Do you have a special food or wine memory soley dedicated to the taste? We all have those life moments when we might remember grandma's macaroni and cheese, or a wine moment that had you at hello. These are the moments that can be difficult to duplicate. Moments like these are rare, yet tend to stick in our minds for a long time. I can still recall the Chateaubriand I ate when I was 10 years old in a restaurant. I can still recall old vintage wines that play in my mind with salavation and a smile.

Thus far in 2012 I have had the privledge of attending multiple wine festivals/events. Two were Pinot Noir varietal specific events. Both Pinot Noir events were fantastic experiences that I cherished being a Pinot Noir junkie. I had the opportunity to taste some of the best Pinot Noirs from Oregon, Sonoma Coast, Russian River, Sta Rita Hills, Santa Maria Valley, and so many other great Pinot growing regions. I still remember the standouts.

A week ago today I tasted a Pinot Noir that calls out to me like my favorite box of girl scout cookies. A personal vice. This past week I had an amazing trip covering the California wine country. Many fantastic wines were consumed and made their way home with me. I even did another wine event, but this DuNah Russian River Valley keeps calling me like an old girl friend that won't go away, except I want the wine back. I think I am having a grieving period for an amazing wine that I no longer can go to. This Pinot Noir I place on a very short list of favorites I've tasted this year.

Everyone has their own prefrence of style, flavor profiles, etc. However in discussing this wine on twitter via live stream on Cellars of Sonoma with my friends @myvinespot, @DanGod1, and new friend @TampaWineWoman, I was under the impression that either we all have similar taste, or we all had a special experience with the DuNah Pinot Noir that night. 

The 2008 DuNah Russian RIver Valley Pinot Noir is a wine I could just take the nose in all day. From my experience, Pinot Noir clone 115 tends to offer up a fantastic soft, floral, and even cherry hypnotic appeal that is like a snake charmer drawing you. This wine offered suductive cherry and earthiness of mushrooms. This was the kind of nose that just made me want to be alone, yet it was so fantastic that my friends were focusing on the wine and adding insights and aspects that I was still figuring out.

Soft black cherry on the front and strawberry mid, and a beautiful cedar/clove spice finish. Pinot Noir clone 667 provided just enough grip and weight to this sexy bombshell. Pommard 4 clone adds a great mid pallet and pushes through the finish in spice charactoristics. Funny thing is on the second day, my twitter friends and I started our own dialog on twitter again about how this 10 jumped to an 11.   

If reading this sounds like passion, it is as I am re-experiencing this in my mind. These wines are artisian produced in very small allocation and even smaller availability distributionally. Cellars of Sonoma offers this wine, and I am seriuosly considering placing my own order. This wine is like my '57 Chevy Belair. I wish I still had it.