Erath Leland Pinot Noir, 2006

The Winemaker's Note says, "Raise a glass of Leland" and that is so true.  Erath' s Leland 2006 Pinot Noir  is a single vineyard wine in the north end of Willamette Valley.  It is 100% Pinot Noir, but a blend of two clones*: 50% Pommard, 50% Wadenswil.  An aroma of cherry and hints of both coffee and cocoa.  A flavor of cherry and hints of chocolate. There was also a tad of bitterness (almost like pith) on my palate and I'm thinking it was the citrus peel. Because of the fleeting bitterness is not high on my list of red wines, but definitely glad I tasted it.   

Winemaker's Notes:  Raise a glass of Leland and take in warm vanilla-scented cherry aromas accented by cola notes and subtle citrus peel. Excite the palate with an intensely focused beam of fruit. Delectable chocolate covered cherry flavors gloriously expand to a lengthy, satisfying finish. Commitment-phobes beware; this beauty stays with you long after the last sip. Drink from 2009 through 2018. 

*Clone - grape varieties are cloned to reproduce desirable traits from the parent vine.  These traits not only include aroma and flavor, but also the vines yield, health and ripening ability.  Clones are reproduced by taking cuttings from the parent and grafting these cuttings on to other rootstock.  Cloning was an interesting topic for me in the CIA wine intensive I attended in May.