2000 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Rosemary's Vineyard Arroyo Grande Valley

Arroyo Grande Valley. If a slightly bigger, slightly more muscular wine than its marginally more polished cellarmate below, this fleshy, intensely flavorful Pinot shares a similar concern for fruity accuracy and ranks with the very best of the vintage by virtue of its depth and generosity. Fairly full in body and so very velvety in feel, it shows a scant bit of the trailing heat at the finish, but it keeps its sights keenly set on juicy cherries and ends with such a fine flourish of fruit that its slightly ragged edge is made all but moot. It is sure to benefit by another two to five years of age in bottle despite being the slightly fatter and more forward of the stunning Talley twins.

Full red. Ripe aromas of plum, meat and earth, with a whiff of menthol. Fat, ripe and sweet, with assertive flavors of plum, tobacco, earth and menthol. As full and velvety as this is, it's also tangy and fresh. Finishes with sweet tannins. If the above resembles Chambolle-Musigny, this is more Morey-Saint-Denis. Both of these pinot noirs did very well in the recorked bottle.