2001 Porter Creek Vineyards Pinot Noir Hillside Vineyard Russian River Valley

Moderately saturated red. Aromas of bitter cherry, dark chocolate and rose petal; smells riper than the Creekside, but this is just 12.8% alcohol, compared to the other wine's 13.7%. Fat in texture but dry and a bit peppery in the mouth; showing tougher tannins today and perhaps less persistence than the Creekside. Davis says this will blossom in bottle, but I find the slightly dry-edged tannins a bit troubling. "It's rare that I nail both my pinots in the same year," admits Davis, who named 1998 as a vintage in which both the Hillside and Creekside bottlings were successful.