2006 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard

Also had this on New Year’s Eve after having an ’06 Siduri from Clos Pepe as well. This seemed to drink in a similar style to the Siduri, and I actually ended up rating them both exactly the same. This was my first ’06 Clos Pepe from Loring, so I didn’t have a previous bottle to compare it to. This bottle was unscrewed and left open over the course of 2 hours at cellar temperature. Very similar ruby/garnet color as the Siduri, with a nose black cherry and tons of spice. You could also smell the alcohol on the nose, and it was definitely more prevalent than the Siduri. Once this wine came up to room temperature, there were more strawberry and earth tones to it, as well as some red fruits, but again, nothing stood out. On the palate, there was again some tart black fruit, with subtle hints of raspberry, strawberry and cherry. No hints of cola whatsoever in this bottle, but again some nice acidity and a bit of tannin. The alcohol came through a bit on the finish, and just proves that this could really use a good 3-4 hour splash decant, or an aggressive decant. Good pinot, but I don’t know if it is worth the price tag at this point. This seems to be more and more of a reality for me with ’06 pinot, but who knows. Regardless, still nice to drink, but not the Loring that I have grown to love. 89 points.