2007 Pinot Noir, Pastorale Vineyard

Christmas spice, earth, cola, graphite and dark red fruit.  Full and deep, yet beautifully balanced and nervy.  Built for the long haul.  (Linda Murphy is Decanter's U.S. West Coast correspondent.)

Very complex array of aromas including black cherries, blackberries, forest floor, flower garden and spice.  The savory core of earth-dusted and spiced dark fruits is unctuous and thoroughly satisfying.  Framed by supple dry tannins, the fruit lingers long and lush on the finish.  Beautifully crafted and harmonious in every way. Exceptional.

The 2007 Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyard Pastorale exhibits sweet sassafras/cola, plum, black cherry, spice and earth characteristics.  Consume it over the next 7-8 years.

The 2007 barrel samples were single vineyard Pinot Noirs.  The '07 Freestone Pastorale Vineyard is a knockout, intense and concentrated.  (Ed McCarthy)

Good full red. Musky raspberry, minerals and milk chocolate on the nose, with spicy/herbal evidence of stems. Deep and sweet but a bit youthfully tight, conveying an impression of power and minerality. There's a distinctly wild aspect to the red berry flavors. Tannins are firm but in harmony with the wine's fruit. This serious pinot needs time. My sample remained fresh and gained in texture with 48 hours in the recorked bottle. Visit website.

2007 Freestone, "Pastorale Vineyard," Sonoma Coast. Medium to medium-dark ruby; attractive, intense, fragrant, spicy, complex, cranberry and sweet cherry fruit aroma with notes of clove and cinnamon; medium-full body; rich, intense, spicy, cherry fruit flavors with some tightness on the finish; well balanced and structured; medium-full tannin; lingering aftertaste.While this wine opened and developed with airing in the glass and was very enjoyable to taste now, it deserves several more years of bottle aging. Very highly recommended.