Marcassin Blue Slide Ridge Pinot Noir 2003

"The utterly profound 2003 Pinot Noir Blue Slide Ridge is a candidate for one of California's greatest Pinot Noirs. A full-bodied beauty, it offers up aromas of plums, anise, forest floor, black and blue fruits, and gamy, sweet, aged beef. With unreal complexity, in addition to superb texture, purity, and definition, this is a tour de force in winemaking that confirms the brilliance of this husband and wife team who recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.

Tasting at Marcassin with Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer is one of the more satisfying appointments a wine critic could have. This is commitment to excellence at its highest level. An unwavering, uncompromising brilliance and focus is reflected in not only meticulous work in the vineyard, but also in highly detailed winemaking that consistently succeeds in producing some of the finest Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs in the world. Even more interesting, since they have rarely given interviews, will be the two books that Turley and Wetlaufer are writing independently of each other. They possess an accumulation of knowledge and experience that is, as the advertising industry would say, "priceless." Hopefully some of that will soon make its way onto the written pages for future generations."
-Robert Parker, Wine Advocate