Wine Focus October 2023 - Benchmarks of Pinot Noir

[David M. Bueker]

Is Burgundy still the only benchmark?

Discuss.

Well Burgundy is definitely the benchmark for me. And nothing else really functions as a substitute. But of course that doesn't mean other delicious wines with similar structural profiles aren't being made elsewhere. I'm particularly fond of Spätburgunder.

But here were a few Burgundies from the past weeks:

2009 and 2010 Pavelot Savigny-les-Beaune La Dominode. People on cellartracker say the 2010 is closed these days, but my bottle (recently purchased from CSW) was very much the opposite. Perfectly harmonious and in that lovely aged zone where the succulent orchard Burg berry fruit is still discernible, but the mellow aged glory is full resolved (for my tastes). Happy to open the next one soon. On the other hand, the 2009 was juicy tart and able to be appreciated with food, but overall more wound up in its structure. You never know!

2012 Louis Boillot Gevrey Chambertin was a mystery. I bought a lot of Boillot wines from the mid-late aughts vintages through the mid-late teens and am waiting to see how they age! Starts off tarts and acid and remains that way more or less for the first day. But this was one of the rare red Burgundies that tasted better to me on the second day. The fruit came out a bit more and it is still a fairly one-note village wine, but a nice Boillot crystal jeweled note, reminiscent of the wines when young, although a bit more mellowed. And enough of a good showing to keep my optimism alive about future development!

2005 Joseph Voillot Pommard Rugiens
Silky, juicy, mineral, resolved, delicious. Makes the Boillot Gevrey look even simpler, but I suppose that's why they classify the vineyards. Fuller fruit than a previous bottle from around 6 months ago, so a nice reminder that bottle variation is the enemy of predictions! All in all, very charming, very elegant. Lovely.

[David M. Bueker]

Sadly I am away from my cellar and with non-geeks for a week. We will have a few lovely non-Burgundy Pinot Noir wines. When I get home it’s time for the real thing.

[Jenise]

Yes, it is still the only Benchmark. Many of us enjoy and even outright love pinot from other places, I know I do, but categorically it comes down to two: Burgundy and the rest.

IMO one style that is definitely not the benchmark for pinot noir is the overripe, high extraction, high alcohol, low acidity version favored by some California producers such as Rodney Strong. I had a conversation with one of their customer reps once and not only do they not consider this a fault, they're actually proud of it.

I would actually restrict the benchmark more than just Burgundy. I'd say just the Cote d'Or. It's all down to the magic of that chalk/limestone subsoil that produces benchmark wines/spirits wherever it crops up near the surface: Champagne, Cote d'Or, Cognac, Jerez de la Frontera. Pinot noir, chardonnay, and palomino just don't fare as well without this soil pairing. An American sparkling wine that was a standout was the original Gruet, which came from vines in the hills around Truth or Consequence New Mexico, of all places. The secret? A limestone outcropping/.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Rodney Strong is no longer an independent winery, they're a mass production winery--a supermarket wine, not "fine wine". As such, I wouldn't invoke their name on either side of the argument.

Rodney Strong was still independent when I made my observation.

I've had some excellent pinot noirs from producers in Carneros, most notably Saintsbury. A few years back I found a few bottles of 15 year old Saintsbury Carneros pinot noir that had been misplaced in my cellar. It was a dead ringer for a Nuits-St.-Georges.

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

Paul,

Your California references are rather out of date.

Numerous California wineries are making Pinot Noir in a more elegant, even earthy style that evokes the Burgundian model, if not being full imitations. The lack of limestone soils (except in the Chalone AVA) probably limits the similarities.

But it would take me a very long time to list all of the California wineries making credibly site-centric Pinot Noirs. A quick list includes Rhys, Sandhi, Domaine de la Côte, Anthill Farms, Navarro, Ramey, and many, many more.

Not to mention the 2020 Peay Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard (Anderson Valley) I opened tonight that was both elegant and stuffed with California sunshine.

[David M. Bueker]

A bottle of Domaine Pierre Amiot Morey-Saint Denis Les Millandes the other night was everything MSD should be with dark fruit, meaty notes and solid structure. Wish I had a few bottles to age.

Vintage?

[David M. Bueker]

Whoops! 2019.

[David M. Bueker]

• 1999 Domaine Bruno Clair Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru (10/14/2023)
  Solo bottles are the hardest. I bought this on release ages ago, and it then just sat in the cellar…waiting…waiting. Finally tonight I decided enough was enough and popped the cork. It was mostly worth the wait.
  
  I did not expect magic, and did not get it, but I did get a solid 1er Cru Burgundy, with earthy, loamy notes and a surprisingly solid core of fruit that even had a bit of cherry cola to it. Not much in the way of tannin left, but good acids to provide structure, and the umami elements happily dominated the finish.
  
  Worth waiting over 20 years? I suppose so, especially if setting realistic expectations for the wine.

• 1999 Domaine Bruno Clair Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru (10/14/2023)
  Solo bottles are the hardest. I bought this on release ages ago, and it then just sat in the cellar…waiting…waiting. Finally tonight I decided enough was enough and popped the cork. It was mostly worth the wait.
  
  I did not expect magic, and did not get it, but I did get a solid 1er Cru Burgundy, with earthy, loamy notes and a surprisingly solid core of fruit that even had a bit of cherry cola to it. Not much in the way of tannin left, but good acids to provide structure, and the umami elements happily dominated the finish.
  
  Worth waiting over 20 years? I suppose so, especially if setting realistic expectations for the wine.

Wow. Bravo. One bottle waiting over 20 years. I suppose the 'value' proposition also depends on whether space is at a premium in your storage. And from what I understand, you had room to let this bottle develop. Glad it gave some pleasure!

And continuing the Savigny parade, this weekend I had 2009 and 2010 Pavelot Les Narbantons. The 2010 was opened first and was very evolved/resolved, much like the 2010 Dominode that I drank a few weeks ago. However, the Narbantons was not as good! A bit meh, especially with the memory of the Dominode still fresh.

The 2009 Narbantons was much tastier, richer, deeper, with more layers. Definitely showing the ripe character of the year, but also the evolved woodsy Savigny/CdBeaune elements, and less breed than the Dominode. A fine drink with dinner, but overall it was nothing too exciting, and for essentially the same price, would go with Dominode.

[David M. Bueker]

Room? I have no room. More than anything else, Burgundy (and Barolo) is the wine where I always pick a wine and then put it back. Always waiting.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2021 Vincent Pinot Noir Armstrong Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge (10/8/2023)
  First off, I am not yet used to the new (and very pretty) Vincent labels, as I thought I had grabbed a Ribbon Ridge, and didn't even pay much attention until I thought "wow I knew the 2021 Ribbon Ridge was delicious, but wowee!" Then I looked at the label again, and went "ahh, that explains a lot." Importantly, there is a distinct resemblance, which makes sense given the AVA. What sets the Armstrong apart is how it takes all of the virtues of the Ribbon Ridge and gives them the Spinal Tap treatment - they all go to eleven. That said, it doesn't lead to anything outsized or extreme, just amps up the intensity - almost as if it's the old vines cuvee of the same wine. The red fruit is deeper, the earthy core is darker, and there's more structure, all fully in balance. This feels like a wine that can evolve for 10, 15 or 20 years. All this for a bottle that costs less than $50 - delivered!

This one is certainly not a benchmark but it shows that there is wine made from Pinot Noir in obscure French wine regions which is well worth drinking as well as being outstanding QPR for the grape at around €7. I still have a few mature Burgundies in my cellar but, given the value inflation, they are all destined for special occasions or the auctioneer. Good wine from Pinot Noir is now being made in the upper Loire valley (Sancerre, Menetou-Salon...) and Alsace but at a QPR which is hardly competitive with, say, Bordeaux in a similar price range. From Rahsaan's TNs, many Spätburgunder from Germany seem very interesting but are impossible to find here in rural France and, alas, my experience of Pinot Noir from the American Pacific states is very old and very limited. NZ PN has a good reputation but again my experience is very limited and prices are high.

2021 Cave Saint Verny Pinot Noir Puy de Dôme Le Pinot Noir - France, Loire Valley, Puy de Dôme (18/10/2023)
A wine made from Pinot Noir in the Massif Central is quite a rarity. Colour is quite pale. The bouquet from the nose is immediately beguiling with that subtle but unmistakably PN aroma which is so difficult to describe but which amongst other things contains some cherry, spice and mineral elements. At first, the medium/light bodied palate seemed not to follow through, perhaps due to an unflattering pairing of pork and blettes gratinées. On its own after food the wine revealed itself with the freshness often associated with the 2021 vintage adding interest to the pinot fruit and aromas already shown on the nose with a hint of underlying roundness and structure. Good but I'm not sure how to pair the wine.

Posted from CellarTracker

[David M. Bueker]

Maybe pair it with a warm spring day!

€7 is a good deal for reasonably interesting Pinot Noir.

[Jenise]

We opened a 2004 Etude pinot noir last week and drank it over several days. Etude, in Napa Valley for those not familiar, has been around a long time and makes pinot noirs of a type very out of sync with my preferences--big, extracted, opaque/black. I have no idea how or where I acquired this singleton. It showed very well for a 19 year old bottle from an unpopular vintage, but it was also all about those things I just named so not in fact enjoyable or flexible in the way intended when I went into the cellar looking for a pinot noir. The best thing I can say about the experience is that I'm glad it's out of my hair.

[David M. Bueker]

Cellar space cleared!

[Jenise]

EXACTLY.

[Jenise]

Shared some bottles with friends last night:

2006 Valdez Family Winery Pinot Noir Lancel Creek Vineyard Russian River Valley
Kirk's bottle, PnP'd. Deep garnet color with earthy dark cherry fruit and oak. Must have been a biggie in its youth. Not my preferred style, but overall it's in very fine shape for a 17 year old wine from a winery I've never heard of and a vintage not recognized as a 'keeper'.

2017 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Campbell Ranch Vineyard Sonoma Coast
My bottle, not decanted. Taupey red color. Pretty perfumed nose, tea-like tannins, lingonberry fruit and Asian spices. Exotic and complex; just excellent.

[David M. Bueker]

Campbell Ranch has been my favorite vineyard for Anthill Farms. The Campbell Ranch Syrah is also a big winner.

[Jenise]

Agree on the Anthill Farms. That exotic spice is just amazing and like very few other California pinots I know of, but yearn for. Kathy Joseph's early Fiddlestix vineyard pinots from Santa Maria were very similar and I chased them for years.