Chocolate saved the day!

 

Going on five years ago, I was introduced to Kent Rasmussen wine by way of his

mesmerizingly fantastic Chardonnay.  As happy as it made me when I tried it, it equally saddened me when I found out he was not making it any longer. However, it made me equally thankful that I purchased a bottle of that vintage and have been storing it properly. Now for the monumental moment when this deliciousness shall be opened......Time will tell....

 

In the meantime, a friend of mine, knowing I liked Kent Rasmussen wine ( I have tried the Sav Blanc which I could actually fathom for a Sav Blanc and a later Pinot Noir.), found the 2007 Pinot Noir for me and I have been saving it for the last couple of months.  Last night, I decided to open it because I wanted a lighter red, the weather had dropped 20 degrees over night, and I was having pizza.

 

 

 

2007 Kent Rasmussen Carneros Pinot Noir

 

To my dismay, I was very displeased with the color as I poured it into the glass.  It reminded me of muddy water with brick hues.  These pictures don't do the reality of the color justice.

 

 

On the nose I got dirt, cola, plastic and strawberry.  I was not pleased with the aroma either at this point; however, I knew the wine hadn't "gone bad" or been "corked". I just wasn't happy.  Anyone who knows me knows if I'm not happy no one is happy. Good thing I was trying this in my own home alone. Poor Prowler.

When I first drank this wine I immediately asked myself what does this taste like?  My response was "decaying strawberries wrapped in cola."

Because it is a 2007 and because Pinot Noirs aren't very tannic, I decided that maybe decanting this wine may help.  So I poured half the bottle in the decanter and let it breathe for almost two hours.

In the meantime, I decided to see if it would at least look better in different light and to my delight, it does! Quite pretty even, a nice garnet color.  I'd wear a ring with matching necklace and earrings in that color, I suppose.

After decanting, it didn't taste much different unfortunately. Perhaps I needed to decant it longer, but I was as patient as I could possibly be at this point.

While eating three-cheese pizza with marinara sauce made from scratch, the tartness of the wine started to diminish which was encouraging. It still had that overly powerful strawberry taste which was not appealing to me though.

I have said this many times and I will continue to stand by it, I like Pinot Noirs but ONLY if they are from Oregon. California Pinots do nothing for me. This is a red wine that wants to be a white wine. Most Pinot Noirs have an essence of cherry, sometimes overpowering, sometimes subtle, but always cherry. There was no cherry here.

It was all strawberry... until....

 

Thank you Ghiradelli Intense Dark with sea salt and roasted almonds!!!

 The tartness completely disappeared!

I must say I was a bit concerned that even chocolate wouldn't help me like this wine, but once again..

 

 

Chocolate saved the day!!!!