2013 Joseph Swan Pinot Noir Great Oak Vineyard

As with the Trenton View release, the 2013 Pinot Noir Great Oak Vineyard has a completely mature, almost amber color yet surprises with its intensity and complexity. A wine that was 77% destemmed and aged just 10 months in 30% new French oak, it offers lots of sassafras, sappy herb, mint, and bay leaf notes as well as plenty of sweet cherry fruit. This carries to a medium-bodied Pinot Noir that has a fully mature style, a core of sweet fruit, good acidity, and a clean finish. I'd probably guess it was 20 years older than it is, but it's a terrific bottle of Pinot Noir. All these new releases from Joseph Swan show the more evolved, complex, lightly colored style favored by the estate. The wines seem ten years older than they are, but they have terrific complexity and elegant, silky profiles. They’re certainly singular.