2015 Alban North Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
Deep brilliant red. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes fresh red berries, candied rose and star anise, along with a smoky mineral overtone. Alluringly sweet and focused on the palate, offering concentrated raspberry, cherry cola, floral pastille and spicecake flavors that are given lift and spine by a core of juicy acidity. Powerful yet impressively lithe in character, showing outstanding energy and silky, even tannins that build steadily on a long, floral-dominated finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
Coming from roughly 3 acres of Pinot Noir planted along the Orcutt Road, the 2015 Pinot Noir is a downright exuberant, concentrated effort that offers tons of darker raspberry fruits, smoked meat, fireplace and crushed flowers. Complex, elegant and layered, with a beautiful dried violet character that comes through with air, it's a serious, rich, age-worthy Pinot Noir that's going to shine with short term cellaring. While John Alban is mostly known for his Rhône releases, he makes some seriously good Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs under his North Vineyards as well.
Leading off the reds, the 2015 Pinot Noir should be another beautiful wine released under the North label. Elegant and complex aromatically, with lots of baking spices, cumin and celery seed, it has a rocking core of fruit, lots of floral overtones, medium to full-bodied richness and an overriding sense of elegance. It will shine out of the gate, yet evolve nicely.
Vivid ruby. Highly perfumed red berry preserve, Asian spice and potpourri aromas pick up a vibrant mineral quality with aeration. Fresh, sharply focused and alluringly sweet, offering concentrated raspberry, spicecake and lavender pastille flavors of outstanding clarity and power. Closes sweet, minerally and extremely long; silky tannins build steadily and add shape and grip.