2003 Fiddlehead Cellars Pinot Noir Seven Twenty Eight Fiddlestix

I grabbed this bottle out of the cellar tonight after a '98 Harford Court Jennifer's pinot noir I opened was showing nothing at all on the palate, and was unpleasant. Unfortunately, this bottle didn't have the wow factor that several other bottles have had as recently as January of this year. Even so, this was still a pleasure to drink, and we love Kathy Joseph's wines.

As always, that beautiful Santa Rita Hills nose with that earthiness that is so distinguishing. Nice black cherry, pomegranate, and raspberry, with some oak, spice, and brown sugar. On the palate, there was a bit of bittnerness, which is out character for Fiddlehead. Some strawberry and black cherry dominated, with subtle hints of spice, and surprisingly, there was really no cola on this wine at all. The finish was typical Fiddlehead, and berry, I mean very pleasant, but it just didn't live up to the greatness of other bottles. Even so, it was still nice to drink, and we look forward to some other bottles in the future. 88 points.