2011 Rivers-Marie Occidental Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir

This wine is such a departure from everything that has come before it.  Usually the heaviest wine in the lineup, it is one of the lightest in 2011 falling in line right after Summa.  It’s a bit hard to describe.  All of the usual ORV characteristics are present in abundant quantity:   pennyroyal mint, cranberry, crushed blackberry, clove and cinnamon.  The wine though sits so lightly on the palate as to be almost unrecognizable compared to years past.  I assume most of this can be chalked up to the lower alcohol but I also think there’s more true ripening to this edition.  All 3 blocks hung into mid-October, a few weeks longer than normal.  The wine has begun to take on weight post-bottling but I imagine it will continue to fill out for some time.