Angela 2015 Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton 1.5 L

I felt so guilty. For many years I have only patronized two on-line wine retailers (as we’ll as my favorite local shops). An ad from WTSO (Wines ’Til Sold Out) caught my attention and I was hooked. Like some other sites, they offer a showcase deal several times a day, where you can snag a $100 Napa Cab for $29.99. They also have some “last chance” and premium wines so you always have a selection. The event that put me over the top was the Magnum Marathon.

For 24 hours, magnums were going to be offered at cut-rate prices with new bottles being offered every hour. I was locked in I also tuned in my wine tasting buddy Arthur, who is now known as the Wine Bandit. I scored four magnums including this single vineyard Pinot from Willamette Valley. This was the most expensive at $43. I also purchased a Sonoma Cabernet from a favorite AVA (Moon Mountain, a Rioja, and a Provence Rosé. The last two bottles were $27!

So this certainly endeared me to WTSO. The Angela 2015 Pinot Noir  is a single vineyard bottling from the Yamhill-Carlton AVA in Willamette Valley. I took it on a weekend reunion with friends in the Asheville area.

This is a real beauty that still is holding together, perhaps it is in a magnum. The magnum has twice as much wine as a normal bottle but exposes about the same amount of wine to air. So, the aging potential is better.

To me this was deliciously smooth with delicate red cherry and strawberry flavors. The body is medium-light with a tad of earthiness and notes of cherry cola. Angela is a project of Ken Wright and Antony Beck, son of Graham Beck, a South African winery owner and business magnate. The value of this magnum is sky high!

Since I have you thinking about magnums, let me share the main reasons you should love magnums:

1. Bring on the party! Magnums are impressive and perfect for entertaining.
2. Right sized. For a dinner party of six to eight people, a magnum is just the right size. For larger parties, it means fewer bottles to open.
3. Better aging. As mentioned above the greater wine to air ratio means better and longer aging than 750 ML.

Magnums can be pricey, but there are bargains out there! Poppppppp…. That’s the sound of me opening another magnum. Cheers!