Wine of the Week: McManis 2007 Pinot Noir

Since the book review I am working on is not yet perfected, I decided to publish this Wine of the Week post instead. I figured that wine is always welcome! My friend Mary gave Kevin and I this bottle of McManis 2007 Pinot Noir as a gift a few weeks ago, and I was eager to give it a try. Her choice of the McManis Pinot Noir was not random; we enjoyed the McManis most out of a Pinot Noir flight a while back, and the gift was a reminder of that night. I was interested to see if this, a more recent vintage, would be as enjoyable. The color of this wine is ruby, and pretty dark for a Pinot Noir. The fruit did not come through in either the aromas or the flavor upon first encounter. Fifteen or twenty minutes after opening, the wine smelled smoky and earthy to me. The taste was not fruit forward either, and I had to search for the cherry flavors. As the wine had more time to breathe and also to come closer to room temperature, though, the fruit began to come forward more, and the wine developed a more "red fruit" taste. I found the tannins in this wine to be prominant, but not astringent, and the balance to be tipped a little toward the acidic side. The wine is light- to medium-bodied overall, with a long finish. This is what McManis' website has to say about it, "The 2007 is deep Ruby in color. The Pinot Noir has aromas of Cherry, Strawberry and Violets. Adding to the intrigue of this wine, are notes of Vanilla and Cola which are contributed by the oak aging. Full of berry fruit, the flavor of this rich wine remains long after swallowing." I would tend to agree with everything except perhaps the aromas. The Cola seems to have come through for me, perhaps the Violets, and maybe the fruit, but I did not get any Vanilla at all. Overall, I'd say that this wine is good, but fell a little bit short of my (perhaps unfair!) expectations.