Pinot Noir - |
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Notes and impressions from a Pinot Noir tasting - Saturday, March 24, 2001, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Eighteen wines were poured for a tasting fee of $22. |
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Overall impressions: interesting, if not stellar flight. So, are the '98s from Oregon better than the '99s from California? Beats me, but it certainly seemed so in this tasting. In fact, in this tasting, the '98s from CA were generally better than their younger siblings. In contrast, the Burgundies didn't show too well in this tasting. If you want a "go to" Pinot for $20, get the Autumn Wind. It's plush and ready to go. Moving up the price scale, the '99 Hartford was a very nice wine that is also ready to go, but seems like it could benefit from some more aging. Surprisingly, two delicious '98s from the Central Coast were much better than many of the '99s. |
1999 Martinborough
Vineyard Pinot Noir - Martinborought, NZ. $29.99. Medium
dark garnet ruby color. Nose of buttery black cherry, and smoky
chocolate, with a stemmy, fleshy and spicy quality. Slightly tart
cherry fruit on the palate, with obvious oak, nice chew, and very
long finish. I liked this wine, as atypical as it might be. Actually,
it's a pretty nice Merlot for a Pinot Noir. I wonder if they make
a Merlot. 1999 Felton
Road Pinot Noir - Central Otago, NZ . $35.99. Medium garnet
ruby color. Neutral, somewhat cardboardy nose, with a touch of green
fruit/stem. Stemmy, but not bitter in the mouth, it shows moderate
fruit, some oak, and a medium-long finish. 1999 Hartley-Ostini
(Hitching Post) Pinot Noir - Santa Barbara Co. $18.99.
Medium ruby garnet color. Stemmy and slightly leafy nose, with cinnamon
and strawberry notes. Sweet-sour black cherry fruit on the palate,
nice balance, moderate mouthfeel, medium-long finish. This is fairly
standard fare for these guys, and I liked the mouth a bit better
than the nose. 1998 Tantara
Pinot Noir - Bien Nacido Vnyd, Santa Barbara Co. $27.99.
Medium-light ruby garnet color. Stemmy, and a bit fleshy strawberry,
with just a hint of leaf and mushroom as background aromas. Tasty,
slightly sweet-sour fruit, nice full mouthfeel - surprisingly chunky
for the extraction level, nice crisp balance, and long very finish.
This is a '98? 1998 Costa
De Oro Pinot Noir Oro Rojo - Gold Coast Vnyd, Santa Barbara
Co. $35.99. Medium-light ruby garnet color. Stemmy strawberry
fruit, maybe a bit sweaty/sour in the nose, but it comes across
as more Burgundian in smell. Ripe, spicy fruit, medium-full mouthfeel,
long finish. Tastes a lot like a Julia's Vnyd PN. 1999 Wild
Hog Pinot Noir - Ryer Island, Stewart Vnyd. $19.99. Medium garnet
color. Nose of ripe black cherry fruit, with a bit of stem and floral
qualities. Tasty and slightly spicy mouthfeel, with flavors of cherry
and oak. Fruit seems to fall of toward the latter palate, leaving
more acids than fruit through the medium-long finish. 1999 Hartford
Pinot Noir - Sonoma Coast. $25.99. Medium ruby garnet
color. Stemmy, buttery ripe black cherry nose, with cinnamon and
citrus peel. Good mouthfeel, very nice balance, plenty of structure,
nice long finish. 1998 Crane
Canyon Pinot Noir - Russian River Valley. $21.99. Light ruby
garnet color. Burnished overripe black cherry, nearly maderized/porty
in the nose. There's a bit of stem for a background note, but not
enough to disguise the cooked fruit. Moderate fruit on the palate,
but the taste from mid palate onward seems hot, oaky, and acidic.
This label usually does a good job. Something went wrong here -
or is this just the vintage? 1998 Talisman
Pinot Noir - Carneros. $25.99. Medium-light ruby garnet color.
Nose of ripe black cherry fruit, with a hint of chocolate, stems
and spice. Nice, but the tiniest bit cloying with its sweetness.
Medium-full mouthfeel, very nice balance, almost crisp across the
palate, long finish that shows a bit of heat. 1999 Panther
Creek Pinot Noir - Willamette Valley. $17.99. Medium ruby garnet
color. Nose of cherry fruit, oak, stems, and a floral toastiness
that comes off more as malt and hops. Light mouthfeel, modest fruit,
slightly wheaty taste, with a newprint finish. Maybe it was made
at a micro brewery. |
Aroma score: B Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+ 1999 Stangeland
Pinot Noir Estate Reserve - Willamette Valley. $29.99.
Light ruby garnet color. Slightly weak nose of cherry fruit, toast
(once again bordering on malt and hops), stems, and leaf. Moderately
fruity mouthfeel, good balance, touch of stems and oak, and very
long finish. 1998 Chehalem
Pinot Noir - Ridgecrest, Willamette Valley. $31.99. Medium dark
ruby color. Dense sweet nose of stemmy black cherry and toast. Nice
mouthfeel, very tasty off-sweet black cherry fruit, very good balance,
nice long off-sweet finish and aftertaste. 1998 Eola
Hills Pinot Noir Reserve - Wolf Hill Vnyd. $29.99. Medium-dark
ruby color. Burnished nose of very ripe black cherry, with stem
and anise accents. Slightly stemmy mouthfeel, moderately fruity,
good balance, showing a little oak and heat in the long finish. 1999 Torii
Mor Pinot Noir - Olson Vnyd. $45.99. Medium ruby color. Stemmy
black cherry fruit, with a nice cinnamon/Asian spice and citrus
note. Stemmy and a bit earthy cherry/strawberry fruit, medium body,
very nice balance, very long finish. 1999 Denis
Mugneret - Vosne Romanee. $29.99. Medium dark ruby color. Spicy,
olive/caper quality to the smoky black cherry/strawberry fruit in
the nose. Moderate mouthfeel, somewhat fleshy and stemmy through
mid-palate, but the fruit trails off or hardens up in the latter
palate, and the long finish seems a bit bitter. 1999 Frederic
Esmonin Ruchottes - Chambertin. $44.99p/a. Medium-dark ruby
color. Sweet, ripe, slightly stemmy nose, with a bit of prune quality
that is distracting. Moderate mouthfeel and fruit, balanced more
to the acid side of the scale, long finish. 1996 Faiveley
- Gevrey Chambertin. $17.99. Medium-light garnet color. Nose
of black cherry, Kalamata olives, and sort of a stemmy mushroom
quality. Showing a bit of age in the flavor profile, but otherwise
good mouthfeel, and holds together through the long finish. |
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Mail & Comments - Eric Anderson
