Beaux Freres, Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir, 2006
Apparently 2009 was difficult for just about everybody if you read all those end-of-year editorials and remembrances. 2009 was especially hard on our family. So what did we drink New Years Eve? We decided on carpe diem, and broke open one of our Beaux Freres. This is always a double-edged sword: we really have never been disappointed beyond the fear that we opened a it too early. This one was no different. If you can resist drinking them now, by all means, hold 'em. But if you do crack one, they are -- without fail -- pure pleasure in a bottle.
This one was really big for Beaux Freres -- lots of body and dark fruit. But the thing about Beaux Freres is that they tend to be insanely floral -- something we just love. It's almost as if they raided the Portland Rose Gardens one evening and stuffed the fermentation tanks with rose pedals. It smells and tastes just like that. Incredible.
Along with the rose, the nose was wood, anise, and pepper. The nost took awhile to open up. It started fairly flat, but after an hour. The anise became much stronger, along with some eucalyptus.
And that was the other thing that was a bit different from 2005, this one was strong with pepper. Very spicy. As I said, the body was really full on this one. Silky, full and rich in your mouth. The taste was a mixture of rose pedals and black cherry. Strong black cherry meandered through hints of leather, chocolate. While you can taste the oak, which is normally presents a fairly sweet taste; the leather just stopped that sweetness in its tracks. And the finish was black cherry mixed with a non-sweet Satsuma orange.
Cost:
$49Rating:
9.5