Wine Focus (March) - Wine 103 "The Wines of Pinot Noir"

TN: 2018 Domaine Les Tuileries Pinot Noir IGP Cevennes.

Purchased after an excellent Cab Sauv from this Languedoc region.
Good natural cork, 14.5% alc, no sediment, $25 Cda.
Delicious, easy to drink by itself really. Raspberry, black cherry and an earthy finish (plus plus) with herbs.
Light tannins, crisp acidity, great fruit balance with some spice tones Should fly off the shelf but pinot noir folks seem to look elsewhere eh.

Sounds good, and like a good value. Like you said though, people rarely look to the south of France for Pinot Noir.

The association of Pinot Noir and Languedoc is a near automatic turn off for me. I looks as if I should be more receptive to them, with a good recommendation like Bob's, of course. Within the Cevennes IGP there are probably some quite high altitude vineyards and that could help a lot.

The association of Pinot Noir and Languedoc is a near automatic turn off for me. I looks as if I should be more receptive to them, with a good recommendation like Bob's, of course. Within the Cevennes IGP there are probably some quite high altitude vineyards and that could help a lot.

Indeed, I don't think I would jump to buy a Pinot Noir from the Languedoc, and 14.5% wouldn't encourage me either.

But as you say, there are lots of ways to make delicious wine. One just has to get 'Burgundy' out of the reference point!

And one more Oregonian from my cellar last night:

2013 Gran Moraine Pinot Noir La Première Yamhill-Carlton
Restrained dark fruit with some Asian spice tamed by bottle age--in a great place right now. We swooned over every drop. PnP, no sediment.

I don't know much about this winery, but I purchased a few of their pinots recently at auction after discovering their chardonnay a few years back in Kauai. Their wines seem to hit my sweet spot with old world intentions on new world fruit. GM will be at the top of my list next time I show up in the Willamette Valley.

Jenise, FWIW Gran Moraine is a Jackson Family winery. They also make PN, which I tasted a few years ago at WOPN. Very classy, with a price tag to match. Imagine their Chard would also be fab.

Here is a Pinot Noir from Alsace. As the climate warms (but frosts this very day are decimating budding vines!), one would expect PN wines from more northerly regions like Alsace to be putting on weight and preparing the take over the mantel from Burgundy. This one has the weight but I did not care much for the result. I am sure that the region can do better than this.

The estate is unfamiliar to me and is a new arrival at a usually reliable caviste. I'll try their Riesling on my next visit.

2018 Maison Moritz-Prado Pinot Noir Terroir de Roche - France, Alsace (06/04/2021)
This was not at all what I was expecting from a northerly region like Alsace. Less than a generation ago most Alsatian PN was light in colour and body and went down rather like quite serious rosé. Colour here was quite deep. The nose showed round primary fruit a bit like ripe plum and this followed through onto the rather plump palate but there was a recognisably PN aura. Acidity was quite low; there was little minerality, a touch of kirsch towards the finish together with a slightly burning firmness which owed a lot to 14.5% alcohol. Furthermore there were remarks from across the table about a prickly texture. This did not bother me but could probably have been avoided by decanting as suggested by the back label. I'm not sure whether the producer wants a "serious" wine for some ageing or a "fun" wine for quaffing, but IMO it is certainly not the latter. Just fair.
Posted from CellarTracker

[David M. Bueker]

From what I have tasted so far, 2018 was very ripe, in Alsace and elsewhere. The new normal?

[Jenise]

Jenise, FWIW Gran Moraine is a Jackson Family winery. They also make PN, which I tasted a few years ago at WOPN. Very classy, with a price tag to match. Imagine their Chard would also be fab.

I bought this pinot at auction a few months ago for $25--a steal. But wow, I'm dismayed to realize they're a Jackson winery now--I remember when they bought Penner Ash but not this one. But better Jackson than anyone else--they tend to put money into the wineries they like and buy but leave them alone to continue doing what they were doing, including employing the winemaker while relieving him or her from the drudgery on the business end of things.

A late post, but wine primarily enjoyed in March. Excerpted.

Patricia Green Cellars Berserkers' Cuvee, 2014, Willamette Valley.

Ruby to crimson, medium legs. Aromas are fruit -dominant: raspberry, cherry, hint of strawberry. Minimal toast, vanilla; seems to have less oak than last year. On the palate, spices are subtle. Medium body, more subtle than prior bottles. Finish is medium, acid medium plus. I think 2020 may have been the prime year, but 2021 certainly good. A smaller, classically-shaped glass enhanced the finish. From this point on, will use similar glasses for this wine. A big PN glass not recommended.

Since 2014, I haven't noted any Berkserkers' Cuvee produced. Wondering if any future vintages will materialize....

Limited experience, but brand seems to have be a reliable producer. I have some other releases to experience. Time will tell...

[Jenise]

A smaller, classically-shaped glass enhanced the finish. From this point on, will use similar glasses for this wine. A big PN glass not recommended.

That's pretty damning! Any pinot noir that doesn't show better in a 'burg bowl' isn't a wine I'd look forward to. Sounds like you caught this one on the wrong side of the curve.

A smaller, classically-shaped glass enhanced the finish. From this point on, will use similar glasses for this wine. A big PN glass not recommended.

That's pretty damning! Any pinot noir that doesn't show better in a 'burg bowl' isn't a wine I'd look forward to. Sounds like you caught this one on the wrong side of the curve.

It was a pronounced difference, Jenise. 2 bottles left and the assumption is decent still but past prime. As in all tastings, your mileage may vary.

[Jenise]

Oh I get the difference. Less-than-perfect wines often do show better in small glasses. The bigger the glass, the more glaring the flaws--as an 'expert' (ha ha) in cheap chardonnays, I can attest to it. It's just always sad when a wine gets away from us. However, it's still a quality producer with proven ageability so chances are at least mildly reasonable that this is one of those weird off bottles and your next bottle (I believe you did say you had more) will be better.