Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir

Deep garnet purple. Abundant nose of black cherry and red apple. Palate is full-bodied and confirms the nose adding some licorice vanilla on the finish. Medium acidity and next to no tannins. A Pinot Noir for big meals. Steak, rich salmon, risottos, etc. will fare well. Drink now through 2022.

Bevan rarely disappoints. Excellent rendition of pinot. Liquid art that will endure for many years.

Victoria from Bevan Cellars came to town and put on a wonderful tasting of some current releases.

See my note on the Rita’s for my take on trying these side by side. Black cherry wrapped in purple sweet tart on the nose and while it’s a big Pinot, the palate surprises you with it being lighter than expected. Violets and currant. Didn’t get as much acidity here compared to Rita’s. Cedar finish.

Many dimensions to this juice. Textured and grainy on the palate. Very contemporary Pinot expression. Finishes spicy and sweet, but a touch phenolic. This style is not for everyone, but we enjoyed it. Just need to remove the phenols...

Typical Bevan. On the nose, a huge whiff of cola and hints of red currants. Nice grainy texture on the mid palette. Deep extraction, as always. Sweet cherries are complimented with spice box. Finish is energetic. 14.6% abv is submerged. Not for the faint of heart.

Typical Bevan. Huge extraction. Dense and layered. Maybe not quite as focused as other vintages, but possesses uncommon texture. Black fruits and plush tannins bring up the rear. In my humble, Bevan has rapidly become a reference-point in new world pinots.

Extracted but still expresses some nuance. Very surprised.

Frosting Christmas sugar cookies with family and drinking this Bevan. This Pinot has nice fruit. However, it is slightly over extracted but it's real issue is it's 14.6 alcohol level that feels even hotter than 14.6. It's really not all that pleasant on the back of the throat. It burns!!! The fruit is ruby, ripe, round, elegant, stewed; black cherries, candied dark cherries, candied raspberries and stewed spiced plums. Nice spices and backing spices; vanilla & cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg and rose pedals. Brown volcanic powdery earth with crushed rocks. The finish is nice except for the powerful alcohol burn as it goes down. This will improve over time but I will not buy any additional bottles.

Plum and spice - a real treat! You can't go wrong with a Russell wine.

Blind tasting, wine number 7, bag number 6. Mix between crimson and garnet red. Tight nose that was very sweet, like syrup and a little bacon. On the palate there was a lot of raisins, ethanol, very sweet and dried fruits. Definitely needed some more time to open up at least 4+ hours. Moderate body with moderate tannins (6.5/10). Could tell it was a pinot, and from our experience at the Pinot Noir Wine Club night we knew it had to be a Bevan Pinot.