The 2009 Pinot Noir Stony Mountain also has a green character but not as much as the Meredith Mitchell cuvee. On the palate it is a bit compact but has enough structure to evolve for 1-2 years. Perhaps it will fill out with additional cellaring. Raptor Ridge was able to move into their new winery facility just in time for the 2010 harvest. In the interim, their 2009s offer a fair reflection of that vintage. www.raptorridge.com

The first bottle was corked, the second shows a soft, somewhat flat center and a flavor of black olive underlying the light, plummy fruit. This is a pleasant, round wine, but it doesn’t have the intensity and brilliant definition of previous vintages.——P.G.(7/1/2007)—— 87