Medium ruby color; ripe, stewed red cherry aromas with earthy notes; rich, ripe stewed red cherry, spice and earthy flavors; silky texture; good structure and balance; long finish.  This Pinot has great texture in the mouth and really opens up with some air.

Light ruby. A sandalwood and cinnamon infused nose adds depth to the bright and slightly herbal intense red berry fruit nose that merges into delicious, precise and pure medium weight flavors that retain both fine freshness and precision on the long and persistent finish. The whole cluster fermentation is clearly in evidence as there is a firmness to the stem tannins that while subtle, confer a distinctly different mouth feel onto the finish. This is an old school pinot and those who prefer a lush and opulent style would be better served to look elsewhere. In sum, very fine quality but note that patience will be required. 90/2012+

We continue to be mystified at how El Molino always manages to succeed with this fussy grape in what is Cabernet territory, but succeed the wine does both in terms of wonderful balance and its very deep and well-defined fruit. Smelling of cherries, plums, violets, and sweet oaky spice, it unfolds on the palate with lithe, genuinely complex fruit-and-spice flavors that persist on and on at the finish. Its lack of bluster implies no lack of richness, and it will drink famously with veal and lighter lamb dishes over the coming four or five years.

Has intense, spicy cola and dried berry flavors, with fresh loamy earth notes that are complex, polished and focused. Drink now through 2011. 818 cases made. –JL 

The lightly ruby-hued, light to medium bodied, somewhat superficial, but complex 2005 Pinot Noir exhibits spicy aromas of cloves, cinnamon, pomegranate, and sweet cherries.  Consume it over the next several years. – Robert Parker, December 2008