Mrs. CKDH had asked for some Pinot Noir to go with the Mardi Gras meal she was preparing, so I poked around the wine “cellar” (read as “dedicated closet for wine in our garage”) to see what I could find.  I was surprised to find a bottle of 2005 Cambria “Julia’s Vineyard” in amongst the various ’07, ’08, and ’09 Pinots.  Cambria “Julia’s” is one of our everyday favorites — reliably tasty, smooth, and relatively inexpensive — but it’s not one I like to keep around for very long because it doesn’t hold up for very long.  Sure enough, I pulled the cork, tasted it, and, well . . . not so much.  I let it sit in the glass for another 20 minutes to see if that would help, and it didn’t, so I sadly poured all of it down the drain.

Having gotten burned on an older bottle, I went in the other direction and pulled a bottle from the most recent purchase I had made:  2009 Melville Estate Pinot Noir – Sta. Rita Hills (winemaker’s notes HERE).   We had picked up two bottles of it, plus two more of ’09 Melville “Carrie’s” Pinot; since I really want to give the “Carrie’s” some time to develop, I decided to open one of the regular “Estate” bottles.

In short — it’s yummy, but it’s still young.  Quite tight in the nose and on the palate.  Definitely fruity, and definitely Sta. Rita Hills, but very short finish.  I’m gonna wait until next year before I try the second bottle since I’m sure it’ll develop more back-end with a little more time lying down.

That’s okay, it’ll be worth the wait.  Besides, I have some ’07 Rochioli that is begging to be opened, and I can’t risk waiting too long and having to pour THAT down the kitchen sink.