Somewhere Older and Someone New

Last week, driving my brand new Subaru Legacy, I made it out to Nobel Estate for a visit with Mark and to pick up a bottle from him. He handed over their '08 Reserve Pinot and the '09 Chardonnay. Lauren, the tasting room manager, lead me willingly through the tasting and was very knowledgeable, answered questions gladly (even the stupid ones) and was as much of a treat as was the wine.
The Reserve Pinot Noir is "new" tasting with a bit of cassis, dark fruit and smoke. Earthy. Will be very drinkable in 3-5 years The Estate Pinot Noir was my favorite: Humus, dry chocolate, and deep cocoa and berry jam. ready to drink now but will age well.
The Chardonnay, usually my least favorite wine, was a very pleasant surprise! Not over oaked, not sweet, just yummy, smooth, great mouthfeel, and a light but long finish.
It was a cold day so some of the wines took a bit longer to open than others. One, the Syrah from Del Rio grapes was very closed and tasted typical for grapes sourced from there, but after it warmed a bit the subtle dryness and deep dark fruits began to come on. very nice.
I stayed around till the sin began its decent over the coast range and took one final sip of the delicious 2009 Muscat Semi-Sparkling
before taking some shots of the evening show.  I can't wait to go back and do another tasting.