Self Isolation : Day # 40

2012 Paul Hobbs Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Wow. Forty days of uncertainty. Forty days of stress. Forty days of Zoom calls. Forty days virtually devoid of human interaction. Forty days on the job hunt. Thankfully, if you are anything like myself and the friends and family I’ve been keeping in touch with, you’ve also had forty days of wine, freshly baked bread, and great food. The big Four-O was marked by a Pinot Noir as equally uncertain about life at the moment as most of us are. Like being on lockdown, it was tight and closed upon opening, with conflicting aromas of cardboard, underripe cherry, and bitter orange. Even worse, it was thin and astringent on the palate; the oak seemingly at odds with the developing fruit character. Eventually it revealed its true self after about two hours in the decanter, offering luscious notes of dried strawberry, fruit leather, preserved cherry, plum, wild mushroom, five spice, and cedar. The structure of ripe tannins and cool-climate acidity, slightly mellowed by age, matched the intensity of flavors perfectly, making for a delicious toast to forty days and forty nights at home. I’m left thinking about how we’re all this bottle of Pinot Noir: uncertain and anxious now, but, with some time, all will align and come back into order.