It’s a tradition in our house to go out for Asian food the night before Thanksgiving.  Lord knows we will be busy the next day and who wants to cook big for two days in a row?  So, it was a Thai restaurant for us last night and when I saw this $30 bottle on sale for $46 – I had to give it a try.  I realize this winery’s style is to deeply extract and wrench every last drop of goodness from their Pinot grapes so I was ready for the onslaught.  Medium ruby colored with high viscosity (14.8% ABV).  Medium intensity aromas of black cherry, ripe pomegranate, dust, earthy cinnamon and sassafras.   The palate has medium acidity and medium tannins but a full body. Like I said- this is a thick wine.  The concept of Pinot Noir being a light and seductive wine is not apparent in this full-throttle offering.  Layers of ripe red fruit interspersed with loads of oak influence by way of cinnamon and clove that leads to a medium finish. It’s a 90 point wine in my books which makes it a 4 star effort to drink till 2030.  Marketing-wise, the big dip into molten wax is a nice effect but it makes opening the cork a challenge (good for making sure it stays sealed though).  If you like ’em big, this is one for the cellar.  Ideally this wine would pair well with Filet or Venison but it went a treat with the crispy Duck dishes I enjoyed.  Salut….