WTN: Two Pinot Noir

Some miscellaneous tasting notes:

1996 Corton Dr Peste Hospices de Beaune D. Laurent
Dark. Dense nose of spices & wood. Very, very big wine full of wood spice and dark fruits, tannins fully tamed and acid in balance. A really terrific wine that almost certainly started off life being exceedingly over-oaked; with time, that oak has evolved into spices of considerable complexity. Unlike a couple of other 1996 Burgundies, this is not overly acid. The net result is a wine with a terrific nose, an unusually complex flavor profile tilted towards the secondary flavors and a long finish. Excellent/Outstanding depending on your tolerance for a lack of the essence of Red Burgundy.

2000 St Innocent Seven Springs Oregon
Medium red. Strong sour cherry nose and strong cherry fruit on the palate. A much brighter wine with slightly more prominent acidity. Nowhere near the blockbuster of the Corton but with enough flavor, complexity and length that it more or less held its own. Almost certainly suffered by comparison but nonetheless Excellent.

1996 Chateau de Fuisse Vieilles Vignes
Still holding together very nicely indeed. Still quite pale, gradually gaining color but still very much on form. Lots of acidity but balanced by full flavors. Not a lot of oak. Very good balance. Excellent+

1998 L'Ancestrale de Philippe Pichard Chinon
Quite dark red with noticeable sediment. None of the herbaceous nose I often associate with Cabernet Franc and none of the merde that one often gets in wines like Dioterie; rather an unusual red fruits nose, redcurrent, maybe some other small red fruit. On the palate, soft red fruits combined with a distinct chalky quality of tamed but still very present tannin. Rather short. A nice wine but not the blockbuster that I thought this had a chance to become when I bought it. Very Good

Regards,

Robert

Robert,
With only a single bottle of Laurent's 96 Dr Peste in the cellar, it is always problematic to know when to open. Thanks for giving us a heads up. I look forward to it in the near future.
Bernard

[Jenise]

Interesting note on the 7 Springs. I have that vintage of Seven Springs (purchased a case direct from the winery) and the wine has never really come around--have been able to convince myself neither that the wine's just that much tighter than any other SS before it or if somehow I got an entire case of weird bottles.

[David M. Bueker]

I've never had the '96 Dr Peste, but I had the '98 Dr. Peste (Meo-Camuzet elevage) several times & it was a beast of a wine.

Interesting note on the L'Ancestrale de Philippe Pichard. This is a wine I have often read about on blogs. Will try to find a review I really liked at the time of reading.

OK here it is, some background for Roberts thoughts.

http://bordoverview.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... chard.html

Jenise,

Interesting comment. Certainly my first thought on tasting the 7 Springs was that it was different from my memory. I tend to think of 7 Springs as being darker in flavors with generally a bit of wood spice or smoke to go with salmon, so this came across as sour cherry and more acid. It also did not seem as big or as voluptuous as I remembered but I put that to coming right after a very big wine. Maybe it was just an odd vintage.

Regards,

Robert

Bob,

Thanks for the link. I bought six bottles of the Anchestrale in Tours in September 2000 from a wine store that seemed to know their local producers. As a young wine, it was rather a beast with quite a lot of oak and lots of ripe fruit. I thought it would wind up giving a good Dioterie a run for the money but not quite. Still a good wine and a pretty good value for a wine that cost about £8 at the time.

Regards,

Robert

Robert, I am planning a Loire visit in June and tend to concentrate on Chinon, Bourgueil and Vouvray.

[Jenise]

I tend to think of 7 Springs as being darker in flavors with generally a bit of wood spice or smoke to go with salmon, so this came across as sour cherry and more acid. It also did not seem as big or as voluptuous ...
Robert

OK, our wines ARE alike then--taut, with more acid and none of the seductive Asian qualities that distinguished this wine in vintages prior and since.