. Great stuff for drinking outside on a sunny evening, but beware! This wine shows the deadly combination of easy drinking with a dangerous alcohol level of 14%! Needless to say I am sat at my desk nursing my head this morning. I will, however, be ordering a half case of this wine shortly.

Nose: cherry, spice. Some candied cherry notes. Some grassiness emerging with air? Palate: cherry, spice. Ripe, rich fruit. Firm, dry tannins. Good fresh acidity, quite lively. A little short on the palate, and a bit one-dimensional - good but not great.

It began with a bit of a barnyard smell, not so much manure but more of wet hay that has been trampled by the horses a bit, plus a bit of a cherry smell towards the end. Very complex smell, too bad it didn’t follow through with the taste. It was very flat and had just the cherry flavor and a bit of over powered by the alcohol.

My bottle might have suffered a bit from the heat, but still liked the wine. Mine was a bit astringent (probably heat damage). The flavors were great though, good pinot grape without too much fruit or alcohol.