1999 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir

It's been open for almost 2 days in my 55 degree Koolspace cellar. Intense, dark color of garnet to ruby. Looks a lot like cherry juice. Nose smells like cherry, earth, and sous-bois. It also has a weird smell that reminds me of windex. Definitely something that is weird and distracts, but is not related to alcohol smell.

On the palate, the wine is bone-dry and definitely not meant for the friends of the more candied and plush style of California Pinot. Reminds me a lot of a Bourgogne in terms of weight. It has very gripping tannins though and a solid finish, but the acidity stands out a little too much.

I would tend to give this wine around 88 points. It's a very good wine, but the windex smell and the acidity have me a little concerned. I do think it has a long ageing curve ahead of it, and these two issues could resolve with time.

Considering that this was bought from K&L for about $17, this is a good QPR though.