2009 Freestone (Joseph Phelps) Pinot Noir with Rack of Lamb and squash

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Happy Friday my Wandering friends!

Chris and I have been working hard at eating healthier with the new year.  There have been many nights of fish and chicken and this night we wanted something different.

The other day while I was down grabbing something out of the freezer when I spotted a rack of lamb.  My mouth started salivating just thinking about how delicious the rack of lamb with a nice red beet salad would be.

As we were watching television Thursday night we started talking and Chris asked about what I was hungry for dinner on Friday night.  I immediately said “How about the rack of lamb in the freezer”?  She agreed and after additional “meal talk” we decided on some roasted squash and the beet salad as well.  My work day flew by pretty fast that day.  Once home, Chris was trying to figure out a marinade or decide if we should just prepare it with garlic and fresh mint?  After a bit of searching on the web, she came up with an idea to use  Pinot Noir in a marinade for the rack of lamb.  I thought it sounded great because we had not tried a Pinot marinade previously.

Now the focus was on choosing a Pinot Noir.  Since we would be drinking some of the wine as well, I wanted to choose an excellent wine.  It was Friday after all, so why not start the weekend with a nice glass before dinner!  I wandered down to the cellar looking at my Pinot’s.  I had a few pretty good options, but finally chose my second bottle of 2009 Freestone Vineyards Estate Grown Pinot Noir from Joseph Phelps.  You may recall that I posted a blog on this Pinot last fall.  I enjoyed the Pinot so much I decided to write about it again.

photoI grabbed the 2009 Freestone Pinot Noir was headed up stairs.  Chris was already working on the marinade so I grabbed my cork screw and pulled the cork.  She had a measuring cup ready and I poured her a cup of the wine.  When I poured just over a cup, Chris immediately poured the extra in her glass quoting “We don’t want to use more than we need to in the food; and by the way  I love this wine”!

After the marinade was complete, I grabbed my tasting sheet, glass and started taking notes.

Sight
The Freestone Pinot Noir had a nice Garnet to Ruby hue at the edge of my glass.  The wine was very clear and had a medium depth.

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Smell
I had to swirl my glass as  I knew the Pinot would open up and the aromas would be great.  As I anticipated, the wine was very aromatic and youthful.  Some of the aromas noted were dark Cherry, Red Licorice and a slight spice.

Taste
Slightly dry but nothing that would dry out our taste buds.    I would almost consider this a full bodied Pinot Noir.  It was very fruit forward and well balanced and the acidity was right on as my mouth salivated with every sip!  As I said the Pinot was slightly dry, the tannins were weak and very soft and it was very flavorful.  We also noted Red Cherry and spice with a medium finish.

abv: 13.5%

We sat and enjoyed our glass of wine as the squash was roasting on the grill and the lamb was resting in the marinade.

Dinner was finally ready and we truly enjoyed it!  I asked Chris to post the blog and show  the meal and recipe.  Rack of Lam with Freestone Pinot.   What a great job!

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Just like last time, we rated the 2009 Freestone Pinot Noir four glasses and I look forward to receiving our 2010 wine shipment in a few months!

In Vino Veritas!

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