Vincent Girardin Emotion de Terroirs Pinot Noir, 2006

I know that red Pinot Noirs from the Burgundy area of France are the benchmark for the varietal. But I have never been willing to part with the $$ required for the best red Burgundies, and the lesser ones (such as this wine) have never measured up to the quality or aging ability of Pinot Noirs from the Northern Coasts of California. This Emotion de Terroirs, from the highly respected estate of Vincent Girardin, is good but at 13 years of age appears to have passed its prime--an age when many Pinots from Russian River and the Anderson Valley are just beginning to shine.

Deep and dark. More like a Cotes d'Or than a Cotes de Beaune. Has the peppery/gingery spice aromas that I usually find in a Russian River Pinot. Good Pinot Noir texture but the balance seems to be leaning more toward alcohol than fruit at this stage. Wish I had opened it a few years ago.