It was Tom’s turn to host poker and he put together a blind line-up of 2007 “mail order Pinot Noirs” for us to taste through, with the idea of tasting this same line-up some number of years from now to see how the results might change. He served the wines in different order for different people and named each blind bottle after a state. In life imitates art fashion, my two favorites were Vermont and Maine—can’t argue with that! The notes are in the order I tasted the wines—other people drank these in different orders, so I’ve also noted the state name given the wine for those who were there and would like to add their thoughts.
2007 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Kanzler Vineyard Sonoma Coast. Pennsylvania: The very first wine I tried was one of the most intense, but at this early stage it was actually kind of a nice jolt. The aromatic profile is deeply sweet with its core of cherry syrup, dark mixed berry, creamy blueberry yogurt and bubble gum, later joined by some tar oil, dark earth and wildflower notes. In the mouth, it is thick and large-framed, with a huge hit of oak leading the way for round, luscious flavors of dark cherry, cocoa and autumn spices. But there is no real difficulty from tannin and the overall profile (despite a little hit of alcohol on the finish) never feels anything but giving and plush. Going against the grain of the group, I imagine, I had this ranked as my #3 wine of the afternoon.
2007 Copain Pinot Noir Kiser “En Bas” Vineyard Anderson Valley. New Jersey: This wine could not be more different. The bouquet is light and lilting, featuring soft floral notes to go with sandalwood and some sweet cherry fruit with a little bit of a confectionary tone. It does deepen a bit as it sits in the glass and takes on air, but for the most part stays gentle and airy. In the mouth, it is extremely mouthwatering with an acidic burst that runs all the way through the wine’s voyage across the palate. It feels crunchy, with crisp berry and cranapple flavors that is sharp-edged but not austere. It is tangy in the extreme, with a light to medium-bodied framework and I could see it doing very well at the table with food. My #4 wine.
2007 A.P. Vin Pinot Noir Rosella’s Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands. Rhode Island: This one has a core of weedy, semi-baked fruit in the black cherry and black raspberry spectrum on the nose, with something sort of like sundried tomato hanging around, too. It does gain more and more complexity the longer one stays with it, folding in more earthen elements and mushroom types of notes. On the palate, the first thing I note is overt alcohol that gives the wine a youthful, tough character. Below that, however, one gets good flavors of dark cherry and raspberry fruit and some gentle barrel spices. It turns rough again, however, on the finish—as strong menthol and rougher wood notes find their way back into the mix. For me, this is drinking far too young and a bit disjointed all around and I would advise holding off.
2007 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard Willamette Valley. Florida: Wow, what a divisive wine this was on this day. Something like half the room had this as their wine of the day by a mile, while nearly the entire other half had it among their least favorite of the day. I find the nose to be heavy-bottomed and very primary—with some straightforward aromas of blueberry and fireplace embers. In the mouth, it is full of alcohol and blueberry fruit and not a whole lot else going on. I find there to be some drying acidity and plenty of tannin and dark smoke on the end. It doesn’t display much nuance or elegance, just a dense, packed-in palate feeling that needs time to unwind. Right now, it is a dormant bore to my taste. I have to admit being shocked at the reveal, as I normally really like St. Innocent at just about any stage (though Shea is not always one of my favorites) and associate it with more nuance than this particular monolith. But perhaps it will emerge for our next tasting down the road a few years?? I admit my curiosity is high. An interesting ringer!
2007 Red Car Pinot Noir Trolley Car Sonoma Coast. Michigan: There is a bit of birch and sassafras on the nose of this wine to go along with aromas of sweet briery berries, crunchy leaves and pine sap that taken together surely represent one of the more individualistic bouquets of the day. In the mouth, it is more overtly forward and fruity, with a soft velvety mouthfeel. It is warming and rounded, only turning a bit ticklish on the finish with some light tannins and alcohol. The cherry flavors are carried along by a juicy acidity, but the alcohol does begin to butt into the mid-palate after awhile. There are good component parts here, though, and I enjoyed it. My #5 wine.
2007 Michael Pozzan Winery Pinot Noir Annabella Special Selection Carneros. California: I find the nose to be a bit heavy, with aromas of caramel, cranberry sauce, kirsch, dry earth and oak the most notable. In the mouth, it is big-fruited, but the oak is very intrusive. It is chewy-textured and has a lot of spice and displays a large degree of heat. It feels out of sorts and a bit over-done.
2007 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing Santa Rita Hills. Nevada: CORKED.
2007 Benovia Pinot Noir Bella Una Russian River Valley. New Hampshire: There is a nice nose here of pomegranate, cherry and deep kirsch that feels cool and masculine but not at all chunky or heavy—just serious, sinewed and structured. I like it a lot, especially as a minor key of sweeter blue fruit begins to well up with time. In the mouth, it is much more obvious, with a burn of heat and a significant presence of oak. It is full-bodied, with a nice core of sweet black and blue berry fruit that is luscious and begins over time to start winning the battle against the alcohol and barrel influences. I find myself coming around more and more on this one the longer I stay with it and the more integrated it becomes.
2007 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Occidental Vineyard Sonoma Coast. Vermont: I dig the nose of this wine a lot. It features nice aromas of cool cherry fruit, classy earth and a bit of road tar. It has a nice tangy edge to it and feels well-constructed and focused. It continues with the nice tangy feel in the mouth, with plenty of lifted cherry and raspberry fruit flowing along beautifully across the entire palate. The wine shows a lot of personality and presence—delivering a big mouthful of flavor that is really attractive and a pleasure to drink. This was my #1 WOTN.
2007 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Aubaine Vineyard Arroyo Grande Valley. Massachusetts: There are a lot of cool smoke, creosote, earth, pine pitch and dense black cherry aromatics to this wine. It is pretty nice, but also a bit tightly-packed and taut at this point. In the mouth, it is really creamy-textured, but immediately tannic and a bit tough. It displays plenty of body, no heat or jamminess, just too much in the way of tannin and overt oak at the moment. I see this as getting better down the road.
2007 Kanzler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. Connecticut: I find the nose on this pinot to be a bit unusual, with aromas of peach juice, cooked cherries and ashes tightening up instead of expanding with air. In the mouth, it features a lot of stem, smoke, and rhubarb sorts of notes in a chewy, full-bodied package. It is not really a style that I like that much, but I do have to say the alcohol seems well-controlled and the tannins are well-integrated. It stays dense and full all the way through the mouth, and delivers a solid dose of flavor. I hope it finds more nuance with a bit more bottle age.
2007 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Peters Vineyard Sonoma Coast. Maine: This wine features lots of pure red fruit on the nose, with creamy cherry and cranberry aromas riding atop some mysterious and weedy earth tones and forest notes. It shows a bit tight at times, but then it will open up again and give a glimpse of that good funk and that pure fruit. In the mouth, it is feels milky and layered, but also has some nice top notes of strawberries and raspberries. Some late spices and a shot of acidity give the finish a bit of a confused feel, but everything else about this wine is fine-tuned and in very good balance. The mid-palate is especially nice and fanned out, with a really pleasing mouthfeel and good freshness all around. I like this a good deal and only see it getting better. My #2 WOTN.
2007 Siduri Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard Santa Rita Hills. Dakotas: I believe this was a late entry and so everybody came to this last in the line-up. For me, the nose initially is a bit heavy with blue fruits, but over time it starts to pull in a very pretty vein of lilac florality and some other notes that really give the wine an inviting character. In the mouth, it is fairly full-bodied and viscous, but not at all warm or especially sweet. Instead, the abundant blue fruit feels cool and pure, accented by black smoke and tea. The solidly-built acidic spine and the obviously structured tannins should let this age nicely.
And then afterwards, a little palate pick-me-up:
2002 Château du Cros Loupiac. The nose of this sweet wine is gentle and airy—with lilting aromas of dried pineapple and apricot, light botrytis, toasted nuts and a faint whiff of petrol. It is similar in the mouth—lighter-bodied, silky and pretty, without a whole lot of density or unctuosity. Instead, it is light-footed with its dried tropical fruit flavors and very gentle sweetness levels. It has no hard edges, but delivers a pretty good punch of solid flavor on a lighter frame.
-Michael