Four friends and I got together at a local eatery earlier this month to taste through a variety of pinot noirs. However, we started the evening with three Chardonnays.
1999 Verget Chablis Fourchaume Vieilles Vignes de Vaulorens. The first wine of the night shows a beautiful light gold color. The first whiff on the nose is of something like roasted chestnut but that fades relatively quickly to be replaced by a very attractive and complex bouquet of smoke, sea shells, spun sugar, chalk dust, citrus oil, minerals and something that can best be described as a sort of sweet, high-grade olive oil. Really interesting stuff. In the mouth, it has--at least for a Chablis--a somewhat viscous texture that is in keeping with its personality. In other words, it is very well balanced in its richness. Flavors include pear, smoke, citrus oil, nectarine pit and a solid amount of minerality. It finishes just beautifully, where more acidity comes in to support the excellent length and overall final impression.
2005 Ridge Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountain Estate Santa Cruz Mountains. The 2005 Ridge recently enjoyed a 95 point score from the Wine Spectator. So, why not give it a try and see what it is all about? It opens with a very strong mineral and graphite streak on the nose and then folds in lemon peel and powdered blueberry pixie stick. Later as it warms, some oak notes start to protrude. It has a bit of sweetness on the entry and again in the mid-palate, with flavors of smoky pear and delicious apple. The oak seems to frame the edges of the wine, rather than lying on top or otherwise interfering with the fruit. The next night out of the refrigerator, it held pretty solid—probably a good sign for its future.
2002 Newton Chardonnay Napa Valley Unfiltered. The nose on the Newton is quite different from the two wines before it, offering butterscotch, lemon zest, fern, peach fuzz and faint smoke. Later, the wood becomes more apparent. In the mouth, it has a pithy, almost waxy texture and has a rather rich fruit profile, with smoothly integrated spices. There is some oak to contend with that makes itself known primarily toward the finish. It is nice, but made in a more obvious style than its predecessors.
Three of us had our preferences in the exact same rank order (Verget, Ridge, Newton), and the other two had their order as Ridge, Verget, Newton. All three were quite good, however.
We moved on to the Pinot Noirs, beginning with the Burgundies.
1985 Philippe LeClerc Gevrey Chambertin Combe aux Moines. The nose just absolutely knocks you back with its lovely and well-integrated aromas of cracked leather, horse barn, sous bois, sweet creosote, cranberries and sweet dark cherries. It is just a lovely bouquet. In the mouth, it is medium-bodied with a smooth texture, and veers toward the elegant side of the spectrum. It has nice lift and a sense of airiness to it. The flavors are of pleasingly tart cranberries, black cherries and a bit of earthiness. I find myself wanting a bit more depth of fruit, however. The tannins are totally integrated and the finish seems to just sit and rotate in the middle of the palate—an interesting and pleasing facet to this outstanding bottle. I should mention for the record that others felt that the finish dropped off a fair amount later in the night, so perhaps it is best not to sit on these too much longer. My clear Wine of the Night.
1988 Faiveley Corton Clos des Cortons Faiveley. I got to this quite a bit later than the rest of the table did, and reports were that it opened “strangely”. However, it was quite nice by the time it reached my nose for the first time. That nose sports dark cherry, red licorice, candied red fruits and tree bark. Dark caramel scents come on strong with time in the glass, too. On the palate, it is rather smooth and elegantly-structured, but with a good anchor in its dark cherry and decidedly earthy flavor profile. The acidity is heightened on the moderately powerful finish. Overall, this shows good class, and is a wine that just keeps improving all through the evening until the final drop is drunk.
1996 Vincent Girardin Pommard Clos des Lambots. The Girardin offers up a highly perfumed nose of incense, sweet smoke, blueberry, raspberry, and the very beginnings of secondary leather and horse fur notes. It seems like it is still young, but starting to show hints of entering a nice maturation phase. In the mouth, it has just a very lovely texture that is seamless and pure. It is medium to full-bodied, with a solid backbone. It opens with slate on the attack and then folds in a mix of dark berries. A good shot of acidity freshens the dark-fruited finish. Give this some time, but it is nonetheless quite enjoyable now.
2002 Domaine du Chateau de Chorey Beaune 1er Cru Les Cras Vieilles Vignes. The nose is open and fairly penetrating, with scents of lifted red fruits, persimmon, exotic wood, mocha and mulling spices. In the mouth, it is a bit more tightly wound and features plump dark fruits, with good lift and balance. There are some smoky, toasty notes on the finish. This gives good pleasure now.
Two from Oregon came next.
2000 Saint Innocent Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Shea Vineyard. This wine has an immediate and appealing nose that pretty much jumps out of the glass with bright strawberry and raspberry gelatin up front and darker fruits and a sort of soft cheese rind underneath. In the mouth, it is not quite as striking, with very strong acidity framing cranberry and other tart red fruits. It is medium to lighter bodied, but with solid structure, and there are some moderate tannins in play, as well.
2001 Ken Wright Cellars Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Guadalupe Vineyard. I find the nose to be a bit savory, with ground black pepper and prickly bramble berries and black currant fruit. Unfortunately, there is also a very faint mustiness underneath that had people debating whether the wine was corked or not. Either way, it feels full and rich in the mouth, fanning out in the mid-palate with dark fruits. It is a bit chewy textured and there are some chocolaty tannins that come in on the somewhat tingly finish.
Then, my first wine from Tasmania!
2000 Pipers Brook Vineyard Pinot Noir Reserve Tasmania. I have to say I like this quite a bit. There is a hint of saddle leather on the nose, along with some fur, mineral, mocha and briary berry fruit notes. It is nicely silky in the mouth, with good acidity, medium body and a pleasant overall mouthfeel. It shares more in common with old world pinot, in my opinion, than the Cali pinots that came later. I took the remains of the bottle camping two evenings later and served this to a mixed group of savvy and novice tasters, and the universal feeling was that this was still interesting and exciting. A revelation for me.
Lastly, we hit the California Pinots.
2000 Hartford Court Pinot Noir Russian River Valley Arrendell Vineyard. One of the first comments about the nose that I overheard was “Route 66”, in reference to the strong aroma of rubber tires. That never really fades, but does integrate with time, joining scents of blackberry, black currant, chocolate and some primordial dark earth. It is solid and dark-fruited on the palate, with a big, juicy, inky personality that is a bit rough-hewn at this point. Give this some more time.
2004 Siduri Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands Pisoni Vineyard. Herbs, ferns, cherry cola, darker berries, earth, spice and oak accents are all part of the nose at one time or another on this wine. In the mouth, there is a big blast of lush, dense, sweet fruit on the attack, followed by lots of toasty spices. It expands nicely in the plush mid-palate and finishes with more spiciness. I think it is likely to improve further with some additional cellar time.
2005 Dain Wines Pinot Noir Russian River Valley American Beauty. This pinot sports a very nice nose of blueberry, cherry, dusty red berries, cocoa powder and forest greens. It is nicely mouth-filling, with excellent body and structure to go along with excellent balance and drive. There is great spiced blueberry fruit and a good kick of dark spices. It is young, but extremely promising. People generally seemed impressed with this young wine.
The Girardin Pommard just edged out the other 3 Burgs for the group's Burg of the night. The Dain just edged the St Innocent and Pipers Brook for the group's new world pinot of the night.
It was a good night and just about all of the wines showed well. What more could you want?
-Michael