Benton-Lane 2006 Pinot Noir
On a whim tonight, we picked up a bottle of Benton-Lane Oregon pinot noir. I have always had this fascination with pinot noir, and Oregon pinot noir in particular, even though I very rarely buy a bottle because it is bit beyond my comfort level in terms of price. But I felt mildly celebratory tonight, and so splurged.
Benton-Lane Winery is based in Monroe, Oregon, in the Willamette Valley. This was the 2006 vintage of their pinot noir. The color was a mid-deep red, becoming much lighter at the edges. Very promising – sometimes I’m scared by wines that are too opaquely red. The wine took a while to open up, at first it was mildly astringent but after 20 minutes or so it had calmed down and had grown softer. The wine had nice flavors of almost-ripe raspberry, tart yet sweet. It was soft, very easy to drink, kind of plush on the palate but not too thin. At the same time, the flavors didn’t feel fully developed. And the finish was ok, but not compelling.
A nice wine which we thoroughly enjoyed in a non-contemplative kind of way. It didn’t ignite a desire to run out and buy any more Oregon pinot noirs anytime soon (which is a good thing!).
Buy again: No
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