Wine Review: 2005 J Pinot Noir, Robert Thomas

I live in Northern Sonoma County and the Russian River is approximately 3 minutes away from my house. I am a member of only 2 wine clubs consistently over the 16 years that I've lived here. J is one of them. J is for Julie and she has a son named Robert Thomas, and the vineyard that produces the grapes for this wine is named after him. Or so the story goes at the winery.

I have had a bottle of this Pinot Noir since they started making it years ago and I have to say, it is consistently one of the best Pinot Noir's available in this region. There is some work involved in enjoying this wine though, the notes from the winery talk about warm and earthy; I call it barn yard like. However there is a hint of fruit in the aroma upon first sniff and it doesn't really prepare you for what happens when it hits your mouth like a velvet glove.

A large cherry, picked fresh and sitting at a fruit stand at the end of summer just waiting for you to stop and buy it is the first thing I could think about as this amazing wine coated my mouth, followed by blueberries. Some oak and a nice spiced finish made this yet another great year of J Pinot Noir from the Robert Thomas vineyard. This goes well with practically any cheese that I've paired it with except for the excessively sharp, I suspect that it would be the perfect wine to enjoy with a Thanksgiving meal, after all previous years were.