2006 Windy Oaks "Diane's Block" Pinot Noir

Jim & Judy Schultze farm 14 acres in Corralitos, at the southern end of the Santa Cruz Mountains. They also manage a vineyard in Aptos owned by the Klein Family. Four acres are currently producing fruit, with an additional half acre being prepared for grafting. Fruit from this vineyard all goes into the "Diane's Block" Pinot Noir. While it's perhaps the most fruit forward of the Windy Oaks wines, it is still fairly tight and doesn't show all its fruit right away. It's best decanted for at least an hour or so before serving.

The nose showed lots of spicy oak and rose petals. With time a caramel note emerged. It had flavours of tart cranberry and strawberry, with cherry and tea in the background. When first opened the finish showed a woody bitterness, but that soon dissipated. As the wine opened up, the rich, lush fruit became more apparent. My initial reaction was that it was a 90 point wine, but by the end of the bottle I'd revised the score up to 92. $45, 341 cases Recommended

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