WTN: Parigot & Richard Crémant & '04 W. Hansel N. Slope PN

We opened these with dinner last night.

• N.V. Parigot & Richard Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Burgundy, Crémant de Bourgogne (6/9/2007)
  I was told this was 100% Chardonnay. A really enjoyable sparkler. A bit toasty on the nose, with honeyed citrus aromas. I tend to pay a lot of attention to structure and this wine did not let me down. Showing a good palate presence with firm acidity but a creamy texture that really compliments making this one quite light on its feet. A rich an satisfying mousse. Not the most complex of sparklers, but really a nice wine for the tarrif. Retail: $18
  
• 2004 Walter Hansel Winery Pinot Noir The North Slope - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (6/9/2007)
  There's no question that I'm interested in RPs opinions on wines, but when the high rating on this wine was published, and Hansel being one of my favorite Pinot producers, I admit to some concern. I then began to read the many TNs and some of my fears of over ripeness and "big, thick" were confirmed. I have grown to know Hansel for highly polished, higher acidity (one could say Burgundian) styled wines. I bought a few bottles and decided it was as good a time as any to pop one and see for myself. I decided ahead of time I was going to decant this for at few hours, so after 2.5 hrs of double decant, we headed out to the restaurant. I did manage a small taste when I opened it. Mostly dark cherry cola with brown sugar aromas that carried through to the palate finishing a bit hot on the back end. By the time we got to try this at the restaurant, it had seen about 45 additional minutes of air, in the bottle. The wine showed essentially the same with some complexity emerging on the nose. The fruit is very rich and extracted, but it didn't seem over ripe to me. No raisins or prunes now and hopefully none down the road. Through the course of the night the heat had backed off, but the cola did not. I can handle some cola, but I'm not a fan of it when it overwhelms. This is also uncharacteristic of previous Hansel wines, though I admit, this is my first experience with N slope. I'm familiar with the estate RRV, Cahill and Cuvee Alyce and I tend to find brighter, more polished fruit in these wines. Then we have the significance of the '04 vintage. Certainly, this played a roll with the '04 N. Slope. I have yet to try any other '04 Hansel Pinots. I will be visiting the winery soon and can't wait to try some things to see how the newer wines are. I have 3 more bottles of the '04 N Slope. I can only hope the fruit will soften a bit and gain complexity.