Phillips Hill produces limited production Pinot Noirs from Anderson Valley & Comptche in Mendocino County, California. I have been excited to open this bottle for quite a while given that their wines have been getting quite a bit of attention.
The Toulouse pinot is beautiful, dark cherry in color — though I can easily see my fingers through the glass (as I would expect with a pinot).
Good pinot aromatics of black cherry (with a bit of stewed rhubarb), spice and some pepper. On the palate, fleshy with loads of raspberry (it is actually framboise-like) with lots of pepper, some cherry cola and leather.
Great silky mouthfeel and acidity. The pepper really lingers in the finish (I might have mistaken this for a grenache). The alcohol is listed at 14.5% and the heat does hit me and lends itself to some slight cough syrup characteristics.
For pairing with food, I would serve this with some of the heavier dishes or darker meat given the wine’s substance. Pork tenderloin, duck — and it would easily stand up to a steak as well.
150 cases produced. I know there are many that think this is a great pinot and while I wouldn’t disagree, it isn’t exactly my style — and I think there are better pinots for the price.
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