02 Maysara, Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Estate Cuvee

I can't believe Smuckers never got a hold of Jimi Brooks before he died. The 02 Estate Cuvee is the most passionate wine he ever made--defiantly different than the elegant Brooks label wines, this is like a Runaway Red picking up steam a third of the way down the hill before it crashes into a giant creek. There's inertia to this pinot, driving a jammy raspberry, black cherry, bitter dark chocolate, and crouton compote down my gullet, as if eating as much pie as I could was the last thing I had to do before I died. The only thing that's even come close to "aging" in the five years it's sat in bottle are the aromatics, which have developed like a good Barbaresco, full of damp earth, forest fire, and Chanel. Look: Jimi understood something about beauty. And he knew everything had an ugly side--great tits with a bad personality; full lips with sharp teeth; long, lean legs with the feet to walk all over you.